London accommodation hotels, vs renting vs sort-term renting

[amcdonald]

The cheapest I've managed was £60 a week, up in North London in a shared house with some Chinese students

Apart from the place being overflowing with rice cookers, it was the cleanest houseshare I'd had

It was worth paying extra for an oyster card to save that much

[OwlHoot]

It's harder if one smokes, unless the owner smokes too. But even then they sometimes prefer a non-smoker to someone who will be puffing away in an upstairs room.

I've been lucky with my Cambridge lodgings, a large room for which I pay only £100 a week.

[kevpuk]

Just coming to the end of a 6-month stint in Brentford - I landed on my feet with a great Spareroom-sourced room in a house about 2mins walk from Client's office. Admittedly, I also looked at another place in the area which was nowhere near as suitable.....

Been paying £400pcm for a Mon-Fri let, inclusive of all bills etc., and have become good friends with my 'landlady' - even had the wife and kids up to stay on a couple of occasions, with Heathrow being so close......have my own room (natch, not sure the wife would've agree to a top-n-tail arrangement ) and share the rest of the house as needed. Admittedly, in the early days of looking for accommodation, I wasn't sure it would be for me, but I have had a really great time outside of work over the last 6 months also, so very much been a win-win.

On a related note, there were a couple of ads back when I was looking advertising for Mon-Fri lets, as owner was working away in the week. That could work nicely, as one would have the whole place to themselves....

[Freaki Li Cuatre]

The trick is to lodge with someone who isn't around when you are i.e. someone who works nights.

And "hot bunk" with them?

[SueEllen]

There's no way I could do house share. I like my own space.

The trick is to lodge with someone who isn't around when you are i.e. someone who works nights.

[SimonMac]

I go for house share too, that way if I want a weekend in the big city I have somewhere to stay already

[Chunk]

There's no way I could do house share. I like my own space.

[Freaki Li Cuatre]

Get yerself a tent and go and join the Occupy protesters. Sorted.

[Ticktock]

I rent a room in a shared flat with 5 others. I definitely prefer it to a hotel as I have more space, a kitchen, etc.

Unfortunately the flat I live in has had quite a lot of turnover, and my current lot of flatmates are a bunch of losers - too lazy to empty the bin, take out recycling, do their washing up, etc. The place is turning into a bit of a tip and I can't wait to get out and leave them to it.
I had the opportunity to rent a room in a 2 bedroom flat with just the owner, but being the generally anti-social guy I am I felt that I would be forced into too much contact with her for comfort (not in that way!). I like my space, and that can be easier to get when you have more people around for camouflage.

Given the choice, I'd have rented a flat by myself, but I couldn't justify the expense - rent, plus bills, plus Council Tax, etc, when a room here includes everything in the rent.

[OwlHoot]

Find lodgings through a site like mondaytofriday.com

£700 - £800 for lodgings in London sounds pretty optimistic to me, unless it's miles out in the suburbs somewhere, in which case won't you also be paying shedloads for all zones weekly travel on an Oyster card or similar.

[Chunk]

+ council tax, utilities, bedding, all the odds and ends you take for granted. What's more, most long term lets are unfurnished.

[yasockie]

With my concrete requirements it works out to:
£700-900pcm long-term rental (6 months minimum)
£800+ short-term rental, but no need to find a replacement
avg £55-70 per night for a hotel during winter time

Even at the relatively low hotel price levels, I get better ROI renting long-term if I spend more than say 12 nights per month in London, which I think is likely and even if I didn't I guess I can pay a little extra for slight improvement in quality of life - own wardrobe, washing machine etc.

What does the far commuting collective? Do you stay in hotels or do you rent?