Moving to London from Slovenia

Hi everyone, my questions probably aren't difficult, but there are many...

So, I'll be moving to London in January 2011 with my boyfriend (he's British, I'm Slovene). Luckily, we already have a flat to our disposal in Twickenham (courtesy of boyfriend's mum), so we don't have to worry about the rent. Still, I'd like to know more about the costs of living in London:

How much do the average utility bills amount to? We'll be living in TW1, probably will have a TV, and of course telephone and broadband. I'm not really sure how much the council tax is there, but I was thinking monthly bills shouldn't be higher than 200 pounds? Am I wrong?

How about bank accounts? Is it easy to get one if you're foreign (I am from the EU, joined 2004)? How long does it take to get one? I'm thinking of getting one with HSBC, what would you recommend?

Food. We're thinking of buying our food online (Tesco or Sainsbury's), which is probably cheaper (in that we won't spend a stupid amount of money on snacks & co. while walking around the tempting shelves). How much should we spend a month for food? We're not big spenders, but don't really want to buy the cheapest possible stuff if it means the quality's really bad.

Also, mobile phones. I'd like to get a contract, but I'm not sure how much should I pay per month. I don't use a mobile that often, but I'll probably need one asap when I get to London just for job hunting.

Speaking of jobs, I know that's a hard question to answer to, but how wasy is it for a foreign person to find a job in London? I'm a Sociology graduate, my English is as fluent as my Slovene (written and spoken), and have a lot of experience in customer service (worked in a book store for three years). I know I shouldn't expect a pearl of a job the second I land, so I'm ready to take on everything, even if it means doing some crappy admin temp work for a few months and looking for something better in the meantime. Anyway, any comments or personal experiences will be much appreciated.

Having said that, I'll probably need a lot of money for my first month in London, as I probably won't find anything for the first few weeks. How much money should I bring with me for the first month?

Ok, I guess that's it for now. Thank you guys for your answers, I need as much advice as I can get.

Cheers, Martina

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I recommend Santander Bank for opening an account. They'll set it up while you wait.

Buy a pre paid phone card in any mobile phone shop for £5.

I leave the other questions for someone else. :cool:

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Thank you! Any other advice maybe? :-)

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Utility bills vary between companies and obviously depends how much you use and the time of year. And whether you have gas as well as electric.

Broadband deals you can get very cheap now and you can google the costs easily. You should also be able to google the cost of council tax in Twickenham, my guess is that it would be less than £200 per month.

I don't understand what you mean by 'bad quality food' - this is the UK, the supermarket food is just fine. Prices are expensive here so bare that in mind when you budget for food, but I wouldn't have a clue how much to tell you what to spend, everything and everyone is different. Take a punt, like what you do when you go on holiday and multiply by however many months you are going to be here.

You want to know how easy it is for a foreign person to get a job in London? Well first, we don't discriminate, if you are in the EU you have a right to a job but we are in recession if you don't already know. Perhaps you should google the unemployment figures in London, it isn't EASY for many people right now.

Best of luck mate, I hope you enjoy it here and everything works out

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Thanks!

Well, in my experience ASDA brand food can sometimes be fairly shitty in comparison to I dunno, Sainsbury's or Tesco (but that just might be my bad luck) - but of course it's fairly cheaper than the others as well - that's what I meant by not wanting to buy cheaper food if it means it's less quality.

About work, yeah, I've heard about recession, Slovenia's not that far away, and we're quite deep in it as well ;-) I'll try with the temping agencies at first anyway...

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One thing I can say is Twickenham is a nice area. It's not too far from me. My council tax a month, for two of us in a one bed flat is about £140 a month. I think just under. It depends on your 'banding' though, how much you are asked to pay.

I'd say Electricity on average is about £30 a month, give or take for the average household/couple.

I've used the Tesco home delivery service, but I'd say get fresh things yourself in the shop. just have some restraint with wasting money on things you don't need. Might be tricky at first, but you'll soon learn!!

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Excellent contribution :)

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I think everything else has been covered but I'd suggest for your mobile phone that you try a pay-as-you-go deal as that will be an easily managed cost with no surprises. Maybe get a contract when you've settled in.

Also, I don't think you'll struggle to get temp admin work given how good your English seems to be, just try a few agencies and you'll be able to gauge how the job market is at the mo.


Good luck, and welcome to London :)


AIL Staff

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Heh, easier said than done :-D Lack of self-discipline in the food department is my trademark ;-)


Thank you guys for your answers, greatly appreciated!

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There's nothing wrong with the quality of the food in ASDA, you must have been unlucky or you're just a fussy eater

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