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LIVING IN LONDON! A friend and I will be arriving in London around November with the intention of living and working there for about a year. This will be the first time either of us has moved out of home into a place not provided by employers, and I'm pretty excited by the idea of living with my best friend in one of the greatest cities in the world. What I want to know is - what's the cheapest area to rent in that's fairly central and high-density? I know gently caress-all about London's geography and if I wanted to live in the suburbs I'd go back to Australia. Oh, and also - what's tthe working situation like for Australians at the moment? I have Irish citizenship but my friend is just a wretched Aussie. When we get there we'll both have about ten to fifteen thousand AUD to set ourselves up (were originally planning much more extensive travel).
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Aug 6, 2010 15:19
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The second one. Browsing rental websites I just found a two-bedroom flat for 225 pounds a week in Greenwich, a stone's throw south of that big dome thing. That was in just a couple of hours; given an actual full-time week in London I should be able to do pretty well I hope.
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Aug 7, 2010 04:05
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Yeah, I really wish I'd done my research on that before leaving the country. My mastercard debit card costs me a flat $5 fee, plus 2.5%. Given that I usually get out about two or three hundred dollars from ATMs at a time, that's $1000 of the $20,000 I have. Just on withdrawal fees. I loving hate my bank.
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Aug 15, 2010 14:24
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Is there a ferry from Helsinki across those islands to Sweden? A friend and I are going to be travelling from Moscow to London in October, and going through Scandinavia looks more attractive than going through Eastern Europe. Also, does anyone have experience with hitchhiking? This is something I'm definitely considering in the west, but am not so sure about in Russia.
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Aug 29, 2010 05:19
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poo poo, I'm going to be in London - where I'm planning to settle down and live for a while - way ahead of schedule. What's a good hostel or lodging house or something where me and my friend can stay cheaply for however long it takes us to sort out a place to leave? edit: I mean live. Not leave. freebooter fucked around with this message at 13:30 on Sep 11, 2010 |
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Sep 11, 2010 13:28
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Younger Germans and/or people who are remotely likely to deal with tourists (hoteliers, cops, shop attendents etc.) all seem to speak good English. Apart from that, it's the first time I've ever spoken to white people who don't understand me and it's quite bizarre. But yeah you'll be fine.
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Sep 18, 2010 12:07
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In June me and my girlfriend are flying one-way from New York to London, and it seems like all the cheap direct flights go through Iceland. Like, the cheapest flight is $450 with a stopover, the cheapest direct flight is $1500. So we figure we may as well stop over for a few days, rent a car, see some things. (I assume this is the idea Iceland's tourism bureau had when they cut a deal with all the airlines, so, mission accomplished.) What's the must-see stuff in Iceland?
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Apr 13, 2014 09:03
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What are decent neighbourhoods to stay in four a four-day trip to Stockholm just before Christmas? I don't think we can afford (airbnbing) to stay right on Gamla Stan, but the areas directly north and south of it should be pretty good, right? How decent is public transport? Is walking going to be an option for three Australians in the middle of winter?
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Nov 20, 2014 14:37
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Anybody been to Malta? Putting together a summer trip to Europe and it's surprisingly cheap to fly to (100 quid return from London) and to actually stay in (60 pounds a night ish on Airbnb in the centre of Valetta.) Would it be worth staying on the smaller island?
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Mar 16, 2015 15:24
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nrr posted:ugh. I'm doing all of May in Europe, and it's starting to give me a headache. I originally wanted to do a stupid amount of stuff, but common sense, along with things I've seen in this thread have steered me away from that - but even after culling out a bunch of stuff, I still think I have too much going on. 16-29 is like almost a full two weeks? I don't see any problem with getting most of that stuff in, maybe only cutting France or Monaco or whichever friend you like the least. Remember that any flights within Europe you're taking are going to be a few hours at most, so it's a question of cost more than anything else, and even that isn't going too be too exorbitant. I mean, sure, you're not going to be able to really kick back and pretend you live there, but you won't be able to do that for a full week or whatever either. I don't know, the amount of time people want to spend in a place is totally subjective, but I don't think you're pushing it as long as you maybe drop one destination and/or have the stamina to have crazy madcap times going out every single night for a month with friends. Five days is more than enough in Stockholm but as you say, it's more about kicking around waiting for sailboat fun times to begin. I lived in Berlin for a while back in 2010 and really liked it, but it doesn't necessarily rate as a must-see-before-you-die city or anything. Went to Prague for a week a few months ago and thought it was a bit overrated; lots of souvenir shops and drunken British stag nights. On the other hand it's incredibly cheap (it's so satisfying to pay for a pint with a single coin) and it is very pretty, but Stockholm is one of the only cities in Europe even more prettier.
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Apr 27, 2015 17:53
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nrr posted:Any sites or resources anyone can recommend for last minute flights or maybe trains etc that could come in handy when it comes time to try and lock things down? I'm torn right now between booking things at lower prices that lock me into a plan that I might not want to do when I actually get there, or leaving it to make my decision once I'm there, but then have to pay insane amounts for short notice flights/trains etc. It's not as good as it used to be but skyscanner.com is still the king for finding the best flight deals, whether short notice or way in advance, anywhere in the world.
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Apr 29, 2015 17:46
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hbf posted:Heading to London soon and looking for some recommendations for neighborhoods to get an airbnb in. Will be doing some standard touristy stuff (among other things), but don't mind not being near that as long as it's accessible. Friends recommended Shoreditch, but thought I'd get some opinions. It really depends on what kind of neighbourhood you'd like to be in. Shoreditch and surrounds are the hipster/poor/cresting wave of gentrification neighbourhoods, if that's what you're into. The tube is brilliant and you can get most places relatively quickly as long as you're near a station. Try to avoid staying south of the river for this reason, although it will be cheaper, and there's some pretty decent local neighbourhoods down there like Clapham. My personal favourite area is Hampstead, although that's probably pretty expensive even with airbnb.
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Apr 29, 2015 17:52
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Who's been to the Greek islands? Any recommendations? My girlfriend and I want to do some travelling there in summer (it'll be late August/early September) but there are soooo many I don't even know where to begin looking. I realise it will be the high season and also that the beaches won't compare to back home in Australia, but still keen. Not really into the raging early 20s In Betweeners Movie party scene. I was thinking maybe the Dodecanese? Which looks like it has a good mix of quiet islands and livelier places like Rhodes.
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May 3, 2015 19:04
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OK so nobody knows anything about the Greek islands. What about Scotland, what do you not miss in Scotland? Looking at a 5/6 day roadtrip beginning in Inverness and ending in Edinburgh.
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May 7, 2015 09:58
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DNova posted:Isle of Skye, Dinosaur footprints, driving on a single-lane winding road with no speed limit* through the highlands, Dunnett Head, Falkirk Wheel (I might be alone on this), etc. There's a lot to see if you have 5-6 days in a car. The driving itself is going to be part of the experience if you get into the country. I had a blast when I did it. Nice, thanks. Pablo Bluth posted:I had a lot of greek holidays as a child but the truth is most of the islands blur in to one. Plus they have a habit of changing (read: extra sprawl). All of them, really. I'm just not used to these short-term holidays - I'm still mentally a backpacker - so I always fret that I'm going to miss something really awesome and not find out about it until later.
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May 10, 2015 10:28
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I did a roadtrip of seven or eight days around Ireland back in January. I didn't find Dublin to be all that great; a day was enough, you wander along the river and through Temple Bar and do the Guinness brewery tour (which is really good btw). It's nice enough but I wouldn't want to spend ages there, and if you're travelling alone I imagine it would be even less interesting. Cork was also not hugely interesting; I quite liked Galway, Kilkenny and Killarney, but again, wouldn't want to spend more than a day or an evening there. Ireland is really more about the countryside than about towns and cities. (Which obviously is not ideal when you're not renting a vehicle.) Cliffs of Moher were good. Killarney National Park is beautiful, as is most of the Ring of Kerry. Blarney Castle is interesting even aside from the check-it-off-the-list kissing of the Blarney stone, though I imagine outside of winter it's probably packed. The Wicklow Mountains are quite pretty too.
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May 13, 2015 13:11
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DNova posted:I feel the same about Dublin although I missed out on the brewery tour because it was closed or something, but I know a bunch of people who absolutely love Dublin and would want to go back so maybe we're the weird ones. Cork had some pretty hiking that I enjoyed. I depends what you're into I guess. I could see Dublin being fantastic if you were there with a bunch of mates and going out drinking every night, but I was on a family holiday. Also I guess it depends on what else you've seen. I live in London so Dublin's not really that different, if you come straight from America or Australia, all European cities are going to seem really different and awesome. I was enamoured with London when I first came here from Australia, and I still appreciate a good Old Town like Prague or Stockholm, but they don't blow my mind anymore.
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May 14, 2015 11:03
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Does anyone know how difficult it is to rent a car in Spain? I'm Australian resident in the UK, visiting Scotland in July and Spain in August, and want to rent a car in both. Was dismayed to find that in Scotland, at least, you require a credit card (which I don't have, so I'll have to get one) and two (!) forms of ID proving your address that are less than 8 weeks old. I hate it when companies are all like, "a utilities bill will serve." Lots of people rent their houses you bastards!
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May 27, 2015 09:19
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Saladman posted:*Edit 2: Sorry it looks like the UK rental agencies actually have stricter rules for UK residents, as they have to provide a utility bill or something in addition to the passport/license. I guess that's why I didn't have to show anything. Huh. I could theoretically get away with claiming to be an Australian resident - which would not strictly speaking be untrue, since I'm leaving England and the Scotland leg is the first part of my trip back home to Australia - but I got the impression everybody had to provide proof of address, not just UK residents. Anyway I'm going to ring a few up and check. gently caress renting cars, I miss my own vehicle.
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May 27, 2015 09:54
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Ok so re: car rental, I was on the phone to Budget Scotland and was informed that if I've been resident in the UK for more than 12 months (which I will have been, by then) I can no longer legally drive on my Australian license. I have to change it to a British license. Which only costs 40 quid and I don't have to resit a test or anything, but they actually revoke your Australian license to do it; I think I can then just change it back to an Australian one back in Australia but I'd rather not go through that whole loving rigmarole. Is there actually any way they'd be able to tell I've been here for more than 12 months? (I'm not worried about police, I'm worried about a car hire place refusing to rent to me.) I have an Irish passport so I have no visa or entry stamps or anything. I'd be using my HSBC debit card (or credit card, if I can loving get one, which is a whole other kettle of fish) but I could just claim I've only been living here six months or so. When I was on the phone to the DVLA, the calls are recorded so obviously they can't speak freely to you, but the girl on the other end seemed to be implying that it's sort of a grey area; she said "it's not for the DVLA to determine residency." Like, what if I'd been hopping around Europe and flying back and forth to Australia on business? It's really irritating. It's the 21st century, there's plenty of people who maintain a residence in more than one country.
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May 28, 2015 00:27
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Well my Dad's in Inverness on the second day and he will be driving the rest of the trip, I just have to handle Edinburgh-Inverness. I'm sort of concerned about Spain as well now though. Budget I can get away with a debit card, apparently, but we might have to use my girlfriend's credit card in Spain (and rental car agencies always only accept the driver's credit card, meaning she'd have to drive) and she's on a working holiday visa in the UK, which means if she uses her passport as proof of ID they can also see that she's been in the UK 12+ months... but Spain probably wouldn't give a poo poo, right? But yeah I definitely have to say I've been resident for at least a little while, because otherwise I can't explain why I have a UK bank card. They won't accept a foreign debit card and the Aussie dollar is hosed in any case, I want to use my pounds. I miss my SE Asia days where I could just buy a Soviet motorbike off a backpacker for $400 US and bribe a cop if I got pulled over.
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May 28, 2015 01:09
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Saladman posted:I didn't realize earlier that by "credit card" you meant you do have a debit card that has numbers and can be used just like a credit card. Sometimes this is OK for rental, they will just take a huge deposit (like up to 1k) which you get back when you return the car. Yeah Budget said debit card was OK as long as it was issued in the UK. Europcar didn't, though. Re: the driving license, the DVLA very specifically calls it an exchange: they take your Australian license away and actually send it back to Australia. I talked to another Australian who did this and they say Australia never got it, although it wasn't a big deal, because you can again exchange a British license in Australia without sitting any more tests, you just pay a fee. But those fees stack up. Also it's all done by post and with seven weeks to go until I leave I don't really trust them - I had a tremendous headache over the Christmas period trying to get my renewed Australian license up here, it ended up taking months.
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May 28, 2015 09:10
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Yep, I just rang up again - and it was actually Thrifty that takes debit, not Budget - and the girl on the phone asked how long I'd been in the UK and this time I said "six months" and she didn't seem fussed. I think it's more one of those things that governments insist upon in order to try to keep everything neat and orderly, rather than something that can really be strictly enforced. I remember when I moved from WA to Victoria, my girlfriend got pulled over and got in trouble when the officer asked why she hadn't changed her license plates over after being in Victoria for three months, and I got pulled over because my license plate had fallen off and they were irritable that I hadn't replaced it in three months. In both cases the only reason they knew it had been that long was because we both told them when asked, because it didn't occur to us to lie.
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May 28, 2015 11:47
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So apparently to drive in Spain you need your home driver's license AND an international driver's permit (if you don't have an EU driver's license). I foolishly assumed that since the US and the UK reciprocally accept Australian licenses, it was just a general Western country thing and that all of Europe would be chill with it. Nope. Furthermore you can only apply for an IDP in your home country... so I'm sending some express postage back to the RAC in Australia with the fervent hope that it comes back before late July.
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Jun 6, 2015 17:53
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asur posted:I don't know that specific airlines policy, but generally a name change is either not possible or there is a large fee involved. Booking online and it's in the fine print. I'm going to call them during the week to check, but I really can't risk just booking one (and then booking a week of rural accommodation etc) and then turning up and having them say "nope." It just opens up this whole extra level of red tape hassle sending stuff back to Australia. Look at this poo poo on the RAC website: http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/racv/Internet/primary/travel/driving+overseas/international+driving+permits quote:If you are applying for or requesting the reissue of an International Driving Permit (IDP) from overseas, you are also required to provide: What the gently caress? Why would I have a visa in my passport for Australia if I'm Australian? Also how does showing you my Australian passport prove I'm not resident in England? So now I have to ring them up as well to get them to explain this nonsense.
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Jun 6, 2015 20:20
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asur posted:I'm pretty sure they want to see the visa from the country you are staying in and that it has an end date. A plane ticket would fulfill the requirement as well. I think the passport thing is a carry over from when you lost your Australian citizenship if you became a citizen of another country before 2002 I'm a dual Irish/Aussie citizen so I don't need visas travelling between the two. And I can't imagine that's particularly uncommon. And a plane ticket - like, how could I prove I'm not just visiting Australia? I'm sick of this malarkey about "residency" these people always bang on about. It's the 21st century, there are plenty of people who maintain residencies in multiple countries, and it's not for the flipping automobile association to make decisions about my rights based on what they think counts as living somewhere.
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Jun 7, 2015 09:31
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DNova posted:I think you just go pay AAA $40 Yeah if you're still in the US at the moment you should be able to do it on the spot at the relevant authority. That's what I did in Australia years ago. My predicament stems from having an Australian license but currently being in the UK. I'd advise you to check your rental agreement, mine said any non-EU license needed to be accompanied by an IDP.
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Jun 7, 2015 20:57
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EB Nulshit posted:Just kind of wondering whether the European ones are all basically interchangeable for the purpose of living outside the US. Well... every city in the world is interchangeable if your only purpose is to live outside the US. But is that seriously your only criteria? You don't have even the faintest, vaguest interest in any particular European country?
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Jun 12, 2015 08:41
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hbf posted:Looking for stuff to do in London outside of the painfully obvious tourist stuff. I came up with the Hunterian museum and visiting Highgate cemetery. Anyone ever visited these and have an opinion on them? If anyone has any other weird London recommendations would love to hear those too. Interested in things like old record shops, bookstores, tea sellers, antique stores, anything old and British really. If you're going up to Highgate (which is great) you should also swing past Hampstead Heath, which is a short walk away and the best park in London. Hyde Park is super crowded and basically just a big paddock, but Hampstead has all these forests and paths and meadows and it's great. Also way less crowded, even in summer. While you're there, have lunch at either the Holly Bush or the Spaniards Inn, two of the best old, atmospheric pubs in the city. The Spaniards is probably the better one in summer. As you leave/arrive via Hampstead tube, nip down Flask Walk and check out the old second-hand bookstore there. Elsewhere in the city, Daunt Books in Marylebone is probably the best bookstore; huge travel selection across three floors, and the store itself is beautiful - http://www.dauntbooks.co.uk/ If you're into medical stuff like the Hunterian you might also like the Garret, up in an attic and containing the oldest operating theatre in Europe - http://www.thegarret.org.uk/. Climbing Monument only costs a few quid and afford great views - http://www.themonument.info/. I'll echo Greenwich, even if you don't go to the maritime museum (which you should because it's good). It reminds me of Hampstead in that it sort of feels like a little village just dropped into the city. The park is great and has enormous views, you can go up to the observatory and stand on the Meridian Line, and there's a pretty neat antique store sort of across the road from Greenwich DLR - http://www.greenwichmarketlondon.com/shops/detail/the-junk-shop.
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Jun 12, 2015 09:12
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Currently tossing up what to mail home from England and what to keep in my backpack for my Europe summer trip. From late July to early September I'm going to be in, in order: Scotland, Spain, Croatia, Rome, the Greek islands and Istanbul. Do I need a jacket?
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Jun 18, 2015 01:31
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Heading on a 10-day roadtrip from Marbella to Barcelona in Spain, and really not sure what we should see. I know I want to check out the Camino del Rey (although their website suggests it's booked out all August?) and the Sierra Nevada, and at the other end swing up into the Pyrenees and Andorra before coming back down to Barcelona. What else is good? How's Valencia? Any great little beach towns that aren't full of concrete apartments and sunburnt British retirees?
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Jun 27, 2015 11:23
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Is Spain as bad as Italy for driving? I'm doing a 10-day roadtrip there in August and haven't regularly been behind the wheel of a car for about five years. Also I come from a country where we drive on the left.
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Jun 30, 2015 09:37
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Hoo boy. Looks like I should have booked August accommodation in Spain more than a month in advance.
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Jul 8, 2015 22:03
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Prague is very touristy but touristy for a reason, it's one of the finest old towns in Europe, only somewhat sullied by all the souvenir stores. It's also very satisfying to pay for a pint of beer with a single coin (which is roughly worth a euro) and get change. Try to avoid going over a weekend when it's jam-packed with British stag nights.
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Jul 13, 2015 09:19
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This sounds like an awesome trip. Have you read Leigh Patrick Fermor's travel memoirs? He walked from Holland to Istanbul when he was 18, back before WWII. In winter, incidentally. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/253984.A_Time_of_Gifts?ac=1 It's actually a bit of a depressing read, though, since it harks back to a time before globalisation and camping regulations and airbnb and hordes of backpackers.
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Jul 15, 2015 11:23
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Who the hell are you people flying non-budget airlines within Europe? 
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Sep 5, 2015 12:34
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I've lived in Europe for a year and have never once found that to be the case. Example? edit - I should mention that I live in London which is obviously a hub, and also means I'm super poor and must always take the cheapest option available.
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Sep 5, 2015 14:25
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Erwin posted:Heads up for the two goons heading to Rome after me: Trevi Fountain is shut down for repairs. You can still see it, but the water is not running, and there's scaffolding all over. The Colosseum also has some scaffolding on one side, but it's not the side you'll want to take pictures of, so it's not a big deal. One day I want to make a glossy coffee table photo book called World Monuments Obscured By Scaffolding.
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Sep 8, 2015 07:02
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Yeah you can get by on wifi at the hotel (and cafes and restaurants) easy. Just make sure you don't forget to go into settings and turn cell data off. Getting even a temporary data plan overseas is just more hassle than it's worth in my experience, unless you're going to be there for like a month. We all got by fine without smartphones five years ago, didn't we? A useful tip a lot of people don't realise - the Google Maps blue dot will always accurately show you where you are even if cell data is turned off (I think it's an emergency thing, like how you can always call the emergency number.) It will also remember the zoomed-in areas of the city if you've been looking at them lately. I found it very easy to just take a few screenshots of the various places I had to go while I still had wifi, and navigating my way there later just using the map.
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Sep 12, 2015 10:40
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Waci posted:Five years ago was 2010, most people had smartphones. I guess I backdate my notion of when technology was current to when I, personally, got that technology. Also I'm Australian and we get everything at least 5 years after America.
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Sep 12, 2015 18:48
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