For those who moved to London for the scheme, how did you find the transition, any recommendations on areas to live?

Hi! So I moved to London from Manchester for my first placement. House-wise, it can sometimes be tricky to find a place in London as the market often moves quickly and -if like me you were inbetween paychecks- can be tough to find somewhere within your budget. I ended up finding a place from a facebook group, I started looking as soon as I found out my location because I didn't want to be stressed nearing my first few weeks of work. But I also know some grads that didn't live in London the first few weeks because they hadn't found a place. Luckily we are still working from home half of the week, but LBG are also very understanding and if you are having trouble finding somewhere just let your manager know and they will work around that. The biggest transition was probably living costs, it's just more expensive in general to live in London (as we all know) - but because of this I decided to live within walking distance from work. The rent may be cheaper further out, but I didn't want to have to pay for travel cards to get into the office &/socialise. Especially as it was my first placement I didn't know where other graduates would be or how often I'd be expected to head into the office so I chose to live in Shoreditch (& I know another graduate who works in my office did the same). Hope that helps :)

Ahh fantastic, thanks for this, lots to think about. I did read earlier that LBG offer a £3k resettling bonus for those moving city, I sure this will help. I will certainly look for places early as well, as my MSc exams finish at the same time this scheme begins!

From my experience the £3k is a signing bonus (so I think you get it when you get the job, not just if you move city) - but you won't get it until your first paycheck, so be aware that you'll have to live without it until then. The FB page I used was Hackney Wick Spaces (but it's for all of London now, not just HW) - the tenants are the ones who post the ads so you get a good view of what the place actually looks like. It's mainly for group shares, but you'll also find 1 beds too. Good luck with your exams :)

Brilliant, that page sounds very useful, thanks very much for your help, much appreciated!

No problem :)