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Im moving over to London, UK soon for my Undergraduate. Currently Im in Malaysia. Its going to be my first trip outside Asia, so obviously I don't have any idea of how things are there. I have a few questions I need to ask, hope someone can help me out.
1st: I need to buy a Sim card or Phone, I went through some sites and saw Vodafone, Orange and some others. There I noticed that Vodafone has some great phones on offer on "Pay Monthly" plans. What is a pay monthly plan? Do I need a credit card to use this scheme?
2nd: I am a bit low on budget, is it possible for me to find a furnished room for rent alone(NOT SHARING) maybe slightly out of town, probably a MAX of 15 Miles away from City Centre. I was thinking of 300 per month...
3rd: Is it possible to do part time jobs there? And If so, how much does it pay?
4th: I like to drive, so was thinking of getting a car when I become used to the roads. Lets say, I get an old BMW like a E46 318ci(my current car), are the petrol expenses going to kill me?
2nd: I am a bit low on budget, is it possible for me to find a furnished room for rent alone(NOT SHARING) maybe slightly out of town, probably a MAX of 15 Miles away from City Centre. I was thinking of 300 per month...
I don't live in London yet but I'll probably move there in a few months, therefore I've been looking at prices. Accommodation is expensive in London. For £300 a month (not including taxes) you'll be very lucky to find a small room in a houseshare/flatshare in a suburb, probably a not very desirable one.
I don't live in London yet but I'll probably move there in a few months, therefore I've been looking at prices. Accommodation is expensive in London. For £300 a month (not including taxes) you'll be very lucky to find a small room in a houseshare/flatshare in a suburb, probably a not very desirable one.
Petrol costs approximately £1.26 per litre (slight variations from place to place) and is rising.
Pay monthly mobile phones means that you are credit checked and that you take out a contract to have the phone and the plan for a minimum period of time, usually at least a year for just a standard phone and 2 years for smartphones like a Blackberry/iPhone etc. Pay monthly costs range enormously but generally start from about £15 per month. A smartphone more likely to cost about £30-£35 a month for x amount of call time, unlimited texts and "unlimited" data (unlimited here is n ot really unlimited but usually capped at around 500mb download). The other way to go on mobile phones is to "Pay as you go" - whereby you pre-pay/put some credit on your phone and then "top-up" as you need to.
Petrol costs approximately £1.26 per litre (slight variations from place to place) and is rising.
Pay monthly mobile phones means that you are credit checked and that you take out a contract to have the phone and the plan for a minimum period of time, usually at least a year for just a standard phone and 2 years for smartphones like a Blackberry/iPhone etc. Pay monthly costs range enormously but generally start from about £15 per month. A smartphone more likely to cost about £30-£35 a month for x amount of call time, unlimited texts and "unlimited" data (unlimited here is n ot really unlimited but usually capped at around 500mb download). The other way to go on mobile phones is to "Pay as you go" - whereby you pre-pay/put some credit on your phone and then "top-up" as you need to.
Im going to be new in the UK. How are they going to credit check me, if I don't have any bank statements or any financial documents valid for Inter-UK?
Im going to be new in the UK. How are they going to credit check me, if I don't have any bank statements or any financial documents valid for Inter-UK?
I don't know how they will view your circumstances. I would think you might find it difficult at first to get a contract pay monthly phone and the better route would be a "pay as you go" one.
Greetings
Rent prices for house shares vary a lot and the London Gumtree website is a good guide on that.
Mobile charges referred to above is fairly accurate but pay as you go can be quite expensive if you make regular calls. However your home mobile can be unlocked for use here at some outlets.
Petrol is just over £1 per gallon but there is also Road tax - £100 - £300 according to engine sizes, MOT - averaging at 60 pounds annually, Insurance- anything from £500 to £1200 per year and in central London the congestion charge every time you enter there. Not to mention heavy parking charges and heavy regulations which can trap you into penalty charges.
Credit checks will only be possible if you have a UK address which you can prove with utility paperwork for a minimum of 3 months including a rent statement unless you have very good international credit.
Part time jobs are available but often pay below the minimum wage on the unlicensed market and in any case the only £6 per hour approx. Unless you have sought after skills or experience it is rare to get a well paid part time job.
I hope all this helps you
Last edited by Freetruthseeker; 12-21-2010 at 05:38 PM..
Reason: spelling
Petrol is just over £1 per gallon but there is also Road tax - £100 - £300 according to engine sizes, MOT - averaging at 60 pounds annually, Insurance- anything from £500 to £1200 per year and in central London the congestion charge every time you enter there. Not to mention heavy parking charges and heavy regulations which can trap you into penalty charges.
Before we all set off for a cheap driving holiday in UK, I think the price of petrol is more like £1 a litre. Actually, I read somewhere today that it was now £1.20 a litre!!
yes my grandparents are stating its 1.24 (uk pounds) a litre which to those in the us is equivalent to 4.53 (pounds) a us gallon or 5.46 (pounds) an imperial gallon
which with the current exchange rate puts its a $6.97 for a us gallon or $8.40 per imperial gallon...(and everyones complaining were at $3.24 here in ct) people have no idea how expensive it is to drive in the uk, most people walk or take busses. motorcycles are also popular.
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