u/OldInside7381

Making this post because I'm just grasping for straws and totally fed up with the UK rental system. I'm 26F and I came to the UK to do my Masters last Septemeber from Ireland. I've been living in student accom but I have to move out in September, me and 4 friends have planned to rent out a house together. 3 of my friends have UK gaurantors, I'm the only exception. My parents earn very comfortably and are financially very sound, live in Ireland and I'm sure they can provide all kind of documentation needed for gaurantor checks but using them just isn't valid here.

Personally I'm financially sound, I've been self-funding my own masters but the london/greater london area is expensive, I'm basically burning money right now. Being careful with what I have left is a huge priority for me, I'm actively job-hunting aswell.

I thought of paying for a gaurantor service only to find out they won't even offer me a contract because I'm no longer a student and I'm also not a working professional yet (I contacted Housing Hand). I have no idea what to do, I would honestly prefer to pay 3 or 6 months rent upfront but apparently that too is now illegal due to the new rental laws. Any advice for someone like me please? I'm not sure if there are even any options left for me right now.

Me and a couple of friends are thinking of moving in together and we are constrained by location, one of us recently got a job near tonbridge and rest of are new grads currently looking for jobs in London. We are currently living in a london commuter town (SW london) and we would like to live within commuting distance to London. I'm wondering how possible is that from Tonbridge?

Is it considered part of Greater London?

Looking on rightmove, there doesn't appear to be a large availability of properties in the area, are there any nearby towns where we should look aswell? We are on a tight timeline aswell, we need to move by 1st week of September.

Looking to hear from people who moved back to India.

I've heard the reason why people move back, cost of living is better, lifestyle is better (because you have money), can hire house help amongst many things. How much do these things matter in the long run, when you initially move I'm sure all these comforts seem amazing. But in the long-term how much do these things matter??

I'm wondering do people over-inflate the benefits, and underestimate the inconvienience long term?

Know a girl who is my age 26F, she got into a Master program in the US in New Jersey in 24/25 and after going there for 2 months she couldn't adjust to the pace of the program, started having problem with flatmates and dropped out of the Masters. Last year she enrolled in another Masters Program in the Uk and this is how I met her, she hasn't attended a single class, isn't responsible for herself in any way. She can't cook, take public transport, cannot take care of her own hygiene and cleanliness and quite honestly smells. There have been few incidents involving her which led to people being concerned for her well being and the college was informed about it, she has been using mental health issues as an excuse for not coming to class. I'm not confident she will even pass her Masters.

She was telling me she has been applying for jobs and not got a single interview in the UK (not surprised considering she has no skill). She has convinced her boyfriend they must settle abroad, he is coming to Germany in September for his Masters, they got a court marriage done recently and she is planning to move to Germany to be with him as soon as its legally possible. It appears me to me she is expecting him to fulfill her goals and desires, he didn't have much intention to go abroad but he is doing it for her.

She was telling me she is ready to do any job in Germany, even blue collar work like being a cleaner. I don't understand the lengths some people are willing to go just to move abroad, she just can't imagine a life back in India again and she will go to any length to not go back. I'm so stunned.

my_qualifications: Masters in Business

I can only speak for Irish colleges and universities, everyone acts like outside of big prestigious colleges like Trinity and UCD, everything else is a degree mill. As someone who went through the Irish education system, this is so far from the truth.

Prestigious colleges generally speaking have more budget to market themselves in India, they have more ties with consultancies and the international ranking obviously help too. However that doesn't mean that smaller universities are "degree mills", in my opinion the quality of teaching across most colleges in Ireland is of a really good standard. Universities like UCD, TCD, UCC, UL have a more off hands approach when it comes to teaching. Other ones like MTU, SETU are actually known to have more lecture hours which means more contact time with the lecturers, this suits some students more as not everyone copes well with off-hand approach to teaching.There are so many nuances that stupid consultancies won't tell you.

Also people need to realize just because a university may be smaller in size does NOT mean they are not well connected to industries and companies. On top of that you do not automatically become more attractive to recruiters just because you graduated from Trinity or a top uni, most recruiters know most CS and Analytics courses are filled with Indians and you will not be differentiated just because you graduated from a top uni. There are just too many information gaps that I see on here so just wanted to say something, my only advice is do not be so trusting of everything you see and hear online and from consultancies.

my_qualifications: Masters in Business.

Edit: I'm not talking about myself here, my parents didn't behave this way. But I'm travelling in the US and meeting other Indians and that's how I found out about this.

I'm speaking as an NRI myself who was raised abroad since I was 7, I'm 26 now and no longer a child but I'm surprised seeing a lot of parents mostly in the US pushing their children to take indian food like dosa, idli or roti for lunch. Or insisting their children must oil hair everyday and braid their hair too. Some parents don't send their children to others houses if they eat non-veg. Nothing wrong with indian food or oiling hair, but there is a time and place for all these things.

I don't think some parents realize that they are making their children stick out like a sore thumb doing all this, at a young age all kids want to do is fit in and make friends. You can maintain culture and traditions in other ways aswell, you don't need to raise your children exactly how children in India are raised. And some parents are not flexible at all about this, its quite sad.