Accomodation for EC - (Neighborhood/short term/links/tools)

[lbfrancois]

Hi!

I'm going to rent a studio for 2 weeks for me and my husband as proof of accomodation for the Entry Clearance. After this period we intent to browse around and rent a long term accomodation.

It is hard to determine if a place is suitable only by looking at pictures and descriptions from the internet. That is why I kindly ask the moderators and everybody else who is in london to give me some advice on two places I found online.

There is a high possibility we will rent one of those places, so I would like your opinion about the location and neighborhood.

http://www.ashortlet.com/
This one is located at: 6 Sandy Lane, Teddington, Middx, TW11 0DR, UK

http://www.london-house.com/self-catering-home.php
This one is located at: 13 CRAVEN HILL, HYDE PARK LONDON W2
It is a little more expensive than the first one.

I found out that booking a hostel for a couple (private room) costs pretty much the same as renting a self-catering studio apartment. (Unless it is a dorm). The difficult part is to find a studio for such a short term let (couple of weeks), fortunately both of those links above accepts it.

One other thing that is difficult to find is broadband internet connection available in the room. Which I think is extremely important as we will need it to search for jobs, accomodation, tips and advices, forums...
I think it is definetely worth to pay a few extra pounds a week to have it available 24X7.

One strange thing that I noticed is that many accomodation sites don't give you the address where you will be stay untill you get there or just a few days before your arrival. Maybe they have a reason for it, but it sounds suspicious to me. Besides we will certainly need an address for EC and entering UK.

Oh, just want to share one more thing with those of you who are looking for accomodation, a great tool to see the place is Google Earth, it gives you an idea of the area. And www.maporana.co.uk is pretty good to calculate routes and distances.

Hope you take the time to check those links above and give me your feedback. If you have any suggestions or maybe you know other places, please let me know as well.

Thank you!
Lu.

[John]

I am not in London ... I am in Birmingham which is say 110 miles away ... but as a general principle, might it be easier to book an hotel for a minimum of seven nights in order to get you through the accommodation test? Then after you arrive find something suitable to you and your wife.

[lbfrancois]

Hi,

I thought about that, but turns out that hotels are usually the same price of a self catering studio or even more expensive. I think a studio will be a better idea, as it has a private bathroom and small Spam.

Thanks!

[John]

Lu, actually having looked at the links you provide they both look quite reasonable. No I am not offering to go and look at them but having been brought up in London I can say that both look reasonable, well certainly from their webpage details.

One is more expensive simply because of its location. It comes down to this ... do you prefer somewhere nearer to the centre of London .... or somewhere not quite as central? As they say ... you pays your money and takes your choice!

[lbfrancois]

Hi John,

Thank you very much for your comments!

Lu.