Planning to move to London from outside UK, any advice?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi Dopers!

I’m a long time lurker on this board but only recently have found the courage to actually post something. I am in dire need of advice and as I have a very good opinion of this community I thought I might find it here :slight_smile:

In way of introduction, I currently live in Romania and I work in IT (I am a software developer with about seven years’ worth of experience). This being said, I have been in love with the English language for many years now, and I find Britain to be a very attractive country because of its extended history (I’m sort of a history buff too). I didn’t think much of it though until a few years ago, when I made a trip to London and have fallen head over heels in love with the city. And… I’ve been dreaming about moving there ever since.

I have of course already tried the obvious & safest route, applying to jobs there from the safety of my own home – as you can imagine it didn’t work that well (no one has ever contacted me, although my CV was perfect for some of the jobs). The fact that I, as a Romanian citizen, need a work permit to actually be able to work there didn’t much help, I imagine (I have always been honest about it and stated that up front, not wanting to waste any of my time or theirs). Nor did the fact that I was that far away physically.

Thing is, I am turning 30 in about a month, and I will not be getting any younger afterwards either. Which kinda infuses me with an “it’s now or never” feeling; it’s hard enough to leave everything behind, including the two cats I love and a flat that I own, even now; and I do not expect it will get any easier as I advance in age. So I am thinking I should give it one (rather desperate) attempt, by giving up my current job and moving to London, in hopes that by doing so I will be able to secure some interviews. I have contacted an agency that intermediates finding contract work, and if all goes well I should be able to work as self employed in about a month or so. If all goes well.

And… I do want very, very much to get to experience life in London first hand. I am fairly certain that it will not all be unicorns and rainbows, as it is far from being a perfect city and all that, but I still want to experience it. At the same time I am very, terribly scared of leaving all the certainties I have behind, and venturing into the unknown. What if I’ll end up regretting it? What if I’ll end up regretting it if I don’t?

I am currently trying my best to find some accommodation online. So far even that in itself is an issue (people seem to want recommendations for that, and the whole process might take a while, etc), which is why I have come here to ask for any advice that you might have to give me. Accommodation-related (where to find a cheap one, or how) and anything else-related too.

2

I did something similar, but from the USA to the Republic of Georgia. I’d strongly suggest having enough money to survive in London for 6 months to a year with no other income. We were able to rent an apartment after about a week in Tbilisi, so plan on the first couple of weeks being rather expensive… Maybe someplace slight outside London?

3

I think that’s good advice, though if you want to wing it, 3 months’ worth of savings might be enough. Getting a work permit for the UK is becoming increasingly hard, (I need one as well, and mine runs out next year) so you may want to look at the various paperwork that is necessary to make sure you will be able to work legally.

With London, you really have two options: live in London and pay a relatively high rent, or live outside and have a lower rent and quite expensive transport. I’ve always opted for the first, since I like living in the city itself. I pay £515 per month for a room in a shared house in relatively central but unfashionable east London, if you’re looking for an idea about rental costs. It’s an expensive place, I’m afraid. A lot of flats are offered on Gumtree (www.gumtree.com) but be very careful of scams there, including the “Transfer some money to yourself so you can prove to us that you have the money” scam, which a friend of mine fell for, much to her regret. I’ve been told that the best way of using Gumtree is to sign up for their premium service, where you get advance notification of properties before they are made available to the general public.

I think IT is a field that is now hiring quite extensively, so someone with your experience should not have a great deal of trouble finding work, and since you appear to have excellent English, that will only help. I’d say do it! It’s better to leap and find out that it’s not ideal for you, rather than have endless regrets later. At least… that’s my theory, although I must confess I have trouble living in accordance with that principle sometimes.

4

Do be prepared for how expensive it is to live here. It makes no sense, the difference in the cost of living. Do you know anyone who’s here already? Maybe consider getting in touch with some sort of community organisation - I don’t know if there is one for Romanian ex-pats, but there are for lots of others so it’s worth a try. Not that I’m recommending insularity, obviously, but they may be able to support you in any specific problems you may find. Have you considered sysadmin or similar in schools? I know the last two places I’ve worked have turned over IT staff fairly quickly as people got promotions/moved to corporate, so there may be openings. South London generally is cheaper to live in, by the way. This is a total stream of consciousness and shouldn’t all be one paragraph, so I’ll finish up by advising you to go for it with the proviso that you do need some money behind you before you arrive, whether you’re coming straight into a job or not. Being broke in London is Not Fun - trust me, I’ve been there.

5

Another common one is where a surprisingly cheap and luxurious apartment is advertised, but then they want to charge a fee for viewing.

Most of these scams are aimed at non-brits, IMO, because letting in the UK is comparitively simple and most brits don’t expect to pay fees.
(Except that there has been an unwelcome trend of charging an admin fee, especially in London. It’s generally the largest agencies that do this though, so it should be obvious whether it’s an outright scam or just a small scam prior to signing a legit tenancy :)).

6

Since the OP is really looking for advice, let’s move this from General Questions to IMHO.

samclem Moderator

7

Thank you guys, for all the encouragement and advice so far. I have to admit that scams are the farthest thing from my mind right now (being all caught up in plans, and comparisons, and calculations), so I do appreciate being warned.

I do intend to bring some money along, to last me for a few months, of course. However just how many months my resources will suffice largely depends on the price of the accommodation I am able to find (it being the largest expense, and all). I normally would not mind living nearer the edge of London, or even slightly outside it, but from what I understand (and Dervorin also mentioned) what I would save in rent price I may end up paying in transportation fees (plus quite a bit of time spent going to and fro). I hope I will be able to find something “in between” – not so central as to be too expensive, and not so far from everything as to end up paying lots & lots on daily commute either.

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We have lots of unemployed people here already so unless you have skills which are in demand and transfer easily, consider very carefully before coming. There is a need for interpreters for legal proceedings etc. but they don’t pay well.

9

Well, first of all thank you for not having a harsher tone :slight_smile:
I myself live in an “assisting state” – meaning that the number of people assisted by state, one way or another, is iirc more than twice the number of people that aren’t, so I know how sensible the topic could be.

However, I have a perfectly good job here, and well paid too. Which means I am used with a certain level of income, and, as much as I would love to end up living in London for a longer period of time, I most definitely don’t plan to end up starving there, or socially assisted (I am not sure whether I’d even qualify for social support anyway). My plan is to come, try getting a job as long as my resources allow me, hopefully find one in the mean time, or else go back home (but I would have the satisfaction that at least I have * tried* making my dream come true).

10

Do you have friends over here that you could stay with while looking for a place to live? That’s by far the best way to do it - you’re less likely to get ripped off then, and more likely to figure out where you really want to live.

Bear in mind that you’ll need to pay at least a month’s rent in advance plus a month’s rent as deposit, possibly more. Even with a very cheap houseshare, that means at least £1000 before you move in.

To be honest, it is going to be extremely difficult for you. There’s a lot of competition for jobs from people who don’t need visas. However, I have known others manage, so hopefully you will too. :slight_smile: