London, England

[shanshan]

I'm heading to the Courtauld this fall, minus my boyfriend. We have grand plans for him to be making a few visits over the course of my studies. I'm on a one year MA plan and am not sure where to live. Any one else studied or studying or about to study in London? Courtuald offers dorm housing, but if I remember undergrad correctly, it was stupid to try and have an guest in a dorm room. That said, I dont know really where to live in London, and I've been out of school for five years so I'm a bit concerned I'll be overwhelmed enough with the school aspect of life to also try to navigate a new city? I live in NYC so I'm used to commuting. But that doesn't mean I like it. Anyone have any thoughts or advice? Have you lived and studied in London before and did the commute drag you down? Are you a very cool studious nice person also moving to London and in search of cheap housing? If any of these apply to you, let's chat!

[London-Tokyo]

Question--

Right now, I'm worried about UCL/SOAS Student Accomodations--

So, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for places to stay near either UCL or SOAS? (Preferably the latter...although I haven't decided...)

Basically, I'm hoping for something affordable (doesn't have to be too cheap but also not too expensive),

that's close to the uni's but also pretty nice, quiet, and has an overall sane environment...

If anyone has any experience with flats (are they basically studios but in the UK? lol) around the SOAS/UCL area that'd be nice.

Russell Square/Euston Square I think...

And, since I don't know anyone there...I don't think I'd go find a random person to share with--for a year lol,

just a nice studio--with decent building, close to things...

Yup--

**Update: So far, I've decided to make my 1st Choice--International Hall (Intercollegiate Halls) & 2nd Choice---College Hall (Intercollegiate Halls)...

Does anyone have an opinion on either?

Edited June 9, 2011 by London-Tokyo

[ajumpingpenguin]

Either of your choices for student accommodation would be very convenient to either school. Though, they'll be residence halls so you wouldn't be getting your own studio or anything. There are some individual flats, but as far as I know those are only for couples.

I know a few people who've lived in some of the intercollegiate halls and they found them to be alright, pretty standard/typical student accommodation. International Hall didn't have much in the way of cooking facilities because it's catered. I'm guessing that it'd probably be same for the intercollegiates.

Flats are apartments, so may or may not be studios. You could look on sites like gumtree if you want to look for private accommodation. Also the university accommodation office might keep a database of available places. If not walking distance try looking for places along bus routes or near tube stations that will quickly get you to Russell Square/Euston Station/Tottenham Court Road.

Question--

Right now, I'm worried about UCL/SOAS Student Accomodations--

So, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for places to stay near either UCL or SOAS? (Preferably the latter...although I haven't decided...)

Basically, I'm hoping for something affordable (doesn't have to be too cheap but also not too expensive),

that's close to the uni's but also pretty nice, quiet, and has an overall sane environment...

If anyone has any experience with flats (are they basically studios but in the UK? lol) around the SOAS/UCL area that'd be nice.

Russell Square/Euston Square I think...

And, since I don't know anyone there...I don't think I'd go find a random person to share with--for a year lol,

just a nice studio--with decent building, close to things...

Yup--

**Update: So far, I've decided to make my 1st Choice--International Hall (Intercollegiate Halls) & 2nd Choice---College Hall (Intercollegiate Halls)...

Does anyone have an opinion on either?

[ajumpingpenguin]

One suggestion for looking for cheaper housing would be to look for things a little further out from the center but on a train line that would make it east to walk to the Strand from Waterloo Station. More central, some people who were at King's (so next door) lived near London Bridge, Paddington, Canary Wharf, Whitechapel, and Camden (for some potential places to look). Thinking about convenient bus routes for when the trains and tube stops running might be useful.

Public transport can be annoying and a pain sometimes, especially when there are strikes but especially since you're familiar with commuting and navigating in a big city hopefully it shouldn't be too much of a drag.

I'm heading to the Courtauld this fall, minus my boyfriend. We have grand plans for him to be making a few visits over the course of my studies. I'm on a one year MA plan and am not sure where to live. Any one else studied or studying or about to study in London? Courtuald offers dorm housing, but if I remember undergrad correctly, it was stupid to try and have an guest in a dorm room. That said, I dont know really where to live in London, and I've been out of school for five years so I'm a bit concerned I'll be overwhelmed enough with the school aspect of life to also try to navigate a new city? I live in NYC so I'm used to commuting. But that doesn't mean I like it. Anyone have any thoughts or advice? Have you lived and studied in London before and did the commute drag you down? Are you a very cool studious nice person also moving to London and in search of cheap housing? If any of these apply to you, let's chat!

Edited June 12, 2011 by ajumpingpenguin

[ekim12]

I realize this is an older thread but I wanted to revive it for the sake of gathering more information about housing & UCL. Has anyone had experience with applying for postgrad university accommodation? Is it worth it? I know I'm late in applying, so I'm going to search for shared flats on gumtree as well. (The search for private accommodation is a bit overwhelming given my ignorance of the city...)

[orca_whales]

I am planning to go to LSE this year in september and would appreciate any information on living arrangements. Ie. is it advisable to live in one of the LSE halls? Generally, it is cost effective to live in the halls and to be on their meal plans? I will only be there for 10 months or so, not entirely keen on going on an apartment hunt in london, unless it will amount to significant cost savings.

[im4nrt]

Old thread, but hoping for advice nonetheless! I'm moving to London for the next academic year and I've never been there before!!

 

Anyone have perspectives on student housing at the Courtauld? Or where to try and live if you don't get into student housing?? 

 

Also if anyone has a comprehensive map of London neighborhoods, I would love to see it. Google has not really helped me understand the neighborhoods all that well.

[Katla]

On 4/13/2015 at 4:48 PM, im4nrt said:

Old thread, but hoping for advice nonetheless! I'm moving to London for the next academic year and I've never been there before!!

 

Anyone have perspectives on student housing at the Courtauld? Or where to try and live if you don't get into student housing?? 

 

Also if anyone has a comprehensive map of London neighborhoods, I would love to see it. Google has not really helped me understand the neighborhoods all that well. 

 

As in the Courtauld Institute of Art? I'm not sure how much (if any) student housing they have on their own but I think they're a member of the University of London so you can use their accommodation office -they have listings for private houses and also a number of student halls. There's also quite a few private student halls all over London, and Somerset House is so central you can live pretty much anywhere in zone 1, 2 or 3 (though the SE, E and N/NE/perhaps even NW might be your best options) -of course you can live further out too, but getting anywhere in London is already a hike and also you want to reap the benefits of studying crack in the middle of it all.

 

I think google map is what most people use -before smartphones and everything the hardcopy London A-Z was unbeatable (and maybe it kind of still is -and you can get a pocket sized version).

 

I've lived in and around London for quite afew years, so if you have any more questions feel free to pm me and I'll see if I can answer them. Also, you are kind of moving to the best city ever and will be studying at the best location too (nothing beats Waterloo Bridge for views or getting that sense of belonging )

[jimnyjames]

Hi,

I'm an international student that will be attending LSE from September 2018 to September 2019. I'll be living with my husband, who's also going to be attending LSE for his masters. I haven't been able to find any recent posts regarding the best neighborhoods for students in London so I was thinking I'd give this a try. Since we are a couple that already enjoys its privacy, we definitely won't be living at the halls - but I'm having a hard time figuring out what the best areas to look at are. Since we are aware LSE is very central (and therefore the surrounding areas will be extremely expensive) we are hoping to find a relatively close neighborhood with decent rent, community life, cafes/restaurants/bars - we enjoy culturally diverse environments with outdoor activities (open markets, parks, second hand fairs, etc) and local commerce. If any of you has any thoughts on this, they will be most appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance!

[smallaxe]

What is your budget? I can honestly say I don't know anyone who rents a studio/one-bedroom apartment for less than £1100 - at least not one with acceptable living conditions.

If you plan to live without flatmates, your best bet is to look in areas in Zone 3 and beyond, with a 10+ minute walk or bus ride to a Tube station. I would recommend Poplar, Bow (east); Camberwell, Balham (south); Wembley, Wood Green, North Finchley (north); Fulham, Ealing (west). Take a look at Zoopla and Right Move to get an idea of prices for (usually unfurnished) studios and one-bedrooms in London. 

I hope that helps. I lived in the city for a couple years, let me know if you have any other questions.

[abenz]

On 08/01/2018 at 10:08 PM, jimnyjames said:

we are hoping to find a relatively close neighborhood with decent rent, community life, cafes/restaurants/bars - we enjoy culturally diverse environments with outdoor activities (open markets, parks, second hand fairs, etc) and local commerce

Hey! Born and bred Londoner here - happy to answer any questions about the city. I’d strongly suggest somewhere like Victoria Park (Hackney), Brockley (South london), Greenwich (its a bit further away but beautiful), Peckham (really strong community feel), Clapham junction. If you (or anyone on this forum!) is looking for rental places, use either RightMove.co.uk or Spareroom.co.uk (the former is best for whole properties and the latter is best for finding room mates). We don’t use anything like Craigslist or whatever. It’s really tricky but as places move so quickly in London, you could potentially wait until mid July or  August to find a place! Happy to answer any questions you might have via PM  

[Manana]

Hi! I got accepted to UCL and I'm trying to get a picture of the living costs in London to understand if I would be able to afford it. I'm an international student and don't know the city at all so it's all quite overwhelming. 

Firstly, housing: how much would you estimate that I would have to pay for a studio apartment in a neighbourhood that is nice for a couple of women to live in (which for us means somewhere where it isn't completely dead at night, it is queer friendly and the crime rates are relatively ok)? Also which neighbourhoods would you recommend we look at?

Then, other costs of living: I know this really differs from individual to individual, but like a general estimate of food, payments such as gas, electricity, water etc. 

Thanks in advance!

[Felix Zhang]

On 2/24/2020 at 6:40 PM, Manana said:

Hi! I got accepted to UCL and I'm trying to get a picture of the living costs in London to understand if I would be able to afford it. I'm an international student and don't know the city at all so it's all quite overwhelming. 

Firstly, housing: how much would you estimate that I would have to pay for a studio apartment in a neighbourhood that is nice for a couple of women to live in (which for us means somewhere where it isn't completely dead at night, it is queer friendly and the crime rates are relatively ok)? Also which neighbourhoods would you recommend we look at?

Then, other costs of living: I know this really differs from individual to individual, but like a general estimate of food, payments such as gas, electricity, water etc. 

Thanks in advance!

Hello Manana,

I used to live in London pursuing my Master degree. I've visited the campus of UCL and LSE. They're quite close. I lived in the residence offered by my university. To be frank, I'm quite satisfied with both the expense and its neighbourhoods. It's an en-suite located near the Thames River in Southwark, Zone 1. The south bank area is always hustle and bustle and I can promise you can safely hang out with your friends even at 11 pm. I tried to move out of the accomodation my school offered me and I also compared the prices between living outside and living in the accomodation. The fact is choosing the accomodation is much more cheaper and you don't need to worry about all the bills like gas, electricity, house tax and more. Considering you'd like to share a studio with a couple of women, then I suppose the price for each person will be roughly 200 pounds per week and 800 pounds per month. For commute cost, you can apply for a Student Oyster card to gain a certain percentage of discount. I can only remember if you get a student card, you can enjoy a £1.5-2.5 single way by bus. The tube there is quite expensive but sorry I forgot the detailed price (about 4-6 single way? I suppose). When it comes to food, the cost is around £5-15 per meal. But if you choose to have your meal at an exquisite restaurant, then the price will be around £30-80.

It's been quite a while after your last log-in. However, I assume most of the students who're accepted to get a place in UCL might choose to defer their offers. So, I hope my comment can still help you in some way.

All the best,

Felix.

[Manana]

On 5/26/2021 at 11:49 AM, Felix Zhang said:

Hello Manana,

I used to live in London pursuing my Master degree. I've visited the campus of UCL and LSE. They're quite close. I lived in the residence offered by my university. To be frank, I'm quite satisfied with both the expense and its neighbourhoods. It's an en-suite located near the Thames River in Southwark, Zone 1. The south bank area is always hustle and bustle and I can promise you can safely hang out with your friends even at 11 pm. I tried to move out of the accomodation my school offered me and I also compared the prices between living outside and living in the accomodation. The fact is choosing the accomodation is much more cheaper and you don't need to worry about all the bills like gas, electricity, house tax and more. Considering you'd like to share a studio with a couple of women, then I suppose the price for each person will be roughly 200 pounds per week and 800 pounds per month. For commute cost, you can apply for a Student Oyster card to gain a certain percentage of discount. I can only remember if you get a student card, you can enjoy a £1.5-2.5 single way by bus. The tube there is quite expensive but sorry I forgot the detailed price (about 4-6 single way? I suppose). When it comes to food, the cost is around £5-15 per meal. But if you choose to have your meal at an exquisite restaurant, then the price will be around £30-80.

It's been quite a while after your last log-in. However, I assume most of the students who're accepted to get a place in UCL might choose to defer their offers. So, I hope my comment can still help you in some way.

All the best,

Felix.

Thank you so much!