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Can you help me with finding cheap places to live in England?

by LocoDice
17 replies
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Hi guys,

I'm wondering if anybody can give me any advice. I am taking a sabbatical year of sorts while I focus on learning SEO so my earnings aren't what they usually are.

I am currently living in Riga, Latvia which is a *great* place for internet marketers to come. Very, very fast and cheap internet and very cheap real estate. I'm living in a nice 1 bedroom furnished apartment month by month for only US$400 a month which includes internet. It works really well for me.

However, for personal reasons I may have to go to the UK shortly for a while. I was wondering for those Brits out there if they know any cheap places to rent out small, modest but clean apartments that are about 2 hours or so out of London by train/bus? I don't expect to get something as cheap as here in Riga (although would be great of course), but since I am doing all my work online I really have no need to be in London and paying the hefty premium. Although I definitely will need to go there every so often so good access to it is essential.

In the United States I'm very familiar with Craigslist, and I've noticed that Gumtree seems to be the place to go on the web to find these things. But not knowing the UK very well at all outside of London I was wondering if somebody with a bit more knowledge could tell me where to look.

Thanks guys!
  • Profile picture of the author Optimist Cam
    Gumtree is a good place to look. Here are some other popular UK sites.

    Property to rent - Find houses and flats to rent in the UK
    FindaProperty.com Houses for sale, rent, estate agents & house prices
    UK property to rent | Primelocation
    UK properties to rent, rent property, flats to rent - Zoopla
    Houses To Rent | Flats To Rent | Rent Your Flat

    Loot.com - Classified Ads. Buy, rent or place a free ad to sell anything.
    Freeads.co.uk - Classified ads, place Free Ads
    Free Local Classifeds ads with images | Ad Trader UK Classifieds
    Free Ads & Online Classifieds, Buy & Sell Classified Ads in All Areas
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  • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
    Thanks mate.. Do you know which areas though in particular offer good value for money?
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    • Profile picture of the author Optimist Cam
      London is the most expensive, so I think anywhere outside of London will be a lot cheaper and more value for money. Search for studio apartments since there usually cheaper than one bedroom apartments.
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      • Profile picture of the author Optimist Cam
        Take a look at this. It tells you the average rental cost for each property type in each UK county.

        RRPI UK - Average Rental Prices for the Whole of the UK

        Not that you cant work it out for yourself but click on 'Ave rental price studio etc' then 'RRPI by county', choose a county and then it will show you the price change under the bar chart. Not sure where they get their data from though.
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        • Profile picture of the author Optimist Cam
          Manchester has cheap property.

          http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^79192&maxPrice =300&displayPropertyType=flats&oldDisplayPropertyT ype=flats

          Essex is close to London and has cheap properties too.

          Property to rent in Essex
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          • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
            In addition to the advice already given, I'd suggest you concentrate on one of the university towns, such as: Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol or maybe Southampton.

            All those places are within a couple of hours of London and will have lots of cheap and available student accommodation. Plus, there'll be plenty going on socially and others who are also new to the town or to the UK.

            Good luck!


            Frank
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            • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
              Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

              In addition to the advice already given, I'd suggest you concentrate on one of the university towns, such as: Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol or maybe Southampton.

              All those places are within a couple of hours of London and will have lots of cheap and available student accommodation. Plus, there'll be plenty going on socially and others who are also new to the town or to the UK.
              Yeah, I think Frank's giving good advice here. If I was picking a town/city to live in, I'd certainly be checking for a direct train service to/from London.

              And the university towns are a good suggestion; Bristol's perhaps a bit far from London, but I'd add Guildford and Reading to Frank's list. Brighton's a good suggestion as that has such a diverse population and has a great rail link to central London and Gatwick airport.

              Just a suggestion mkterbynite, but if you type some of these suggested placenames into Google Images, you can get an idea of what a city looks like.
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              • Profile picture of the author findanicheonline.com
                Hi there,

                1 hour and 20 mins out of London by train, seaside towns of Ramsgate and Broadstairs, cheapest accomadation in UK in such close proximity to the capital and the girls are pretty too.

                A one bed flat, unfurnished, will set you back about £400 plus bills, You may though want to share a house or rent rooms to keep bills down, not have to buy furniture and internet connection and have someone to talk to, new town and all!

                If I can help let me know as I have connections in the rental market here.

                Stu
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                • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
                  Sorry for not replying, I got a bad case of food poisoning over the last few days. Really not cool, especially when in a foreign country.

                  Btw, I have lived in London before for 6 months so I am quite familiar with the place... and I know just how expensive for rent which is why I want to live somewhere else. I am trying to focus the majority of my dad on IM at the moment on longer term projects so it is not about big bucks just yet.

                  I do anticipate going into London or having friends visit me possibly on weekends, etc. So somewhere relatively accessible would be a good idea.

                  Just to address something reference by a couple of you. I really am looking for my own place. Not because I am a snob or anything, but because I am planning on working at home all day. I've found in the past things can get awkward when one of the flatmates is literally hanging around the house all day. It's fine when I was off to uni during the day or heading off to the office or what not, but for this style of work I really prefer my own space. This is why I am looking for cheaper places.

                  Initially I am only looking for a place for 1-2 months as I am planning on heading to South America for their Summer (why not right? it's cheap once you're there). For such a short term rent you can usually get what you call a 'sublet' in NYC, where a flat owner is heading out of the country or somebody has finished their rental period early, etc. I've done it many times in NYC from craigslist. Doesn't seem to be the same opportunities in the UK though.

                  Oh and despite I have my home base usually as NYC, I'm actually an Aussie. So maybe I'll just say around to watch us beat you at the Ashes

                  Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

                  In addition to the advice already given, I'd suggest you concentrate on one of the university towns, such as: Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol or maybe Southampton...
                  Frank
                  Cheers Frank!

                  Originally Posted by ross007 View Post

                  Hi Mtketbynite,

                  This is my personal recommendation, whether you live in or outside London, us UK Warriors will welcome you.

                  I would recommend living in London, maybe areas like Redbridge, Gants Hill in Essex.
                  Gants Hill is developing with eating out places, a lovely park, excellent transport links and takes 30 mins to get into London by train. So if your into the cool areas - Leicester square, Embankment, Covent Gardens, London Wheel, pubs, museums, Zoo, parks and the night life - it will only take you 30 mins by train.

                  Have you considered renting a room with other professional guys/girls. This would cost you between £300 -£400 pcm. All bills included including Broadband. With a flat, you would have to pay all the other bills such as electricity, gas, T.V licence as well as the rent. This could work out at £800-£1000 pcm. Please check Gumtree.com and type in gants hill or redbridge under 'wanted accommodation' and look at the photos of the rooms and maps.

                  If you like the quite life, the areas outside London the other Warriors have recommended are cool.

                  I hope that helps you.

                  Btw, please bring an umbrella with you, another one in case the first one breaks, a warm coat, jumpers, termal underwear and your wonderful accent and style with you. Us Brits will make you feel welcome despite the weather.

                  Guys, I am a newbie and been trying to make money online for the last 6 months without any success. The so called Gurus have not delivered. This room is my last hope.
                  I was thinking if you could recommend a solid website I can buy which will make me a $100 a day by using adsense, cpa offers or other high converting stuff. Please let me know by pm.

                  Many thanks
                  Thanks for the post. Thanks for the advice, but I really am looking for my own place. I know I'm going to have to settle for something a little further out. But thanks for the suggestions either way. I will still keep an eye out for the places you suggested.

                  As for what you are talking about regarding making money (or lack-thereof) online, have you tried www.challenge.co? I sound like a broken record mentioning this to a lot of people, and I really do have no affiliation with the program (apart from the fact he is a fellow Aussie from my home city of Melbourne). It is a very sensible approach that exposes a lot of the steps involved in a successful internet marketing program and it is free.

                  Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

                  Yeah, I think Frank's giving good advice here. If I was picking a town/city to live in, I'd certainly be checking for a direct train service to/from London.

                  And the university towns are a good suggestion; Bristol's perhaps a bit far from London, but I'd add Guildford and Reading to Frank's list. Brighton's a good suggestion as that has such a diverse population and has a great rail link to central London and Gatwick airport.

                  Just a suggestion mkterbynite, but if you type some of these suggested placenames into Google Images, you can get an idea of what a city looks like.
                  Thanks for the suggestions, going to keep looking through.

                  Originally Posted by findanicheonline.com View Post

                  Hi there,

                  1 hour and 20 mins out of London by train, seaside towns of Ramsgate and Broadstairs, cheapest accomadation in UK in such close proximity to the capital and the girls are pretty too.

                  A one bed flat, unfurnished, will set you back about £400 plus bills, You may though want to share a house or rent rooms to keep bills down, not have to buy furniture and internet connection and have someone to talk to, new town and all!

                  If I can help let me know as I have connections in the rental market here.

                  Stu
                  Funny you mentioned this, I had the good fortune of seeing this part of England last year and thought it would be a nice little place to escape to for a short while after really only having lived in London. I can imagine that the place must usually have some summer rentals that may now be in an off season. if you know anybody with any access inventory, as I am just really looking for 1-2 months for now let me know.
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            • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
              Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

              In addition to the advice already given, I'd suggest you concentrate on one of the university towns, such as: Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol or maybe Southampton.

              All those places are within a couple of hours of London and will have lots of cheap and available student accommodation. Plus, there'll be plenty going on socially and others who are also new to the town or to the UK.

              Good luck!


              Frank
              Right, exactly what I wish I was gonna say.
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              • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
                Try Nottingham, its 120 miles north of London, 2 universities (so cheap housing) and only 1 hr and 40 minutes to Central London by train

                I lived there for 10 years
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  • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
    Sorry to be a pain but any towns/places in particular?
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  • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
    thanks mate!
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    your problem is 2 hours from London and you are dealing with London Commuter belt. VERY expensive and what you'll get fo say £800 per month? Not good at all. The whole of the UK is expensive....around London it's extortionate. In Lodon forget it.

    Do you have work in London? You should get something for about £800 to £1k+ a month.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ross Petal
    Hi Mtketbynite,

    This is my personal recommendation, whether you live in or outside London, us UK Warriors will welcome you.

    I would recommend living in London, maybe areas like Redbridge, Gants Hill in Essex.
    Gants Hill is developing with eating out places, a lovely park, excellent transport links and takes 30 mins to get into London by train. So if your into the cool areas - Leicester square, Embankment, Covent Gardens, London Wheel, pubs, museums, Zoo, parks and the night life - it will only take you 30 mins by train.

    Have you considered renting a room with other professional guys/girls. This would cost you between £300 -£400 pcm. All bills included including Broadband. With a flat, you would have to pay all the other bills such as electricity, gas, T.V licence as well as the rent. This could work out at £800-£1000 pcm. Please check Gumtree.com and type in gants hill or redbridge under 'wanted accommodation' and look at the photos of the rooms and maps.

    If you like the quite life, the areas outside London the other Warriors have recommended are cool.

    I hope that helps you.

    Btw, please bring an umbrella with you, another one in case the first one breaks, a warm coat, jumpers, termal underwear and your wonderful accent and style with you. Us Brits will make you feel welcome despite the weather.

    Guys, I am a newbie and been trying to make money online for the last 6 months without any success. The so called Gurus have not delivered. This room is my last hope.
    I was thinking if you could recommend a solid website I can buy which will make me a $100 a day by using adsense, cpa offers or other high converting stuff. Please let me know by pm.

    Many thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
    I just wanted to add again, because I noticed most of the websites above seems to be focused on longer term rentals. I'm really after something shorter term for a month or two.
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  • Profile picture of the author LocoDice
    Does anybody know any good site for short term rentals then?

    The problem is usually short term rentals means charging a stupid amount of money for 'executive accomodation'. I'm trying to keep the budget sub-executive as discussed above
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