Questions regarding living & working in the UK?

Question

I plan on getting the Working Holidaymaker visa and I was wondering about a couple of things that maybe some locals could help me out with. I honestly don't know where I'd settle yet, but I'm thinking mainly in the London area.

I know that one of the qualifications is that I have to show proof that I have enough money to support myself for the first couple of months until I find a job, so approximately how much do you think I would need? That would cover just the basics: rent, food, transportation, etc.

What kind of jobs would be available to me and approximately how much is the hourly wage? I have a large retail background, so probably something in that area would be best. Also, would it be a disadvantage to an employer that I would only be staying for appoximately a year?

Also, I know that London is probably going to be pretty expensive to live in, so does anyone have any suggestions on any other cities in the UK that would be nice as well?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

the further North you go in the UK, it will be cheaper to Live, and because of good transport links between all the major cities, travelling about is fairly easy

so you could feasibly stay up North where it is cheaper, but it doesn't mean you have to miss out on the sights of London.

when all the tourists come to the UK, they always go to London, and the North always get's overlooked, but i believe it is much more friendly up here, with better scenery, and just as many sights to see.

i think the best city in the UK is Manchester, but i may be a little bias since i live near it :-)

Answer 2

guess you could need upwards of £1,000 for a couple of months unless you have a promise of free or cheap accommodation ... look at www.gumtree.com/ and http://www.loot.com/ as there are often flat shares etc advertised there

.. also have you looked at

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/...

the quickest jobs to get will probably be in fast food restaurants like McDonalds etc ... but they're likely to only pay the minimum wage which is £5.52 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older

(see http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw/#b)

but at least it will get you some money coming in and then you can register with agencies and start looking for the sort of job you're qualified for ... you can register with some agencies on-line so that might be something you'd like to research before you arrive ... also look for on-line job adverts (The Guardian newspaper has a good website but there are others) ... make sure you bring all your education etc certificates with you (or if you want to be careful, bring notarised copies and leave the originals at home) and some references that include email addresses to make it easy to check them quickly

yes London is going to be expensive but it's also probably the one that's easiest to find a casual job in ... but for a longer term bet I would suggest you look at other large towns/cities (we've got plenty of them, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol etc etc), it's hard to suggest which would be best, although the unemployment rate in the south-east, e.g. Crawley near Gatwick Airport, is usually lower than some of the places in the north

many people in the UK change jobs relatively frequently so only staying for a year need not be a big disadvantage

Answer 3

i am in the same boat as you haha let me know if you find out anything!

Thanks!