British members! A question.

[Bhav]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

Yes but if I recall correctly, this is because the house is being provided as part of a low income and/or disability program.

 

And you likely don't own the house, just renting it.

I own half and can buy the rest later. Its called shared ownership.

 

My half is £149 mortgage per month, but will need early repayments on top to pay it off, and the rent on the remaining 50% is £109 pm and can be staircased to full ownership after 12 months or left on rent with housing benefit.

 

And yea, shared ownership is for either / both low income or benefits people, and there's very very few of them ever available.

[Canada EH]

You have it made Bhav

[AshleyAshes]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

Yes but if I recall correctly, this is because the house is being provided as part of a low income and/or disability program.

 

And you likely don't own the house, just renting it.

Which means his post is of no use to this thread and it's just him again bringing up that the government is buying him a house, which he has brought up in a strange number of threads.  ...I mean, I'm pretty sure there are people who have literally BOUGHT houses with honest to god sacks with dollar signs printed on the sides and stacks of bills inside, who would talk less about getting a house.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Which means his post is of no use to this thread and it's just him again bringing up that the government is buying him a house, which he has brought up in a strange number of threads.  ...I mean, I'm pretty sure there are people who have literally BOUGHT houses with honest to god sacks with dollar signs printed on the sides and stacks of bills inside, who would talk less about getting a house.

Where do you get these sacks with dollar signs. 

[AshleyAshes]

Just now, RorzNZ said:

Where do you get these sacks with dollar signs. 

I mean, I'm assuming that if you ask nicely when withdrawing liter wads of cash from the bank, they just give them to you.

Failing that, apparnetly Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Beistle-57911-Dollar-Sign-2-Inch/dp/B004355WOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519614808&sr=8-1&keywords=money+sack

Welp, I know what reusable shopping bags I need to bring to the next anime convention.

[dizmo]

On 2/24/2018 at 5:25 AM, yolosnail said:

I think they had the tables put in because the journey is around 80 minutes, which is quite long for the UK. But to be honest, I think it's just to say their buses are better than Arriva's (a competing bus company), which they are.

The frequency of the buses really depends on the location, if you are going into a city, there us usually a bus every 10 minutes, but if you go to a more rural area then they run every 30-60 minutes.

I have another picture of the upper deck I took before they changed the tables. The seats are way more comfortable than they look

Ahhh I guess that kind of makes sense. Really, even in the UK eh? I figured they'd be better since it's such a small country.

Those look really nice! Have you ever been to Birmingham?

On 2/24/2018 at 2:44 PM, Mr.Meerkat said:

To be honest, no idea as every city seems to have their own site (especially if you're a student). 

 

Double-decker buses are more common than single-decker buses in Edinburgh . 

 

On a side note, its about to snow again. Apparently we're getting 25-30cm of snow, which is still not enough to close school ;-; 

Ahhh do they? That sucks, I figured there'd be some kind of nation wide site. Double decker buses are easier to maneuver in such small areas, so I can see why they'd want to use those instead That's more snow than we've gotten here!

On 2/24/2018 at 5:31 PM, Canada EH said:

Hostels are the way to go

or

Camping

 

And yes Endiburgh is worth the trip!

Haha, I wouldn't do hostels; not really my bag. I also like showers so camping wouldn't be too high on my list

On 2/24/2018 at 7:02 PM, AntiTrust said:

I rented a room in a random house before, it worked out ok because we were all young and just became friends...

 

Which was great for about 6 mos and then blew up dramatically when one girl couldn't pay her share of the rent and another guy decided to move to NWT to be a welder without telling anyone in advance. LOL I don't regret it, but I don't think Id ever share a place with random people again. 

Yeah I'd definitely go through a renter who rents out individual rooms to avoid just that situation!

What a nightmare that'd be.

6 hours ago, Bhav said:

My entire upcoming house is just a bit under £70 per week.

I wouldn't want an entire house

1 hour ago, Keith W said:

The weather in Edinburgh is not as "shite" as some are making out

 

Edinburgh is a great place to visit and has good transport links + airport

Haha, it wouldn't phase me in the least; where I grew up gets 3x the amount of rain as Edinburgh.

49 minutes ago, Bhav said:

I own half and can buy the rest later. Its called shared ownership.

 

My half is £149 mortgage per month, but will need early repayments on top to pay it off, and the rent on the remaining 50% is £109 pm and can be staircased to full ownership after 12 months or left on rent with housing benefit.

 

And yea, shared ownership is for either / both low income or benefits people, and there's very very few of them ever available.

Yeah, it's not a terrible idea for a seller either as long as they don't expect a quick return on the property. There were mortgages like that in North America as well, and when the person defaults (which is more common than not) they get to keep the money. With the subsidies from the government, they made quite a bit of money.

10 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Which means his post is of no use to this thread and it's just him again bringing up that the government is buying him a house, which he has brought up in a strange number of threads.  ...I mean, I'm pretty sure there are people who have literally BOUGHT houses with honest to god sacks with dollar signs printed on the sides and stacks of bills inside, who would talk less about getting a house.

Haha, I guess he's just excited. In the US I could buy houses with sacks of cash. You can get such cheap housing down there!

Super ghetto, but still.

[dizmo]

9 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

I mean, I'm assuming that if you ask nicely when withdrawing liter wads of cash from the bank, they just give them to you.

Failing that, apparnetly Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Beistle-57911-Dollar-Sign-2-Inch/dp/B004355WOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519614808&sr=8-1&keywords=money+sack

Welp, I know what reusable shopping bags I need to bring to the next anime convention.

I don't think the bank would give you a dollar sign bag....they wouldn't want to draw attention to it

[Canada EH]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

camping

ever hear of guerilla camping or camping in plain sight, where you are in a large park within the city, and you just find an isolated area where you can hide. Victoria BC you are allowed to camp in city parks, 11pm-6am or something crazy, for the bums I guess. I camped on the beach.

[yolosnail]

1 hour ago, dizmo said:

Ahhh I guess that kind of makes sense. Really, even in the UK eh? I figured they'd be better since it's such a small country.

Those look really nice! Have you ever been to Birmingham?

Like I say, it really depends on how popular the route is. If I want to get the bus from Newcastle to Durham which is about a 60 minute journey, the buses run 'up to' every 7 minutes, but they're all double decker buses and nearly always full. Which I guess is why they just spent £4.5 million on 19 new buses for the route. (In case you haven't noticed, I could spend all day talking about public transport lol)

I've been to Birmingham a few times, it's got some lovely architecture (not as nice as Newcastle, but I might be a tad biased), but their accent is a bit too strong for me to want to go back. It gives me a bit of a headache.

[dizmo]

11 hours ago, Canada EH said:

ever hear of guerilla camping or camping in plain sight, where you are in a large park within the city, and you just find an isolated area where you can hide. Victoria BC you are allowed to camp in city parks, 11pm-6am or something crazy, for the bums I guess. I camped on the beach.

Haha, that doesn't sound in the least bit appealing to me

The only time I'd probably "camp", would be on a beach in Cuba or something like that. Had a buddy that spent 6 months there, lived on the beach the entire time.

11 hours ago, yolosnail said:

Like I say, it really depends on how popular the route is. If I want to get the bus from Newcastle to Durham which is about a 60 minute journey, the buses run 'up to' every 7 minutes, but they're all double decker buses and nearly always full. Which I guess is why they just spent £4.5 million on 19 new buses for the route. (In case you haven't noticed, I could spend all day talking about public transport lol)

I've been to Birmingham a few times, it's got some lovely architecture (not as nice as Newcastle, but I might be a tad biased), but their accent is a bit too strong for me to want to go back. It gives me a bit of a headache.

Haha, is it really hard to understand people? Maybe I should aim for an area closer to London It's just so much more expensive.

Maybe I'll look into a small town around London that still has great bus service.

How's Newcastle, for transportation and crime?

 

[yolosnail]

Just now, dizmo said:

Haha, that doesn't sound in the least bit appealing to me

The only time I'd probably "camp", would be on a beach in Cuba or something like that. Had a buddy that spent 6 months there, lived on the beach the entire time.

Haha, is it really hard to understand people? Maybe I should aim for an area closer to London It's just so much more expensive.

Maybe I'll look into a small town around London that still has great bus service.

How's Newcastle, for transportation and crime?

 

It depends where in Birmingham you go, but I personally think they have one of the strongest accents in the whole of the UK. I think eastern cities generally don't have as strong of an accent as western cities.

For Transportation I would say it is really good up here, we have the Metro, which is just like the London Underground, only smaller which goes through the city and into the suburbs, joining to Sunderland to the south. (You should read up on the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland, it's quite amusing)

The bus services are good, I use them pretty much everyday as it works out cheaper than having a car for me.

There's also good train links to pretty much anywhere in the country. I think it's only a 3 hour train ride to London, and there's also direct train links to Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, pretty much all the big cities.

In terms of crime, it's pretty good, like all places it really depends on what parts you go to. There are some places where you really don't want to go to, but equally there are some really nice (and expensive) places. We're supposed to be one of the friendliest places in the UK, and from my experience people are generally pretty friendly.

The upside of being further up north is that things are generally A LOT cheaper than down south, so your money will definitely go further up here. I know for the price we paid for our 5 bed detached house, you'd struggle to even buy a garage closer to London.

[dizmo]

2 minutes ago, yolosnail said:

It depends where in Birmingham you go, but I personally think they have one of the strongest accents in the whole of the UK. I think eastern cities generally don't have as strong of an accent as western cities.

For Transportation I would say it is really good up here, we have the Metro, which is just like the London Underground, only smaller which goes through the city and into the suburbs, joining to Sunderland to the south. (You should read up on the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland, it's quite amusing)

The bus services are good, I use them pretty much everyday as it works out cheaper than having a car for me.

There's also good train links to pretty much anywhere in the country. I think it's only a 3 hour train ride to London, and there's also direct train links to Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, pretty much all the big cities.

In terms of crime, it's pretty good, like all places it really depends on what parts you go to. There are some places where you really don't want to go to, but equally there are some really nice (and expensive) places. We're supposed to be one of the friendliest places in the UK, and from my experience people are generally pretty friendly.

The upside of being further up north is that things are generally A LOT cheaper than down south, so your money will definitely go further up here. I know for the price we paid for our 5 bed detached house, you'd struggle to even buy a garage closer to London.

Ohhhhh is that where people that are called Geordies come from?! Yeah, I could see that being a pretty thick accent. Newcastle sure is far from London though. Yeah, I wouldn't want to even attempt driving over there. It'd be hard enough remembering to stay on the right (wrong) side of the road! I'll check it out and see how it's rentals compare to the more southern areas. I love how everything's rather close. It can take 2 and a half hours for me just to travel to the other side of the city here, let alone basically across the country Hahaha, yeah. Ideally I'd like to be in a larger urban area, more people, more things to do.

 

How's employment in Newcastle?

[yolosnail]

26 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Ohhhhh is that where people that are called Geordies come from?! Yeah, I could see that being a pretty thick accent. Newcastle sure is far from London though. Yeah, I wouldn't want to even attempt driving over there. It'd be hard enough remembering to stay on the right (wrong) side of the road! I'll check it out and see how it's rentals compare to the more southern areas. I love how everything's rather close. It can take 2 and a half hours for me just to travel to the other side of the city here, let alone basically across the country Hahaha, yeah. Ideally I'd like to be in a larger urban area, more people, more things to do.

 

How's employment in Newcastle?

Geordies are from Newcastle, Mackems are from Sunderland, Brummies are from Birmingham. Pretty much every region has a nickname for their residents.

I love the fact that you can travel to pretty much anywhere in the UK from anywhere else in the UK an back in less than a day. We went to pick up a car in Loughborough (Non-British people trying to read that is hilarious) which is half way down the country and I think the round trip took about 7-8 hours.

Being a University city, there are certainly a lot of things to do, Newcastle is especially known for it's nightlife, but we also have a lot of museums, castles, stately homes to visit. I especially like going to Beamish Museum, it is an open air museum which is basically a replica of what it was like during the 1800s.

If you like shopping, we have the MetroCentre, which is the largest shopping and leasure centre (RIP Metroland) in the UK.

 

There are quite a lot of jobs in the IT sector up here, and a lot of call centres. But I think we still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country so there is a lot of competition for jobs

[IntMD]

On 23/02/2018 at 8:10 AM, Canada EH said:

 

 

This map disturbs me. If correct, you were likely less than 14 miles from me.... haha

[Tcrumpen]

On 23/02/2018 at 5:05 AM, dizmo said:

Have any of you ever rented out a single room in a flat?

If so, how did you find it? Do they usually have individual locks on the bedroom doors? How were your roommates? Do they usually turn out to be douche bags?

I'm thinking about moving to London, Manchester or another city for a year or so and renting just a room is a lot cheaper than going for a full apartment.

Out here, it's usually just renting a room in a house, no extra security.

I only have experience with university accommodation where i shared with friends; it can be tricky at first as you all have to be flexible to other peoples schedules. Just cos you might be ok staying up playing music till 2am doesn't mean your housemates will be fine with it

 

Moving to London is VERY EXPENSIVE! my colleague pays £1700 pcm ($2340.44 if your american) for a 2 bed flat near the centre of London so renting a room will be a bit cheaper but not that much, you're best best if you want city life is to look at the outlying villages/town of some the cities and you'll get better more for your money plus you can still get into the city easy

Generally rooms here in the UK are just the closing doors with no locks but the main door into the building has a lock; unless it's a hotel of course

[davrosG5]

If you are renting a room then whether or not it has a lock on it will depend on how many other non-related people you are sharing with. If there's more than 2 (including yourself) then the house should be let as a House of Multiple Occupation/Occupancy (you may see this referred to as a HOMO and no, I'm not kidding). Rules vary between different council areas at to what constitutes a HOMO.

 

Ideally try and look at the room before agreeing to anything. Also be aware that, particularly round London, there are plenty of room letting scams - I'd be suspicious of ones that ask you to transfer money by the likes of Western Union and so on.

 

Public transport in the UK can be a bit hit and miss. It generally works fine but is a bit of an embarrassment compared to much of the rest of Europe in terms of reliability and cost (particularly the trains). If you want to go by train try and book stuff in advance as it normally works out very much cheaper. If you can't book in advance then try to avoid travelling during 'peak' time (when people are commuting) - this can vary by train company so check. You usually have to have a ticket before you board the train otherwise you can be fined.

Buses are usually okay but check if you need exact change - some buses won't give change.

 

If you go to Scotland try and see other places apart from Edinburgh. Glasgow is actually a much bigger city than Edinburgh (by about a third in terms of population) and has plenty to see and do as well.

If you go to Edinburgh around August the Festival is on so it's hellishly busy and accommodation is like gold dust but the amount of stuff on is phenomenal (but it's always seems to be at a different venue up a massive hill).

[dalekphalm]

Keep in mind you can generally ask a landlord to install a lock on the door for you. Most will accept, but some might bill you for it. And they will still have a key for the lock of course.

[dizmo]

On 2/26/2018 at 5:59 PM, yolosnail said:

Geordies are from Newcastle, Mackems are from Sunderland, Brummies are from Birmingham. Pretty much every region has a nickname for their residents.

I love the fact that you can travel to pretty much anywhere in the UK from anywhere else in the UK an back in less than a day. We went to pick up a car in Loughborough (Non-British people trying to read that is hilarious) which is half way down the country and I think the round trip took about 7-8 hours.

Being a University city, there are certainly a lot of things to do, Newcastle is especially known for it's nightlife, but we also have a lot of museums, castles, stately homes to visit. I especially like going to Beamish Museum, it is an open air museum which is basically a replica of what it was like during the 1800s.

If you like shopping, we have the MetroCentre, which is the largest shopping and leasure centre (RIP Metroland) in the UK.

 

There are quite a lot of jobs in the IT sector up here, and a lot of call centres. But I think we still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country so there is a lot of competition for jobs

Haha, interesting. I was looking at Birmingham and apparently there are a lot of neighborhoods that are better avoided. Has me thinking a smaller city might be a bit more safe I know! It's insane. For example, by train, it takes me a little over an hour to reach the other side of the city. You can get from Birmingham to London in the same amount of time (almost)! I checked out that museum, it looks awesome! I'll have to add that to the list of places I'd like to see. I'll try and find a site that breaks down unemployment numbers by city.

11 hours ago, Tcrumpen said:

I only have experience with university accommodation where i shared with friends; it can be tricky at first as you all have to be flexible to other peoples schedules. Just cos you might be ok staying up playing music till 2am doesn't mean your housemates will be fine with it

 

Moving to London is VERY EXPENSIVE! my colleague pays £1700 pcm ($2340.44 if your american) for a 2 bed flat near the centre of London so renting a room will be a bit cheaper but not that much, you're best best if you want city life is to look at the outlying villages/town of some the cities and you'll get better more for your money plus you can still get into the city easy

Generally rooms here in the UK are just the closing doors with no locks but the main door into the building has a lock; unless it's a hotel of course

I'm not really at the age where I'd be staying up until 2am playing music

Haha yeah I've been noticing how expensive it is! I just figured there'd be more work there since it's sort of the central area.

I'll have to take a gander at train maps and such. Can you buy passes for the buses and train? Or is it two separate passes? In Vancouver they're two separate passes, and are pretty expensive if you have to buy both.

10 hours ago, davrosG5 said:

If you are renting a room then whether or not it has a lock on it will depend on how many other non-related people you are sharing with. If there's more than 2 (including yourself) then the house should be let as a House of Multiple Occupation/Occupancy (you may see this referred to as a HOMO and no, I'm not kidding). Rules vary between different council areas at to what constitutes a HOMO.

 

Ideally try and look at the room before agreeing to anything. Also be aware that, particularly round London, there are plenty of room letting scams - I'd be suspicious of ones that ask you to transfer money by the likes of Western Union and so on.

 

Public transport in the UK can be a bit hit and miss. It generally works fine but is a bit of an embarrassment compared to much of the rest of Europe in terms of reliability and cost (particularly the trains). If you want to go by train try and book stuff in advance as it normally works out very much cheaper. If you can't book in advance then try to avoid travelling during 'peak' time (when people are commuting) - this can vary by train company so check. You usually have to have a ticket before you board the train otherwise you can be fined.

Buses are usually okay but check if you need exact change - some buses won't give change.

 

If you go to Scotland try and see other places apart from Edinburgh. Glasgow is actually a much bigger city than Edinburgh (by about a third in terms of population) and has plenty to see and do as well.

If you go to Edinburgh around August the Festival is on so it's hellishly busy and accommodation is like gold dust but the amount of stuff on is phenomenal (but it's always seems to be at a different venue up a massive hill).

Yeah I definitely wouldn't be sending money ahead of time. Which means I'll likely have to plan to be there close to the end of the month I arrive, and just shell out the cash for an AirBNB for a week or so. I don't think I've ever seen a bus that provides change I'd get a pass though.

Haha, good to know about Edinburgh! Sounds like it'd be an interesting thing to check out though. What's the festival about?

8 hours ago, GamingMemeKing said:

Yes!

 

In my first place, i was living in a 3 storey townhouse. I shared with the landlord who was a kitchen designer and a tax lawyer, so they were not an issue in that respect, however the landlord was a prick and very controlling. I moved in a week after my 19th birthday. I stayed there for a year and left.

 

I live in Manchester, UK. I also want to move to London but rent is too high!

 

But yes, if you are renting a room, generally it's by a private landlord so a lot of places don't have locks. The cheaper you pay, the more likely you will have bad tenants or other negative aspects.

Haha, yeah that's the trickiest part; getting a decent place. Mostly because I don't want to spend a ton on temp accommodation to start with.

How do you like Manchester? Have you lived other places?

 

[Canada EH]

Manchester, its been so long, cant remember much. Lemme see if google maps restores my memory. Yeah I cant remember much of it, I remember the canals, and slipping a lot.

 

You must go watch a Darts championship and also a good soccer match.

 

If you want to save a ton of money, try the homeless shelters like maybe they got the YMCA or Salvation Army where you can rent your own room for really cheap, rather then bunk with people at the same place. Plus the food is really cheap or free.    

 

Google maps, search term homeless, thats the ticket.

http://www.mustardtree.org.uk/

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/manchester-central

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/homelessness

2 hours ago, dizmo said:

How do you like Manchester?

 

[Canada EH]

Hey, I got a solution.

Buy a van or minivan, should be plentiful in the UK.

Sleep in that, then you dont have to worry about da bums and trying to save a buck.

Gotta look out for #1 and that is yourself mate.

 

https://thehotwire.co.uk/category/vans-trcuks-and-plant,8.html?order=price&ord_t=asc&

 

1995 Toyota Tarago

£1,790.00

 

Or if you dont have that kinda cash

https://www.airbnb.ca/s/Manchester--England--United-Kingdom/homes?place_id=ChIJ2_UmUkxNekgRqmv-BDgUvtk&query=Manchester%2C England%2C United Kingdom&refinement_paths[]=%2Fhomes&allow_override[]=&price_max=29&s_tag=KGZcfKmp

 

I see a couple at $15cdn a night! Lots for $20-$25/night in cdn funds. I am sure they'd give you a discount on weekly and monthly rates!

 

If I were you, I'd skip Manchester, and stick to the coastline, primarly the southern coast like Brighton. Work in the hostels or bar/pub scene or whatever better paying jobs are out there, perhaps construction. Looks like most of them are 10gbp/hour to about 12 or 13, so its 1gbp to 1.77cdn, basically $18/hour - $20/hour.

 

Also try temporary services, where you just show up real early and they send you out for the day. Then you can just walk away and move on. Say an 8 hour day will net you $144cdn and maybe the temp service company dont take the tax off, and hopefully they pay ya cash, not check. Not sure how'd you get a UK bank account to cash checks, or even if you can cash a check at a UK preditory cash/loan store.

 

[davrosG5]

6 hours ago, dizmo said:

Haha yeah I've been noticing how expensive it is! I just figured there'd be more work there since it's sort of the central area.

I'll have to take a gander at train maps and such. Can you buy passes for the buses and train? Or is it two separate passes? In Vancouver they're two separate passes, and are pretty expensive if you have to buy both.

Yeah I definitely wouldn't be sending money ahead of time. Which means I'll likely have to plan to be there close to the end of the month I arrive, and just shell out the cash for an AirBNB for a week or so. I don't think I've ever seen a bus that provides change I'd get a pass though.

Haha, good to know about Edinburgh! Sounds like it'd be an interesting thing to check out though. What's the festival about?

Haha, yeah that's the trickiest part; getting a decent place. Mostly because I don't want to spend a ton on temp accommodation to start with.

How do you like Manchester? Have you lived other places?

 

You can get passes for trains and busses most places although unless you're travelling daily during the week a season ticket for the trains is quite expensive, similarly for buses but ymmv so worth checking out - depends what you want to do. Most places will do things like weekly or monthly passes.

 

The Edinburgh Festival is a massive cultural deely. There are plays and art stuff on all over the place. The most famous part is the Festival Fringe which is a lot to do with comedy and other performing art (drama and dance mainly). Lots of comedians doing shows at all times of the day (although the bigger names will usually be bagging the more 'prime time' evening slots because they can guarantee pulling in a audience. If you like your comedy then it's definitely worth a visit.

 

Fringe website

 

Not much up there at the moment because stuff doesn't start getting booked up until nearer the time although if you do want to visit it may be worth trying to find accommodation now. Depending on how long you want to stay it may actually be cheaper to get somewhere to stay in Glasgow and get the train through (there's a service at least every 15 minutes during the day iirc). Check out the National Rail website for journey planning:

National Rail

[dizmo]

17 hours ago, Canada EH said:

Manchester, its been so long, cant remember much. Lemme see if google maps restores my memory. Yeah I cant remember much of it, I remember the canals, and slipping a lot.

 

You must go watch a Darts championship and also a good soccer match.

 

If you want to save a ton of money, try the homeless shelters like maybe they got the YMCA or Salvation Army where you can rent your own room for really cheap, rather then bunk with people at the same place. Plus the food is really cheap or free.    

 

Google maps, search term homeless, thats the ticket.

http://www.mustardtree.org.uk/

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/manchester-central

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/homelessness

I've seen a couple darts championships on TV, they sure seem to go ham at them! I think it'd be hilarious just to see the people dressed up.

I don't even like the thought of going to the Y to work out, let alone staying at one. If I want to avoid rougher areas, why would I want to stay with homeless people?

16 hours ago, Keith W said:

Seriously dude, that is crap advice.

 

We have enough problems with genuine people being homeless without people coming here pretending to be homeless.

Haha, it's definitely an...interesting approach to say the least.

15 hours ago, GamingMemeKing said:

I agree with Keith. Manchester is one of the worst places in the UK for homelessness. 

 

Your best bet is just to use Rightmove or Gumtree to find a house share. Generally, you could easily find a place for around £300 per month with all bills included.

Yeah I've been looking at Rightmove, I just wasn't sure if that was the major site or not. In Canada it goes between Kijiji and Craigslist, depending on the city. Ideally I'd find a broker of some kind, and go through them as it seems a little more secure than going through a private party.

13 hours ago, Canada EH said:

Hey, I got a solution.

Buy a van or minivan, should be plentiful in the UK.

Sleep in that, then you dont have to worry about da bums and trying to save a buck.

Gotta look out for #1 and that is yourself mate

Or if you dont have that kinda cash

https://www.airbnb.ca/s/Manchester--England--United-Kingdom/homes?place_id=ChIJ2_UmUkxNekgRqmv-BDgUvtk&query=Manchester%2C England%2C United Kingdom&refinement_paths[]=%2Fhomes&allow_override[]=&price_max=29&s_tag=KGZcfKmp

 

I see a couple at $15cdn a night! Lots for $20-$25/night in cdn funds. I am sure they'd give you a discount on weekly and monthly rates!

 

If I were you, I'd skip Manchester, and stick to the coastline, primarly the southern coast like Brighton. Work in the hostels or bar/pub scene or whatever better paying jobs are out there, perhaps construction. Looks like most of them are 10gbp/hour to about 12 or 13, so its 1gbp to 1.77cdn, basically $18/hour - $20/hour.

 

Also try temporary services, where you just show up real early and they send you out for the day. Then you can just walk away and move on. Say an 8 hour day will net you $144cdn and maybe the temp service company dont take the tax off, and hopefully they pay ya cash, not check. Not sure how'd you get a UK bank account to cash checks, or even if you can cash a check at a UK preditory cash/loan store.

Hahah, I had a friend who lived in a van for a couple years after we left high school. He'd go to the community center to take showers. Definitely not something I'd ever want to do, but he enjoyed himself. I also have no interest in owning a vehicle in the UK.

 

I'd probably go into banking or retail management instead of construction. I do that now, and I'm not a huge fan. I also hate the food industry.

Getting a bank account wouldn't be a huge issue with a work visa

13 hours ago, davrosG5 said:

You can get passes for trains and busses most places although unless you're travelling daily during the week a season ticket for the trains is quite expensive, similarly for buses but ymmv so worth checking out - depends what you want to do. Most places will do things like weekly or monthly passes.

 

The Edinburgh Festival is a massive cultural deely. There are plays and art stuff on all over the place. The most famous part is the Festival Fringe which is a lot to do with comedy and other performing art (drama and dance mainly). Lots of comedians doing shows at all times of the day (although the bigger names will usually be bagging the more 'prime time' evening slots because they can guarantee pulling in a audience. If you like your comedy then it's definitely worth a visit.

 

Fringe website

 

Not much up there at the moment because stuff doesn't start getting booked up until nearer the time although if you do want to visit it may be worth trying to find accommodation now. Depending on how long you want to stay it may actually be cheaper to get somewhere to stay in Glasgow and get the train through (there's a service at least every 15 minutes during the day iirc). Check out the National Rail website for journey planning:

National Rail

I like how they have the option for yearly tickets though, that's pretty convenient and not overly common out here; though the discount for that over just getting monthly passes isn't that great.

 

Haha, I'd probably go see that after a year or so in the country...that way if they have a thick accent I can actually understand what they're saying Hopefully, at least!

12 minutes ago, Keith W said:

You really need to look into this properly and get the correct advice from an accredited source and not off of an internet forum.

 

Off the top of my head you will only be allowed to stay in the UK 6 months as a tourist.

 

From what you have said you do not fit the criteria for any of the work visas that may allow you to extend your stay.

 

You can not work in the UK on a tourist visa and if you do and are found out you will be arrested and your stay in the UK will be cut short as they send you back to Canada and your name will be added to the no entry list

 

Also if you are stopped by immigration and can not prove you have the funds, or access to the funds, to support yourself whilst staying in the UK they are likely to deny you entry.

 

I don't want to put a downer on your plans but like I said above get proper advice from an accredited source

Funny thing, you can actually get tips and advice from more than one source! I know, who'd have thought right?

You'd be incorrect. I'd be coming in on an ancestry visa, which allows me to live and work in the UK unrestricted for 5 years.

After the 5 years, if I like I can apply for UK residency.

I'll likely have upwards of $30k in the bank and a $10k VISA. So. Funds aren't an issue.

[Canada EH]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

rougher areas

that aint rough

 

besides a penny saved is a penny earned

[dizmo]

3 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

that aint rough

 

besides a penny saved is a penny earned

Haha, I value comfort over saving that much money

Money's made to be spent. You can't take it with you when you die. And so on and so forth.

[Canada EH]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Haha, I value comfort over saving that much money

Money's made to be spent. You can't take it with you when you die. And so on and so forth.

I'm tellin ya, some of those bum places are pretty cush!! Get your own room with a lock for $250/m come and go as you please.

 

Have a look at Airbnb, there are some cheap rooms to rent, though that is for today's date, come tourist high season who knows what the price will be.

 

Maybe some British LTT forum members want some extra cash