Living/Working in London(UK)

Hi, I’m sitting my CFA level 1 this week, and planning to live/work in London for a year next year… firstly, i’d like to know if there are many temp/contract work (6 months to a year) in the finance industry, especially for CFA candidates? secondly, how is the pay compared to living expenses? i’m currently living in Sydney, so i understand all about high rents, expensive living costs, petrol prices, etc… but yeh, just trying to suss out everythign i can… i dont want to have too high expectations when i move over there Thanks =)

London is great. Lots of temp opportunities if you have some experience. Without experience it will get difficult. Pay is good, living expenses are huge too so in the end that won’t make too much of a difference.

Dont worry, you`ll make good money if you are coming from Australia.

i ve seen quite a few australians who ve come to UK for temp work exprnce… just register ureself with a few recruitment agencies and u ll hv no problem at all…

thanks guys… are thehre any specific agencies i should be joining up with (for the finance industry)? any really good ones, and any ones i should steer clear of? also, what are the good areas to live in reasonably close to the city? and what are the high-crime areas i should steer clear of?

Bluey 1.8T Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > also, what are the good areas to live in > reasonably close to the city? That depends on what you like and your budget. For example, Shoreditch / Hoxton / Old Street is close to the city and vaguely cool, but not cheap. It is also in the wrong direction for the west end. Tower Hill is close to the city, expensive and not in the least bit cool. Ditto Barbican. Southwark is close to the city, less expensive, but on the wrong side of the river. Slightly cool. Etc. > and what are the > high-crime areas i should steer clear of? London has poor areas right next to rich ones all over town, often only a few hundred metres apart. For example, Highgate (posh) and Archway (rough). I would avoid Hackney and Peckham, but I’m sure there are many people who like those areas. You really need to see them to know for sure, but generally everywhere in zone 1 is fairly safe. If you are looking for a flatshare with Aussies and Kiwis (and also a job) check out gumtree.com. With the rest of the world check out moveflat.com. Otherwise, it’s estate agents.

Great thread. I’m very seriously looking at relocating to the UK. I’m a L3 candidate with a year of BO experience. I obviously want to work FO, but am willing to work BO in a shop with ops for FO within a year or so if it is in London. What are my odds if I jump on a plane and spend a week on the ground jan/feb?

Bluey 1.8T Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > thanks guys… are thehre any specific agencies i > should be joining up with (for the finance > industry)? > > any really good ones, and any ones i should steer > clear of? > > also, what are the good areas to live in > reasonably close to the city? and what are the > high-crime areas i should steer clear of? Keep away from most places in east london. Brixton is another place you also want to steer well away from (esp. if you are not dark skinned). I lived in Canary Wharf for a year with a french girl (her apartment) and worked down in Bank. It was bliss…

thanks for the tips guys… i’ve never heard of these places before, but i’ll look out for them… are there any aussies on here (from sydney) who can compare sydney areas to london ones? also, just looking on the job sites, i reckon i can get a contract job paying 25pounds per hour… my girlfriend can also find jobs paying 25 per hour… so between us, is this alot (too little) money to get by? considering rent expenses, going out, holidaying aruond europe, etc?? by aussie standards, thats good pay… but when you take into account the (apparent) high cost of living in UK, im not so sure anymore…

Also check out www.zoomf.com This aggregates all the london agent listings.

Off to London for business for a week and a half. First time there and will be in business district – Queens Blvd. Any recommendations of must-sees, places to eat, etc? Thanks.

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Dont forget to check out Brixton as well. Its such a posh area!