Finding Accommodation in London for New Arrivals
London is a
huge, expensive city and finding accommodation can be a harrowing experience
for new arrivals. Fortunately there are lots of options. London
accommodation isn't limited only to renting a flat. If you are a new arrival
and want to live in London without
blowing the budget, you will need to get creative.
The cheapest accommodation in London
is actually free - stay at a friends place. If you have friends in London
milk their couch for all its worth because the other options get a lot more
pricey. It's something so common it even has a name: dossing. When you doss at
a friend's place you will sometimes be asked to contribute some money. The
going rate in 2005 was £5 per night but that has probably risen since then.
This usually goes towards paying the bills or appeasing their housemates with
beer money.
New arrivals without any friends in the city will find
themselves searching for the cheapest possible London accommodation while they look for a
more permanent place to stay. This is where backpacker's hostels come in. They
are geared towards young people and offer accommodation in dorm rooms at
amazingly cheap prices when compared with hotels. In London
you probably won't find places much cheaper than £20, but hotels go for a lot
more. To get the cheapest rate at a hostel you will be sharing your room with
other people, usually between six and ten to a room. What you lose in privacy
you will gain in new friends as hostels are very social places and are often
filled with other people looking to settle in London
for awhile.
Once you've got a good feel for the city and know what part
of the city you will be working in, it will probably be time to say goodbye to
dorm living in favour of a room of your own. Or maybe not it is much cheaper
to share a room with one or maybe even two other people. Basically, the more
people that are crammed into a house or flat in London,
the cheaper it will be for everyone. Some houses really take this to heart so
if you want to do things on the cheap, expect to live with a lot of people.
Having your own room is also an option but getting a place all to yourself will
cost you dearly.
Whatever option you go for, there are plenty online
classified sites for finding accommodation in London.
There are lots of hostel websites too if you decide you want that to be your
first step. Before moving into a place make sure it will be handy for work
because London is a big place and
you don't want to spend all of your time commuting. Do a bit of research, meet
your potential housemates and figure out your budget before committing and you
will be on the right track to find some quality accommodation in London.
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Comments
Excellent article that shed some light on this! I had a few questions prior to reading this article, but you have got them pretty much all covered.
Never liked London much but I wouldn't mind making a visit to go see a few art galleries again.
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