Hello fellow warriors!

This is for some advice on housing:

1. I am looking for a studio in London, not willing to spend more than very basic minimum, let's say 150 a week, or less hopefully, for moving in June this yr.

2. I wouldn' be able to provide a guarantor, cos I know no such people here.

3. ANy ideas on WHEN i should start looking? And WHERE? (I hope this wont count as advertising if and when people respond)

4. I know asking freinds is common place, but that's more for flatshares and I need a studio, really, with good security, near a tube, that's about all, not fussy about being in central London, and not a very going-out kinda girl so wouldn't be too picky about a great happening area etc...though would want an area that's secure and safe. Any suggestions for this?

5. If not, will stay put in the Halls if I get in!

ALl help much appreciated,

thanks,

Bug

You'll struggle....
Get in touch with the University of London Accom. Service, they have lists of approved properties.

I always loved Muswell Hill in North London (Northern Line). You'll probably be paying the full £150 a week, but it is very safe, great little community, lots of nice local shops to nosy round and lots of green space to work outside in the summer!

Hi mousse, struggle as in? I mean, will it be difficult to find a place in my budget or? :-(

Sleepy, thanks, looked up Muswell hill, sounds good, but how do i search for places? I guess the thing is that it may be a bit early for June? On the other hand I am feeling strange about leaving it till then...guess I want a surefire assurance of a roof over my head and stuff like that...

Any more suggestions you two? And others?

I think the main issue will be the guarantor thing; although it'll depend on the landlord/agent. You only need to start looking a month before really - but that does clash a bit with the Halls thing... does it have to be on a tube line? I used to live in Crouch End and got the bus into UCL everyday, it really wasn't that bad

If you want a studio rather than a houseshare try www.rightmove.co.uk that's where I always find places!

I've been using buses all this while...and hmm the guarantor thing is now worrying me :-(

Looking up the link you said..

The landlord/agent will want evidence of regular income, if not you'll need a guarantor in *most* (not all) cases. They will trust you more if you avoid saying that you are a student - call yourself a researcher at your university. A houseshare would be easier for you as it would avoid the guarantor issue, but its understandable if you'd rather live alone. You will get better quality on a tight budget if you are willing to live away from the tube lines and rely on buses

Sorry I was being blunt.
It'll be tight to live in a decent area. House-shares are much cheaper as well as avoiding the guarantor issue....
But what the lady wants....!

hmm my friends are renting rooms in houses, in bad areas for £7-800 a month. I HATE LONDON. Have you thought about living 20/30 mins out - takes you just as long to get to where you wanna be in london. How about Bromley?

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I am almost decided to stick to a hall (and am praying fervently that I get one!)

PS: Sneaks, my uni is in the heart of central london and I go very regularly, and I work there as well, so, no, outisde London not an option...

I wish I had more money, and didnt have to pay international tuition, scraping pounds from diverse sources...

wail wail

my uni is in central london and I work there a lot - I live two hours away - no excuses! Seriously though, if you end up living on the end of the wrong tube line, it could take you as long to get in as it would to come from outside of london.

What about bits of south London, like East Dulwich? The buses are good and it's still in zone 2 - I lived there for a while and it was fine, getting quite an interesting mix of shops etc these days I believe. I sat next to an MP on a bus once and she wasn't wearing a bulletproof jacket like that one wandering around Peckham did a while back! Some bits of south London are dodgy but lots aren't, ask around from people who live there. People seem to get put off by the lack of tubes though I've never understood that myself, and have lots of friends in that area.

Places like Bromley are ok for the overall travelling time but it's not on the Oystercard system yet so it's more expensive to travel in (my mum lives near there).

I wish I had a to-do list for this....I am getting scared now. All I want is one room, low rents, safety and security. That's it. Ruby I currently live in one of South-east London's nastiest areas (well am being a bit dramatic but still people get stabbed around my place)...

Sneaks's solution sounds lovely but it really wont be possible to shift out...

Maybe a hall is best...oh, but i want a place of my own...

Yes, some bits are sh*tholes but are located really close to decent bits, which is quite weird from a housing cost perspective...