London

nardo · 2008-04-01 22:47:52

any Txp people in London? what’s good? going to be there for a couple of months in the summer …

would also like to get some advice on accommodation …
from what I’ve experienced so far – daunting!

colak · 2008-04-02 08:12:27

London offers everything you’d like to experience. What are you looking for?

nardo · 2008-04-02 08:27:31

personal opinions and suggestions … I answered a Textdrive forum post once about the place I live, there are always good places that locals know about … and maybe on this forum some interesting web stuff (I spotted a five pound one day conference with the social goverment up-my-street type guys) … but to be honest right now I’m trying to find how to get a roof over my family’s head! I knew it was going to be tough to find something even at 1,000 pounds a month but it’s more cut throat than I thought …

nardo · 2008-04-02 08:28:21

oh yeah and… cheese

jakob · 2008-04-02 20:21:03

If you find ‘official’ channels or estate agent channels too pricey, you might want to try direct arrangements by searching through something like gumtree.

I was in London last summer for 4 months but had the good fortune to be able “house sit” while the owner was on an extended holiday and just pay enough to cover their ongoing costs. We did some work on the place in exchange. It’s a bit of a long shot but does come up every now and then. We met an Italian lady who babysitted part-time for a half-Italian family and was able to use their ‘granny-flat’ in exchange. Those kinds of stories kept recurring.

London is great in lots of respects, just very expensive. I have no idea what you plan to do or where your interests lie. If you or members of your family are interested in taking courses (in a city of such size there are courses in almost everything), try places like “CityLit”, “Morley College” etc. There were no barriers on taking part even if not from London, except that everyone has to go through the same enrolment procedure at the beginning of term so joining mid-way is not always easy. The courses were cheap, in most cases pretty good too (demand is accordingly high) and the CityLit, just behind Covent Garden, is a little melting pot of interesting/interested and varied people of all races, ages, interests and (dis)abilities. Arts Galleries also often (arts oriented) courses at low cost. There’s something going on everywhere. Being English I didn’t need language lessons, but some people we met took courses at an institute providing teaching opportunities for trainee teachers and it cost them practically nothing.

If you’re there in summer, and it is better than it was last year (rain rain rain), then there are lots of freebie activities, events and open-air screenings etc. If you’ve been to London before, you’ll know most of the museums and galleries are free. Get an oyster-card right away too – cheapest way to use London Transport. Time Out and the Guardian put out cheap grub, and ‘what to do for free’ supplements from time to time with lots of tips.

Web stuff? I have to admit I didn’t look much :-) Every now and then you see links to ‘web-geek’ pub meetings/gatherings like the one’s Jon Hicks attends from time to time in Oxford. Try asking at D.O. – maybe they have a tip for you.

Cheese – try the Cheese Shop in Neal’s Yard :-)

nardo · 2008-04-03 00:54:25

thanks jakob for reminding me of Neal’s Yard!

typer464 · 2008-04-10 02:21:38

try the beer, but then beer is good everywhere

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#1 2008-04-01 22:47:52

London

#2 2008-04-02 08:12:27

Re: London

#3 2008-04-02 08:27:31

Re: London

#4 2008-04-02 08:28:21

Re: London

#5 2008-04-02 20:21:03

Re: London

#6 2008-04-03 00:54:25

Re: London

#7 2008-04-10 02:21:38

Re: London

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