can i survive in london

Hi Alex,

yes London is expensive.  However to put that into perspective, I am a Canadian expat and a student at that.  So it is doable.  I do not know what prices are like in that specific area, hopefully someone can give you prices but I would check out Gumtree.com to get a feel for that area's pricing. 

The tube/bus is very comprehensive here so there will most definetely be a stop either right there or very close.  The system may look to someone new confusing but its very straight forward and easy to navigate.

I could help you with more information given, what country are you coming from?  That depends on how expensive London feels as well.  As a Canadian when I do the conversion it makes me sad so I try to not do it in my head which was hard the first couple months.

Also for housing, there are lots of options.  Last year I was living with one other woman in her house and I hated it.  It was clean and my actual street was quiet and clean but it was in Woodgreen (North London) - not the best of areas - at least by the tube station.  It was dirty and lots of drunk people around on the weekends.  Now I am in Turnpike Lane (still North London) and even though it is only one tube stop away and within walking distance I love it.  I have everything I need in walking distance and I am under a 2 minute walk to the tube station.  Now I live in a house with 5 other roommates, all students.  Its clean and a much better fit for me, though I did view quite a few places before settling on this one.

The best resourse I have found as well is the London Transport website.  You can plan your journey and its comprehensive, letting you chose the tube or buses or a combination.  So if you decide to not live in that exact area where you would be working you can test out travel time and figure out how far/close you want to live.

Hope this gives you somewhere to start!

Melissa