Reply to: House shares vs hotel

[conned tractor]

Thought I would provide a quick update. Not that it is that interesting.

Stayed first week in hotel, which was ok. During this week went to see a couple of shared houses. The first was a really nice house on a nice area, however smelt really bad which put ne right off. Even the woman who owned it smelt fishy, was making me heave a bit.

Next place I looked at though was a lot better. Maybe my expectations were low at this point. I'm currently living with a polish guy of the same age with similar interests and a 21 year old girl (pretty fit too) with whom I get on really well. In fact we generally spend quite a bit of time together going down the local at least once a week. So, it hasn't turned out bad at all.

I'm pretty sure good and bad experiences are luck of the draw.

One point I found to be of great help was staying in the hotel the first week and asking as many people as possible about the local area. If I hadn't have done this then in all likelihood would have ended up on the tulipe side of town.

[Spacecadet]

I'm in my second house share since I started contracting.
Spareroom.com seemed to provide the best results as they only have rooms where the property owner actually lives on the premises and so the bathroom/kitchen cleaning is taken care of.
Not too bothered about having to share a livingroom, I anti social and don't watch TV mid week
Not too bothered about sharing a kitchen, I don't really cook much
Not too bothered about sharing a bathroom, I get up early

I'm more concerned about having somewhere cheap, comfortable and regular to sleep each night and without having the temptation of a bar in the same building!

Definitely agree about the professional house shares, most of them seem to be all in when it comes to biils and offer 3 month minimum terms which is a major headache taken care of

[alreadypacked]

Hi Lea, welcome to the board. Have you had a CUK party yet?

[Lea]

Hi Guys

Just for information - and cos Im a property geek I thought I would add to this for the benefit of anyone else that could not decide what to do.

House shares have changed a lot in the last 5 years. Many landlords are specialising in professional house shares, often with multiple ensuite rooms. Gone are the days of grannies old furniture and a hose over the bath as a shower!

When you think about the great advantage you can leave all your belongings in a house share if you 'go home' at the weekend - and certainly in our area you would expect to pay average price of £85 per week (upto £115 for an ensuite)

The managed ones are better - because they activley have someone coming in and checking that the lazy bugger that never puts away his dishes, actually does put away his dishes.

The lodging side of things is always in my experience more difficult. If the landlord lives on site then they have their own house rules - shoes off, no TV after certain time, no O/N guests and many many more weird things. Nearly all of the people renting a room out want a non smoking female middle aged non paryting who is good with cats - lol
There are advantages - you don't have to share with so many people, and often you can become good friends with your landlord.

I have to deal with both these types of accommodation for contractors every day.

If it was me - and I was contracting I would go for ensuite professional house share - and expect to pay between 80pw and 100pw fully furnished, bills included.



Lea

[The Wikir Man]

I used mondaytofriday.com on my last contract in wimbledon

Thanks for the tip, Pogle - move into a place on Monday having viewed it last night. 3 months (same length as my initial contract) and then see what comes after that

[Sysman]

I suspect that there might be "issues" in parking a mobile home at fairly random locations that aren't camp sites, it would take a pretty understanding client to allow use of their car park.

At one client I thought their dress code and a few other rules were unusually strict. It turned out that they'd had a contractor who turned up dressed as a hippy and was expecting to live in his camper van on the company car park. Definitely a no go for the kind of place it was.

I'd never even thought about a Youth Hostel for accomodation on a gig, I suppose their standards are better now than the last time I used one over 25 years ago.

A mate ended up at a Youth Hostel when his wife kicked him out. At that time of year it wasn't the usual holiday makers but unemployed dodgy types coming and going at all hours.

I definitely want my own bathroom and either a proper kitchen or fridge/cooker setup. A single microwave doesn't cut it for me. I soon got fed up with that and bought my own double hotplate-cum-oven combo.

I've usually ended up with small houses or flats, with only one causing problems (the landlord had bailiffs chasing him and I found another much better spot sharpish).

[cojak]

Also in my experience many single rooms in B&B's don't have en suite facilities. <SHUDDER>

My experience too, I realised after the last time that I shared a loo that I'm well off enough to go double/ensuite these days...

[Pogle]

Yes I had found those but thanks anyway. The thing is they are singles and having not had to stay in a single bed for many many years now wanted a double bedroom. This may sound a bit spoilt but it's what you would normally get in a standard hotel room anyhow. These guest houses do have double rooms but are around £50 again. Maybe they would reduce this slightly as having only one breakfast to do. Worth a phone call.

Also in my experience many single rooms in B&B's don't have en suite facilities. <SHUDDER>

[conned tractor]

B&B prices from £25/night assuming this is Gillingham in Kent:

http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/gillingh.html

Yes I had found those but thanks anyway. The thing is they are singles and having not had to stay in a single bed for many many years now wanted a double bedroom. This may sound a bit spoilt but it's what you would normally get in a standard hotel room anyhow. These guest houses do have double rooms but are around £50 again. Maybe they would reduce this slightly as having only one breakfast to do. Worth a phone call.

[Grinder]

B&B prices from £25/night assuming this is Gillingham in Kent:

http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/gillingh.html

[Churchill]

Staying on a boat is quite fun. I stayed on a houseboat on the Thames for a few months up at Richmond.

[MarillionFan]

Remember if you are planning to use a hotel for any period of time ie 4 nights per week for three months it is worth negotiating with the manager. Many a time I've had a £100 per night style room discounted heavily for a long period

[conned tractor]

So far I have found that:

The Youth Hostel, yes the Youth Hostel, which looks quite nice actually being a converted oast house, is £17 a night (£68/ week). This wasn't a bad looking option but availablity is very limitted over the next couple of months and over the summer is showing no availability .

Holiday Inn, no discounts available for that one on the few dates over the next few months I tried. Comes in at £308/ week.

mondaytofriday: Nothing in the area, but thanks for the suggestion.

Premier inn: want around £320/ week. Having stayed in premier inns before, I have only ever paid around £30 ish/ night. Edit: Tell a lie, have just searched some more advance dates and it is coming back with £250/ week without breakfast.

Lesser known large-ish hotel: £50/ night (£200/ week), could be a possibility.

B&B (old lady style) is a good option, their advertised prices are around £50+ a night therefore £200/week. I'm sure they would knock a few quid off for a long termer.

Shared house: around £65-£100/ week, a fair saving but involves living with other people. Minimum terms usually less.

Private let: around £100-£150/ week + council tax, utilities etc, but risky as pogle pointed out if project gets canned, left with minimum term rent plus bills.

Wild camping would result in me being the stinky one in the office, a touch impractical.

Camper van, a nice idea, but again a touch impractical. Although on a personal note, I would love to take a camper van round Europe or such like at some in my life.

Staying in hotel next week so will look around a few places while down there.

As another option, has anyone stayed on a boat for a contract? That could be an experience. Are there any moorings around Gillingham?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[BA to the Stars]

If you are only requiring accommodation Mon - Thurs and travel home on a Friday, why not look at Travelodge, Premier Inn, etc. Booking in advance can work out pretty cheap.

[Gonzo]

Epping might be alright, but Clapham Common might be a bit fraught.

Hmm. There are a lot of parks in Central London. Can you pitch a tent in them ?

In theory yes but you do need to have the written permission of the Secretary of State first.

The Royal Parks and Other Open Spaces Regulations 1997 (SFW)

EDIT: Which Secretary of State? It was the Secretary of State for National Heritage that signed the act but the position has been retitled the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.