[joanne13]

hi, i've just accepted an MPH offer at Imperial 2008-2009 and will be studying at the St. Mary's campus. I'm an American student looking at different housing options available for postgraduates at Imperial and so far the university accommodations (like Clayponds) don't seem that nice and kind of far away. i've been looking into "private halls" like.. Nido, Goodenough, and Unite.. are any of these any good? i'm a pretty social person and would like to live with other students, preferably postgraduates, like myself (in a fun, social setting of course). any advice in this matter would really really help me out, as an American, I don't know too much about British universities and living in London.. thanks so much!!

[Newton's cradle]

Dunno much about postgrad accomodation but you try being a subwarden in halls. They get rent free accomodation in return for looking after undergraduate students living in halls. It's fun and needs a very sociable person.

[xaxa]

I don't think there are any postgrads who read this forum.

You could try this: http://www.ducaneha.org.uk/

The private halls are probably OK, they seem pretty expensive though.

[Gimperial]

Originally Posted by joanne13

hi, i've just accepted an MPH offer at Imperial 2008-2009 and will be studying at the St. Mary's campus. I'm an American student looking at different housing options available for postgraduates at Imperial and so far the university accommodations (like Clayponds) don't seem that nice and kind of far away. i've been looking into "private halls" like.. Nido, Goodenough, and Unite.. are any of these any good? i'm a pretty social person and would like to live with other students, preferably postgraduates, like myself (in a fun, social setting of course). any advice in this matter would really really help me out, as an American, I don't know too much about British universities and living in London.. thanks so much!!

Whats an MPH? You mean MPhill?

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by joanne13

hi, i've just accepted an MPH offer at Imperial 2008-2009 and will be studying at the St. Mary's campus. I'm an American student looking at different housing options available for postgraduates at Imperial and so far the university accommodations (like Clayponds) don't seem that nice and kind of far away. i've been looking into "private halls" like.. Nido, Goodenough, and Unite.. are any of these any good? i'm a pretty social person and would like to live with other students, preferably postgraduates, like myself (in a fun, social setting of course). any advice in this matter would really really help me out, as an American, I don't know too much about British universities and living in London.. thanks so much!!

Hi joanne,

The private halls are more for undergrads I think. Try to see whether you can live in Uni of London halls.

Otherwise, living in Imperial PG halls are still your best bet.

[joanne13]

an MPH is a Masters of Public Health, it's part of Imperial's medical branch so I'll be studying at St. Mary's campus.

thanks for all your advice! i've looked into the ducane housing association and it seems pretty nice. could i get some advice on the different locations in london?

the ducane halls is located in hammersmith and fulham, how is that area? i'm looking for a place with lots of students and a lively night life. and the other postgraduate hall, clayponds, is in ealing, which seems a little quieter, what are your opinions? i've also been looking into goodenough college which is in camden?

thanks!!

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by joanne13

an MPH is a Masters of Public Health, it's part of Imperial's medical branch so I'll be studying at St. Mary's campus.

thanks for all your advice! i've looked into the ducane housing association and it seems pretty nice. could i get some advice on the different locations in london?

the ducane halls is located in hammersmith and fulham, how is that area? i'm looking for a place with lots of students and a lively night life. and the other postgraduate hall, clayponds, is in ealing, which seems a little quieter, what are your opinions? i've also been looking into goodenough college which is in camden?

thanks!!

Hammersmith is not exactly a good district. Not too sure about Fulham. Some say that Fulham is quite a good area although as far as I know Fulham has a blue-collar-workers root.

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by joanne13

an MPH is a Masters of Public Health, it's part of Imperial's medical branch so I'll be studying at St. Mary's campus.

thanks for all your advice! i've looked into the ducane housing association and it seems pretty nice. could i get some advice on the different locations in london?

the ducane halls is located in hammersmith and fulham, how is that area? i'm looking for a place with lots of students and a lively night life. and the other postgraduate hall, clayponds, is in ealing, which seems a little quieter, what are your opinions? i've also been looking into goodenough college which is in camden?

thanks!!

You should perferably get in touch with some people doing your course, like via Facebook, .. etc.

[firebird_myth]

Originally Posted by joanne13

any advice in this matter would really really help me out, as an American, I don't know too much about British universities and living in London.. thanks so much!!

Hi Joanne,
I'm in (almost) exactly the same position as you are. I'm an American coming to do a postgrad course at Imperial in October, and I've been struggling with the accommodation issue for quite a while now. I will be based at the S. Kensington campus, which is not too far from the St Mary's campus, so some of what I'm about to say will probably apply to you too:
I agree with what you said about the Imperial postgrad halls - not worth it for the central campuses. After looking at private residences for a while I decided not to go that route - Nido was far and expensive, Goodenough was quite nice (I visited), but a heck of a commute from S. Kensington. One option that might work for you is ISH, the International Student House in London, which is not very expensive and is certainly closer to St Mary's than to SK. HOWEVER, they only accept about 1 in 4 or 5 applications. Another possibilty that you MAY (you need to check with the Imperial accommodation office) be eligible for (depending on your course; I'm not eligible) is the postgrad residence of the University of London (ask them whether you're eligible for intercollegiate halls). It's close to the St. Mary's campus. What I decided to do, eventually, was to come to London about 3.5 weeks before the start of my course and look for a private sector apartment, i.e. a single room within a flatshare occupied by students or young professionals. There is a multitude of ways of looking for one, and I would be happy to share with you the resources that I've come across and give some general advice (also about specific neighborhoods, since I've been to London a couple of times). One thing that I would strongly encourage you to do is to come to London a few weeks before the start of your course to look for an apartment instead of doing so remotely from the U.S. (to avoid the many scams). Anyways, please feel free to private message me about any of this and further advice. It's nice to hear of a fellow American heading to Imperial next year!

[ChosenOne]

Originally Posted by s.e.r.e.n.e

Hammersmith is not exactly a good district. Not too sure about Fulham. Some say that Fulham is quite a good area although as far as I know Fulham has a blue-collar-workers root.

Don't be put of by Hammersmith, nothing wrong with the area and so what if Fulham has blue-collar-worker roots. What are you implying? Anyway regardless of its past it's a pretty upmarket area now given its close proximation to Kensington & Chelsea

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by firebird_myth

Hi Joanne,
I'm in (almost) exactly the same position as you are. I'm an American coming to do a postgrad course at Imperial in October, and I've been struggling with the accommodation issue for quite a while now. I will be based at the S. Kensington campus, which is not too far from the St Mary's campus, so some of what I'm about to say will probably apply to you too:
I agree with what you said about the Imperial postgrad halls - not worth it for the central campuses. After looking at private residences for a while I decided not to go that route - Nido was far and expensive, Goodenough was quite nice (I visited), but a heck of a commute from S. Kensington. One option that might work for you is ISH, the International Student House in London, which is not very expensive and is certainly closer to St Mary's than to SK. HOWEVER, they only accept about 1 in 4 or 5 applications. Another possibilty that you MAY (you need to check with the Imperial accommodation office) be eligible for (depending on your course; I'm not eligible) is the postgrad residence of the University of London (ask them whether you're eligible for intercollegiate halls). It's close to the St. Mary's campus. What I decided to do, eventually, was to come to London about 3.5 weeks before the start of my course and look for a private sector apartment, i.e. a single room within a flatshare occupied by students or young professionals. There is a multitude of ways of looking for one, and I would be happy to share with you the resources that I've come across and give some general advice (also about specific neighborhoods, since I've been to London a couple of times). One thing that I would strongly encourage you to do is to come to London a few weeks before the start of your course to look for an apartment instead of doing so remotely from the U.S. (to avoid the many scams). Anyways, please feel free to private message me about any of this and further advice. It's nice to hear of a fellow American heading to Imperial next year!

Can consider sharing a flat with your friends as well? Try networking organisations like DAUK (Demorcrats Aboard UK).

Gumtree.com has lots of flats on advertisement, and try other leading agents in London like Foxtons and Marsh and Parsons. AmberMarsh is a student accommodation specialist. If you can pay up to GBP 250 pw you can get a studio to yourself. If you are looking to shift in from October, then you can only start calling them 4-6 weeks before that.

Hope this helps.

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

London is not THAT remote or different from U.S.. ... Howard Dean was in Imperial two weeks ago and you don't have the language barrier. There are lots of Americans working in the finance industry. I'd say that in some offices up to 40% Directors/Managing Directors in the front office are Americans. Know of people from Georgetown, Cornell, Turfs, Wharton, ... and they are all doing fine here.

[firebird_myth]

Originally Posted by s.e.r.e.n.e

London is not THAT remote or different from U.S.. ... Howard Dean was in Imperial two weeks ago and you don't have the language barrier. There are lots of Americans working in the finance industry. I'd say that in some offices up to 40% Directors/Managing Directors in the front office are Americans. Know of people from Georgetown, Cornell, Turfs, Wharton, ... and they are all doing fine here.

I wasn't saying that London is a different planet.... But as is the case with a move anywhere far away, it is not easy to go about organizing a place to live. Add to that the fact that you have a rather different "rental infrastructure" and use different web services when looking for a flat, and that most Americans can't tell the difference in safety quality difference between Hackney and Kensington (no offense to Hackney...) and it doesn't make for an easy search (: You're right about the language not posing a barrier... in London. However, when you're up in Geordieland - well, that's a different story

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by firebird_myth

I wasn't saying that London is a different planet.... But as is the case with a move anywhere far away, it is not easy to go about organizing a place to live. Add to that the fact that you have a rather different "rental infrastructure" and use different web services when looking for a flat, and that most Americans can't tell the difference in safety quality difference between Hackney and Kensington (no offense to Hackney...) and it doesn't make for an easy search (: You're right about the language not posing a barrier... in London. However, when you're up in Geordieland - well, that's a different story

Which part of US are you from?

Joanne's case is a bit more complicated because she's at St Mary and she states that she wants to stay in some sort of hall to interact with PGs. St Mary is at Paddington and is not exactly a very nice area to be. For the areas around South Kensington, I would say that South Ken SW7 is the nicest, followed by W2 Notting Hill.

For starters, the UK has a really good postal code system (better than the Zip in the US IMO). The first part denotes the district (borough ), and the second part is the specifics. For example, Imperial's address is SW7 2AZ, and keying in SW7 2AZ on Google Maps directs you to the exact location, just like that for the US Zip. In essence, SW7, W2, W14, etc all have different price ranges, and in the postal code that a property carries significantly affects its value. The postal code is also more important than the local authority. For example, W2 is shared by RBKC and City of Westminster.

Good websites to start searching for flats is findaproperty.com. Gumtree has some flats as well but is less organized.

Ironically, I don't have a place to stay in London for two weeks beginning mid-July so I'll be flying over to New York and stay at my aunt's place.

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Originally Posted by firebird_myth

difference in safety quality difference between Hackney and Kensington

Just be ware, West Ken is very different from South Ken. South Ken is the super exclusive district. West Ken W14 is not. I'd prefer to live in Paddington than W14.

SW7, SW3, and W2 are all good districts for Imperial College students.

[kpg]

Most imperial college medical students live in Hammersmith/Barons Court with some in surrounding areas like Shepherds Bush, West Kensington, Acton, Fulham etc. There's no rocking night life but thats where most medics are. It's the affordable part of West London

Mary's is in Paddington and is a far cry from the stereotype of Paddington 15-30 years ago. There are some nice areas now.

Apart from the suggestions already posted you could try phoning the St.Mary's Undergraduate medical office (UMO) and ask them if they can tell you about anyone advertising accomodation on the notice board. I'm sure someone will be willing to pop out of the office and have a look. I do recall seeing some adverts posted there. You can ask for a direct number by emailing umo@imperial.ac.uk

[s.e.r.e.n.e]

Here are some I got from the notice board:

-Call 078467 37283 / mc407@imperial.ac.uk (Staying with 2 males and 1 female PG)

- Single room, GBP 100, Oval Tube, 07733261491

[arkbar]

Thanks for the advice, I'm starting a postgrad in October as well (in Transportation) and accommodation has got me running in circles.

[joanne13]

thanks so much for all the help everyone. i had no idea how the postal code system works.. so that mini tutorial was helpful is Goodenough really a far commute to the st. mary's campus? i tried googling it and it didn't seem so bad, but i don't know how reliable googlemaps is for commute. and is ISH for both undergrads and postgrads?

are most of the people on this thread imperial postgrads? i'm curious as to if there are like.. mixers or whatever the university organizes for postgrads-- i'm used to being really social as an undergrad, so i'm hoping there are similar social events for postgrads also.

[kpg]

Goodenough college is by Euston I think? Euston square is on the same line as Paddington ( nearest station to St.Mary's hospital) and will only take about 10 mins on the train. Factor in walking to/from station and waiting it'll probably come to about a 30-35 minute commute door to door. Much quicker and close enough to cycle aswell.