dezgimed Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 H'ok, graduate next year. Likely destination to be Bristol or London. Yes, very narrow career scope eh...well sod it... Anyhoo, I am one of these people who will read something in the press, see the name London and think what a horrible dangerous shithole it is...and to be fair, I'm still not overly keen on it. Gangs, immigrants, terrorism, cockneys...nothing I wanna associate with.. What I wanna know is, is it safe? Whats it like? If you work in the City, can you live nearby, or impossible? Do you have to commute? Where is the scum based? Where is the crime? Etc. etc. Just seems I'll need to head that way for the first part of my career... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Parrot Posted August 4, 2008 Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 Simple - don't believe everything you read in the press. I spent 3 years in London for uni and just left after 2 years for work. It's all personal opinion but this is how I see it:- GREAT POINTS Superb buildings, great attractions and things to do on your doorstep, great bands and some amazing clubs/bars for all tastes. Simply put there are so many great things to do in London that you can't do elsewhere in the UK - make sure you make the most of it. Also for careers then it is a great place to be as the UK economy is so heavily focused on London. BAD POINTS It's just too big and it can take ages to commute between anywhere. You may plan to live on a tube line to work but to visit mates who are the other side of London, go to a club or bar outside of your usual area and it can potentially take bloody ages to get there and back. I used to commute from south London and spent 2 hours a day commuting and if I wanted to get home in the early hours cabs were too expensive so it could be pissed on a night bus for hour and a half. No nice. NOT A POINT AT ALL People moan about London being expensive but it's not really because the higher wages make it all relative. If anything it slightly favours Londoners because many things have a national RRP (think chocolate bars, phone bills etc.) so some things are relatively cheaper for Londoners. Besides while you can pay a lot of £ for clubs and bars there are also plenty of very cheap places - just need to know them. DIFFERENT It is different to anywhere else in the UK. You have some poor areas right next to some of the richest. You have some amazing landmarks. You have a mix of people but living near immigrants really shouldn't be an issue. Personally I think it's great in London the fact that you have such amazing ethnic mixes. I went to uni and worked with people who were from all over the globe. I worked near a Lebanese areas which made for great lunch time snacks! I used to live in an area with the best curry I've ever tasted. But anyway, London is big enough that you can keep yourself to yourself - so unless your bloody really boils at the sight of anyone who is an immigrant then I can't see how it'd be a problem. LIVING Yes, it's killer. The hope of buying is stupidly optimistic unless you're going to earn a huge wage so it'll be rent for now I imagine. To rent anywhere half decent in central London you'd most likely be looking at £100-150 p/week and that'd probably be sharing a kitchen and a bathroom with one or more other people. I suggest looking on Gumtree. The last place I was renting was a huge room, very central, double bed, huge sofa, large shared kitchen, shared bathroom (bath, shower, toilet etc.) but set me back about £160 per/week. I suggest you get a good location for work and share to keep costs down. AREAS There aren't so many no-go areas as such anymore to be honest. Brixton, despite what people say, is still a little dodgy. It's cool and interesting but not exactly safe. Bethnal Green/Brick Lane areas are similar - plenty of middle-class students starting to move in to those areas and they're a bit alternative and arty but not yet very safe. Generally speaking just go suss it out and see how it feels. Areas such as Bermondsey, Shepherds Bush, Camden, Islington are a lot better these days, have a lot of stuff going on and are well connected to central London so may not be bad shouts. Generally speaking - do not be too worried about London. It's big and fast and I don't think it offers great "quality of life" but it is exciting and offers some amazing things for careers and fun. If you know where you may be working then I can advise more on possible areas that may be good to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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