| Author | Message | ||
| Jim Schad (Jim_schad)
Intermediate Member Username: Jim_schad Post Number: 1110 Registered: 7-2002 |
friend worked for worldcom and lived in chelsea in '98. His rent was about $3500 US a month. 1.5 br, 1 bath, very small kitchen and tiny living room. Nice place, but small. | ||
| Malcolm Barksdale (Malcolmb)
New member Username: Malcolmb Post Number: 28 Registered: 4-2002 |
Ricky: I maintain a serviced flat on Cramer street in the W1M postal zone. It is about 2400 GBP per month. Go online and look for serviced flats. In London the Land is mostly owned in big blocks managed by leasing agents. In other words companies own big apartment blocks. It is easy to arrange and tough to afford. You will not be impressed by what you get, but London is fantastic and you will love the experience. | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1110 Registered: 3-2002 |
give me a ring if you want and we can meet for a drink and some pointers. | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 314 Registered: 8-2002 |
ross, some good points... i will be spending a week there in may so hopefully i'll be able to find something... | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 3385 Registered: 9-2001 |
Ross highlights some important issues. I know from experience | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1100 Registered: 3-2002 |
ricky, i sincerely hope you find something decent. however, i would strongly advise you not to get your hopes up from looking at descriptions and little pictures on the foxtons website. nothing is what it seems when it comes to those little gems. you would be amazed at what they get away with calling a 'bedroom' (there is a room in my house that i put the nanny into that is literally 6ftx9ft, but since it has a door and a window they call it a bedroom). i think you need to come over and stay in some kind of company flat for about a month to figure things out, ie what part of nh do you want to be in, what is the real commuting issue (because much of the system doesn't work), where are the closest shops etc etc. you won't know this just coming on a weekend, but when you book the flat you will be stuck for the duration. | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 313 Registered: 8-2002 |
thnx manu, given the fact that my fiance will not be working i think i'm going to stick to the heaviliy populated expat areas like nh and south ken... that being i said i just did a search in the two areas at http://www.foxtons.co.uk/search and there actually seems to be some quality supply of 2 bedrooms around the 650/wk range which doesnt seem too bad at all...looks like 750+ gets a 3 bedroom in NH and South Ken these days....maybe the market is softening a bit | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 706 Registered: 2-2002 |
Ricky, you mentioned two of the most 'trendy' parts of London - although no part of London is cheap, Notting Hill is particularly fashionable and expensive and 500 per week is towards the bargain end.....It appears the entire borough of Chelsea & Kensington is inhabited by people working in the city (the numbers of which have fallen dramatically in the last few years) which means when times have been good, rent/property prices have gone up dramatically (appear to be sticky downwards though....) If you're working in Canary Wharf, then I suppose to minimise the commute then Wapping/Docklands etc are a good idea.... If distance isn't a big issue then I think accomodation in Hampstead is a good deal. (would be inclined to say, undervalued). St Johns Wood is lovely (LOADS OF US ex-pats there by the way  ) but can be pricey - a friend of mine is renting a house there to a Texan oil family for 5000 pounds per week (no that is not a misprint) - I've seen rents in Mayfair of 15,000 a week... wooohooo! | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 311 Registered: 8-2002 |
tax equalization is already take care of...thnx guys | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 3379 Registered: 9-2001 |
yeah tax equalization is a big issue - make sure you keep a place in the US otherwise all that rent they pay on your behalf will be included in your income | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1094 Registered: 3-2002 |
ricky, i love to hear you say that ! (and so do all the other landlords here in london). the expats paying up is one of the driving forces on real estate prices here, so long may it continue. btw, given that statement, and the one about your wife wanting to live in a decent apt in a decent neighborhood, means you are headed for �1000/wk. make sure you keep that in mind when negotiating your package. another point, but probably already covered in your contract, is tax equalization. it didn't used to matter that much since both sides were around 40%, but uk hidden taxes like national insurance etc, are set to rise substantially over the next few years, so make sure that is taken into acct. | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 310 Registered: 8-2002 |
ross, i have no problem going on the higher end...••••, i'm not paying for it so what do i care...might as well live it up. thnx again! | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1092 Registered: 3-2002 |
a friend of mine has a 2 bedroom palce with parking over in the earl's court/chelsea area for about 500/wk, furnished. not as chic as notting hill, but suits your budget a bit better. you don't get a lot for your money here. | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 309 Registered: 8-2002 |
yeah, i'm going to have to keep the future wife happy...she wont be working so i'd like to be somewhere that has alot going on locally.... | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 3376 Registered: 9-2001 |
I am thinkin he is more apt to go for the "more likely scenario" - 1000 per week. When I did it I started at the low end of a range and as we looked my wife kept shaking her head until we were at the high end | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1089 Registered: 3-2002 |
the parts hugging kensington and the sliver of westminster (before it gets nasty towards edgeware road). the wannabe parts of notting hill tend to be further toward harrow road and the tube station which are iffy at best. fyi �500/wk equates to roughly �2150/mth (4.3 wks per mth), the devil is in the details..... | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 308 Registered: 8-2002 |
hey ross, so which are the nice parts of Notting Hill? | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 3367 Registered: 9-2001 |
Ricky At the time it was 1100 per month. As I said this was over 7 years ago and I was in a nice area ( right near Mick Jagger's place) but on the outskirts of London (I was working outside the city). That did not include council tax or utilities as Ross mentioned. Looks like my guess for the areas you are looking at were pretty good based on what Ross has said. If you get closer to doing this let me know I can give you a hit list of items to be aware of, as I am sure Ross can too. | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 307 Registered: 8-2002 |
thnx ross but i'm going to need a 2 bedroom... | ||
| ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member Username: Ross Post Number: 1088 Registered: 3-2002 |
depends on what part of notting hill. there is a good part, that charges like kensington, and there is a much less good part that still likes to charge high but not as high. a 2 br place thats any good at all, will run you at least �500/week, but more likely somewhere between �500 and �1000/week( it can go a lot higher if you want a more luxurious bldg, parking etc). this includes virtually nothing; you pay phone, electricity, gas, council tax, and anything else that comes up. if you can live with a big one bedroom in one of the best locations in town (hi luxury bldg, great location etc), i will most likely have one ready in the next 6 mths for the lowlow price of about �800/wk...... | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 305 Registered: 8-2002 |
hey tom, 1100 pounds a month or a week? | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member Username: Tifosi Post Number: 3365 Registered: 9-2001 |
if you thought Ny was bad- wait till you find out about london. The london guys can fill you in on the recent specifics. I did the same thing in 96 - a basic two bedroom apartment in Richmond (slightly outside london (like hoboken) ran approx 1100 pounds. It was furnished as most flats are rented funished over there, completely opposite of the way it works here. Anyway in the notting hill section for a nice two bedroom I would guess you are in the 3-4k range - but that is just a guess. BTW I loved living there | ||
| Ricky Nardis (Rickyn_f355)
Member Username: Rickyn_f355 Post Number: 303 Registered: 8-2002 |
might be coming over on an assignment for 2 years and would like a 2 bedroom close to the tube...just trying to figure out where the market is before i head over to look around. Thnx |