Find a place

To fulfill the second layer of Maslow’s hierachy of needs you are now looking for a place to stay. As London is now the second most expensive city in the world (after Moscow), you have to expect some high renting prices. That’s the reason why most of the people choose to share their place. Flat or house sharing is hugely popular in London.

Boroughs

In terms of geography, London is divided in 32 boroughs. From the expensive Chelsea and Kensington to the traditional Greenwich or popular Croydon, you have a large choice of areas to stay.

Postcodes

To find your way around London, postcodes are often used in accommodation adverts. If you know an address but not its postcode, you can use a (free) postcode finder tool here. If you want to live near a certain tube station, you can find the station’s postcode here.

The first two letters of a London postcode are WC (west central), EC (east central), N (north), E (east), SE (south east), SW (south west), W (west), or NW (north west) - the number that follows is a kind of random thing so you better check in a map for the exact location. Other postcodes used in outer London are (in clockwise order): EN (Enfield), IG (Ilford), RM (Romford), DA (Dartford), BR (Bromley), CR (Croydon), SM (Sutton), KT (Kingston), TW (Twickenham), UB (Uxbridge), HA (Harrow), and WD (Watford).

How to find a place

As previously mentioned, London is a very expensive city to live in. So many people share their house or flat with others. It’s a very common thing to do and a good way to meet people from all over the world.

I first stayed in a house with 8 people. They were from as far as Brazil, South Africa, Spain, France and England. To flat share or house share means that you will have your own room but share the bathroom, kitchen and living room with you flat mates. From my experience, it’s extremely easy to find a place to stay as long as you are able to pay a deposit (usually 4/5 weeks of rent) and a month of rent in advance.

You might have to pay your rent per week or per month but the adverts usually specify so.

The best websites to find a place without having to pay the agency fees are gumtree, the fantastic moveflat, the loot (which has a paper version too). Rightmove and findaproperty are popular but expect to pay agency fees (roughly £150).

Also, the agency will usually ask for references. You would have to provide details such as employer’s phone number, former landlord’s contact, and your bank account details.

Other costs

Don’t forget to include the bills: gas, electricity, telephone, TV licence and the Council tax (every year it usually costs 1.5 times of the monthly rent).

One more thing…

Your usually sign a contract for 6 months or 1 year. In the latter, you can add a Breaking Clause that allows you (with 1 month’s notice period) to leave the flat earlier than you contract specifies.

When you move into a flat, you will need to sign an inventory form to certify the state of the accommodation and possessions if furnished. It is a detailed document, that will be your guarantee should anything be damaged beyond normal “wear and tear”.