18 year old moving to London

[TinyDancer78]

Hi,

I’m wondering if anyone can help me. My youngest son has been offered an apprenticeship in London starting in September 2026. It’s at Deloitte and the offices are in New street Square.
We live in the North West and don’t know where to start when it comes to accommodation. Ideally I’d like him to be somewhere safe with all bills included and for around £1200 a month and easily commutable. We’d be happy to pay up to £500 more a month if it was perfect as we only want him there short term while he settles into his job and hopefully makes friends.
I think starting a new job aswell as running a household and bills will be too much for him initially so we were looking at The Collective Old Oak.

Does anyone have any experiences or advice?

I had to Google the collective Old oak - is there just one and it’s in Acton? That’s quite a long way out and not known for being a place where students or young people might want to live. But it might be worth him staying there to begin with on a short term let and then finding out where other colleagues or apprentices are based.

More than anything I would prioritise a safe, easy, late hours commute (eg look at the night tube), keeping it as short as possible. Acton might not be too bad as it’s on the central line to Holborn, it’s just a relatively long way. What is the walk like from the tube station to the apartment block?

Does he have a chance to get in touch with other apprentices? If there are others in the same boat they might like to move in together or close by. I am sure some others will be living at home but there would be comfort in living together.

Acton would not be my first choice for an 18 year old. Too far and too dull. I’d look for shared flats / houses etc in the East. Bow, Stratford, Bethnal Green. Central, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City, Elizabeth lines. You should be able find a shared house for £1200-£1700 out there. SpareRoom.Com is a good start.

edited to correct website name

Could he speak to anyone in HR at the company to see if they have any ideas? I'm not sure whether private student accommodation type flats might be an option? that way he'd be around people his own age and there are facilities.

Spareroom.com is good for finding house shares of all types.

Acton isn’t a bad call - on the Elizabeth Line to Farringdon, which is just a short walk to New Street Square. Anywhere along the Elizabeth Line or the Thameslink line would be sensible.
But he probably needs to find out where the new graduates tend to live in London these days (I’m out of touch with that).

I think that’s where my head is. I want him somewhere pretty straight forward at least at first. I’m just googling at the moment as he’s only just received the offer but google said about 45-55min commute which I didn’t think was bad for London? My commute is 7 minutes in the car though so I don’t have a clue!

Thanks so much for replying

He’s one of the first to receive an offer from what we can find out online. He’s very chilled about the whole thing but I’m panicking tbh!

Thanks so much, I’ll take a look!

This is a great idea!! Ideally he’d share with others in the same boat so speaking to HR might be worth a shot. Thank you

I would go north, east or south from New Street Square, west all the way to Acton would be a pain.

There's loads of great places much closer than Acton, but still achievable budget-wise. And don't forget the overland trains, they're great. You don't have to rely on the Tube these days.

That’s good to know!! I only want him there in the short term so he can work out where the cool
kids hang out 😂

Thank you! I honestly don’t know where to start as don’t know London at all.

Ant particular places for me to look? Thanks for the help!

Maybe look at Spare Room, if you can do a circumference from New Street Square, then work your way outwards to what is affordable.

But also, as PPs have suggested, ask Deloitte's. They must have someone helping with welfare for the new apprentices.

And well done to your DS for landing that apprenticeship! Deloitte will be a fantastic start in his professional life.

Thank you, I’ll start there and then encourage him to reach out to Deloitte once his contract has been sent.

And thanks for the congratulations. We’re very, very proud of him. They told him thousands applied for this particular role but they only offer between 2 and 4 positions.

Can you give us a bit more info about him @TinyDancer78? What he's into etc. Then we can give some suggestions about good areas to look into.

Acton isn't the first place I'd recommend. It's pretty far west and some bits of it aren't the nicest.

Also, try not to wrap him up in cotton wool too much. If he's going to be living and working in London, he'll need to put his big boy pants on. And plenty of people at his age move out and to uni (including in London) and have to think about running a household.

I personally wouldn't email HR asking for help - I'm sure they have more important things to be doing and it might make your son sound a bit dopey. I wouldn't necessarily recommend him moving in with colleagues either. It might be a bit intense to work together and live together and doesn't open him up to meeting other people.

Most new grads live as central as they can manage. An hours commute is more your wife and two kids middle manager sort of people.

my dc is in Bethnal Green and it seems to be full of new grads. Shoreditch is also trendy and more expensive.

Acton is horrible. And miles out. Personal experience!!

The collective at old oak is nice, one of my colleagues used to live there and said it was very friendly. However, he was also in his mid 30s so I don't know the ages that tend to live there.

At 18 I don't know whether it might be better to get into one of the blocks in central london marketed more towards student ages?

Congratulations to your son! What a fantastic opportunity. I’m sure he will be working very long hours at Deloitte - I would try to keep his commute as short as possible, with as little changes as possible. East London is where the younger crowd want to be for nights out, and if you could get somewhere close to a central line station that would be a huge bonus. When I first moved to London I lived in Bethnal Green (somewhat cheaper), then Shoreditch (more expensive but may have the type student accom you’re looking for…). I do think he’d thrive more and make more friends in a house share but you know your son so maybe that’s for once he’s more established, so 6 months in a centrally located student set up might work!

That’s what happened to my son. He shared with other apprentices. If your son contacts Deloitte, they may be able to help.

"I personally wouldn't email HR asking for help - I'm sure they have more important things to be doing and it might make your son sound a bit dopey."

I'm sorry, but imo this is nonsense! Deloitte is a Big Four firm, taking on 18 year olds, who have just left home. They have a duty of care towards them, I would be astonished if they don't have a system in place to support the young people that they have spent so much time and money employing, and in which they will invest money in training.

Deloitte have an interest in seeing that these young people are supported as far as is necessary. And finding somewhere/the right area to live in, for newcomers to London, is key to a happy, thriving apprentice.

Thanks for this, especially the bit about not wrapping him in cotton wool. It is the exact advice I’d give to a friend!

He likes to socialise and is a keen gym goer. To be honest at the moment he’s in college 5 days a week and works all weekend so doesn’t socialise as much as either he or I would like.

Thanks for this. I’ll take a look!

Why doesn’t he get a room
in a house share? That way he will have a ready made friend group?

living alone is rare and lonely