Y

Hi folks. I'll be graduating from college here in the US this summer, and with the job market being so tight, I wouldn't rule out searching for a job overseas. The first place I would look would be London, but I realize that I know nothing about which neighborhoods might be good to live in.<BR><BR>I'll be graduating with a computer engineering degree from a major university, so I'm hoping (maybe wrongly) that I can get a job that pays pretty decently if I were to go there. I know London is an older city, but I'd like to have a good place to stay if I was to go there. I don't really know a whole lot about how much nicer apartments cost there, so I'm hoping someone can give me a rundown of the metro area neighborhoods, the quality of each area (crime rates, age of most dwellings, etc), and the general pricing of apartments in each neighborhood. Whew! Hope that's not asking too much. (Maybe a lifelong Londoner will help me out.)<BR><BR>If ya can't give me all the info yourselves, I'd appreciate being pointed in the direction of a helpful website as well.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance!

Sam

I know someone that lives in Palace Court which is a street between Gloucester Road and Hyde Park (southwest corner). The neighborhood is nice but it's expensive. The shops in Kensington are close by.<BR><BR>I think the problem you will find is that rent is expensive.<BR><BR>There is a government website that gives statistics for different areas. I forgot the exact URL.

PatrickW

The prior question is finding work legally. You can't just come over on spec to look for work. Visit the Government's Work Permits (UK) site first: http://194.203.40.90/default.asp?pageid=1558<BR><BR>As for where to live, I believe there have been earlier threads mentioning websites for US expatriates in the UK which should answer many of your questions. Most UK residents in your position would expect to rent a room on a flat-share basis to begin with, and to commute some distance to work in order to find anywhere both affordable and liveable. The London Evening Standard and Loot (a weekly magazine) are the main sources of ads for places to live, but maybe the ads are not on the web (Loot is actually very useful as it lists properties by postal district rather than an estate agent's idea of a district name).<BR> <BR>www.upmystreet.com will search various official and unofficial sources of information related to any given district.<BR><BR>

Ben Haines

In my middling area of unfashionable south London, called Telegraph Hill, the windows of a local estate agent yesterday Parkers, 180 New Cross Road, New Cross, London, SE14 5AA England showed that the cost of a flat with living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom is about 150,000 pounds, and with a second bedroom is 220,000. I think these prices apply also in Lewisham, Peckham, and Herne Hill. In south London they rise by fifty pounds if you get close to a tube station, and they double in Camberwell and Brixton, which have fast public transport connections to the City and West End. From this you gather that the central point is transport: to drive daily to and from work in the city is almost impossible, and when you get there you will find no parking. For my working life I cycled the six miles each way, and that let me live where I liked ? and my goodness I like Telegraph Hill. But then people perched on each hill of South London get fond of their place. Our family have always used Burnet, Ware and Graves, www.burnet-ware-graves.co.uk/ . A page that lists some estate agents, but only those who pay a fee to the webmaster, is http://www.accommodation.com/areas/south_east_london_agents.htm<BR><BR>I shall not touch on north London, where I know nothing. If you use Google for estate agents Highgate, or whatever, you will find long lists of firms eager for your business. But in fact as Patrick says you are more likely to join in a shared rent, which, also, agents can organise: please try Google on tenancies Highgate, or whatever.<BR><BR>You seek a rundown of the metropolitan area neighbourhoods and the quality of each area, crime rates, age of most dwellings, etc. In south London there are many and in north London fewer areas of social housing, tower blocks on legs in grubby green areas, with shuttered shops, graffiti and police who walk in pairs. Crime is high there. Away from those areas women walk home alone (as my Dutch tenant used to) at midnight without qualm: my present, woman, house guest is walking home thus at 9.45 pm each evening. The local newspaper reports muggings at times, but then that is how you sell newspapers.<BR><BR>Areas of new flats and houses, built since 1990, include the Docklands, both banks of the Thames, and Chelsea Village: a one bedroom flat costs about 600 pounds, I think. Some of them have steeets begind locked gates that need swipe cards to enter, and no guest of yours can pass that gate till you press a release button ? not my idea of civilised living. These areas are very safe, but just outside them there have been bouts of thefts of Rolex watches.<BR><BR>Some top areas of nineteenth century grand housing include Belgravia, Chelsea, and Westminster, and there a one bedroom flat is easily a million.<BR><BR>Welcome to London<BR>

Kate

I went through all this a few years ago when I moved to London from Canada. The whole process is quite overwhelming!<BR><BR>To start, expect the rents to be much higher than you're used to and the flats to be less than ideal. However, the vibrancy of the city and all the benefits would certainly make it worthwhile. I've lived in South London and North London and I have had friends who've lived in many different areas so I may be able to give you a few hints.<BR><BR>Instead of going into a huge amount of detail here, please feel free to e-mail me with any specific questions you have.

John

Rents are kind of like NYC.<BR><BR>In the real plush parts like Mayfair $2,500 a month will not get you much more than a very, very, small studio with a very small bathroom off it. Much like Manhatten. You may well also have to pay an annual service charge of between $2,000 - $20,000 per annum. In addition you will have council tax to pay and utility bills (which are more than in the US).<BR><BR>On the other hand you can live in Elephant and Castle (E&amp;C) which is very central for $1,000 a month in a studio without any service charges. E&amp;C has a lot of social housing and is more like living in Queens.

Y

Cool, well thanks for the information. I guess London is pretty expensive, though it would definitely be cool to live there for some period of time.<BR><BR>Basically I live in a typical American suburb. Low crime, good schools, clean sidewalks, newer homes, etc. I know I won't find something like that in a huge city, but really I'm just trying to find something decent, whether in the city or out in the suburbs. Of course it'll probably end up expensive, but I'll just have to see what comes up. I suppose the best way to find what is available is to actually contact an agent in London.<BR><BR>Thanks, and keep the info coming!

xxx

Your chances of finding an IT/computer engineering job in London are not very good. The jobs may be there, but so is strong competition from British applicants and very few employers will get you the work permit you need to work legally. These aren't the kinds of jobs you can do &quot;under the table.&quot; We also work in IT and there are not many full time jobs around. The work is there, but employers prefer to outsource with contract workers rather than hire someone full time. Another limit on your getting a work permit.<BR>www.jobserve.com will show you the kinds of IT vacancies available and you can contact the recruiters listed with each vacancy, but don't expect much in the way of serious response. You should try to visit the UK for several weeks and meet with recruiters personally (if they will give you an appointment). <BR>Essentially, you're letting the tail wag the dog. Even in London, finding an apartment is small beer compared to the challenge of a non EU citizen finding legal job that pays enough to live on.

Melissa

I echo the last response. I have been living and working in London for over a year now, and even with my work permit (which I automatically received because it's linked to my husband's work permit), I have found it extremely difficult to find a job -- and I have a graduate degree and seven years work experience. The economy here is just as tight as the US (and the salaries must lower), and when companies are letting Brits go, they are not about to hire an American and have to go through all of the legal/paperwork required to get an expat a work permit.<BR><BR>sorry to be so discouraging, but unless you have a bit of savings and can afford to come over here and give yourself quite a lot of time to look for a job, I wouldn't jump the gun.<BR><BR>The thing is, without a work permit, you can't even get a job in a bar or a shop, while you are searching, so you will be very limited.<BR><BR>You may also have a tough time getting a visa to come without a job or without plans to go to school.<BR><BR>Granduate school would be your best bet -- then I believe you can work part-time and get a student visa.<BR><BR>Again, the first thing any company or headhunter is going to ask you is if you have a work permit -- no headhunter will even work with you if you don't.<BR><BR>Now you have a pretty specific degree it sounds like, so you may have more luck finding companies that really need a unique skill, so maybe it won't be as tough. But before you worry about a place to live, I'd explore the job market/work permit thing a bit more.<BR><BR>Best of luck!

Emily

Y<BR><BR>Check out BUNAC. This organization has a Work in Britain program for US college students and recent college graduates. You can get a work permit and work in Britain for 6 months. I know many people who have done this and it was a great experience. http://www.bunac.org/usa/workinbritain/default.asp<BR>

kim

Another thing you might want to consider is to work at a large American company (IBM is a good start) that maybe has international satellite office so that you could transfer after a year or two of employment with them in the US.

Xenos

I think that even if you worked for an American company, they would still have to put forward a good argument that you were the best candidate for the job (i.e. better than EU citizens) before you could get a work permit.

PatrickW

And if you are thinking of coming on spec to look for work, make sure you arrive with a return ticket, enough money for an initial stay and nothing to suggest you might be coming to look for work (such as a printout of this thread). Immigration officers can search your baggage if they think you're not quite honest with them, and if they find something to suggest you don't intend to go home at the end of a tourist trip they can simply send you back on the next flight. And they do.