Slightly nervous (Moving to London)

DB was just offered a job in west London (Gunnersbury).  He's waiting for the contract to come through, but is now geared towards finding a flat in London. His job will start at the beginning of October, where my thesis deadline is the 30th September...so the timing works out nicely, but.. It makes me somewhat apprehensive. I love living in the city centre of Notts, because it's a nice small town that I now just about know like the back of my hand. Also, our rent isn't bad at all £425/month for a 1 bed flat.

I'm trying to see London as just a huge collection of small city centres, but am nervous about the fact that our rent is going to more than double, and even then we won't be living in as nice a place (...and council tax on top of that!) His salary will be enough for the two of us to scrape by I think (£23k + bonuses), but I'll definitely be needing to get a job and I'm not exactly sure how long that will take.

Mostly I'm worried about the cost.  I think it will be fun to live in London, since there's always something going on, and I love museums! (and when people in the US ask me ''How's London'', I'll no longer have to explain that I don't live in London )

How do you guys manage?  I'm concerned about the price increases in....everything. Rent, bills, food, transport, clothes, the one-offs of moving down there.  Right now we spend £20-30 on food for the week, does this seem like an appropriate budget there?
I also have had a bus pass for the year, which averaged to about £20/month.  I've checked tfl.gov.uk for this sort of thing, but it seems like all the buses and everything are hooked up to oyster cards.  I've already had my railcard discount applied to my oystercard, but unlimited travel at around £100/month is still quite pricey.  A way around this commute cost would be to simply live where we work, but   for me that's still TBD.

I've also been wanting to learn how to drive here, since as of last week, I've passed the 1 year mark.  I have my provisional license, but haven't taken the theory test or any lessons. I've heard london has one of the highest failure rates as well. I've been driving in the US for around 7 years, but only automatic.  I'm too busy focusing on completing my course work to get driving out of the way while we're still up here. (Plus, isn't the wait time between booking a test and taking it a few months?)

Oy vay, this has ended up to be a longer post than I expected.  If anyone has any tips, or can help me see the bright sides of life in london, please share!  In the meantime, I'll try not to stress. 

First off, Congratulations!

Now for area tips: Chiswick is lovely. As for a spot to be in London you'd be hard pressed to find a prettier village. Strong transport links to town, great supermarket and indie shop mix (butchers, fishmongers), pubs and restauants, close to the river. I love Chiswick. That being said, most of it is unreasonably expensive. You will definitely be paying more than 2x what you are paying now to be close to the high street. BUT you can find deals in Gunnersbury, near Chiswick rail line and north of Bedford Park en route to Acton. We were close to Turnham Green station and paid £975. Council tax for Hounslow is very pricey. There are parts of W4 in other boroughs that are cheaper.

I would recommend giving it a try around Chiswick. If you find yourself getting a job elsewhere, the tube line will get you into town in about 20 mins. The cost of living more centrally, and the lack of DH having to pay for transport (he can ride his bike) could make up for paying for location.

I can also recommend South Ealing and Northfields for lower prices, Kew and Richmond are generally up there, but you can find cheaper places further from the station (like North Sheen) and if you don't mind being a bit further out, Twickenham and surrounds like St Margarets and the lovely, lovely Teddington are all short bus rides away.

Costs will be more, you will likely pay £40 for your weekly shop now if you go to the butchers and not Sains, but me and my DH lived in that area on my £21k salary and his part time job and we were fine. Although it became so much easier when he went full time at a proper job!

Best of luck!

First off, Congratulations!

Wow, thank you so much!

I'm so glad to know that a) it's doable on that budget (I plan to pick up a Christmas retail job while I apply for big girl jobs), and b) that it's a nice area! I've done some Google Street views for a few places, and some areas seemed nicer than others. I also read that Hounslow has kept its council tax the same for the past 5 years, so that's also helpful.  DB prepared me by saying it will cost probably £250/month, but actually looking at the fees, the highest band is £233/month, and I doubt we'll be living in one of those fancy properties.

DB's going down on Monday and Tuesday for some flat shopping, but unfortunately I don't think I can afford (time-wise) to go with him.  I certainly trust his judgement, but I feel much better with you saying that it's a nice area.  I'm just so happy he got a job in the field he was striving for, and that living nearby will be feasible.

I figured getting into central london would be easy, but do you know anything about getting out of town from this area? I was looking at Kew Bridge Station, and see that there are trains to more southwest areas, like Weybridge and Woking. Do you know if there is any form of public transport that go straight west from the Chiswick area, to say Slough/Maidenhead/even Reading? There are quite a few pharmaceutical companies out there that I could potentially work for. As far as trains, I'm only seeing ones from Paddington station into Slough... but I don't exactly have a job yet, it would just be nice to know we wouldnt have to uproot after I find one so that I dont have a >hour long commute every morning and night..

DB prepared me by saying it will cost probably £250/month, but actually looking at the fees, the highest band is £233/month, and I doubt we'll be living in one of those fancy properties.

You'll have to be getting a pretty big flat for this price. I cannot remember exactly what we paid, but I feel like it was in the £100s. And we were in a good sized one bed. It was definitely the highest we'd paid, and we'd been in 2 beds elsewhere.

do you know anything about getting out of town from this area? I was looking at Kew Bridge Station, and see that there are trains to more southwest areas, like Weybridge and Woking. Do you know if there is any form of public transport that go straight west from the Chiswick area, to say Slough/Maidenhead/even Reading? There are quite a few pharmaceutical companies out there that I could potentially work for. As far as trains, I'm only seeing ones from Paddington station into Slough... but I don't exactly have a job yet, it would just be nice to know we wouldnt have to uproot after I find one so that I dont have a >hour long commute every morning and night..

From my experience, you want Southwest Trains, which go through Kew Bridge and Richmond. They go direct to Reading. Since you are thinking of getting your license, this won't be a big problem from there either (besides normal traffic) as the A40 is right there. Also, there are high speed trains from Richmond into Clapham Junction which will get you a lot further south west like Woking. Oh, and take a look at trains going from Ealing Broadway, the end of the District Line. I am not as familiar with these, but they could help as some of them come via Paddington.

I am very excited for you. Yes, London is expensive compared to other parts of England, west London even more so, but really, you will do great! And maybe I will see you around!

Ealing is definitely an area to consider if you want slightly better transport options. Chiswick is very nice, but only has the District line or overground and the District line is slower than Piccadilly or Central lines IMHO.

In terms of getting out via car this area has the aforementioned M40, as well as the M4 and M3 nearby. It's also near the A4 into London as well as the North/South Circular.

Not sure about London having a higher DL fail rate, but you can find out online which testing centres have "easier" test routes. I took my driving test in Isleworth a few years ago and passed on my first go.

GSK has a huge facility in Brentford if you're looking for pharma.

I think you will enjoy living in this area. London gets bashed a lot but I think it's an amazing experience to live here. Good luck!

You'll have to be getting a pretty big flat for this price. I cannot remember exactly what we paid, but I feel like it was in the £100s. And we were in a good sized one bed. It was definitely the highest we'd paid, and we'd been in 2 beds elsewhere.

I'm in a 2-bed flat in zone 1, and my council tax is just under £100/mo. I would think if you're looking at 1-bed, unless it's on the fanciest street in the fanciest council, you wouldn't be above that.

Don't stress; you'll be fine!!   

Chiswick is very nice, but only has the District line or overground and the District line is slower than Piccadilly or Central lines IMHO.

Agree with this (just another opinion though).  Ealing Broadway has train connections, the Central line, and the District Line.  Northfields/South Ealing/Ealing Common has the Piccadilly line.  Personally, I like the options so that if one line is running with severe delays, you have alternative options to get into central London.

I live in Ealing (on the recommendation of this forum actually ) and love it.  Eventually, if we're able, DH and I would like to buy somewhere around here.  We're renting a 1 bedroom flat in zone 3 and our council tax is just above £100/month.  DH and I spend about £50/week for our food shop, but food is something we do splurge on a bit as DH loves cooking.  A zone 1-3 travelcard is (I think) £128/month.

Aw, thanks guys! This makes me feel much better about moving, and now I'm starting to get excited!

I definitely agree that I'd like to have more than one tube/train option, so I told that to DB when he goes looking. I also suggested he get a bike, since his company participates in the Cycle to Work scheme, and it will give us a bit more flexibility with where we live.

Anyway, no more stressing about moving, just excitement! 
(But still stressing about finishing my thesis/dissertation on time  Only ~10,000 more words to go!)

Ok, so DB is down in London today,  and had gotten in touch with some agencies who had advertised online.  Apparently, the flats online either didn't exist in the first place, or were now unavailable (which is completely understandable).

However, he waited at one agency for at least an hour, and they then wanted to charge him £130 for a 3 month ''membership'' for access to all their properties.  He was looking for 1 bed flats in/around Chiswick, but all this particular agency had was over £1200/month. He walked out when they said they wanted to charge him £130 to just see the properties, with no guarantee of actually getting a place. (I figured if that was their version of an application fee, then fine, but since there's no guarantee of a place, then that's ridiculous!)

This..isn't normal is it?  He's now looking into doing a houseshare, but with that, I'm a) worried we won't have enough documentation of us having ''lived together in a relationship akin to marriage'' for the unmarried partner's visa, and b) feel like we're taking a step backwards (though, I could easily get past this) Having documentation of us living together is the main thing... So I'd prefer to live in a flat for just the two of us.

Does anyone have any ideas on this one? Or particular agencies you were happy with/suggest we try?  Are there any sites that private landlords advertise on? I've used sparerooms, but only ever end up finding houseshares, which I'm trying to avoid..

I've not flat hunted in 3 years, but it wasn't normal then!! Has he tried other agencies? I find it very hard to believe there is NOTHING in Chiswick for less than £1200.

I find it very hard to believe there is NOTHING in Chiswick for less than £1200.

My thoughts exactly. 

I think he's just frustrated enough today.. It's now 5, and most places will be closing for the day..The interview he was supposed to attend today (because he's a pessimist and thinks that the job offer that he's already accepted is somehow going to fall through) was cancelled 20 minutes before he was supposed to be there, and rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. So he had to go to the shop to find a shirt for tomorrow's interview, and then figure all of this out.

I'm going to do some more poking around and see if anybody's written any reviews on certain agencies in W.London, then have him contact the good ones tomorrow morning.

Sounds frustrating!

I used RSK but I don't know if they are in Chiswick. Had no issues and they still deal with the tenancy end of things. Barnard Marcus and Winkworth are both signs I see a lot of both in Ealing and Chiswick.

I could be very wrong but it sounds like the agency is just looking for some easy cash.

Good luck!

I have also not heard of charging a "membership" for the privilege of helping you look for a flat in London.

However, a quick look at the websites of 4 of the more well known London estate agents, who all have offices in Chiswick, Chesterton Humberts, Winkworth, Hamptons and Kinleigh, Folkard & Hayward came up with 1 bedrooms pretty much starting at £1200/month.

My searches are showing the same. 1 beds in Chiswick average about £1300 whilst in Ealing they average £1090.

Is your DB's heart set on Chiswick?

No, his heart isn't set on it, really....but he does want to be in walking distance to work, (TW8 9BW)...and from what it sounds like he means walking distance as in like 15 mins.
Since yesterday, I started to work on getting him to come around and live within a 30 minute walking distance, because that's still a super quick bikeride, and also means more transportation options in/out.

We're happy to pay the extra money for the right location, but also don't want to bank on me being able to get a job within the first few months.  So we're trying to find something under £1000/month, and then will reassess what we can afford once I find a job too.