London is an amazing city; it has everything you could need or imagine…but how about living in London?
I can speak for my own experience since I have been living in London for a year and a half now…and the first consideration is that to rent a room or a flat is expensive…at least compared to other European cities!
Here, the cost for a single room in a shared house or apartment is roughly between £400 - £900 per month and for the twin room between £350 - £600, depending on the Zone. (N.B. London has more than 6 Zones, where Zone 1 is the city center).
Zones
Fun fact: London is the smallest city in the UK! The City of London is just the city center (Zone 1). Greater London instead is all the surrounding area (from Zone 2). It’s not hard to guess that the city center is the most expensive part of London, certainly because most of the touristic attractions are located there. This doesn’t mean though that the other zones have nothing to offer. Let’s take Whitechapel for example, famous for being the place of the Jack the Ripper’s murders!
In general, what makes a London borough* different from another is how is connected to the different areas of the city. More connections you have, and by that, I mean the Tube station and lines and the Bus stops, the more you will pay. * The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that make up the ceremonial county of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council.
From a student point of view, it can be challenging to find out which solution is the best one.
Firstly, we should go through all the options we have. homestay, house share, residence: what should you choose?
Host Family
If you want to live a 360 experience, where you get a full immersion of the English Language not only in school but in your free time as well, I recommend the Host Family. In this way, you can properly learn the English language in school with qualified teachers and be able to practice it with native speakers once you are home!
House Share
If you want, instead, study English in the morning (or afternoon) and then have some time to enjoy the city and all the activities it offers with other students, then definitely go for the House Share or the Residence options. The difference between the two is minimal: in the House Share you are going to live in a flat (or house) with other students (the number of rooms changes from location to location). That is the perfect way to live like a local!
Residence
The Residence, on the other hand, is the typical building full of students as you see it in the films or TV series. Since the comings and goings is continuous, you will meet new people from all over the world every week!
But…What if you don’t want to book an accommodation with us, and you want to find it on your own?
Usually, this option is considered more from the students that are planning to live here for a long period of time, or they are already doing it. In London, or generally in the UK, house sharing is very common (personally I know just a few people living alone!) and there are some websites that are offering room lettings. The most famous one is Spare Room (www.spareroom.co.uk): very intuitive, easy to browse and has a lot of features (you can filter the zone ,if you want more than 1 room, furnished or unfurnished flat, etc.). Gum Tree (www.gumtree.co.uk) is also very popular. Is basically the same as Spare Room, but it might have lower prices! The last website that I have personally used is Zoopla (www.zoopla.co.uk), where you can rent whole properties: this could be the best option if you are planning to live with your friends!
Said that, if you someone asks me if it is worth to live in London….my answer is YES, YES, YES!
This was just an overview of the Accommodation options you might want to consider. For any need or problem, me and my team are more than happy to help you and to make sure all the students have an amazing experience!