First journey: London (26 February - 1 March)

Cecile

So here I am. My journey begins with London.

Why London?

Friends

Kevin, a Ruby on Rails developer, a good friend and ex-coworker moved there last September. He has invited me several times to come see him. So I taught it was logic to begin my journey by actually visiting him.

Distance / Transport

London is close to Lille so I may have short commute time (in theory). The good news is that there are direct trains and buses.

Hosting

And finally my friend and his wife invited me to share their home so I hadn't to look for a place to stay. Otherwise, I should have took time to look for a Couchsurfing host, Airbnb room or hostel.

Look Right

4 days in London

I decided to equally split my time : 2 days of work and 2 days of visits.

Day 1: Working from Tymberyard

I went to Tymberyard cafe, had a nice quiche for lunch and worked there all the afternoon. Of course, I did respect the tea time habit.

That was my first cafe-working experience. It's pleasant to work among fifteen other cafe-workers and in a lovely place with a good playlist. This cafe is well situated, near Barbican station. No need to mention that it looks like the spirit of Shoreditch arrived in this area.

Tymberyard Café

Day 2: Working from @Work Hubs

As a heavy user of a coworking space in Lille, I wanted to try one in London. Philip Dodson welcomed me in his space @Work Hubs.

I took a starter pass, chose a desk, had some ginger-lemon tea and started to work. The space is situated near Euston Square station. There are long desks, armchairs, free tea and biscuits and a small library.

Note: I also found there the first book from Hugh Laurie and bought it in favor of a non-profit organization. Had so much fun reading the adventures of Mr. Lang (The Gun Seller).

@Work Hubs coworking space

Day 3-4: Visiting

Time to visit! Hung out with my friends, had a walk in parks and the city.

Visiting, Tower Bridge

What I've learned

High prices

No big news here. London is an expensive city. If you go to London, you should make sure you have budget for oyster card credits, coworking space pass and food in cafés.

Transport

I planned my travel 2 weeks ago. So the train rates weren't affordable anymore. Unsurprisingly, I took a bus.

It was a long 6 hours ride including 30 minutes in a huge stainless can, on a train, in the depths of the sea. In fact it's not that terrible. We drove all the night so I just slept. OK, I had to take a nap before starting my first day work but that's it.

London coworking spaces

Spaces referenced on coworking visa website don't exist anymore or don't propose hotdesking anymore. On top of that, hotdesking spaces are hard to find for a newcomer. It also seems that there is no non-profit coworking spaces in the center of London.

London Rules

What next?

I enjoyed this first working-trip. I liked to live as a Londoner on weekdays and be a tourist on weekend.

For sure, I'll continue my journey in Europe.

But what about YOU?!

We'd love to meet you and go for a ride.

Join us