Living in London with a Dog

[timeforanewname22]

DP has been desperate to move to London for some time - we have a lot of friends there and his earning potential would increase massively. I am a junior doctor, so our lives revolve around my training posts a bit. I would love to do this for him, and have done well enough in my applications that I could get a training post in London to start in August.

We don't have the time or inclination to try and sell up where we are now and buy in London, so our plan is to rent our current property out and then rent in London ourselves.

Whilst I wouldn't choose London on my own volition, I really do want DP to be happy and he's sacrificed a lot for my training. However, our dog is my major concern. She's lovely, well-behaved and used to city life. We regularly take her to dog-friendly cafes and shops, she goes on public transport etc.

However, the reality is, she's not great at being left home alone, and sometimes barks a lot. We are slowly training her but I'm not sure we can properly 'fix' it (she's a poodle so somewhat in the breed!). There's no issue here as we take her everywhere we go or we can afford a sitter for her. I've no idea how dog friendly London is - are we likely to be able to do the same? Will dog-sitters be very expensive? We currently have a vet student who charges £8/hour. To be clear, she is never left to bark here, but ensuring this will be even more of a priority if we are in rented accommodation!

I'm also concerned about renting in general - how easy will finding somewhere to rent with a dog be?

DH is incredibly optimistic and thinks it will be fine, she will adapt and that we will rent easily. I'm very worried about accepting a training post that I then cannot go back on without having a clear plan for the dog. DH works from home and my parents live in the South and have her for holidays but I'm just worried we won't actually be able to enjoy the benefits of London.

Any advice from London dog-owners (or letting agents!) would be much appreciated

I'd also be interested to hear if anyone has opinions about selling up and buying in London. Whilst I think our flat here would sell quite quickly based on the current property market, I've heard buying in London is very hard at the moment? Our budget would be around 600-650k for a 2 bed flat.

We have a dog in London and it's fine! Many cafes / shops are dog friendly - and lots of parks! Although admittedly we own / I am at home with the dog.

You certainly won't struggle to find a rental with a decent budget, and I suspect landlords will be easy about the dog if you speak to them directly. Meanwhile, really focus on solving the separation anxiety - it won't get easier!

Finally, congratulations on a clearly fabulous MSRA score to get a training place in London! It really is a great opportunity and an amazing city.

Thanks princessfluffy - good to hear! Absolutely we need to work on training the dog. Unfortunately DH is a bit of a soft touch and not so motivated but I'll definitely make that a criteria of moving!

And thanks - didn't realise the training specifics would be so obvious! As you are probably aware, the MRSA feels fairly random so I don't want to miss this chance!

Finding a flat that allows dogs is your 1st issue
Buying flat in London is easy- buying houses is harder.

We rented with our dog in central London :)
We were worried about finding somewhere but in the end had choice between a few places. On days we both worked outside the home, dog went to a doggy daycare that picked him up at 9 and dropped back off around 4/5. We also found a nice local dog walker for the odd walk/ dog sit. We've found London very dog friendly. Daycare I think £30 a day ish and walker £12 an hour maybe? (Neither used since COVID sadly!)
I'd advise trying to find a house or garden maisonette so as to hopefully have a bit more of a buffer for any barks with neighbours. If you rent somewhere open to dogs then the neighbours may well be used to having dogs there.