This seems to be the first question Overseas Teachers ask after they have sorted out the logistics of moving to London. We have asked two of our Overseas Teachers about choosing London and then choosing where to live within London. 

 

The Aussie: Was moving to London an easy choice? 

It was a choice; it didn’t seem particularly hard or easy when I made it. I just kind of said why not and went for it. Obviously it took some research, but I had a teaching degree and I had been told by friends you could go to London and teach with a Youth mobility visa.

 

The Canadian: Was moving to London an easy choice? 

I had been trying for a while to get a teaching job in Canada and I had done some substitute work. It wasn’t very easy and I had had enough of being a fully qualified teacher and not being able to do anything with the skills I had learnt. I spoke to my parents and close friends about the options out there and they said how about Europe? London seemed like the natural choice, the curriculum was fairly similar and obviously no language barriers. I was definitely a bit stressed about the whole relocation but Career Teachers really helped especially with knowing things about visa’s, accommodation and jobs. 

The Aussie: When you arrived in London did you have an idea of where you were going to live?

 

I had done my research before I got to London and knew that I was going to be staying in a hostel in Kings Cross for the first couple of weeks, whilst doing Supply work and looking for a flat it was a good base that was pretty central. 

 

Once I had been to Career Teachers and had my Orientation I spoke to Ana about places to live and the areas I was looking into and she told me to look on Arrive Homes, Spare Room and Air BnB. I had already decided that I wanted be in West or South West. 

 

After staying in the hostel I moved to Clapham for about 4 months, then moved to Kensington for about a month and then went back down to South West and I’ve been in Putney now for about 9 months. It’s quiet where I live but the town is really busy and has great links to Clapham and into Waterloo and central London. 

The Canadian: When you arrived in London did you have an idea of where you were going to live?

 

I had done a lot of research before I left home as I wanted to know that I had somewhere to live the minute I landed. I got in touch with Nicola in London and she said if I couldn’t find somewhere due to things like deposits then to spend a few weeks at Mrs Wilson’s, get to know London, do some teaching and then find a shared house. So that is what I did, I wish I could have gone straight into a shared house as I wanted to feel really settled, but Mrs Wilson’s was really great and I felt very at home. I was there for about 3 weeks and then I found a shared house in Walthamstow in East London. Whitney had told that when she had moved to London she had live in that area and found it good value for money and easy to commute. 

 

If you would like to know more about where to live and an idea of prices in London then please take a look at our Useful Info page with a borough guide and tips about living in London.