moving to the UK - pls help!

[adi]

hello lounge dwellers, db said i should post this here. i posted some of this in the legislation forum.

i am a romanian citizen and i want to move to the UK next month so i need a little help with finding the right location and knowing what being a poker pro in the UK means exactly.

i want to leave in a few weeks and i'd like to get a short let somewhere in london( a studio most likely) so i have a few questions. it would be for a month or so till i can decide where i want to stay for the longer term.

so what areas are the best for vegans and are also safe and green with trees and parks around ? i've been looking at studios from notting hill, westminster or kensington and i really liked some of them. i know the prices are pretty high but i know crime is a big problem in many parts of london and i'd rather pay a little more and not worry about coming home and finding everything upside down. the thought of being surrounded by snobby yuppies from the city doesn't make very happy but it's better than the alternative.

if there are cheaper spots that are as safe with lots of green around and vegan places i'll be happy to rent there. does anyone know if i need anything other than cash for a short let or how much is the deposit? will i need good credit or a job like for longer term renting ? i imagine it's more like a hotel and i don't see why i'd need all that if i'll pay everything in advance. i've emailed a few sites about this but they seem like they can't be bothered to reply.


and about my status ... what do i tell people or the banks ? barclays confirmed i only need my EU passport and another national id i have in order to open an uk account with them, but what should i tell them about what i do if they ask? do i say self - sufficient or can i just say i'm a poker pro? i am assuming that the type of account i can open with them(current i think) will allow me to withdraw from moneybookers or a poker site(i asked them but they didn't bother to answer that one). cheers mates !!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[vbm]

Hey good luck.

I cant help with the london issues, however I will say longer term you may wish to consider Brighton as a destination. Its an hour south of London and if you are a vegan you will fit right it. Its also by the sea has a great cafe and bar scene etc.

Also with regards to banks you can get a debit card and deposit and withdraw to that if you please. You will have no worries at all using any ewallet. In short you can use your money to fund any gaming site you want and never pay a penny in taxes.

Cheers

[nick604]

If you're looking for a studio/bedsit here, then there's a great site called Gumtree that breaks housing ads down into area/accommodation type. If you can afford it, try and live someplace north of the river, but there's nowhere here that's really all that terrible provided you're sensible and don't go out of your way to make yourself a target.

If you're a vegan, you might want to take a look at the Islington/Camden areas - there's plenty of wooly liberal types round there. Kensington's a nice-looking place, but some of the people can be pretty full of themselves. If you want a happy medium then maybe try looking at Fulham - there's plenty of house shares along the New Kings Road area.

It might be worth your while applying to a couple of the Gumtree ads and pretending you're currently in London looking for an immediate place to move into. At least then you'll get some idea of the types of things landlords are going to need from you. My best advice would be to try and go with an independent landlord rather than any agency - they're not bound by red tape and will deal with you on a sensible case-by-case basis rather than what some manual tells them to.

As for financial stuff - do you have a bank where you currently are now? If so, I'd bring along statements dating back a few months to prove you've got some sort of fixed income. With money laundering etc it's tougher to open account here than before, so it might be a good idea to bring one extra piece of i.d. alonside your passport (birth certificate etc).

Good luck with the move. If I can help in any other way or you have specific questions, just ask [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]