Young couple thinking about moving to London

Member since 18 February 2009

Janett DMember18 February 2009 17:44:06

Hey guys

I just came across this website and it seems incredibly useful.

I'm an American expat, currently living in Valencia, Spain. I'm 18 years old (turning 19 in a few days actually) and my husband is 21. We came to Spain for many reasons - wanting to live in Europe, my husbands legal issues in the US, free health care, cheaper education, etc. We've only been here for about 6 months and it took around 5 months for my husband to find an average job at a bookstore. I understand the global crisis is affecting everyone, but Spain is currently the worst (18% unemployment, according to many articles) in the European Union. It's always been our dream to move to London and we feel so close now, but we want to know if we should try. We both know how expensive London can be and we're both willing to sacrifice space for it, but we want to know how difficult it would be for us to find average jobs (whether its retail, working in restaurants, etc.)?

We would obviously try to save as much money as possible, enough to keep us safe for the first couple of months, but with the current state that London is in, would we end up searching for months on end looking for regular jobs like we did here?

Thank you to all in advance.
-Janett

Gordie80 Member

Member since 06 March 2009

Gordie80Member06 March 2009 03:14:23

Hi,

It's probably best to contact some UK Employment Agencies for their advice.

I'm about to move over there. I couldn't say how easy getting a job will be. I've just signed up with as many employment agencies as I can and am prepared to take on any job to start with.

Make sure you have some temporary accommodation for at least a week while you look for a flat or share.

Its a good idea to try to get a bank account before you go. (You don't need to fork out a heap of money to an agency to do it either)

I bought this really great ebook that told me how to get a bank account. Its also got advice on renting, tax, immigration... all sorts of stuff and links to websites and some discount coupons in the back.

It's written by a couple that have already done it and they tell you about traps to watch out for and some of their mistakes so you don't make them.

I found it helped me out a lot.

I bought it online at [moderated: no free ads]

Good luck!