London, UK members chime in: Moving there from USA (SoCal)

[thekryptonite]

London NT'er checking in. Do you wanna go to an Arsenal match when you're settled in?

 

[Thierry Henry]

London NT'er checking in. Do you wanna go to an Arsenal match when you're settled in?

If he doesn't accept your offer, I'll be more than happy to go

 

[kdawg]

Yeah, but make sure that "go to an arsenal match" isn't slang for something else before you take up that offer.

 

[thedopewizard]

Wussup Guys! Haven't posted much if at all since the site redesign. I currently live in southern California and am in the online advertising space. My current employer has reached out to me about a potential opportunity to relocate to our EU headquarters in London. I know next to nothing about living in the UK. I have traveled there in Sept of 2010 for work and was there for about 10 days. At the time, I was just taking it all in and being a tourist pretty much. I wanted to ask you guys a couple questions about moving/living in the UK.

To set the landscape, here are some details:
- current US income ~ $55-65k
- currently renting 3br apt ~ $1k/mo (my share w/ utilities)
- no real debt outside of credit cards
- I'm single, late 20s
- grew up in chicago, prefer big city life over suburban life
- move likely to happen April 2013

Company details:
- will be providing moving expenses
- will be living there between 2-4 years
- anticipated salary will be 25% higher (in pounds) based on cost of living (est. 48,000 pounds)
- office is located in Central Saint Giles. I remember it being around 3 blocks away from the British Museum.

Here are some of my questions:

1. Ideally I'd like to live within a 30-40 minute commute to work. What amount should I expect to pay for a decent 1br apt? How big are they? 600 sq ft.? 800? 1,000?

2. Considering the location of my office, what areas should I consider looking for an apt?

3. What utilities do you have to pay for? Electricity, Gas, Trash, Cable/TV, etc.?

3. How much do you have in pay in taxes (US ~ 25%)?

4. What is a comfortable salary to earn living as a single male in the UK? 35,000 pounds? 50,000? 80,000? My salary is negotiable.

5. How much would I likely be spending on a Tube fair per month/year?

Any feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated, NT!

lol stay where you are brother uk is ****, take my word for it

 

[raffstylexx]

I lived in UK for more than 2 years back in 2008, from a small city in oregon to small town (1hr from london) in UK. I moved there to be with my wife and my kid.

Weather played a big factor in changes i experienced back then, as well prices of things around you... living from 0% sales tax jump to 17%( now i think its 20%). houses/apartment are pretty small compared here in US, We have GAS for heating but most of the time we use electric heaters to save some money. we dont need to warm the whole house if we are staying in one place like bedroom. we dont have cableTV, regular broadcast is fine but you can add channels with freesat box just pay the TV box and get free subscription. living single with a good job i guess you'll be fine..idk. London TUBE line is good. easy to learn IMO.

Things i enjoyed in UK
Football
Formula 1
Import cars from JAPAN! R34,S15,TYPE R & SUPRA! even though never had 1.
Sausage roll, Kebabs, Fish and chips.
Topgear and some British humor.
Nike & Jordan releases
&
NUTS magazine

Things I miss from US
SUMMER
SUN
Warm weather
NBA,NFL,NCAAF
Refillable SODA
SUNSHINE
SUMMER
SUN
Food
MY family & friends |I

 

[41239]

I'm obviously not from England, but I feel like a 600 sq ft apartment would be huge over there 


I truly hope you pick up an accent while you're there! What do you do for work if you don't mind me asking?

no, please dont pick up an accent

theres nothing more annoying than a fake accent, or Americans who adopt an accent to seem more cultured

 

[n0toriousbee]

I lived in UK for more than 2 years back in 2008, from a small city in oregon to small town (1hr from london) in UK. I moved there to be with my wife and my kid.

Weather played a big factor in changes i experienced back then, as well prices of things around you... living from 0% sales tax jump to 17%( now i think its 20%). houses/apartment are pretty small compared here in US, We have GAS for heating but most of the time we use electric heaters to save some money. we dont need to warm the whole house if we are staying in one place like bedroom. we dont have cableTV, regular broadcast is fine but you can add channels with freesat box just pay the TV box and get free subscription. living single with a good job i guess you'll be fine..idk. London TUBE line is good. easy to learn IMO.

Things i enjoyed in UK
Football
Formula 1
Import cars from JAPAN! R34,S15,TYPE R & SUPRA! even though never had 1.
Sausage roll, Kebabs, Fish and chips.
Topgear and some British humor.
Nike & Jordan releases
&
NUTS magazine

Things I miss from US
SUMMER
SUN
Warm weather
NBA,NFL,NCAAF
Refillable SODA
SUNSHINE
SUMMER
SUN
Food
MY family & friends |I

Thanks for the feedback my dude. This is really helpful and sort of what I am expecting.