Money, Timeframe, Experiences, etc

For those whom have moved to the UK alone (no spouse or bf/gf) and with no immediate prospect of a job or a place to live (but maybe the possibility of staying with a friend anywhere from 1 to 5mo):

1) How much money do you think one should save prior to moving and how long should one plan to take to save that money, considering that they'd have bills to pay during the saving period?
2) What would you say is a good timeframe to plan to pay off bills and sort out other things prior to moving?
3) How long did your saved money last?
4) If not very long, what sorts of difficulties did you run into that you had to spend unplanned money on?
5) How long did it take to find a job and a place to live? (flat, houseshare, room, etc)
6) Which areas of England would you recommend for a single person to start off in?

Thanks in advance for any responses and if you can think of anything else along the above lines, for a single person, please add those as well

Wow.  That is a loaded question.

Won't it all be relevant to the
a) amount of debt you have incurred
b) the marketablility of your job skills
c) your willingness to sacrifice/desired quality of life for the short-term
d) your current income
e) whether your friend will let you squat (and for how long)
f) etc

As far as I know, it is very difficult to get work in the UK if you don't have a visa, a tremdous and rare job skill or a UK/EU passport.  Getting a visa would require an employers committment to you.  Unless you have a very specific skill, most employers will hire a UK or EU citizen over anyone else.  I think the law requires that they justify why they "have to" have you there, and it's it not worth it to fight for you, they won't.

Care to clairfy?

Spinky is a British citizen already, I believe.

Wow.  That is a loaded question.

Loaded question?
I'm pretty sure that a 'loaded question' is when someone asks a question that no matter what the answer is, it 'incriminates' the person who answers it!  It's like a trick question!

That's not what you meant, is it?   

Loaded question?
I'm pretty sure that a 'loaded question' is when someone asks a question that no matter what the answer is, it 'incriminates' the person who answers it!  It's like a trick question!

That's not what you meant, is it?   

I've also heard the term used as a synonym for a "heavy" or "difficult" question....I think that's probably what she meant.

Spinky is a British citizen already, I believe.

Correct, I'm a citizen.

Loaded question?
I'm pretty sure that a 'loaded question' is when someone asks a question that no matter what the answer is, it 'incriminates' the person who answers it!  It's like a trick question!

That's not what you meant, is it?  

LOL I've never heard that definition of "loaded question" - it usually means lots of parts to the question.

spinky, I think a lot of the answers are really heavily dependent on your personal situation!

I think you probably need to decide on where you're wanting to live (at least for the first couple of months) first, as that will inform the questions about how much money to save, etc.  If I were in your situation I'd want to move over with about 3-4 months of expenses saved up, but that might be a little conservative.  How long it will take to find a job will depend on what you're applying to, whether you're looking for temp or perm work etc- in my case, I got temp work immediately but I know others aren't as lucky.

As for areas- what kind of places do you like to live in?  City, town, rural? Are you planning on getting a car or will you be reliant on public transport? The north of England has a lower cost of living if that's a consideration (and I'm partial to Yorkshire since I live here, hehe!)

I've also heard the term used as a synonym for a "heavy" or "difficult" question....I think that's probably what she meant.

I've never heard that definition, but... i suppose it's possible!

**Apologies to the original poster!**    
  

Wow.  That is a loaded question.

Won't it all be relevant to the
a) amount of debt you have incurred
b) the marketablility of your job skills
c) your willingness to sacrifice/desired quality of life for the short-term
d) your current income
e) whether your friend will let you squat (and for how long)
f) etc

- Amount of debt = approx $5000 or less
- Income approx = $1650 per month but I will probably be getting a part-time job soon, so add approx $250 to that
- General Admin/clerical skills
- Willing to start off at the bottom of the barrel and accept any type of work and any sort of living arrangements (within reason)

I really didn't want to get too specific, I just wanted to get some sort of general sketch of how to plan for my first few months in the UK financially and get an idea of how far my money would stretch, depending on which region of the UK (England).  The timeframe that I've got in mind is January 2009.  My main plan is to try to get into a UK uni by then, but if that doesn't work, I'd aim for uni by Sept 09 and still would plan to move by January 09, and just work until I can begin Uni. Any thoughts, ideas, or advice is appreciated!

To paraphrase, I really was looking for people to post their personal experiences in different cities and how their financial situation, job situation turned out.  Was it possible to get a job immediately thru a temp agency or perm company? Were you able to find suitable living arrangements prior to moving and if not and you stayed in a house/flatshare or with a friend, how long did it take to find your own place? Etc. I want to be able to compare and contrast how other people did things, how much money they saved, etc prior to making my own move, if that makes sense.

ETA:  I know the region makes a BIG difference, which is why I want to sort of see how things turned out for people -- I'd prefer to live in the SE (preferably not London, although that is where my friend whom I might be able to stay with lives and I wouldn't mind starting out there if I knew I could move elsewhere soon)

Spinky, this probably wont help you because it was a long time ago, and things have changed, but I'll throw it out there anyway.

I moved over *sort of* on my own... i moved to Glasgow to be with a boyfriend, but once i arrived, he dumped me within a couple of months, so i was then on my own.  I wasn't allowed to work at that stage, but when I later became legal to work, I managed to get a job within one day.

I wasnt a particularly marketable individual... I was young, uneducated, and had no real experience at anything apart from reception and general office work.  But i got a job in a mortgage call centre, and gradually started learning about UK mortgages, and i just built on that experience over the years.   Sometimes it's just a matter of getting your foot in the door!

I had spent all my savings paying 6 months rent up front, so had nothing behind me and was probably just lucky!

You are still going to have to pay international student fees, and that will make a bit difference to your budget.

Vicky