A Room to Call Your Own

If any part of the big move to London will test you (apart from the weather) this will be the one that sorts the proverbial men from the boys.  Don’t let it get you down though. That fab flatshare is just around the corner if you know where to look and if you know how to go about it.

Having some accommodation lined up for when you first arrive is the only way to go. Takes the stress off yourself and gives you a base to start hunting for that room to call you own. If you’ve got any family or friends over in London or the UK already, call in all your favours and beg them to let you stay over for just a week or so until you can find a place of your own. Having somewhere to stay rent free will be an absolute godsend. I was lucky enough to have an Aunt who lives in Chelmsford ,which is only about 45mins outside of central London so I would commute in to do the touristy things and wasn’t too far away if I did get a call back from one of the countless emails I sent out enquiring about flats I’d seen on Gumtree.com. (very popular trading post style website which is also used to advertised flat shares)

But be warned, London flats and houses are quite small and you can overstay your welcome if you’re not careful and very mindful and grateful that someone is letting you sleep on their couch/floor/bed. Generally you should offer to pay dossers rates which is currently about £5 a day to contribute towards bills and upkeep of the place. This is a bargain compared to what you’d be paying to stay in a hostel in the Summer so it’s really not much money to part with when you think of how convenient the arrangement is for you while you look for a place. Also it never hurts to offer to cook meals, help with the shopping, clean up etc. Essentially suck up as much as you can because this person is a lifesaver!

My experience with finding my first flat in London wasn’t as painful as I was expecting but it wasn’t a walk in the park either. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to stay at my Aunt’s place until I found my own place which really did take the pressure off but at the same time I hate putting people out so made finding a place my number one priority once I’d been offered my job in writing. I would hate to find out how many hours in total I spent on gumtree trawling through the hundreds of posts about various places that were available and trying to work out how to send the perfect email so that I would sound like a desirable flat mate that would warrant a call back. It's almost like applying for a job! You see the ad, you make an application and you cross your fingers for an interview to show them what a valuable addition you would be to their team.

The interview can be a very daunting experience and I have heard some crazy stories from friends who have also been through the whole process. Most of the time you'll get invited over and you'll have a causal chat with some of the people living there who are looking to fill a spare room and you'll be able to get a vibe of the place and the current occupants can suss out if you're a good fit for the flat. One of my friends was actually pitted against other potential flat mates in a game show style debacle where they were all sat on the couch and questions were fired at them and each one had to try and come up with a more impressive answer than the last person. Another friend was asked if he had any ilegitimate children they should know about. Others have been asked all kinds of outrageous and sometimes personal questions. This unfortunately is not uncommon as most of the time there are more people looking for flats then there are flats available so occupants have the luxury of making people work for the spare room and the priviledge of being chosen above the other applicants to move in.

But don't dispair. Just be your charming self and try not to think about it too much. I've interviewed potential flatmates and it's very obvious when someone is trying too hard and just saying what you want to hear and then you become suspicious that they may be a part time serial killer or something... what are they hiding? The people that get the flats are those who are friendly, laid back and relatable. Just walk in with a big smile and have a look around, ask questions and see if you have any common ground with the current occupants that will make you memorable. I was so nervous when I went to look at the room for the first flat I lived in but as soon as I walked in I knew I loved the place as the vibe was totally what I was looking for. Didn't hurt that everyone who lived there was either Aussie or Kiwi. I answered all their questions and asked questions back and worked out that we all shared a love of rugby so we had a good old sport chinwag and then I thanked them for letting me see the place, told them I was keen if they were and headed back to the tube station to begin the long journey back to the spare room at my Aunt's place. 5 minutes later I got a text saying they'd love me to move in and after a month in the UK I finally had a room to call my own. I then moved in and lived blissfully for 12 months with 6 other flatmates. 7 of us in one flat! Not uncommon at all.

Always make sure that someone knows exactly where you are going and make sure you have your phone on you at all times. It never hurts to bring a friend along or make them wait around the corner for safety precautions. You are after all going into a strangers house so you must always have your wits about you and trust your gut instinct! If you walk into a place and instantly don't feel safe, don't be afraid to thank them but inform them you are not interested and get out quick smart. Be open minded... but always be street smart!

If flat sharing isn't for you, then you can always look at renting a flat to yourself or with a partner/friend/family member. There are more real estate agents over here than you can poke a stick at who will also be in charge of managing the property so you can shop around and see what agent takes your fancy. My current flat was found through an agent called Dexters which have been great so far. I locked myself out of my flat the other night when I was taking out the rubbish and the door shut behind me and they rushed over with spare keys to let me in. Can't complain! But if you're looking for listed places through agents a great website is www.findaproperty.com who list places from different agencies. That's where I found my lovely little Putney gem.

But most importantly, where do you want to live? I had no idea what the quality of suburbs were when I was looking but I did notice there was a massive price difference between some places and realised something must be up. My mate Dave and I devised a system where I would tell him the name of a suburb I was looking at a gumtree advert for and he would either give me the thumbs up or refer to this suburb as a scene from The Bill (old british police drama).

Thumbs up = good

The Bill = bad... very bad.

Where you will end up living will depend on your price range, proximity to where you work and availability. Essentially you need to work out what your priorities are and how much they are worth to you financially. Me personally, I'm happy to spend a little more to live in an area that I feel is safe and is quiet. But if you're up for a crazy party every night and will barely ever be home and don't want to spend extra to live in a nicer area, then you'd go for somewhere different which is cheaper. You can kind of generalise what a suburb will be like depending on the geographical location.

North is where all the celebs live and there are ridiculously lovely and expensive suburbs but there are also really cool, indie kind of places to. North is where the party is happening. Suburbs that stand out: Regent's Park, Primrose Hil, Hampstead Heath, Camden.

South is a bit more chilled out and has some really beautiful places and lots of really lovely parks but also some busy and happening areas. Suburbs that stand out: Wimbledon, Putney (which is where yours truly lives... and loves!), Clapham, Fulham, Greenwich, Southwark, Richmond, Brixton (but be wary about going out alone at night in some parts of Brixton though)

East can be a bit hairy in places but is nice and cheap and has some really cool areas. Suburbs that stand out: East End (particularly Shoreditch which is a great night life spot), Spitalfields, Brick Lane (great curry), London Fields, Docklands.

West and the South West is referred to as the 'Southern Triangle' as it is full of Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans. Lots of really great places to live but has gotten a bit more expensive in recent years. Suburbs to note: Shepherd's Bush (Shebu to the locals), Chelsea, Kensington (both very pricey), Notting Hill (yes just like the movie), Chiswick, Barons Court and Acton.

So how much should you expect to pay in rent? Well the short answer is... a lot! People aren't kidding when they say London is an expensive city to live in and because it's so fabulous people will scramble over each other to pay for the priviledge. But again it really depends on where you want to live and what your priorities are.  It also depends on your annual salary of course.

Some places will include bills in the monthly cost and some will be additional so it's always important to suss that out when you go for the interview. My first place was bills and cleaner included and we also had a flat account for loo paper, cleaning stuff internet costs etc. That was really great but not every place does the same thing. I was paying £500 a month for that room in Putney (which is a beautiful area next to the Thames in the South West of London) which was way more than what I wanted to pay but in the end location, safety and convenience won out and I shelled out the extra cash each month. To live in a nice area in a nice place you should expect to pay that much per room give or take a £100. Some of the less popular suburbs can cost you half that but you do get what you pay for. Before you move over to London have a squiz at gumtree.com to suss out how much the rooms are going for as it's always changing as housing prices always fluctuate.

Good websites to use:

www.gumtree.com

www.spareroom.co.uk

www.findaproperty.com (if you're looking to rent a whole flat out yourself and not flat share)

I think that's all the words of wisdom I have about finding a place to live. Hopefully it's been helpful in some way.

Well best of luck with the house hunting!

Lots of love from London,

Jess

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