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Advice Moving to London?

Hiya,

So, I’m (20, F) currently enjoying my summer before I head into my third year of uni as a Film student. I work 20-30 hours a week (have done for a while to save), as I am already wanting to plan ahead for a Masters degree straight after I finish my degree. However, I’d love to study some sort of further education in Film (theory/philosophy/journalism/history/etc.). I am currently eyeing-up some courses to apply for in the next year, but I’m anxious of how to go about moving from Leeds to London. I visit relatively frequently (as much as I can afford to) but I live at home in Leeds anyway, so I’m completely new to moving away from home/tight budgeting/making friends in a new place.

Basically, I would really appreciate if anybody has any financial/social advice from experience in such a big move. I have no idea which would be more beneficial, a shared home, post-grad flat, or other living arrangements. And how on earth can I make friends in each of these circumstances?

Any advice whatsoever would be super greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post by heyitshypno

I can't give you financial advice on this, but I can only give you a perspective on what I have done when I was moving to London.

When I was first moving to London, I was hunting for rooms to rent (because you can get a room for £500-600 a month vs a flat that requires at least £2000 a month, depending on location and convenience). I was fortunate to have family and friends in London where I can shack up until I got the funds I needed to make the deposit. If you're not so fortunate, I would budget for at least 2 months' rent (ideally 3) before considering the move.
I don't know what financial assistance you would get as part of your studies, but if the funding isn't adequate, you would probably want to consider the above.

Rent is the first and biggest expense that you should be worried about, because it can take up 60% of your outgoings. It's also the most important expense that you would need to be concerned being paid because people go homeless everyday just by neglecting this simple expense or not having enough to pay. My general rule is if you ever find yourself in a situation where you can't pay your rent, get out of London before you are forced to hit the streets. The homeless population in London compared to other areas of the country is unreal, and it's no joke especially how expensive it is.

As you would know, living in London is not cheap. I ended up using spreadsheets to track all of my incoming and outgoing income and expenses. If you don't know anything about budgeting, I would recommend at least learning about cash flow forecast (it's the most straightforward and easiest thing to learn in terms of financial management, as well as something I consider having the most impact). And when I say you need to track all of your expenses, I do mean all of your expenses (even the tiny little purchases that you don't seem to be bothered with e.g. 50p). In a place like London where you get bombarded with shops and things to buy, temptation is everywhere and you can easily get lost if you don't keep track (especially when even the smallest things might not be cheap).
I am not saying that you shouldn't enjoy yourself whilst in London, but you should enjoy yourself with very very strict discipline.

When I manage my finances, I always ensure I have enough funds in my account to budget for the next month's worth of expenses in advance. I would include some savings for contingencies and general savings. You would be surprised how often you suddenly need to fork out several hundred pounds for something every now and again. If you're living paycheck to paycheck (I like the American saying), then you're leaving yourself exposed. You don't want the risk or stress,

When dealing with landlords and picking a place, you would have to do some vetting and research.
Not all landlords who rent out privately do things by the book. You would want to be clued up about your rights and obligations when it comes to your tenancy. The people who usually guarantee to do things by the book are done through lettings agents where they have a long list of things to vet you for. I would familarise yourself with the process.
When it comes to picking a place, it would depend on what you're looking for. My personal preference is to pick a room at a place where it was originally a house to begin with (some places are converted dwellings from storerooms used for shops, and they're tiny and unaccommodating, but cheap). These are slightly pricier, but I value the comfort.
In terms of location, pretty much everyone in Zones 2-3 would be using either the underground/overground and buses (you want to get yourself an Oyster Card, as you would be commuting a lot). I don't know where your university is based, but you don't really want to be living that close to the university if you can help it (the rooms tend to be smaller and more expensive, especially if it's the uni's accommodation but it's up to you whether you want to go for it or not). I wouldn't live too far from the uni (say within a 30 minute commute, ideally by walking but by public transport is OK), but I wouldn't say I would be more than 2 zones away from the uni.
When evaluating the distance between your uni and your accommodation via public transport, do not look at the absolute distance (unless you intend to walk there). Look at the number of stops between where you live and the uni, even if the distance is further. This is because a train/bus with fewer stops in Central is often faster than the one with a shorter distance (relatively). This means you can sometimes be more flexible with where you live or the accommodation you pick.
The thing you would need to bear in mind is the rush hour traffic. During rush hour, getting onto the train is incredibly difficult when you're in Zones 1-3, because most of the people are already on it. If you want to be strategic, you would get on the train further from Central in say Zones 4-5 where there are fewer people on board (and at least be able to secure your own seat). This can quickly build up in Zones 1-3. You would also need to balance between the economics (travel cost, lower rent) and convenience (getting up later, not rushing as much).
If you don't need to be anywhere near Central, the easier it is.

When it comes to socialising, the activities you can get into in a city is limited to certain types. For example, you won't be expecting to go kayaking every other weekend in a city environment. Most people tend to go clubbing, dining, or bars. If this doesn't suit you, you're more or less going to live as a hermit or spend every other weekend getting away from the City.
Typical outdoor activities can be severely restricted to: cycling, walking, sitting on the green (some can be a little more creative and consider trainspotting as a sport). There are various sports clubs, but don't expect anything that isn't strictly based in some sort of room e.g. martial arts, gyms, writing, calligraphy.
In practice, people tend to work longer hours just to keep up with living expenses, so not a lot of people can really afford to go out as much. The only things I would use my room for are: sleeping, studying, inviting friends over, and probably get some minor gym equipment. If you are serious about getting in shape, you should really get a gym membership.
People also move in and out of London all of the time (and they're very quick about it), so I would keep your luggage light unless you really need to have some things. My rule of thumb is if it's not something you can put in a couple of suitcases, it should be left at home.

When making friends, it's pretty easy in London to meet people at a random bar and strike up conversations. The number of people who I network with just by talking to them is higher than that I would get elsewhere. Having said that, Londoners generally I find has a less friendly demeanor about them (don't expect people to be particularly courteous in traffic or when you disagree with them for example), and do expect people to be very competitive especially in a place where you're very much going against the best of the best and the city attracts all sorts of people who want the next opportunity. Some of these people can cheat or be underhanded, so keep your wits about you.
When approaching people, I find it easiest if I start with people on the courses or at the uni that I would be going to. At least there you would have a common talking point.
If you do get a room by yourself, getting to know your roommates tend to be very easy way to get to know people. It will take a while for some people to warm up to you, but so long you have something in common to talk about (e.g. having a similar age), you should get on fine. Do note, London is a cosmopolitan city, so you would expect a lot of people from all sort of backgrounds and nationalities there. Be open to learning about people from other backgrounds and you should be fine (some do segregate you based on your background though, so expect that).
Also when it comes to building relationships, you will have to put in effort to maintain them. There is somewhat a culture (due to the environment) where you can be cut off very easily and move on when the smallest even trivial things don't work out, partly because there are so many other people to meet. Sitting down and working things out is not commonplace in my experience.

As a film student, I would also strongly recommend that you spend a lot of time networking. This will pay dividends like crazy and might even be your only means of getting certain things in the city, where it's so competitive.