TasterLab

Moove2London is really excited to tell you about Taster Lab which is a brand new way of trying out classes or new experiences in London……for FREE!!! If you’re skint but bored after Christmas, then this is just what you’re looking for.

Have you ever thought about learning Spanish? Fancy yourself as the next Amir Khan in the boxing ring? Or just want some gentle soothing yoga lessons?

Taster Lab lets you do all these things in London, without the commitment of initially parting with heaps of cash and signing up for a term of lessons. Instead, TasterLab offers either completely FREE or massively discounted classes, so that you can ‘try’ before you ‘buy’ an entire bundle of classes.

Another benefit of signing up with TasterLab instead of one of the other famous sites offering great deals, is that Tasterlab won’t give out too many taster sessions at once, resulting in flooding a business with too many new customers and which they’re unable to deal with. Instead, tasters are given out in small batches and when that batch runs out you’ll have to wait for the next batch of ‘tasters’ to be released. This is of course a great reason not to mess about, if a taster catches your eye, sign yourself up for it before it gets booked up.

Taster Lab has different offers on all the time, but at the time that this article was written the following Taster sessions are available to sample for FREE….

• A 30 minute life-coaching session for FREE in North London
• One FREE group badminton session for you and your friends in South London
• 30 minute FREE private bass guitar, saxonphone, trumpet, piano, flute, drums, double bass, cello or clarinet lessons in South London
• FREE 30 minute golf lesson on indoor simulator in South London
• FREE Muay Thai Kickboxing class in North London
• FREE Mixed Martial Arts class with MM instructor in East London
• Outdoor fitness training session for FREE in East London
• FREE Polish lesson in a location of your choice
• 1 free group Squash class for you and 5 friends in South London
• 1 free group Salsa lesson in Central and East London
• FREE 90 minute Tai Chi class in South London
• FREE group Tango class led by expert teachers in Central or East London
• FREE group Wrestling class in East London
• FREE Hatha Yoga class in South London

This is only a very small selection of free classes in London that you can take part in with TasterLab. Take a look at their site today and have a packed New Year schedule for no cost at all.

Slutwalk London 2012

This evening (11th November) at 8pm at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in SE11, a fundraiser is taking place to raise money for Slutwalk London 2012.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term ‘Slutwalk’ and think that we’ve lost our minds, then please let us explain.

In January of this year, a policeman in Toronto, Canada who was giving a talk on crime prevention at York university, remarked that ‘women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised’. This attitude that a woman could be to blame for being assaulted or raped, has sparked enormous outcry across the world and a series of protest marches have been created. These protests are named ‘Slutwalks’.

Marches have taken place in great cities such as Berlin, Melbourne, New York, Chicago, Helsinki and Delhi, but on 11 June, 2011 Slutwalk came to our very own London. Thousands of people from different backgrounds, religions and genders marched to protest against the ‘silencing of our voices, the repression of our choices and the violence against our bodies’. In particular Slutwalk is extremely concerned that as many as 95% of rapes go unreported.

Slutwalk London 2011 was so successful, that 6 months down the line, they’re organising the next one for 2012. If you’re interested in supporting this cause and don’t have chance to get down to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to lend your support, then take a look at their Facebook page – Slutwalk London or take a look at their site slutmeansspeakup.org.uk

Can you move to London with no money?

It’s that time of year when many final year students graduate, have a bit of a holiday and then think ‘yikes, what next?’, so the question that we’re asking and answering is ‘Can you move to London with no money?’.

Let’s look at what you’ll need money for when you first move to London.

Accommodation

The biggest wallet zapper of all is the cost of your accommodation, whether it be short-term accommodation such as a hostel, or moving into shared rental accommodation, where you’ll usually need to pay rent and a deposit up front. Of course assuming that we’re not referring to park benches, then a way to avoid paying any accommodation costs when you first move to London is to take up rent-free residence on the sofa or in the spare room of a very understanding friend, family member or romantic interest. If you’re lucky enough to be able to choose this as an option, then thank your lucky stars and make sure that you don’t take advantage. Keep up more than your fair share of domestic duties to keep your hosts happy whilst you’re in residence and be extremely proactive in looking for work and alternative accommodation so that they don’t start to panic that this situation is forever.

Travel

Getting around London can be expensive, but it all really depends on where you’re based and where you need to get to. If you happen to be staying somewhere fairly near Central London and you’re interviewing for jobs and visiting agencies also in Central London, then you may possibly be able to get by without paying for public transport. Instead, if you have a bike, then you could cycle or even walk if you’re really energetic. But if not, then you’ll need to cough up a bit of cash for an Oyster card. You can purchase this in advance of moving to London – visit tfl.gov.uk/oyster for details – basically you pay £5 deposit for a pre-pay Oyster card, then add some credit to it and you can use it until you run out of credit.

Food and Drink

Unless you have exceptionally understanding hosts, you’ll also require some money to pay for food and drink to keep yourself functioning! If you genuinely don’t have any money until you find work, then you’re probably going to have to use a credit card or take out a small loan until you do find a job in London. Not ideal, but neither is starving.

These are the 3 main areas that you’ll require finances for when you first move to London. Of course, the way to give yourself a head start in obtaining money for work is to have started your job searching before you arrive in London.

If you’re UK-based (or from overseas) then the easiest thing to do is to upload your C.V to Monster which is totally free to do and makes your information available to headhunters from big London firms.

If you’re from overseas, then before you leave home you should definitely take a look at this Kickstart package, which as well as providing you with C.V and job assistance, also sorts you out with a UK bank account, National Insurance number, UK SIM card, free accommodation assistance and loads of other helpful services.

So in answer to the question, ‘can you move to London with no money?’, the answer is a technical ‘yes’. Given the right situation and some extremely helpful contacts, you could just about survive in London for a short while with no startup funds. Is it advisable? Probably not. It’s almost always a good idea to have some savings, however minimal, before you relocate to any new location, and London is no exception to this logic.

Rent out your London home during the Royal Wedding &/Or Olympics

If you move to London, you’ll discover that the capital is always throwing a different type of exciting spectator event. But none moreso than two events taking place in the next 18 months. The Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William taking place on Friday 29th April, 2011 followed by the 2012 Olympics commencing on 27 July 2012 will both attract millions of visitors and viewers from all around the world.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that there’s a quid or two to make out of both these occasions. Reportedly 1 in 4 London homeowners are now considering the idea of fleeing the capital during these events, in favour of letting out their own homes at extortionate prices to tourists. It’s actually estimated that Londoners will make £100 million if they get in on this craze! In many ways this does make sense. London will be heaving with people, transport could well be a nightmare and you might prefer to visit friends or family in the rest of the UK, or even take a trip abroad to avoid the mayhem. Visitors to London may find that hotels are fully booked or too expensive and those travelling in a larger group may prefer the convenience of staying in informal lodgings where they don’t mind sleeping on sofas or in sleeping bags.

Of course if you are considering making some money out of your home, the first thing to decide is how much of your home your accommodation you’re willing to give up. Will you be staying in the house with the lodgers and simply let out one or more of your spare rooms? Or will you be willing to vacate your whole property? You’ll get far more money out of vacating your home completely, but of course there are some massive risks to be taken with this. You’ll need to make sure that all valuables and sentimental personal possessions are either removed from the property or safely locked away in a safe (preferably hidden). You’ll also probably need to create some storage space for your guests and you may find that you have to leave instructions and notes that you may want to get across.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of how much you could get for your property, go home tonight and look around at the space you’d be willing to let out. The average for a single room in an occupied property seems to be around £50 per night.
Once you’ve made your decision, simply visit Easyroommate and post an ad describing your accommodation to let.

Graduate Extra Card

As many of you reading this site will be recent graduates who are looking to move to London, we thought you might be interested in the NUS Graduate Extra Card .

This fantastic card, which is only available to recent graduates provides access to tons of amazing discounts, a few of which include:

• FREE Premium Membership at Flatmatch.com
• 12% off all I.T courses at Wanttolearnit.com
• 7% off at Boots
• 4% off extra free at Asda
• 50% off at Career Energy – advice and support to kickstart your career
• 10% off Coast
• 20% off your food bill at Pizza Express
• 30% off the cost of glasses or lenses at Vision Express
• Great discounts with Ticketmaster
• 5% off TrekAmerica Tours
• 15% off at Austin Reed

These are only a selection of around 90 graduate discounts that you’ll be able to take advantage of when you are a Graduate Extra Card , holder.

Another benefit of the card, is that it offers all holders access to a FREE legal helpline.

As a new graduate, you may want legal advice on tenancy agreements and landlord issues, or you simply may want assistance in deciphering your new employment contract. Take advantage of this FREE service 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Finally, let’s talk costs. The Graduate Extra Card costs £30, is available to recent graduates. The cost covers all the above (and MUCH more) for 2 years.

It really is worth it, so at the very least take a look at their site and see if you’re interested.

Relocate to London in 2011

It’s the New Year and there’s nothing like a cold January morning to give you a kick up the backside and start making some plans for the blank canvas that is 2011. Now the festivities have well and truly subsided, it’s time to start thinking about your move to London.

Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a quiet time of year for people moving in and out of London, it’s actually quite busy. Australians and New Zealanders tend to move to London during their summer (which is now), so you’ll need to be on top of your game in order to get ahead of the competition and secure the best accommodation and temp jobs.

Accommodation

The first thing you need to decide is where you want to live in London. This will probably be determined by a number of factors, such as your budget, proximity to potential workplace and where your existing friends live.
If you’re not sure about residential areas of London, then please take a look at our North London, South London, East London and West London pages.

Next up, it’s really wise to place an ad for FREE with Easyroommate, who are an excellent flatmate finding service. You can request a room, or search for available rooms all over London.

Jobs

Totaljobs.com have stated that the first quarter of 2011 could be tough for jobseekers, due to ‘external influences like the VAT increase and continued instability in European markets’ meaning that recruiters may play it safe until they can see what is happening with our economy.

This may sound quite bleak, but what it actually means, is that there could well be a rise in temp work available in London. Please look at our Working in London page for information on how to approach working as a ‘temp’ in London.

In the meantime though, there’s nothing to stop you from looking for a permanent job. There may be less jobs available but companies are still hiring. For those of you who are ‘Apprentice’ fans, take a leaf out of runner-up Chris Bates’s book, who prior to appearing on the show managed to secure a job as an investment banker with JP Morgan after completing his degree at Nottingham University.

In order to get ahead of the game, make sure your C.V is totally and utterly polished and upload it for FREE to Monster. It’s a great service, where as well as searching for available vacancies, you can include your C.V in the pool which recruiters look at to hand pick the best of the best to invite to interviews for jobs which they don’t even bother advertising.
It’s a bit of a pain, but only approximately 1/3 of London jobs are officially advertised. The rest are filled by recruitment agencies, word of mouth and candidate selection sites such as Monster.

We’ve given you some starting points here for your move to London in 2011. Happy New Year from everyone here at Moove2London and we wish you the best of luck for your move.

Facewatch in London

For those of you who are concerned about crime in London, you’ll be pleased to hear about the Facewatch scheme that has recently been piloted in the Victoria area of the capital.

Facewatch relies on businesses such as shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels to join their scheme and share information by means of the Facewatch database, which targets low level crime, such as shoplifting and bag theft.

Facewatch makes it as easy as possible for victims to report such crime. When an incident occurs, the business uploads details of the crime online, which takes approximately 5 minutes. The victim will receive a crime number straightaway without having to report it to the police separately. Information about the crime can then be shared across the Facewatch database, which maximises the chance of apprehending the criminals, particularly those who operate in a specific local area. Facewatch is also in partnership with CPP (Card Protection Plan), meaning that after a crime has occurred, it’s possible to cancel ALL of your credit cards and get free replacements sent out to you, just by making one phone call.

The scheme has so far been piloted in 31 businesses in the Victoria where one it’s success stories resulted in a serial bag thief being caught within 24 hours of being uploaded to the Facewatch database.

For businesses who are interested in joining the Facewatch scheme, prices start at £15 a month (for businesses with a turnover of up to £500k p.a). As well as the ability to report crimes happening on your premises, you’ll also receive stickers and posters to advertise the fact that your business is a member of Facewatch. This acts as a massive deterrent to criminals and is also extremely attractive to your customers who will love the fact that you are doing something proactive to safeguard them and their property.

For more information, visit facewatch.co.uk

Where to have Christmas Day lunch in London

Christmas 2010 is only 35 days away and for those of you who will be staying in London this Christmas, you may be starting to wonder what you’ll be doing for Christmas Day itself.

If you have family to go to then great, but for others, we have some great ideas for where you can eat your Christmas lunch.

Eat it at home

Seriously, if there are a bunch of you (perhaps from overseas), sticking around in London this year, then eating Christmas lunch at home doesn’t have to be an earache. It can be heaps of fun and you can save a lot of money compared to eating out. Consider getting a massive shop in from a supermarket such as Sainsburys. If you spend enough (often more than £100), then you’ll get free delivery. If ever there is a time of year to get a supermarket shop delivered to you, it’s at Christmas, as the supermarket aisles are rammed and deeply unpleasant.

Youngs Pubs

The pub company Youngs, have a multitude of pubs dotted throughout London – some in Central London, some in the residential areas. Not all of them choose to be open on Christmas Day, but there are some lovely menus on offer at pubs such as the Dulwich WoodHouse in Sydenham, The Grove in Balham, The Alexandra in Wimbledon, The Flask in Hampstead and The Grange in Ealing. The price of a Christmas lunch at each establishment differs per pub, but in general you should expect to pay between £50 and £60 per adult for a welcome cocktail, 3 course meal, coffee and mincepie. Check out christmas.youngs.co.uk/christmasday for further details.

Christmas Day Lunch Cruise

Splash (!) out a bit on your Christmas Day Lunch and buy a ticket aboard a City Cruise boat trip on the Thames.
Departing from Westminster Pier at 12.30pm, you’ll receive a welcome drink, a 105 minute river boat cruise, 4 course meal, coffee and mints and a christmas cracker. The cost of your ticket will be £105 including VAT. You should be aware that aside from your welcome drink, alcohol does not come as part of the ticket price, although a cash bar will be in operation. To book, visit citycruises.com

Gordon Ramsay at Claridges

Go all out on the Christmas Day dining experience and indulge in a 7 course feast at the Central London restaurant – Claridges (W1K 4HR). It will set you back approximately £185 before you add alcohol or a discretionary 12.5% service charge, but it’ll certainly be a Christmas to tell the grandkids about! Visit gordonramsay.com/claridges for further details.

Browns Brasseries

The Browns restaurants located in Islington and West India Quay (not the ones in Mayfair, Covent Garden or Old Jewry) will be open on Christmas Day. They’re serving a delicious and truly varied 4 course Christmas menu for £60 a head (or £30 for children under the age of 12).
Visit browns-restaurants.co.uk for further details.

If you are considering eating out for lunch on Christmas Day 2010, then we would urge you to book as soon as possible. Once you’ve found somewhere that you’d like to eat, then please speak to the staff there about your booking, as it’s most likely that you’ll have to put down a deposit and often choose the food which you would like to be served in advance of Christmas Day.

Happy Christmas !

Antipodate – dating website aimed at Antipodeans

Whilst not geographically accurate, the term ‘antipodean’ is used (in the UK at least) to describe inhabitants of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and sometimes also Zimbabwe. With so many antipodeans living in London, it makes perfect sense that a dating website exists to connect singles from the Southern hemisphere with each other.

So luckily, Antipodate has been set up for this very reason.

Internet dating is extremely popular in London – perhaps it’s because everyone has access to the world wide web, whether it be at work, at home, on their mobile or in an Internet cafe. Or perhaps we choose to meet our dates online because we’re so busy experiencing London, that Internet dating is just a more convenient way to find Mr or Ms Right….
…. But whatever the reason, in London at least, Internet dating is widespread, 21st century and has absolutely no stigma attached to it.

How does Antipodate work?

First of all, you sign up for FREE! and create a basic account which includes adding information about yourself, you should also add a photo. Whilst it’s not compulsory to add a photo, your profile will receive a lot more attention than if you opt to omit a picture of yourself. Antipodate chooses to put profiles with photos at the top of their search results list. Think about it – would you seriously organise a date with someone when you haven’t seen a picture of them?

A basic membership allows you to do the following:

• Make basic contact with another member (eg send them a kiss)
• Receive and view messages from other members – very exciting!
• You can add other members to your ‘Favourites’ list
• Conduct searches across the Antipodate database
• View your Sent and Received messages
• Register for competitions and dating events

As with most dating sites, there is also the opportunity to upgrade to a premium membership.
The premium membership option with Antipodate allows you to do ALL the things that a basic member can do, but you can also send personalised email messages to ANY member of the Antipodate database. So let’s say you see someone’s photo and profile that you like. As a basic member you can send them a ‘kiss’ and then wait and see if they can be bothered to get in touch with you. But if you’re a premium member, then you can send them a more personal and flirty (if you wish) message which allows you a much better chance of securing a date.

The costs associated with this upgrade are actually really reasonable on Antipodate. It’s either £7.95 for 1 month, £13.95 for 2 months, £18.95 for 3 months or £23.95 for 6 months.

Obviously if you were to choose the £23.95 for 6 months option, then it’s the most cost effective (it works out at £3.99 a month), but why not be more optimistic about your chances of finding love and opt for the 3 month £18.95 which works out at £6.31 per month and is less than buying you and your date your first drink!

Antipodate also offers you access to some of the best types of London dating events in the capital. Speed-dating is always a popular one, but you can also enjoy an evening doing activities such as wine-tasting, bowling, dancing and much more.

If you’re a single Aussie, Kiwi, Saffer or Zimbo living in London, then sign up for FREE with Antipodate today – what have you got to lose?

Where do Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans live in London?

Those of you familiar with our Moving to London from Abroad page, will know that we already have heaps of information on arriving in London from overseas. For example we have advice on visas, finding temporary accommodation and flatshares, airport transfers, how to go about getting a NI number and much more.
What we’re going to be doing in the next couple of weeks though, is to launch pages for each of the following groups of expats moving to London:

• Australians moving to London
• New Zealanders moving to London
• South Africans moving to London
• Canadians moving to London
• Americans moving to London

In the meantime, here’s a quick discussion on where Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans tend to live in London. This information should only be taken as a guide for those wanting to live in and around their particular expat communities. You can of course live wherever you want to!

Where do Australians live in London?
When most people think about Aussies living in London, they tend to think about Earls Court (known affectionately as Kangaroo Valley) and at one time they’d have been right as this area of West London was the first port of call for many Australians arriving in the UK.
But rental prices are quite high there, so people gradually drifted out to nearby Shepherd’s Bush instead. Nowadays though, it is Fulham and Clapham in South London where the largest population of Aussie expats are to be found. Balham, Streatham and Tooting also being good local (but often cheaper) options.
You can start searching for accommodation or people to share with, before you even leave Australia. Sign up with Easyroommate for FREE.

Where do New Zealanders live in London?
In general, many Aussies and Kiwis live in similar areas to each other. Although the two nations are extremely different and there is a decent amount of friendly rivalry between these two Southern Hemisphere countries, Australians and New Zealanders living in London tend to have a lot in common with each other in terms of being far away from home and having similar urges to see a lot of Europe whilst they’re over here. Therefore, you’ll also find a lot of Kiwis living in areas such as Clapham, Fulham, Ealing and specifically Acton (tends to be favoured more by Kiwis than by Aussies). Both Australians and New Zealanders can also be found in the north-western residential arc of London which includes areas such as Willesden, Queens Park and Kilburn.
Again, to start searching for accommodation before you’ve even stepped onto an aircraft, try signing up with Easyroommate , who are one of Moove2London’s favourite flat-finding sites, because they’re totally FREE to sign up with!!!

Where do South Africans live in London?
South Africans in London have in recent history previously formed a huge community living in Leytonstone (East London), although reportedly this community has decreased quite a bit in the last 18 months.
Other areas of London that South Africans tend to gravitate towards, include Southfields and Wimbledon in South London, Enfield in North London and also Clapham Junction alongside the Aussies and Kiwis.