4 ms·

The bad thing in Berlin is that 60-70K is really a ceiling, if you want to stay in non-managerial engineering, and that amount is not something unrealistic for

by zerr 9y ago

The bad thing in Berlin is that 60-70K is really a ceiling, if you want to stay in non-managerial engineering, and that amount is not something unrealistic for engineers living in cheaper parts of the world working remotely, so there is not much incentive to move to Berlin. Btw, why do you find London much expensive? I mean, you can rent (or mortgage) a decent apartment in the nice district for ~600 GBP per month. And the food, goods, appliances, etc... is similar, or cheaper. And most importantly - people speak English! :) The language factor was a revelation for me, after spending some time on the mainland Europe.

Swinx43 9y ago
Just out of interest where do you find a decent apartment in London to rent for £600 or to buy at a mortgage repayment that low? From my experience that is definitely not possible.
piva00 9y ago
Where did you get the figure of 600 GBP to rent something decent (decent apartment + commute time) in London? Had two friends living and working there, both left because they were spending 1000+ GBP to share houses or flats (both are married) with some other couples or people just so they could keep their commute under 30-40 minutes. Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands also speak very good English and it's a quite nice experience to have the chance to learn a new language.
mstade 9y ago
No way you find a nice place to live in London for £600, especially not a place of your own. If anything, you might find a room somewhere, but it's probably not going to be nice and it's likely not even going to be in London. If you commute by long distance rail for at least an hour, an hour and a half maybe, to some small town way outside of London maybe you'll find something at that cost – but surely not in London proper. My rents over the years in London where, per month, in order of when I lived there: - apartment hotel studio in Limehouse: ~£2000-2500 - room in shared flat in Queensway: £1000 - 1-bed in Canary Wharf: ~£1650 (moved after a year because they wanted to back my rent by about 20%) - studio in Angel: ~£1200 - basement studio in Highbury&Islington: ~£1350 The studio in Angel was unbelievably cheap for a brand new building in a nice neighborhood. I was the first tenant. It had one of those beds you flip down from the wall kind of thing. Sounds off putting but it was actually a really smart feature, made the place feel like a 1-bed.
- zerr 9y ago
  I'm talking more about Ilford, Barking, Wembley, etc...
  - Swinx43 9y ago
    Sorry but those are definitely not what counts as nice areas in London. I also doubt you would find something for £600 in some of those areas today.
    - zerr 9y ago
      It's not posh, but definitely nice, quiet and family-friendly I think. And the air seemed fresher compared to the city. Probably the rent will be bit higher, but the mortgage was ~600 (several months ago) for a nice two-bedroom apartment.
    - mstade 9y ago
      I too doubted this, but I suppose it is possible, though the pickings are slim at best: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/map.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&maxPrice=600&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=499&radius=10.0&propertyTypes=bungalow%2Cdetached%2Cflat%2Cpark-home%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeLetAgreed=false&viewType=MAP&dontShow=houseShare&letType=longTerm&viewport=-1.20263%2C0.774913%2C51.2122%2C51.8257 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/map.html?locatio... Also note a lot of these would be likely £600+ since this doesn't show additional fees (estate agent, taxes etc.) Now, this may seem like an abundance of results – but a number of these listings are actually house shares, parking lots, garages etc. Maybe you'd be ok with sharing a house (I wouldn't) but I'm sure we can all agree living in parking space is out of the question. So maybe it's doable, but I think it'd be really hard work trying to find a place that's not kept together with shoe string and duct tape, while being in a decent area with a decent commute.
      - aries1980 9y ago
        Dirt-low rents on Zoopla and Rightmove are usually baits. Call up the agency and ask them if you can see the flat. They will tell you something like “this flat has gone, but I have something similar”. Finding a flat in London usually takes a month.
kahnpro 9y ago
You're crazy if you think you can find an apartment for that price in London... For £600 you can get a small room in a flatshare. Maybe a tiny studio or nice room really far from the centre. But a decent apartment in a nice district? Double that number and start from there... more realistic is 3x or 4x.

by zerr 9y ago

Swinx43 9y ago

Just out of interest where do you find a decent apartment in London to rent for £600 or to buy at a mortgage repayment that low? From my experience that is definitely not possible.

piva00 9y ago

Where did you get the figure of 600 GBP to rent something decent (decent apartment + commute time) in London? Had two friends living and working there, both left because they were spending 1000+ GBP to share houses or flats (both are married) with some other couples or people just so they could keep their commute under 30-40 minutes. Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands also speak very good English and it's a quite nice experience to have the chance to learn a new language.

mstade 9y ago

No way you find a nice place to live in London for £600, especially not a place of your own. If anything, you might find a room somewhere, but it's probably not going to be nice and it's likely not even going to be in London. If you commute by long distance rail for at least an hour, an hour and a half maybe, to some small town way outside of London maybe you'll find something at that cost – but surely not in London proper. My rents over the years in London where, per month, in order of when I lived there: - apartment hotel studio in Limehouse: ~£2000-2500 - room in shared flat in Queensway: £1000 - 1-bed in Canary Wharf: ~£1650 (moved after a year because they wanted to back my rent by about 20%) - studio in Angel: ~£1200 - basement studio in Highbury&Islington: ~£1350 The studio in Angel was unbelievably cheap for a brand new building in a nice neighborhood. I was the first tenant. It had one of those beds you flip down from the wall kind of thing. Sounds off putting but it was actually a really smart feature, made the place feel like a 1-bed.

zerr 9y ago
I'm talking more about Ilford, Barking, Wembley, etc...
- Swinx43 9y ago
  Sorry but those are definitely not what counts as nice areas in London. I also doubt you would find something for £600 in some of those areas today.
  - zerr 9y ago
    It's not posh, but definitely nice, quiet and family-friendly I think. And the air seemed fresher compared to the city. Probably the rent will be bit higher, but the mortgage was ~600 (several months ago) for a nice two-bedroom apartment.
  - mstade 9y ago
    I too doubted this, but I suppose it is possible, though the pickings are slim at best: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/map.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E87490&maxPrice=600&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=499&radius=10.0&propertyTypes=bungalow%2Cdetached%2Cflat%2Cpark-home%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeLetAgreed=false&viewType=MAP&dontShow=houseShare&letType=longTerm&viewport=-1.20263%2C0.774913%2C51.2122%2C51.8257 http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/map.html?locatio... Also note a lot of these would be likely £600+ since this doesn't show additional fees (estate agent, taxes etc.) Now, this may seem like an abundance of results – but a number of these listings are actually house shares, parking lots, garages etc. Maybe you'd be ok with sharing a house (I wouldn't) but I'm sure we can all agree living in parking space is out of the question. So maybe it's doable, but I think it'd be really hard work trying to find a place that's not kept together with shoe string and duct tape, while being in a decent area with a decent commute.
    - aries1980 9y ago
      Dirt-low rents on Zoopla and Rightmove are usually baits. Call up the agency and ask them if you can see the flat. They will tell you something like “this flat has gone, but I have something similar”. Finding a flat in London usually takes a month.

kahnpro 9y ago

You're crazy if you think you can find an apartment for that price in London... For £600 you can get a small room in a flatshare. Maybe a tiny studio or nice room really far from the centre. But a decent apartment in a nice district? Double that number and start from there... more realistic is 3x or 4x.