The London & Eurotrip thread

[dhills2]

So... heading to London at the end of the year for a good while.

Need some advice and helpful tips on where to live, cost of living, easiest way to find temp jobs (legal background but will pull beers & clean thrones if I have to), affordable golf courses in the area & all that jazz.

Been told to forget busabout tours & Contiki etc when roaming Europe & just buy 15 trip/2-month passes on eurolines & eurorail depending on which countries I'm travelling through. Also been to told that ryanair, aerlingus & easyjet offer pretty good discount flights as long as it has online boarding passes for free & you are aware of luggage fees etc.

Finally, where are the 'must see' destinations in your opinion? I was all keen on speding plenty of time in Southern France and Spain but now I have been encouraged to travel as far east as Estonia (supposedly the hidden gem of Europe according to friends who have recently visited). I suppose East is cheaper - one advantage.

[poidda]

Sounds great. You'll have a blast. Best bet is to just get there, move into a share house and you'll work everything out from there.

The more remote you go, the quieter the places will be. I spent 3 months one summer in Croatia not long after the war, and it was awesome.

The Gum Tree was the best source for accom etc back when I was over there, and it still seems busy.
http://www.gumtree.com

Have fun.

[PerryGroves]

Good times, the big off.

Travel, whilst you will no doubt encounter any number of travel experts who will frown on going to touristy places, if you are there for the first time, you want to see the Eiffel Tower, Trevi Fountain, Big Ben, Venice etc. A quick Contaki tour gets all these knocked over in a couple of weeks and you can start going to Estonia, Morocco, Egypt etc after that.

London, lots of Aussies down around Clapham, well they are everywhere to be honest, legal work you might be in the city, Islington is a great place to live but pretty pricey. Living in London is a cash/travel trade off, get a job and then do the share thing somewhere close. Pulling beers is mugs work for shite pay, it gives you flexibility but so does being a contracter, use whatever skills you have, you will make the most coin that way.

The exchange rate is going gangbusters for you. Aussie/Sterling at 0.6 is gold and they are trashing the Euro as well.

Have a ball, the Poms know their weather is bad, they don't need you to tell them.

And most importantly, support The Arsenal and get along to a few games.

[kpac]

Mate you'll have a blast if you just 'go for it'.

Dont worry about too much and just enjoy what's there - i slept in more airports than i'd care to remember, but it was some of the best fun i've every had. East is good mate - real good. Bulgaria is fkn unreal - Serbia even better, Romania the east coast is just awesome. Get on "Wizz-air" and go.

I also spent a lot of time in spain and would highly recommend it. Go in summer and camp and you'll see some amazing places.


Work is easy mate - Go "gumtree.com" if you have to, but really if you're prepared to start at the bottom, there's plenty of dishes to clean/beer to pull. (I lived in a pub, got paid almost nothing, but free beer/food and bed) as an aussie, you'll have no problem.

[poidda]

Also, for those "Must Sees" like Rome, Barcelona, Paris (which I never got to) etc etc, do them in Winter. They are eary/cheap long weekends from London, and there's no where near as many tourists.

[Courty]

I had a bunch of mates living in Willesden Green. Quiet, affordable, and still within Zone 2 of the Underground.

Riga is the new Paris.

[dhills2]

Thanks for the posts so far fellas. I'd be more inclined to wing it if I was travelling solo but the girlfriend is coming as well. I've been told there is no way to avoid share houses if I'm after cheap accom.. true? Or is it possible to find a cheap studio apartment or something? Gumtree is good, been using it here for years. Will definitely look for work & accom on there when I'm there.

PerryGrooves, it'll be interesting to see if I can get into Premier League while I'm there... I'm a sports nut but not much on soccer unless it's international. Gunners... no way. If it's Prem League it's gotta be Steeeeeeven Gerrrrrrard & Liverpeeeeeewl!

[Courty]

Speaking of which, you still coming up this way later in the year?

[dhills2]

I had a bunch of mates living in Willesden Green. Quiet, affordable, and still within Zone 2 of the Underground.

Riga is the new Paris.

Thanks mate, quiet & zone 2 of the tube is pretty much what I'm after. Probably north or west as well. Even though I spent my schooling years in Western Syd & Uni in Armidale I think I'm too soft to head to east London or probably even south :smt023

[poidda]

As for suburbs, I've lived in Clapham, Golders Green, East Acton, Angle and West Kensignton.

All have their pros and cons. (read good and bad pubs)

[poidda]

Thanks for the posts so far fellas. I'd be more inclined to wing it if I was travelling solo but the girlfriend is coming as well. I've been told there is no way to avoid share houses if I'm after cheap accom.. true? Or is it possible to find a cheap studio apartment or something? Gumtree is good, been using it here for years. Will definitely look for work & accom on there when I'm there.

You can find reasonable flats. The only issue is the commitment if you're going to be coming and going between travels.

[Andrew_S]

For flights, keep this website in mind,

www.whichbudget.com

You select the cities and it provides a list of carriers that fly there. While not live, I found it to be superior to skyscanner and some of the other equivalents that all seem to take a commission.

[dhills2]

Poidda, good point, constant travels = no unit.

Andrew... thanks, I'll add to the list.

[Scottt]

So... heading to London at the end of the year for a good while.

Need some advice and helpful tips on where to live, cost of living, easiest way to find temp jobs (legal background but will pull beers & clean thrones if I have to), affordable golf courses in the area & all that jazz.

Been told to forget busabout tours & Contiki etc when roaming Europe & just buy 15 trip/2-month passes on eurolines & eurorail depending on which countries I'm travelling through. Also been to told that ryanair, aerlingus & easyjet offer pretty good discount flights as long as it has online boarding passes for free & you are aware of luggage fees etc.

Finally, where are the 'must see' destinations in your opinion? I was all keen on speding plenty of time in Southern France and Spain but now I have been encouraged to travel as far east as Estonia (supposedly the hidden gem of Europe according to friends who have recently visited). I suppose East is cheaper - one advantage.


Okay. here goes:

Where to live
Depends what you like. London has an area for everyone. Sticking to the circumfrance covered by the tube network, this is the basic sitch.

North London (East) - Very rock and roll, think Newtown in Sydney on steroids. Concrete jungle. Suggested suburbs: Camden, Kentish Town, Tufnel Park
North London (West) - Posh, green and lots of money. This is where lots of celebs live. Suggested suburbs: Hampstead, Primrose Hill, Muswell Hill
West London - Moving up in the world, with some really nice areas, but still a working class nod. Suggested suburbs: Hammersmith, Ealing, Acton
South West London - Perhaps the greenest part of London, lots of Aussies, jarpies and Kiwis end up there. Great transport links. Suggested suburbs: Wimbledon, Clapham, Putney. I live in Tooting which is 10 mins on the bus from all three of them and despite a bit of a reputation is a really friendly multicultural area with great pubs and curry houses, and right on the tube line, the benefit of which I cannot stress enough. If you can limit the number of kinds of public transport you're relying on, you're cheering.
South East London - Pretty grungey, and to be honest probably the least desirable address. Brixton gets props for its rock and roll atmosphere, but it's still not that pleasant.
East London - Like the west, is moving up from humble stock. Around Shoreditch and Bethnal Green is the hub of London's club scene.
Central (East) - Don't. This is the area they call "The City" - the financial district. Full of bankers by day and empty like a ghost town out of hours.
Central (West) - Heaven. Kensington, Chelsea and Notting Hill have Hyde Park and Green park on their doorstep, great shops and awesome restuarants. I work in kensongton and wandering the place at lunch never gets old.

Outside the tube network, expect a mixed bag. The UK is a bit different to Aus in that every council area has to have X% of council housing (housing commission), so there are shit areas even in the best postcodes. If you'll want to be spending lots of time in London itself, travelling in could get annoying and expensive. There are places like Woking (20 miles SW of town) with express trains into the heart of town, but they are few and far between.

Gumtee.com is good for flat-sharing and rightmove.co.uk is awesome for lettings.

Cost of living
Depending where you are in Aus, don't really expect it to be much worse. The benefit you have is the cash you bring over you'll likely be getting better than 55p per $1 for, whereas in Nov 08 I got 41p!

restaurants are expensive compared to home, but I find supermarkets to be better value. If you don't wander into the wanky joints, beer is reasonable (£3.30 or so for a basic pint).

Travelling
If you've not been over before, I still think it's worth making your first foray into the Continent a Contiki/TopDeck affair. By osmosis, with the safety net of a guide and other travellers, you learn a lot of the things not to do.

They are heaps of fun, really. I wouldn't do another one, but I am so glad my first baby steps in to seeing Europe were on a Contiki. Even if the tour thing isn't for you, you're guaranteed to get laid a lot on a Contiki trip. The lack of stress making connections and getting around cities is really good and it can be a good way to see lots of the "checklist sights" quickly, and to be honest, Europe's best offerings are away from the big places, but you still need to see them, IMO.

When booking stuff, Tripadvisor is rarely wrong, expedia is your friend, and RyanAir/easyJet/Monarch etc are great so long as you go into it knowing what to expect. Easybus is a really good cheap way to get to ther airports from London itself - the trains to the airports are extortionate.

Must see places?
St Petersburg, Moscow, rural France (Normandy, Brittany, the German border area. France is an amazing place and the reputation the French have is unwarranted - if you at least make an effort to speak French, even a basic "Bonjour. Ne pas de Fancais" (Hello. I don't speak French) "pa les vous Alaglais?" (do you speak english?), Bruges, Strassbourg, Luxembourg, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Florence, Portugal's silver coast, Berlin (which may be the coolest place in the world), Egypt. As well as that, make sure you see England. It is am amazing country: the Cotswalds, Cornwall, Lake District etc. Amazing scenery and friendly people.

Golf courses
If you want to play golf and have courses near you, the south west is the place to live. Generally the shite courses can be more than a little overpriced, but the decent ones can have great value, especially in summer: twilight rates kick in at 3pm or 4pm and it's light until 9, so lots of time to play! If you're here before Oct 9, I'd love to host you for a hit at Cinque Ports.

If there's anything else, just ask!

[Scottt]

Saw your question about cheap accom: We pay £230/week for a 3 bed terrace with a backyard 2mins from the tube and shops. There is value to be had if you look and don't get emotional when you're negotiating. Share housing can and should be avoided.

[dhills2]

Fantastic write up Scottt... exactly the sorta thing I was hoping for & I was hoping you would chime in. Thanks heaps, will you still be around at the end of the year?

EDIT: Just got to the end of your epic post... leaving in October... shame, will miss you by a couple of months as I'm detouring via Japan first.

[Scottt]

Here until Oct 9.

[damoocow]

So how was the trip?