A tad nervous about moving to London.

Yesterday my husbands company told him we have an opportunity to move to London (SoHo to be specific). The kicker is we have to let them know in 3 days and we would be leaving in 3 weeks. It's only a 6 month deal but I have a few concerns I was hoping could be calmed.

1- His company would pay for a flat in London and give us about $100 a day. Is this reasonable? We won't be bringing cars.

2- Will I be able to find a job? I currently work with insurance and investments, but I really wouldn't mind working at a local coffee shop.

3- Weather. I was born in Colorado and lived there for 10 years, but it was still usually sunny in the winter. Kentucky tended to be cold and dreary- usually was cloudy/rainy 5-10 days a month. Now I have lived in Orange County two years and it has rained all day once in that amount of time. No joke, I remember the day vividly. Anyways, this is perhaps my largest concern as I do suffer from seasonal depression. We would be living there from November-April. I want to travel and see Europe, but would it really be worth it?

4- I'm told my husbands ansestors are from England. The last name is Raynes and I would be very interested to learn more about that. My maiden name is Bruce and my family is from Scotland. We would love to learn more about out history.

Thanks for any advice!

Thanks for the help!

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I wish i could get that sort of cash for nothing, $100 is around £65 and to be honest is close to the average daily wage, thats if you don't get taxed on it, so if you can't survive on that then you need to stop buying Prada handbags !!

Soho, it's a great area and has changed quite a bit over the last few years, very cosmopolitan feel about it. Check out Mezzo's restaurant and Ronnie Scotts.

There are plenty of jobs around, even just working in a major shopping department, it maybe not what you want but the thing is, it's sociable and for six month you can make lots of good friends and have a bit of a life and see some of the sights that is on offer.

x

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Sounds good. Being that I don't buy Prada bags now, nor intend to ever own one, I think we should be good. We will definitely check out those restaurants and I don't care where I work as long as I have a job! Thanks again!

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u shuold have no trouble finding work - there are ALWAYS jobs going for waitresses, coffee shops, bars etc and there is a few threads on here that mention where to rent a cheap flat from - have a looka round in the subheading - moving to london in the categories section.

hope it helps a bit?

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The Prada thing was said as a bit of fun, but that is what you should make your visit, fun. !!!

Reason why i suggest shop work is that you have those moments where you can chill out and have a gossip, find out about people ( one of the things i do ) and make connections.

I'm not a Londoner but i have lived here for about 18yrs and it's a great place. It's really well situated so you can move that bit further out and check out other places like Oxford or Cantebury. You will enjoy London.

Did you know that Soho is London's redlight district.

x

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Red Light district? I guess I thought that was only in Amsterdam. I have a lot to learn in 3 weeks! As far as getting the job, will I need to get a visa? From what I have read (everything says something different), I will need to get one before I can work.

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Yeah you will need a visa to work. It shouldn't be that hard getting one for your stay.

Soho is also home to London's China Town, so you should check out one of the restaurants there, too!

And the weather thing - don't hold high expectations. It gets dark at about 4pm in the height of winter and it can get pretty cold and rains more than what you're used to for sure. SAD (that depression thing in winter months) is pretty common here, I think. But that said, winter in London can be nice, too. You get outdoor ice rinks and there's a real nice feel around christmastime.

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Exactly, remember there's no such thing as bad weather, there's only the wrong clothes!

You have to have a sense of humour about the weather in the UK and learn to love it otherwise it'll drive you mad.

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