Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Paddycakes]

I am a Canadian with a Korean wife and a 3 year old daughter.

I'd like to live in England for a year just for the hell of it.

I'm self-employed and so long as I have a laptop and an internet connection I can work anywhere in the world I want.

Questions:

1. What's the best place to live in England other than London?

2. How much should I generally expect to pay for rent for a two bedroom apartment, preferably furnished as I don't want have to buy everything again just for a 1 year stay.

3. Are there many Koreans outside of London. My wife needs to have Korean friends or she'll drive me nuts.

Chrs

[Wangja]

The largest Korean community is around Kingston-upon-Thames, just west of London, and almost a suburb. There amost 20,000 Koreans living in UK, most of course around London. But I do know of smaller communities in Manchester and Cambridge. Both would be cheaper than London, and Manchester cheaper than Cambridge.

There are probably Koreans living in most major cities.

2-bed apartments there in Cambridge 700 GBP a month. http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/area.aspx?areaid=1522&opt=prop&salerent=1&sp=0

In Manchester, or just outside, you can have a 4-bed semi-detached house for the same amount.

http://www.findaproperty.com/SearchResults.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&areaid=1513

[daninkorea]

The Korean community is actually in New Malden and Worcester Park (which are near Kingston), which is a suburb of London, and on the tube/ subway.

Unfortunately Surrey (the county New Malden is in) is also one of the more expensive - I would think a two bed furnished apartment will be 700 pounds (minimum).

Ahh I love not paying for my accomodation!!!

[Paddycakes]

[plattwaz]

There is a decent website for finding rentals in London, you need to choose your neighbourhood and then you can compare the costs across the city. (Actually, I think it isn't just for London but perhaps all of England, I can't remember).

www.findaproperty.com

They do not include the Council Tax in the rent costs, but there is also a website where you can enter your local council, and the address of the property which gives you a council property rating. Then, you go to your council website and look up the rating and it will tell you the current year's council tax rates. You'll have to google it on your own, I can't remember the URL. It will run you about an extra 100 pound per month, more if you are looking for a better neighborhood - and the more your preperty is valued at, the higher your council tax will be.

700 pound for a nice 2 bedroom in London is quite low, IMO. It's about right for a one-bedroom in a decent neighbourhood, though. It all depends on what type of place (both neighbourhood and flat) you are willing to live in.

Out of curiosity, what type of visa do you plan on applying for????

[tzechuk]

The council = the County Council.... like *goo-cheong* in Korea.

I think your Korean wife will be quite at home in New Malden - they sell almost everything there, from Kimchi to Mandoo to soju. And things are sign-posted in Korean, too! I was quite surprised the first time I went there to buy some stuff in preparation for my then Korean-boyfriend, now husband's visit.

The South is generally more expensive than the North (of London), simply because people tend to feel posher down there (no offence :p)

Instead of Surrey and London, you might want to look at Kent, which is less expensive but some areas are counted as Greater London and are (barely) on the tube/train lines that go directly to London.

Whatever you do, do NOT go to the East End of London...

Just don't. Not suitable for your daughter (again, no offence, but lots of Indians/Arabs there).

You might want to look at www.loot.com for property but you have to subscribe to it for a full list.

BTW, don't sublet council flats because you get into huge, huge trouble for doing it.

[Endesu]

Any of the bigger cities (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle) have Korean communities, some bigger than others. Often they are made up of university students and their families. Lots of Koreans doing their masters degrees and PHD's.

I lived a year in Sheffield, and they have a nice little community of about 150 people, a Korean church and a Korean-owned mart (Fresh Asia).
That said, Sheffield was not to my liking, although I know many people like it. Its alot more rural than London, and if you want a quieter, more typically British lifestyle, I think you are better of away from London.

[Muffin]

There seems to be quite a sizeable population of Koreans in my home town Bournemouth, a seaside resort on the south coast.

However, most of them seem to be the active church-going types as there are several Korean churches.

A two-bed furnished apartment will cost between 600 and 700 GB pounds per month.

It depends on whether you would prefer the city life or a smaller town. Bournemouth is a town with a population of about 160,000. There are a couple of Korean grocery stores as well as other ethnic food shops. In many ways being a beach resort, it is nice for families and about 2 hours drive from London. If you want any more info feel free to PM me.

[Junior]

[Bulsajo]

[Marlboro]

[safeblad]

i think if your coming to england for just one year to spend it in new malden, or anywhere on the fringes of london would be wasted. Your not really in london there, but you have london prices, its not on the tube and will take you time to go into town. Kingston is not the nicest place either, its a town centre riot zone on weekends. If your going to live in london, might as well be zone 1 or 2. Muslims or no.

http://www.thinklondon.com/knowledge/koreanlanguage.pdf

This says there is a korean population in camden, it would interesting to live there for a year. As long as your daughter isnt going to school in london, your OK.

You could always try Brighton, its a nice place + lots of language schools.

[Natalia]

[Junior]

[jaganath69]