tips for the first time londoner plz?

hey guys, me and my girlfriend are moving over in sept, this thread has probably been done to death but anyway.

i have done heaps of reading got my bank account sorted etc etc and i think im on track but anything small things that any of you forgot when you moved over there that pissed you off and that i could learn from would be much appreciated

Do not, under any circumstances, live in Acton. Or Shepherds Bush. Even Hammersmith is barely acceptable.

http://www.gumtree.com/ for looking for flats but you do need to know what areas you are looking in. Try and get a tube and train map. Look near where your friends live - it will make London much more fun (if they live in Acton, slap them and tell them to move).

The most annoying things are very little things. All the washing machines are front loaders (get used to it taking a long time). Customer Service is shit. Good coffee is extremely hard to find.

The most difficult stuff is that you need an address and proof of address before you can do a lot of things (e.g. get a cellphone, and sometimes get paid). Proof of address means a letter from someone official.

If you haven't already, get some phone interviews now.

what sort of work will you both be looking for? I guess you're all clued up on the whole visa thing!

Seconded on the no Acton/Shepherds Bush.

Check out http://www.tntmagazine.com

snob

i forgot the most important thing to do before you come to london (ive been allmost 5 years now)

gird your loins




p.s i actaully own a buisness near acton, in a burb called harlsden, which im sure scares the shit of these other guys guys as well

just dnt believe the hype londons shitty all over it doesnt mtter where you live, its what you make of it !!

cheers guys!

will be looking for bar work, i have been bartending managing etc for the last four years.

I have a friend who is working in HR for waggamummas so i should be sweet to get some kind of work when i get there.

as for visas i have a shiny new british passport jelous much?

I think you mistake me - Acton is not "scary". Acton is just full of Aussie and Kiwi yobbish blokes, who are obssessed with Rugby and 'Snake bites', who live and work in Acton, all their friends are in Acton, and when they want a big, London night out - they go to the Walkabout in Shepperd's Bush.

People said to me - Why go to London? It's full of Kiwis and Aussies. London isn't really (I meet more Czech, Polish and Spanish peeps), but Acton is.

If you want to develop your beer/snakebite belly - watch more rugby - develop a cocaine habit - and wear an all black jersey for most of your time in London, then by all means - live in Acton.

New Cross is where its at!!!!

Yeah agreed, da East side is where it's at

south london is where its at !
Clapham / Brixton. I would never think of moving anywhere else.

When i first came to london, i lived in east london, and i said man i would never live in brixton..to gangsta for me!
3 months later im living in clapham, another month later im in brixton ! 12 months down the track im still in brixton. love it !
I found east london to be far more dodgy than the south.
However like someone said, its what you make of it, all of london is pretty shitty.

Don’t stay with the person you’re dosing with for more than a couple of weeks, unless you have advance agreement or are prepared to piss them off!

Good areas to flat are anywhere in Zone 2, North West London, like Willesden, Kilburn, Camden (can be pricey though), Cricklewood. (Acton, Shepherd’s Bush are all west, and yes they are a bit clichéd for Nzers and Ockers). South London is also pretty cool and includes Clapham. But as TM says best find where your friends are and set up camp there.

Get your bank to sort a credit card before you leave, if you can. Or at least make sure it’s a debit card bank account, not Visa Electron; there’s a difference and a debit card will mean you can for example order concert tickets online and not use your NZ credit card.

Be prepared to work a very shitty job for the first few months. With the exception of a few industries, no one looks at candidates fresh off the plane. It’s rare into a good job initially.

Be prepared to get a bit down in the dumps with the London blues for the first few months. See above.

If you can, book a weekend or two out of London (easyjet.com or expedia.co.uk) well ahead, so you can get cheap flights and help fight those London blues.

Make sure your mobile phone isn’t locked to Vodafone, if you have one of their phones.

That’s all I can think of for now.

if you get really hard up, come and see me, i might be able to give you a job, we hire all the time

that goes for anybody here really !!

Oi! I lived in Acton for almost 3 years and it was sooo much fun! Living anywhere in London is fine (as long as its not east!) hehe

What industry are you in Sonic? I am looking for temp work over summer.

As for London survival advice: London has so much to offer, sometimes too much! I think staying with friends or temp housing is a good idea until you geta feel for the area that you want to live in. I have enjoyed living in North London, and now Clapham, but wouldn't live in Acton, SB or Ealing if you payed me. Yuk.

There are loads of hidden gems to find in this city- great shops, cafes, clubs, people. It can all be a bit daunting and different at first, but well worth the effort of you can stick in there.

im a publican, i have a pub in NW10, so if your lookin for barwork, then im looking for someone to start pretty soon

Hey Sonics,

my flatmate currently works evenings until 3am at a bar in central London that she hates, largely because half her wages are taken up in the taxi ride home. We live in NW10. Which pub?

Stormy first of course, but given you live down in Clapham would you be that interested?

hey greenie, the pubs called the grand junction arms, its in park royal/harslden, just round the corner from harlsden tube station

come to the party this saturday by the way, its going to GO OFF !!!!

22 dj,s in door and outdoor areas, biggest outdoor venue (besides wembley of course ) in the area, right on the canal side, ful torque sound and light set up, not to mention friendly kiwi managment (thats me ) safe atmosphere with full security etc etc

phew, sorry bout the shameless plug, but email info@torquelondon.com to get your name on the doorlist for only 5£ entry !!!

Looking for Djs?

sorry mate not for this one, but if you email some details to info@torquelondon.com


allways looking for new talent !!!


come along on saturday anyway !!!! the bbq starts at 5

ah missed it all, I was actually at Wembley stadium yesterday! For the live earth gig, etc.

I'll get her to email you. How was the night? Reckon I could bring some choonz down myself next time

you havent missed anything !!! the party is this saturday comeing up, the 14th !!

Serbia this weekend.. bummer.

oooh I'm tempted. I have a bbq at my place that afternoon but we may swing down later, make the call later in the week

chur

were going to have the BBQ fired up as well during the day, since were running from 3 in the arvo

I've lived withbloads of Aussie/kiwi housemates in Acton & Shepherd's Bush - The areas are now pretty full with polish people and it seems the Aussie/kiwis have moved into Clapham etc....Depends on how much you earn I guess.
you may prefer living on the outskirts in kent
( Beckenham is only a 12 min train journey into london Victoria) - Much cheaper and more space to breath

BTW Come to platform 12 when you get here !!!http://www.platform12music.co.uk

1. Don't talk to anyone on the tube/bus stop/bus/street
They will look at you like you have a disease or they will be someone who you wish you hadn't talked to. (ie a real werdio)

2. If you wear hoodies, do not all costs wear the hood up anywhere, unless its like pissing down with rain or something.
This is because by wearing a hoodie up you attach other hoodies. And in London this means black dudes with knives or guns in their pockets.
Or the police will come over and hassel you for loitering as you look dodgy. As the CCTV can't see who you are (not good on tube) or you look like a real hoodie.

3. Don't put anything down anywhere, people will take it in .1 of a second.

4. Get a oyster card asap.. so much cheaper than travel passes etc..


I have been living out in East Dulwich in SE london, its near a dodgy area called Peckham buts its sweet (awesome bars, wicked people, hot woman (hehe), shitloads of resturants. and safe as 24 hours a day. Buts its off the tube map, but you will find that doesn't matter that much. As the bus system in london kicks ass. You can be back on the tube system in 15 mins. Rent prices drop off quickly when you are off the tube map.

when you getting over here dude..

hmmmm disagree with no's 1 and 2 - but each to their own as i've had many a random conversation (good ones at that) with people on the tube/buses.. even started a game of eye spy whilst stuck underground for a good half an hour... had about 14 people playing by the time we got moving

i walk around with my hood on quite a bit - haven't had any problems in the last year and a half...

definately get an oyster card - but just be wary.. they know where you are at all times

yeah for sure.. rules 1 and 2 are just a rule of thumb. Rule can be broken but honestly I have had and heard of many times when people had wished they had not broken it.

as for rule 2, it depends where are you in London. ie don't wear your hood up in Peckham, Vauxhall, Stockwell, Hackney, Brixton. But would probably be ok in central london. but again its at your own risk. Debz you probably also get away with because you are girl and the hoodies and police see you as less of a threat.

I went out on a date a couple of months back with a lovely English girl I asked out at the bus stop so bollocks to that rule!

And I've never had a problem walking around with my hood up. No police, no other hoodies with knives, nadda.

where do you live thou??

I live around Willesden but during winter my hoodie was up wherever I was in town if it was cold, to cover my ears. I mean maybe not around Brixton but then I wouldn't walk around alone at night in the back streets of Brixton anyway coz i is a honkie

indeeeeedly! ha you in ze nw hood (not hoody) too greenie?