Abe in London

[Abe Sargent]

I was told about another website I've not used via pm from DT. I'm about the check it out now. Hopefully good news and all that will follow.

-Abe

[Abe Sargent]

Not much from that website, unfortunately. They are all mostly upscale flats with a serious price tag. Ah well.

[Abe Sargent]

When doing research before coming to London, I remember reading tha a lot of students and professionals look for flats this time of the year, just before winter, when they don;t want to move, and when teh school year begins. As such, there is supposedly a lot of competition at this time of year. That's why I had gotten my flat for two months - enough time to get past the rush and look for something then.

[DaddyTorgo]

Abe,

I've got one more London contact I just remembered. And she's pretty...cheap, so she may be of more use

[cartman]

Another option you might consider, if you have time, is looking into places outside of London that are on one of the rail lines. The lower price of rent might more than offset the price of a monthly rail pass. I remember that the housing costs were out of control when I was living there in 2004. My one bedroom flat in South Kensington was 700 pounds per week.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by cartman

Another option you might consider, if you have time, is looking into places outside of London that are on one of the rail lines. The lower price of rent might more than offset the price of a monthly rail pass. I remember that the housing costs were out of control when I was living there in 2004. My one bedroom flat in South Kensington was 700 pounds per week.

For comparison where I lived in Royston (south of Cambridge but on a very fast commuter rail link - 40 minutes to Kings Cross) you could rent a 3 bedroom house for a MONTH for £700.

[Yossarian]

I know a few people who've had no problems finding SOMEWHERE to stay within their budget.

It's easier if you can commit to 6 months but even if you can only do 3, you might be able to take a 6 monther providing you yourself post the 'flat available' ad on gumtree (what one friend did).

Really, there are shitloads of places here. It's expensive sure, but my place is very very central and - yes, it's a studio (fancy word for a cupboard with a bed and en suite) flat but at 600 a month, it's worth it for me. A colleague pays 400 a month to rent a room from some old biddy near Finsbury Park and another about 450 for a room in a flat with two ladies near King's Cross.

We all found our pads on gumtree - so whilst yes, finding the right place can be hard, finding just somewhere to base yourself for a few months shouldn't be that hard - unless your budget is really tight

What is your actual budget / requirements?

[Yossarian]

My one bedroom flat in South Kensington was 700 pounds per week.

That must have been a nice pad - it's also a real good area.

My flat is.. well small but it's fine for sleeping in and it's a 15 minute walk from work, which cuts down on my travel bills.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidfa...3418/comments/

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

That must have been a nice pad - it's also a real good area.

My flat is.. well small but it's fine for sleeping in and it's a 15 minute walk from work, which cuts down on my travel bills.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidfa...3418/comments/

It really wasn't anything special. It was in a 20 story building on Cromwell Road, next door to a Sainsbury and across the street from a Holiday Inn. It was also on the inside of the building looking down into the center courtyard.

I think the bulk of the price was due to the location. It was right by the Glouster Road tube station and South Kensington is right next to Knightsbridge and Hyde Park. Our office was 100m from Wellington Arch, so it was a short commute.

[Abe Sargent]

I want to be at or below 400 pm.

[Abe Sargent]

It also appears that I am able to post from my house for the first time - wireless is back up after only being down a week....

[Abe Sargent]

I had student orientation for the philosophy program tonight. It was okay, met some blokes. None of them seem like the sorts of people I'd normally hang out with, but I socialized nonetheless. We all went to an on-campus bar and had drinks after hte orientation.

the coursework is very hard and very fast. I would love this if I remain - I am raedy for a challeneg academically after the snooze fest that was my first Masters.

[Abe Sargent]

Just sent another e-mail to the Accommodation Office to see if there any cancellations. Let's leave no realistic stone unturned.

My editor lives in leeds and he offered me his unused spare room if I weant to commute to school. Thats not feasible, and here's why.

I am not here to go to Middlesex. Middlesex is a ticket. Sure, I'd love to study Philosophy, and getting another Masters is cool, and maybe I'll like it enough to keep going at the ph d level, but this has never been about Middlesex.

This is about London. This whole journey is about living and expereincing all London has to offer. Living significantly outside the city and coming to town on class days and weekends to shop is not an option. I can live out in the burbs anywhere in America. This is about living in a large city with that expereice, in a wholly different way than any American city. It's about following my parents who came to London and lived and worked here for three years while my dad got a Masters. This is about the dream of being in London, not near London or London-ish. I'm here for the city, not for the university.

That's why I never wanted to be totally involved with just Middlesex. I wanted it all. In my greed and hubris, I may get nothing.

-Abe

[Abe Sargent]

I just was pointed to a website with a metric ton of listing s(or metric tonne in London). Emaisl are being sent out now (can't call at 11 pm obviously)


EDIT : I just sent out e-mails to two in Walthamstow. Let's see what else I can find.


Thanks Kalypso!


EDIT 2: Found potential flats in Southgate, Finsbury Park x2, and one in Wood Green so far. Let's see what else I can coax out of this site.


EDIT 3: Islington, Tottenham one each as well

EDIT 4: And another in Seven Sisters

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

My editor lives in leeds and he offered me his unused spare room if I weant to commute to school. Thats not feasible, and here's why.

It is not feasible because it is 200 miles away from London. You would spend all of your time and money travelling.

[Abe Sargent]

We'll call this next post, consumables I like/dislike in London:


Irn-Bru - A solid drink from Scotland, cross between Cream of Soda and Bubble Gum with a kick. Liked it at first a lot, still do, but diminished over time.

Fanta Lemon Soda - American label but have never seen in states. Basically carbonated lemonade. Tasty. Have some right now. Note non-caffinated, which I generaly prefer to steer lcear of barring late night.

Bigga Cola - Jamaica's #1 soda. Imported here. Boring. Nothing great, nothing bad, just a hum-drum sweet soda tasted like weak Irn-Bru.

Jamaican Fruit Punch Soda - Pretty good but can only find it at the Jamaican food store. Imported as well. Tastes like American drink Tahitian Treat only sweeter and less carbonated. Sort of has teh hint of carbonation.

Ribena - Black Currant soda is too strong for my tastes. A little too much Black Currant flavor.

Cheddars - Cheese Biscuits for 95 p that are quite simply the best tasting cheese cracker I've ever had. tastes like the cracker alraedy has cheese whiz on it.

Red Peppers - Never know why I hadn't ever eaten a red bell pepper plain before coming here, but they are everywhere. I picked up 5 for a [pound, and let me tell you - good.

Shepherd's Pie - If it is not made in a normal British Isles place like an Irish Pub or a Scottish Restaurant or something, do not get it. Shepherd's Pie from the Indian store had mushrooms and red peppers (which do not belong here) and was too small of a portion. The bigges tinsult was that the plate included peas and potatoes BESIDE the Shepherd's Pie. I was quite upset. (For those who do not know, mashed potatoes are teh base of Shepherd's Pie, and peas are almost always included)

Curry - Only had it once, and that was chicken curry. Still, it was quite tasty. Picked it up from a place called Rice N Spice. I can see why Londoners are obsessed with it.

Fox's Golden Crunch Creams - Your normal cookies in a wrap for 69 pence each. Solid enough cookies, but nothing spectaculr. Will porbably try something else next time.

Fried Chicken - I've now had it from two different places. Not high quality. Steer clear.

Lamb Doner - Tons more meat than I can eat in a setting. Need more other things to go with meal. I got cheese on top specially for me.

Sandwiches - Found a place that serves with butter. Yum. Had Tuna (with butter) and Ham (with butter) for several lunches. I love it.


EDIT: Karibbean Kola - Another import. Tastes like Bigga, an Irn-Bru lite drink. Nothing special.

[cartman]

Order a Supreme pizza from Domino's. You'll be stunned at some of the toppings.

Other must trys are the pub foods.

Fish and Chips are the old standby, and I also quite liked Bangers and Mash. Each pub seemed to have a different type of sausage they used, so it was always a new adventure.

[Kalypso]

You are most welcome... I'm about to send you some more!

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by cartman

Order a Supreme pizza from Domino's. You'll be stunned at some of the toppings.

Other must trys are the pub foods.

Fish and Chips are the old standby, and I also quite liked Bangers and Mash. Each pub seemed to have a different type of sausage they used, so it was always a new adventure.

Heh, I've had both when I first came to London almost two years ago for vacation. In a pub called Adam and Eve's, if I remember rightly.

[Marc Vaughan]

I second 'fish and chips' and also 'bangers and mash' - there's a 'sausage and mash' restaurant in Islington which serves just bangers and mash (about a million varieties of both), definitely worth visiting.

Other foods I'm missing currently (hey you have to live out my culinary dreams for me ) are:

Jacob's Crackers
Baked Beans (with tomato sauce the way they're meant to be )*
Dime Bars
Sour Wine Gums
*Have these served on toast which is buttered with Marmite on it - yum

Things to try (which I can make here ):

Welsh Rarebit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_rabbit)

[Yossarian]

Irn-Bru

I love the stuff. I kind of *have to* almost, being brought up on the stuff in Glasgow, Scotland.

For most of my youth, you heard that Scotland was the only country in the world not to have a cola varient being the #1 soft drink. Then Coke and Pepsi started buying exclusivity rights in cinemans / drinks machines etc and according to Wikipedia it's about equal just now.

It has long been the most popular soft drink in Scotland, outselling Coca-Cola, but recent fierce competition between the two brands has brought their sales to roughly equal levels (perhaps leaning to Coca-Cola).[2] It is also the third best selling soft drink in the UK, after Coca-Cola and Pepsi, outselling high-profile brands such as Tango, Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite and 7-Up.

People often seem to either really like it or think it's totally rank.

They also have the funniest ads:
* Burger ad that caused overly sensititve types to complain
* We'd go straight...
* One place to look...

[Abe Sargent]

Marc you are crazy. Glad you didn't suggest the Jellied Eels.

I bought a digital camera the other day. Took a pic of this place on the Walthamstow High Street. take a look:




es, that's right, advertisign teh jellied eels. Yuck

[Yossarian]

Hey man,

Could you try to make that image bigger? It doesn't quite fill my 1600x1200 screen.

k, thx.

[Abe Sargent]

No prob buddy.


in other news, got an e-mail for a landlor dthat I emailed last night. We are going to see if we can hookup for a viewing of a flat, I beleive.

[Marc Vaughan]

Marc you are crazy. Glad you didn't suggest the Jellied Eels.

Actually now you mention it the Scottish do a little dish called Black Pudding which is very nice

PS> There is actually a 'white pudding' also available (complete with 'brain matter') but I have to admit I've never tried that:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_pudding

[Kalypso]

It's Operation Keep Abe in London- I am enjoying your posts So a few things...
1. Yes it was Adam and Eve's
2. Great pic
3. If you end up with a flat from one of my links, I do charge a head hunter's fee- a custard tarte if I'm ever in the London area.

[cartman]

The one food name that threw me for a loop was "spotted dick". Never did give it a try.

[Abe Sargent]

At the end of teh day beggars can't be choosers. Today I've sent out a bunch more e-mails to available flats in my price range that aren't anywhere near where I want to live.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by cartman

The one food name that threw me for a loop was "spotted dick". Never did give it a try.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_dick

[Abe Sargent]

Nothing new to report. The eleventh hour cometh

[RPI-Fan]

Even though it's looking like a longshot, good luck!

[Abe Sargent]

Has the eleventh hour brought reprieve?

About a half an hour ago I was in a bloke's flat here in Walthamstow. We hooked up this afternoon. His price is 33% less than the place I'm living in now. It's not far away from everything here. No internet, which will take some serious getting used to unless I can convince him to broadband us up. It's his house, so I'd be renting from him. No people to socialize with, as he's older than I am, so we may not have much in common.

He'll be getting back to me tonight. I wanted to bring down the lease time to three months from the nine he was asking, and he seemed amenable. I would accept a thee month lease if it meant I got to stay here for the right price. Then I have the hope of finding a more active or internet friendly place later.

Some people came and visited before I did. One is interrested for sure.

What will happen? In two days, I'm either in London or America, and I don't know which.

[Abe Sargent]

There's a websit ethat does exclusively Magic podcasts, and they were at an event yesterday, and interviewed me there because I'm this writer from the web who came over. It's a two and a half hour podcast, broken into 30 minute schunks. Here's my chunk. I begin roughly 20% into the podcast:

http://www.moxradio.co.uk/media/lorpre3.mp3

[Abe Sargent]

Got this e-mail a short period of time ago:

Hi there
I am sorry to tell you that i have decided to let the room out to the other person .
Good luck with your studies

[JeeberD]

Tough luck...

[Kalypso]

The podcast was great- of course, I only understood about 20% of what you said...

What is going on with the housing??? This is crazy- have you considered putting off your return ticket for another couple of weeks and staying in a hostel (some places are VERY cheap)? You might meet some people there you could get a flat with or get a lead on a flat once classes start?

[kiwiLB57]

Good luck mate, I hope it works out.

To spur you on, I can show you some ye olde pubs on the Thames that are superb places to while away an afternoon if you are successful.

Cheers

kiwiLB57

[Abe Sargent]

It's almost 6 pm here. No call from teh goivernor. In a couple ofhours, I'm calling it.

[Abe Sargent]

It's 7:30m and I'm calling it.

I even found a possible job opportunity here in Walthamstow in the last few minutes, but no flat.

I actually shed a tear or three on the High Street, walking back from dinner.

I'll post more later when I get a chance. Now I have to send out some business e-mails.

[Passacaglia]

I'm keeping hope alive for you until you post telling us you're actually in the US.

[Abe Sargent]

Well, I have no job and no school. I guess I'll have time for WW.

[Ryan S]

How much (in pounds) were you hoping to pay per month?

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Ryan S

How much (in pounds) were you hoping to pay per month?

400 but I could go higher. That one guy would have been at 430 or so and I would have taken it.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'm baffled that there's not one place in your price-range that you can make work, or even something temporary while you look!

[Ryan S]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

400 but I could go higher. That one guy would have been at 430 or so and I would have taken it.

Aah, I can see why you are having trouble.

I reckon that you would probably need to be paying closer to £600-700 per month to easily find properties fast. Anything at £400 per month will be taken up quickly and there will be no shortage of takers at that price.

[digamma]

why don't you stay at a hostel for a few days and pound the pavement?

[Abe Sargent]

Allow me to quote from my article for this week:

Why am I going home? Couldn’t I find some temporary accommodation until more permanent accommodation arrived? Sure. This was a financial decision. In order to come to London, I took out $28,500 in loans. I can cancel the $20,500 from Sallie Mae without paying a cent extra if I go home before school begins. I have an $8,000 loan that I have already deposited, and I can pay that back right now with a 3% reimbursement fee, or 240 dollars.

If I delay going home for another month, if I decide to leave, then I will have used my loans to pay for an additional month of flat hopping plus half of my tuition for the year, which would be about $9,000-$10,000. That’s how much it would cost me to stay for another few weeks.

How much have I paid so far? $2000 to the school to secure my placement. Almost 1k in plane travel. $725 for my laptop. Almost $600 for rent for two weeks. About $200 in living expenses and things I needed when I arrived like soap, a fan, blankets, and food. Around $100 in miscellaneous expenses like my subway faire or things I bought to take with me. $100 for a digital camera and memory stick.

In all, I’ve shelled out around $4750 with an additional fee of $240 to pay back my loan, which I would owe eventually anyway. That’s around five thousand dollars that I have invested. And in a month, I’d have invested another nine or ten thousand dollars in books, cell phone, rent, and tuition.

In life, you have to know when to not throw good money after bad. Don’t be the gambler who expectedly lost at Blackjack for an hour, so decides to gamble even more money to win it all back. Know when to say goodbye.

Yes, this is the end of a dream. But, my life goes on, and you’ll still see me writing this column from week to week, so don’t fret. For those I met in London, from Matt and Klaude to Rich and Martin and many more, have a great time! You really do live in the greatest city I’ve ever been too.

[Izulde]

Tough luck

But at least you went for it.

[DaddyTorgo]

that sucks abe!!

[Yossarian]

I still can't figure out wh you couldn't get a place. I pay 600 a month but my two colleagues pay about 450 each and they found places in DAYS on the web.

I can't 'get' why it's so hard.

On gumtree now, there are many offers in the £75pw range which I would imagine you could cover?

There are 'hunners' of places in your range. I don't see the problem.

?