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When you come here make sure you set aside enough money for a return ticket, it'd be horrible if it didn't work out and you were stuck here with no money.
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Feb 24, 2015 19:32
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I dont speak german :-). Of course, im traveling with a return ticket already bought.
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Feb 25, 2015 02:15
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The question I would ask is, why London? If you are coming over for acting opportunities Manchester would probably be a much more sensible option for someone that doesn't have a bottomless pit of cash. It's pretty much the central hub for the BBC now a days and while they're will probably be fierce competition for any job, it's nowhere near as competitive as London. Also, the cost of living is almost half what it is in London. London is literally the worst place.
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Feb 25, 2015 08:57
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London is for people who have made it not people who are looking to make it. Come to London when you are on someone else's dime or when you literally have more money than is sensible to have. I literally cannot think of a worse place to go to start out in a career. Try Manchester or Edinburgh if you want to do performing arts in the UK.
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Feb 25, 2015 15:04
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Haggis Heed posted:The question I would ask is, why London? If you are coming over for acting opportunities Manchester would probably be a much more sensible option for someone that doesn't have a bottomless pit of cash. It's pretty much the central hub for the BBC now a days and while they're will probably be fierce competition for any job, it's nowhere near as competitive as London. Also, the cost of living is almost half what it is in London. My friend was starting to make it as an actor in manchester (had a place with the rent paid for by acting work - less than most of us got paid, mind) and he decided to move to london when his contract dried up and it borderline destroyed him. he got one crap job that dicked him about with payment, went to castings multiple times a week and burnt through his saving in no time. it's a race to the bottom, and even with 3 years tv experience and a fair amount of catalog modeling work he was nothing there. now he's back working consistently paid jobs in manchester again, after vowing to never go back to london.
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Feb 25, 2015 23:08
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I know a fair number of people who have lived in London and said they loved it. They all had something in common: being very, very rich. If you are not very, very rich, you will probably like it much less.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:00
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While some of these posts are pure exaggeration, you should take heed. I managed to live on £900 a month for 14 months just after I lost my job during the economic downturn and I saved £1500 during this time period. However, I was also used to London and knew how to do it. People like to make their situations sounds tougher than they are because it makes them feel like proper bros lol. I know plenty of people who came to London with gently caress-all and did ok. Remember that people here are goons. They probably consider spending £500 a month on steam games and anime an essential part of your budget. It's really difficult to get the rent situation across to people. It's compeltey bonkers. You can find stuff for around £500 a month within zone 2 but it takes a lot of searching and luck. In your situation I would either try somewhere else in Europe or save up at least £5k before you come over. As a noob the city will rip you off at every opportunity. It's full of cunts.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:11
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Two full-time teachers who are permanently broke are obv. alcoholics, btw.
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Feb 26, 2015 06:40
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Haggis Heed posted:London is literally the worst place. Hahaha this is ridiculous. There's a reason millions of people live in london, it's because there's shitloads of money flowing through the place in a way that doesn't exist in the rest of the UK. Not that the OP isn't deluded, but there is plenty of work around. Also flatshare isn't going to be particularly cheap, I rent out a room in my flat for £700pm inc bills which is probably below market rate.
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Feb 26, 2015 09:42
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I'm kind of on opus111's side in that it's certainly not impossible, and that people like to exaggerate and think it sounds kind of cool to tell you about how horrible it is to come here. I know plenty of people who came here without a job lined up, with very little money, and somehow made it work. If you're prepared to a) live in pretty horrible circumstances for a while and b) recognise and accept it if and when you fail and have a plan on how to get out of here and move back to Argentina, then sure, it could work. It may well not, but it just about could. You can get lucky, you can end up paying £400 a month to live with relatively nice people not too far from where you work, you can find an OK job working in a hotel or in a Pret or whatever. Just be prepared to accept failure and think about how that would affect your self-esteem, whether it would actually 'break' you as it does to some people. Any advice on in what area to live or whatever is useless until you get an actual job. Generally, south-east is cheapest, and yes, get a bike.
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Feb 26, 2015 13:01
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If I wasn't working in Finance and making good money, I would not want to be working in this city. I'd definitely listen to others and check out other cities in the UK before deciding on settling down in London. While you may get by, it won't be an enjoyable experience. South-east London is a good shout for cheaper rent (I've bought in a region just east of Lewisham) and you can still get access into central London via DLR/overground/national rail.
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Feb 26, 2015 17:51
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I know how usually people exagerate, however, i've been studying to be an actor for a couple years until now, and i've read enough networking, bussines and method books for actors to develop the mindset needed for it. Which is, accepting that i might probably be living the next 10 years of my life in a box eating noodles. Im not delusional, and i appreciate everyone's effort to convince me not to go there -thou that is not new to me. Manchester might have the BBC, but people who actually know about the bussines will tell you that, today, London & Los Angeles are the biggest cities in terms of acting opportunities. I've already accepted the idea of how lovely my living conditions will be :P and still i will go there and do my best. I also appreciate those in the thread that actually contributed with ideas, such as looking for accomodation in towns near London where, due to being student towns, i might find a job faster (as im moving during summer). I will continue to research and to welcome your comments on my project. To some of you i might appear as naive or almost non-informed; consider that you guys actually lived there. I can only trust you and the internet to get actual info, and i've heard from people giving all kinds of different opinions on the subject.
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Feb 26, 2015 23:10
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Filthee Fingas posted:If I wasn't working in Finance and making good money, I would not want to be working in this city. I'd definitely listen to others and check out other cities in the UK before deciding on settling down in London. While you may get by, it won't be an enjoyable experience. Your expectations are completely different. I mean, you bought property in London lol. There is an insane amout of free or super cheap events going on every day. When I was broke my entire social life consisted of going to house parties with a £5 six pack of beer. It's the absolute life in your twenties. As long as you can pay your rent, bills, a travel card and put like £50 away per month london > pretty much any other city on the planet.
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Feb 27, 2015 00:22
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Where else have you been and lived?
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Feb 27, 2015 03:25
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opus111 posted:There is an insane amout of free or super cheap events going on every day. When I was broke my entire social life consisted of going to house parties with a £5 six pack of beer. Yeah, we know you've got cheap tastes.
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Feb 27, 2015 08:51
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opus111 posted:Your expectations are completely different. I mean, you bought property in London lol. Yes, or you could do this in Berlin, where everything is literally 50% cheaper, the clubs are better, the parties are better, the people are better and public transport runs all night.
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Feb 27, 2015 10:26
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Berlin is a cool city buy London destroys it, as it destroys the majority of cities in the world. OP would have fun there though and I did say he should save at least £5k rather than his paltry 2.
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Feb 27, 2015 11:50
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In actually not concerned about fun. I dont drink alcohol, don't go out dancing, my normal social nights here ARE friend reunions at a house. I dont speak german and I'm going to London for the entertainment industry hub that it is.
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Feb 27, 2015 11:54
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Tony Montana posted:Where else have you been and lived? lived on mainland europe and parts of asia, been to 41 countries in total.
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Feb 27, 2015 12:33
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Yggdrassil posted:In actually not concerned about fun. I dont drink alcohol, don't go out dancing, my normal social nights here ARE friend reunions at a house. I dont speak german and I'm going to London for the entertainment industry hub that it is. In the UK there's quite a strong drinking culture, a lot of socialising is done at pubs. I know a few people in the entertainment business and they go to a lot of parties and events with drinking in order to meet people. Not that you'll have to drink or anything but just be aware the culture is likely different to what you're used to.
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Feb 27, 2015 13:10
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opus111 posted:Your expectations are completely different. I mean, you bought property in London lol. Well it's clear our definitions of a good time are different. That £50/month (if you're able to save that) won't cover poo poo if you hit hard times. Yes you can get by but there comes a point where the constant struggle to not be in debt/poor gets tiring. It's why a lot of people bail because they're tired living hand to mouth when there's other cities that are a lot cheaper and great places to party (Manchester/Leeds/Newcastle). I've been here for almost 5 years with a good job which is why I was able to buy property. When I came here, had no job (had qualifications though) and no place to live and I burned through £6k pretty fast in 3 months (I was living with 5 people, paying £600/month for rent) Yggdrassil posted:In actually not concerned about fun. I dont drink alcohol, don't go out dancing, my normal social nights here ARE friend reunions at a house. I dont speak german and I'm going to London for the entertainment industry hub that it is. Yeah don't come to London. This city thrives on drinking and the big social culture around alcohol. Not saying anyone will pressure you to drink but the majority of your social events will involve pubs/drinking Filthee Fingas fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Feb 27, 2015 |
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Feb 27, 2015 14:45
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Filthee Fingas posted:This city thrives on drinking and the big social culture around alcohol. Not saying anyone will pressure you to drink but the majority of your social events will involve pubs/drinking
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Feb 27, 2015 15:14
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Yeah I have to say, that statistic that 1/3 Londoners is teetotal was the biggest crock of poo poo I've ever read. Nevertheless, people trying to convince the OP otherwise have already said their piece. No sense in going on about it.
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Feb 27, 2015 15:27
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Filthee Fingas posted:Yeah don't come to London. This city thrives on drinking and the big social culture around alcohol. Not saying anyone will pressure you to drink but the majority of your social events will involve pubs/drinking The fact that i do not drink does not imply im not going to socialize at pubs, it implies im not spending money on alcohol. Also, WTF on that being a reason for me not to go to London...
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Feb 27, 2015 15:31
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This is going to be very hard for you and you will have to fight very hard for your dreams but you never know it might work out. At least you're trying. You would have a much better chance if you had some family to stay with but I guess that's not an option. Good luck. Don't let this shithole swallow you up.
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Feb 27, 2015 15:32
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It's not impossible, I moved here last August and worked in a hostel for two months while I searched for professional work (which I have degrees and years of experience in). However you don't seem to have a realistic view of your chances of breaking into acting here (about zero). I met (in those 2 months) probably 30-40 people with quite literally the exact same story as you, (Sth America, Eu passport, acting/theatre). Literally zero of them have had any success in their chosen field and all have gone home broke and dispirited or are here eking out an existence on some 0-hour job or other. Many of them had experience and were extremely talented people. The reason people are being so negative is that (and I mean this in the nicest way possible) people in your situation are a dime a dozen and we've all seen it a lot before. You state that London/LA are the places to be for opportunity, and I don't doubt that but there is an enormous enormous glut of people desperate to get into the creative industries. The chances of you having any of that success yourself are slim to none. That said it sounds like it's your dream and maybe you'll get lucky. So come just be careful to leave yourself a solid exit strategy.
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Feb 27, 2015 16:31
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Saros posted:It's not impossible, I moved here last August and worked in a hostel for two months while I searched for professional work (which I have degrees and years of experience in). Why do you say i don't have a realistic view? London is the best place to get into the entertainment bussines as an actor. The fact that competition is huge and the chances are dismal would be an excelent reason to get me rid of the stupid idea of pursuing an acting career. Unfortunately for me, that is not an option. Acting is my passion and i accept the suffering it will take to have a shot at it. It might be difficult to understand to you or others, since you might not be the artist type and we come from different cultures. Showbussines is as random as it an get, the key to actually having a shot is for you to take control of those variables you can actually control. I think that the dedication of an aspiring actor should be 40% skill 60% networking and branding. This later part is not only the most important, but also the hardest one for actors to get since their profile (artistic, creative) does not line up well (usually) with the cold, rational aspect of what networking, branding and bussines research implies.
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Feb 27, 2015 17:06
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op how old are you?
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Feb 27, 2015 22:58
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opus111 posted:Berlin is a cool city buy London destroys it, as it destroys the majority of cities in the world. OP would have fun there though and I did say he should save at least £5k rather than his paltry 2. There is literally nothing that is better in London than in Berlin. Food, nightlife, housing, art scene, music scene, public transportion are all vastly superior in Berlin, and cost half as much. The only thing that London has going for it, is that there's more to do for rich people.
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Feb 27, 2015 23:11
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oliwan posted:There is literally nothing that is better in London than in Berlin. Food, nightlife, housing, art scene, music scene, public transportion are all vastly superior in Berlin, and cost half as much. The only thing that London has going for it, is that there's more to do for rich people. bro you're bitter as hell.
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Feb 27, 2015 23:19
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London... the first world city of millions of people... only the toughest, richest, bravest goons can survive it!!!!
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Feb 27, 2015 23:22
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oliwan posted:There is literally nothing that is better in London than in Berlin. Food, nightlife, housing, art scene, music scene, public transportion are all vastly superior in Berlin, and cost half as much. The only thing that London has going for it, is that there's more to do for rich people. Berlin is full of Germans though
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Feb 27, 2015 23:34
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opus111 posted:op how old are you? 22
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Feb 27, 2015 23:49
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lol then gently caress it, just go but with a plan B to get home cos the likelihood is that your plan won't work, but now is the time to try these things. Goonspeed.
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Feb 27, 2015 23:50
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Freelancing is the worst way to start out in my opinion, but I might be wrong.
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Feb 28, 2015 00:02
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Huh, suddenly this thread makes a bit more sense.
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Feb 28, 2015 01:30
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opus111 posted:bro you're bitter as hell. No, he's just a person like me that thinks your love of London is something to do with you, not London. I'm not bitter, I just think the place loving sucks. I've got a lot of experience in living in different parts of the world and I've got a lot of education behind me. I lived in Clapham in a nice flat with one other single female. I never did London 'poor'. I lived in France, Italy, Australia, Germany. I haven't lived in the US yet, but don't have any desire to. gently caress London. Describe to me what's awesome about London, go on. Give me a list of why it's so drat great.
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Feb 28, 2015 01:56
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Tony Montana posted:No, he's just a person like me that thinks your love of London is something to do with you, not London. I'm not bitter, I just think the place loving sucks. I've got a lot of experience in living in different parts of the world and I've got a lot of education behind me. I lived in Clapham in a nice flat with one other single female. I never did London 'poor'. lol whats the point? we all have different interests and tastes. I can respect that you don't like it, this isn:t something that bothers me. My brother dislikes it immensely but I:ll still get him something for his birthday.
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Feb 28, 2015 01:59
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That is the point. You're going to list what you think is great and then we can look at it and think 'yeah exactly, that's not my thing at all' and disregard everything else you say. Here in the spirt of communcation, here is why I love living in Melbourne. I have a front yard and a back yard. I wash my car on my lawn or clean my bike on the deck. The constant influx of shows and art. If it's big and it's playing in London and New York, most of the time it'll be playing in Melbourne and Sydney too. Australians are a different bunch - less moping and more happy-go-lucky because the weather is always great and we are rich and our public services are good. Drinking is certainly a thing, but not like I found with the English. Food is generally good, I found eating in London to be disgusting. Even paying good money and going to decent places the eating scene was comically bad. I'd just come from living in France and Melbourne is a lot closer to France than I found London to be. I found finding women so easy in London because I'm not a fat, spotty disgusting alcoholic. Here in Oz being tanned and fit is more the norm, rather than the exception. Exercise and not being a pig is still scoffed at by a lot of English culture - while the mainland Europeans just shrug and say 'it's the English, what do you expect?'. Finding women in Melbourne is also easy, but I'm finding a lot more keepers than drunken shags. This isn't racist, it's he reality of my experience. Tony Montana fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Feb 28, 2015 |
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Feb 28, 2015 02:19
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well like i say our interests are different. for me why \i love london - The average man on the street is hilarious. The football. The variety of people and what they bring to the city - I know its goony to say but I love buying a load of foreign stuff to dump in my food. The atmosphere - again, totally subjective. there is nothing more beautiful than the evening sky over westminster. the night buses - these sum up my partying twenties to me. the food - never got the complaints here. the best curry and kebabs in the world, awesome cheap japanese restauratns in piccadilly. the culture - again, i never got people saying londoners are uptight. they:re generally pretty busy but theyre chill and helpful for the most part. the weather - i like overcast, grey rainy days. the HISTORY - this is one of the main points for me. I love history and london is chock-full of it. the tube - I get why people hate it but I adore it. museums and art galleries being free - I spent like 3 months going to the V&A every saturday and still didnt see everything. this ties into history though. the opera and concerts/the proms- subjective, yeah. and i just love the feeling of beings somwhere vital, important and pulsating with activity. I have zero interest in sunny weather, gardens, owning a car etc. different strokes.
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Feb 28, 2015 02:35
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