DS 18 moving to London to do a degree apprenticeship from a Northern country village – advice sought re accommodation and socialising

[Apix]

We have just heard that our 18 year old son has been accepted on a degree apprenticeship in London starting at the end of August. (We thought we had another 3 years watching him trundle backwards and forwards to university so this is something of an upset for us – but that’s another story.) We live in a small country village in Lancashire so this will be a massive step and culture change for him. He is not very worldly but is quite sociable and has been to London a few times. The company where he will be an apprentice only takes 2 apprentices so perhaps not a lot of scope for socialising. He doesn’t know any other young people down in London. I think he is much more likely to settle if he is able to relatively quickly find a few friends, either through his accommodation or some other activity.

I have come across LHA London which seems to operate hostel type accommodation for young people. Has anybody any experience of this operation and which are the better hostels or anything else that may be suitable for a young person to live? (He is not entitled to any university accommodation.)

Also, the university which offers the (mainly remote) degree apprenticeship is not in London. Does anyone know if he will still be able to go along to any of the London university societies/events/bars etc. (He will be on a very low wage so I thought this might help stretch his finances as well as the key aim of getting to know people.) I would say his interests are drama, politics/debating/current affairs and mountain biking (appreciate that there won’t be much scope for the last one in London!)

If anybody has any other suggestions for helping him find his feet a bit, I’d be extremely grateful. (I thought Park Run may be a useful weekend one for him.)

@Apix hi, I have noticed you have had no replies and I can help you very much, but there is another thread on about a similar situation to yours so I thought I would mention it to you..

Can't do links sorry ,but is is on HIgher Education.

Where abouts in London will your DS be based ?
I know the SW area if London .
Hope you get some replies .

Ahhhh ! CAN'T help you very much !

Which uni is it attached to ? Even a pt student would have access to their Student Union, facilities like library and gym, and possibly accommodation. You might need to check whether he qualifies for Council Tax exemption as that may affect who he can houseshare with longer term.

Amateur dramatics group?
political party (youth section if available?)
you’d be surprised about cycling groups - they travel into Essex/Surrey etc for days out

YMCA might be a good choice for facilities?
good on your young man for doing this, if he approaches with confidence and an open mind I sure he will thrive

Thank you @bizzey , I have just come across this other thread myself which has some really helpful advice in it. Not sure I can do a link, but will try:

similar thread

Hello @LIZS He is based in Central London, but the degree is offered by Uni. of Kent so not in commuting distance.

Thank you @VanCleefArpels for your useful suggestions, I'd not thought about the YMCA.

Yes !! That's the one !
And as other PP have said , loads of AM DRAM groups and cycling groups .
I know Richmond Park have one .( Well they use to ?)

Canterbury is most definitely within reach of London by fast train.

There is a lot of private student housing in London, much aimed at International students so can be central, smart and expensive. Though it might not be the most sociable, it would mean that he was with people his own age until he can branch out and find a flat share. Or try the various rentaroom apps and see if there is something sensible and compatible. Or perhaps approach the HR department and see if they can advertise that he is looking for a room. There may well be someone who is looking for a flatmate, perhaps they have people doing their third year in industry, or willing to rent a room.

Does he have any cycling friends at University in London. DS was able to join, or at least tag along, with a sports group at Imperial because a school friend who shared the same interest, was there. Or join a normal club. When DD was in sixth form she played for a sports club and there were always several University students who were members. (Often, partly because of geography but also because it was small, from SGUL.)

Is it Canterbury or Medway? He could commute in from either, accommodation will be a lot cheaper than in Central London, even taking into account the train.

Can you say what industry? I work in real estate and all the grads / apprentices seems to live in Clapham / Balham / Streatham house shares.

chesterhouse.org.uk/

Off the top of my head this place is a student accommodation that also accepts apprentices / young people starting their careers in London. May be an option.

Sorry for delay in replying, just finishing work. Thank you all for all your helpful suggestions. @nearlyspringyay It is an economics/business apprenticeship. I think it is Canterbury but not entirely sure.

@sixthformdropout - that sounds lovely & just the sort of thing I was hoping for apart from Muswell Hill not being that central - but I appreciate is a safer area for a young lad from the sticks. I have rung them and they have spaces. Do you know of anyone who has stayed there and recommended it?

Muswell Hill is an outer suburb full of yummy mummies and middle class families that is not even on the tube. It would be an awful, awful choice for a young single man (or woman).

If he is on a low wage central London might be out of him price range. Further out might be better with a direct route to where he is working. On cycling there is a track at the Olympic park so there might be a club there. There are also popular mountain biking routes in Epping / Surrey hills so bound to be clubs operating round there.

Really? Commuting every day from Canterbury plus rent is cheaper than finding a room in London? I find that hard to believe.

I think he needs to live in London. If he's interested in politics there are loads of political activist groups for people his age. Likewise drama, cycling etc. That;s a great range of interests. He'll make friends easily.

Chester House looks incredibly good value. Two meals a day and all bills for £175!!!

I dunno if Muswell Hill would be that bad as your first base in London, it’s just somewhere to find your feet until you meet some mates or feel able to start to look for a house share. He could cycle to Highgate underground, or there’s buses.

Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone who’s been Chester House. I was considering living there myself but I ended up going to a different university so I had to live elsewhere. It has good reviews and as a pp said it’s pretty good value for money.

I know it’s popular with students at the London Studio Centre dance school which isn’t far. But as you say it is a bit far out and it might not suit him (although Muswell Hill is a nice enough place). I suppose it all depends on where he has to get to.

Good luck

@Apix
What is a low wage? How often does he need to get into Kent? You need to make plans based on what he can afford and where he has to travel to.

I think his best plan is to ask the company for recommendations and then look at Spareroom.com. Loads of people advertise on this. He will be more of an employee than a student so mixing with young people in a flat share might be best. I would look at underground lines from where he works and London St Pancras as that’s the quickest train to Canterbury. That opens up a lot of North London so see what his wage will get but I think you should expect go to top him up financially as you would if he was a student. London isn’t cheap.,

@TizerorFizz Sorry, I should have made clear, I think he only has to visit Kent once a year for a week so that is not an issue as regards location. I agree, I think we will have to still support him financially. I'd spent the past couple of years recommending he didn't go to a London university due to the cost of living & now here we are!

@Apix
I still don’t know if he can afford student areas in London or would he prefer to be with young working adults? Mostly they would be post degree. Plenty on Spareroom.com. Our neighbours DC lived in a room in Brixton. He liked it. Clapham is full of young people. Mostly post degree but it’s lively. Camden has students. What is his likely budget?

Hello @TizerorFizz - he'll be on 20k a year which I appreciate sounds a lot compared to a student (& I appreciate he is very lucky to get that) but now I've looked at accommodation costs I guess it won't go far. I'm thinking young working adults or interns might be best to share with as some student houses might be socialising late and be less conducive to early mornings.

Yes, the London studio dance centre is in North Finchley but unless he's going there, I really wouldn't consider living in muswell Hill. I'm 42 and it's too middle-aged for me...

It might be worth him staying in M Hill for the first couple of months given that they allow short term. That would give him chance to get to know London, have his meals provided, settle into work and study. Then look for a house share.

Young people do arrive in London and go into a room share. He should be ok on £20,000 but obviously that’s low for London. You might be interested to know that Imperial College advise students need £18,000 a year to study in London and they have a long summer holiday. So it is doable but it will make a difference to price regarding area.