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sog35

sog35

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Jul 30, 2002
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I'm moving over to live and work in the UK in January. I'll be working in a town called Guildford which is 40 mins south west of London. I'm heading over with the GF and another friend who want to work in London (I think East Central - banking and finance area). We're trying to find somewhere in between. I've had Clapham recommended by a mate at work but am open to other suggestions / ideas. Anyone had any experience in the South West of London?
 
sog35 said:
I'm moving over to live and work in the UK in January. I'll be working in a town called Guildford which is 40 mins south west of London. I'm heading over with the GF and another friend who want to work in London (I think East Central - banking and finance area). We're trying to find somewhere in between. I've had Clapham recommended by a mate at work but am open to other suggestions / ideas. Anyone had any experience in the South West of London?
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I lived in London a few years ago. I lived in Shepherd's Bush and Earl's Court, but also stayed with friends down near Kingston and Richmond and Hampton Court. My advice would be for you to live close to a train line that allows your friends to get to the finance district (e.g. Bank-Monument) easily. Clapham on the south end of the Northern Line or Earl's Court - South Kensington on the District Line would do this. Clapham is closer, but out west is a nicer place to live I think, and there are a lot more Australians around. The trip will be less stressful for you each day going against the flow although your trains won't be so frequent. Just make sure you don't need to change lines too many times on your commute.

Finding a nice place to live is usually the biggest challenge. This mob http://www.interlet.com/ were brilliant when I was there. After 2 weeks of hassles looking through "The Loot" for a decent place to live, I paid 50 pounds and they found me what I wanted the next day.

Hope this helps.
 

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I lived in Guildford last year. Beautiful part of the world. For somewhere in the middle, try Woking.
 
I lived in hampton when i first moved to london which is in the outer south west london.

Wimbeldon would be a great place for you to consider as its not too far from central london, there is a HUGE train station with links to a large number of lines, not to mention its on the district line and only one or two stops from clapham which is pretty fun, not too far from fulham and richmond. Wimbledon is a nice area as well.

ps. get your work to transfer you to north london asap because it seriously kicks the s**t out of every other part of london. ;)
 
Yeah Wimbeldon is now the raging hot favourite after a bit of research last night plus its on the line out to Guildford (seems like a 30min trip).
 
I live in London now, around the Canary Wharf district. Clapham and Wimbledon areas are full of expats, so if your after that then this is the place to be.

Check out a website called gumtree. It has got cheap accommodation and other jobs etc for the London area. Places like interlet are just scams!! They ask for money first, then cannot guarantee to find you a place you like. I have known people to get a place, but more often than not, they get ripped off!!

Also go to the Transport for London website about the transport. Underground lines like the Northern Line, and Hammersmith and CityLine and the Cirle Line etc are terrible during peak hour, so this may influence your choice a little.
 
Pandas Dons said:
Also go to the Transport for London website about the transport. Underground lines like the Northern Line, and Hammersmith and CityLine and the Cirle Line etc are terrible during peak hour, so this may influence your choice a little.
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(add the central line to that list.)
:thumbsu:Excellent, this local knowledge should be considered very carefully, i can tell you that from my experience, if you're going to pay extra pounds to live near a tube then the lines that are good are the victoria, jubilee and the piccadilly - not sure about the bakerloo?:confused:

Anyway i reckon wimbledon would be a good choice for him considering he's working in guilford, he doesn't want to move too much closer to london and wimbeldon isn't so bad. I reckon anywhere in south west london (which is where he wants to live ) has more expats than north and east london, so he can't really get away from this.
 
TheBrownDog said:
I lived in Chiswick (West London)

Loved it.
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I used to root a girl in Chiswick - Loved it.

Depends what you want. Remember if you want to live out in the burbs, zone 3,4,5 you are further from the action. You get bigger and cheaper housing, but on the flip side, you are living in the burbs, tube tickets are more expensive and if you plan on partying in central London, cabs, mini cabs and the like can be quite expensive.

Once again, it depends what you want. Being from Adelaide, I wanted the big city living feeling and loved it. Couldn't imagine living that lifestyle now (I did it 10 years ago) but in my early 20's it was fun and exiting, but as I said it is up to you what sort of lifestyle you want.
 
Whilst I'd prefer to live away from the expats, the office I've been seconded to is in Guildford so the south west is really the only option. There are a few other places north of Wimbeldon that have been recommended.

The other thing with Guildford is that I'll generally be going against the flow so the tube is only a major issue for the friends I'll be living with.

Also thanks to everyone that has contributed so far, it's been really good. I've checked the Gumtree but find it too be a bloody mess.
 

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Personally I'd be more interested in rooting the girl from Chiswick than playing bloody cricket (did the guy above love rooting the girl or was it Chiswick he loved? Maybe both I guess. Equally so.:)

I'm very annoyed with myself for reading this thread... can't get that bloody Wombles from Wimbledon song outa my scone now.:eek:
 
Leper said:
Personally I'd be more interested in rooting the girl from Chiswick than playing bloody cricket (did the guy above love rooting the girl or was it Chiswick he loved? Maybe both I guess. Equally so.:)

I'm very annoyed with myself for reading this thread... can't get that bloody Wombles from Wimbledon song outa my scone now.:eek:
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The girl was actually from Sydney but her flat was in Chiswick. Didn't love Chiswick so much - too many Chelsea supporters.
 
if you haven't decided already i would actually be looking to be a near a rail station that has express or semi-express type of service out to guildford whether that be vauxhaull clapham or wimbledon to make your journey as good as possible( the times you've quoted ie 40 mins are prob if everything runs smooth )
cos your GF going into town to get to Bank will have a lot more options than you
 
Clapham is cool, I work just down the road in Battersea, some great bars (especially during the RWC) down by Clapham Junction station. It's the busiest railway station in the UK, so getting to Guildford is not an issue at all, it also has trains every 4 minutes to Waterloo, which is perfect as that is only one stop on the Waterloo and City line to Bank, in the City. Anywhere from Wimbledon, through Southfields to Clapham is cool, good connections to the Junction and to Victoria and wherever. Good luck.
 
It really boils down to a choice of three.

1. Clapham - super quick for both Guildford and City. Got a big Aussie population. Clapham Common is a must during the day. Easy to get around. Plenty of Nightbuses through. Expensive side of the rent market. (Some places just away from Clapham which still suit - Balham and Wandsworth) - Closest of the three to Central London. Close to Wandsworth Demons BARFL side

2. Wimbledon - Access to the crappy District Line (nightmare in summer) but also overland to Waterloo and Guildford. Nice Village feel, but not as many Aussies. More South Africans around. Rent is relatively expensive still. About Zone 4? One or two nightbuses only. Close to the Wimbledon Hawks BARFL side

3. Surbiton - about 40 minutes from London and Guildford. Zone 6, but nice out on the Thames. Close to Kingston for shopping, and easy to get out to Surrey. No nightbuses I can remember, taxis from the city expensive, but trains run late to Surbiton (like around 1am to 2am). Still expensive rent.

Hope this helps. I have lived in all three, all are good fun.
 
Just bumping this thread..

People who have working in the UK for a few months... would you suggest going through a program like londonpubs.com or doing everything yourself? I can see how there would be less hassles etc.. with a set program but paying $600 seems a bit steep.

Also would it be a good idea, if I do decide to work in a pub, to get an RSA or do some course that gives me some experience. And are there many other jobs out there available that require little or no skills/experience?
 
To be honest if you have no experience working in pubs perhaps an agency would be the best option - I worked in pubs around London for about 14 months (never actually in London though - would've liked to however it was extremely hard to find jobs with accommodation included) there's no point in getting a RSA as they won't accredit it over there and as long as you're over 18 there are no qualifications needed.

Also if you don't do it through an agency you'd have to get over there and then start searching for jobs as it would be nigh on impossible to organize yourself whilst still in Australia.

Obviously if you have experience that's advantageous if it's possible maybe work a few shifts at your local or if you feel confident enough create a few fantasy jobs which give you some experience on your CV (prospective employers are pretty unlikely to actually chase you up on these and ask for proof/a reference). ;)

Hope this helps. :thumbsu:
 
Lived in Lambeth when I was over there 2 years ago, which is between Waterloo and Clapham, just south of the river... was like a 30 min walk to central London and work, near the Bakerloo line... partying it up in central London was pretty easy any night...all I had to do was find the London Eye and then I knew how to get home from there... walking along the Thames with a view of Parliament and Big Ben to your right.... loved it and can't wait to visit again later in the year
 
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