How Can You Afford Living in London?

May 02, 2017 in Travel Tips, London, UK, Life in London, London Living

This is the million dollar question that I get at least once a week or whenever I meet new people. Let me start by saying when I say I live in London, I am no where near Big Ben, London Eye, Harrods or anything in Central London really. I live an hour away and that's still considered London. This city is expensive no doubt, but here is how I can afford living in London

Being a Full Time Student in London is GOLD

I think being a student in London gives you so many possibilities and DISCOUNTS! I have a discounted Oyster card, which means I pay 125GBP a month for a travel card from zone 1 to 4 and that includes all forms of transportation in London (Bus, DLR, Tube, Trains and the Overground). I also get a student train card (Rail Card) to travel in the UK for a significantly cheaper prices. Plus, I get 10% off in most stores with MyUniDays or you can get the NUS card.

As a full time student, you don't pay council tax too, which makes rent cheaper as well.

Give up Central London for Zone three or four

As I said in the introduction, I don't live in Central London. I live between zone three and four, which happens to be on the other side of the River Thames that you probably would not have visited. It basically takes me an HOUR to get ANYWHERE. That's a sacrifice you have to make if you want to stay in an affordable place that is slightly bigger than a shoe box. With my discounted Oyster card mentioned above, it makes sense to live further.

Meal Planning and Home Cooked Meals is a great method to SAVE MONEY!!

This saves so much you have no idea! Those supermarket sandwiches and crisps you buy at lunch for 3-5 pounds add up and become crazy! Think of this: A whole loaf of bread is 80p and humous is 1 pound and a bag of spinach for another 1 pound you can even treat yourself with 6 small bags of crisps for 2 pounds max. There you just made 5 lunches for 5 days for the cost of one! You see what I mean. Another thing, plan your meals before you get groceries, so you don't waste. Each meal I cook has two portions, so I have it for two dinners. Try a few vegan meals a week and that saves loads if you are using one type of vegetable, a can of chopped tomatoes and rice that's like 3 pounds for a filling meal. You can get very creative here and there are like a bazillion pages on instagram and pintrest to help you with that!

Meet Your Friends At Art Galleries or do other free activities

The wonderful thing about is London is the amount of free activities! (Read: How to find cool events and things to do in London). Big museums and art galleries are my default meeting point now. It gives you something to do and it is a fun. If the weather is good, you can also go to parks for picnics and catch ups.

Only Go out to Cafes

I am a social butterfly and I love hanging out with my London pals. As a Muslim, we can't meet at Pubs, so I used to meet my friends for restaurant meals (Read: My Ultimate Favourite Food Guide in London). That started costing me so much!! Now, I try to meet at cafes in the afternoon for tea or a just desserts. We sometimes only get tap water and stay there for two hours or more. Even buying a cup of tea or coffee is much more affordable than a main course.

Over to you:

How Can You Afford Living in London? Are there any other things you are doing I haven't mentioned above? Please Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Travel Inspiration for your gram

What do you do when it’s too hot? وش الواحد يسوي في الحر بدون مكيف؟
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It’s a really hot day here in London and I am attempting to do some drawings for my PhD research. I can’t help but feel resentful towards it now and towards som

Pomegranates & Fridays! رمان في يوم الجمعة
One of the Friday Islamic recommendations is to start the day by eating a full pomegranate. This was something I did with my mom and grandparents growing up. We never shared it either, each of us had th

Tea, pastry and beautiful art from @samira.mian to start my day ☀️🙏🏻

To brighten up your day and remind you to take a moment just for you to breath and absorb the colours around you 🙏🏻🌿 < this is the impact of the 5mins of yoga I did this morning 😂☀️

Good weather calls for more plants! Found a little garden centre tucked away in between the houses and it feels like it’s out of someone’s garden, but it was the best discovery during the lockdown! #shoplocal #shopsmall

Fresh mint tea from the little mint plant 🌿 شاي نعناع

I am currently listening to @candicebrathwaite ‘s book “I am not your baby mother” & I am enjoying every bit of it. Some parts are heard to fathom and made me so upset, but I am glad Candice shared her story! Highly recommended

My Ultimate Favourite Food Guide for London (Including Halal)

October 04, 2016 in London, UK, London Halal Dining, Life in London

You will probably find me in one of these! These are the places I choose from when I go out for food in London. These are purely based on my taste and what I like to eat. Thankfully, my friends love them as much as I do. I surly need to expand the list. I tried loads more, but I only put the ones I really enjoyed here.

For Arabic food: you are really spoiled for choice. There are so many options in Edgware Road and I only tried a few. I like Beirut Express for breakfast. I love the Green Valley to get some fresh or frozen Arabic special food. Maroush and Abu Zaad are also yummy!

For Burgers: Stax, Burgista Bros and Guanabana for chicken burgers: GBK.

For Indian: Hands down Dishoom. It's just so so good! There is also Roti Chai. It's in a similar goodness range.

For Turkish: Iskele (Barbican area) and Babaji Pide.

For Mexican: I still haven't found the prefect Mexican place in London, but Wahaca is nice. It's not halal, but I get their veggie or fish tacos.

Pan Asian: Busaba and Pho

For Pizza: Homeslice and Zizzi

For Noodles: Shoryu Ramen (be careful though. About 95% of their menu is pork. I go for the one vegetarian noodles that they have. It is so good!)

For Sushi: Sticks n Sushi (beware! It's really pricey, but so yummy!)

For Persian: There are so many amazing Persian restaurants in London. These are my favourite. I really enjoyed eating in all four: Behesht (Kensal Green), Alounak (Bayswater), Kish (Maida Vale) and Kabab Mahdi (Hammersmith).

For Stake: Steak and Co (they have a special halal stake) I haven't found another good halal stake in London, but the search continues.

For General/Please everyone classics: Jamie's Italian. It's not halal, but their prawns linguine and vegetarian dishes are nice.

More favourites on the London map:

Over to you: what are your ultimate favourite halal spots in London?

How to find cool events and things to do in London

October 03, 2016 in Life in London, London Museums, London, UK, London Living

I love being in London. It's an amazing city with so many things to do. You can even plan every night of the week to be out doing something entertaining. I keep getting asked how I find all the cool events I go to. I also get responses to my Snapchat story that say "oh wish I knew" "how did you even find that?" The answer is simple, I look for interesting things to do with my time because interesting events lead to interesting people. Sometimes I go alone and sometimes I take my friends. Either way, I make sure I go there and enjoy myself! Here are my go-to places to find events

Events at museums and galleries

The start of the month, I take a look at my favourite museums, art centres and venue just to check what's on. Some events are free, but others are paid. Usually they are reasonably price and under £20. The places I check are:

Barbican Centre, British Museum, National Gallery, Vitoria and Albert Museum, Leighton House Museum, Prince's School of Traditional Arts, Somerset House, Saatchi Gallery, Fashion and Textile Museum and The Design Museum.

Events at cool London venues

There are so many trendy venues around the city that host events. The ones I check are The Book Club in Shoreditch, The Forge in Camden and Soho Theatre.

Events via Meetup groups

I mentioned meetup.com in a pervious post "Ten Ways to Make International Friends". It's not only good for meeting new people and making friends, but there are so many groups that are based in London that do all sort of events from drawing at galleries to socialising at new London spots and etc.

Events from event websites

There is always the dependable Timeout London. I also like Le Cool London and the Nudge. I am sure there are other cool ones, but these usually fill up my schedule and notify me with the major London events.

I hope you find these locations and links useful. By the way, you should also ask your friends to share cool events that they might have heard of from work or other friends. This city has lots to offer and you will surly find something you enjoy. You can mix it up and go to events that you aren't sure about. It is fun to experiment!

Over to you: How do you find cool events in London? Do you know any cool venues and websites that I didn't mention? Please feel free to share them in the comments below.

London After Midnight

July 28, 2016 in Life in London, London, UK

When my friend suggested to keep walking around the river in South Bank and cross the main footpath bridges in London at 11pm, I jumped at the opportunity! I always wanted to experience London at night, but I never felt comfortable doing it on my own. The weather has been warm and glorious. I haven't spent a July in London before. I am usually away during that time, but this year I came right when summer started. It was surprisingly busy, but when the weather is good in London people stay out longer. I only had my Canon G 7X mark 1 with me and I thought the photos turned out really well for a point and shoot. Here are some of the photos I took on the walk.

Canon PowerShot G7X Digital Camera (20.3 MP, 4.2x Zoom)

London Eye at Night

Westminster at night, London

Big Ben, London

Big Ben and Westminster with water reflection

London after midnight

St Paul Cathedral at night

St Paul Cathedral closeup

Roses on the fence around St. Paul's Cathedral

Look down and carefully at the bridge you are walking on, London

St. Paul across the footpath bridge

Full moon and the Shard in London

How to protect yourself from horrific flatmates in London?

May 18, 2016 in London, UK, Life in London, London Living

After seeing endless ads from Airbnb about renting the extra space to other travellers, I convinced my landlord to clean up the extra bedroom. By "convinced" I actually mean I took matters into my own hands and was on endless calls asking him if he needed all the old things in there that no longer worked. Thankfully, the landlord is somewhat of a friend so it was not painful to convince him. Once the room was emptied (as best as I could), I bought few extra things like a hanging rack, hangers, sheets, towels and the usual room essentials. After I listed it on Airbnb, a "friend" saw the listing and contacted me and asked if she could stay. She only wanted to stay a couple of weeks at first and I wanted to help her out so I agreed. I thought at least I "knew" her and she is probably better than random strangers. Little did I know. It turned out to be one of the most horrific experiences ever. Of course it was all flowers and rainbows in the trial period then things got wrong really fast. I actually still wonder what went wrong, but I am treating it as a learning experiences and sharing five ways to protect yourself from similar experiences.

Tip: Let the payments and bookings be via Airbnb at least that way you get the payments and get to leave a review for the person. I removed my listing and privately lend it to her. BAD IDEA!

First: Is it really worth it?

I was out of the country/city for about 60% of the time when I had a flatmate so I though it is worth getting some money especially that I am not even there. I did not consider how I will feel when I am back though. I realised the hard way that sanity is more valuable than money especially when the flatmate is loud, inconsiderate and uses your resources when you are not there. The rent I charged was not even enough to tolerate the inconvenience she caused. In the trail period it was 90GBP/week and then 120GBP/week. Keep in mind it was a flat in London (end of zone three) with a station that's 5mins walk that takes 20mins to get to London Bridge (Central London). I did not want a profit, all I wanted was to cover the necessities. You might need to consider the emotional sacrifice and the price of the area when you are setting the rent price.

Second: Be firm and be cautious especially if the new flatmate is a friend

The flatmate who moved in with me was kind of a "friend". I "knew" her from mutual art classes we took and we had few friends in common, so I thought that was enough. The fact that I knew her made me go easy on rules and payments because that's what friends are for; to be supportive to each other. On the contrary, you really should be firm from the start because some people will take advantage of you.

Third: Get a GOOD deposit

I was so naive and I did not take a deposit. I know rookie move, but I really wanted to help her out because she constantly said she had no money and her payments were delayed and I thought I did not need it. Obviously I was mistaken, she broke my chair, the toilet roll holder, broke a bowl, used my drinking cups to paint and almost broke my expensive juicer too. I was so shocked and so Arab to ask for any money. A deposit would have solved that issue and I could have deducted the cost of the broken items from there.

Fourth: Have a written and signed agreement from a lawyer

Another mistake! I thought it was only a short term thing and there was no need to hassle myself with a lawyer and a contract, but seriously you need one with set dates. After the initial agreement with the flatmate to the end of June, she extended the dates to end of July and later on to end of August. When I had a problem with her dates and told her that I was expecting her to leave end of July because the landlord wanted to bring another person in August, she snapped. I really don't like dealing with aggressive, confrontational people. I really wished I had a contract then.

Fifth: Write all the household rules and agree on them before the move

When this flatmate first moved in she told me this and let me quote: "I am so tidy and neat, I think I have OCD." When someone makes such statements you kind of believe them. I know I am not the tidiest person. I have piles of papers and clothes in my room, but at least I am hygienic and clean especially in the kitchen and the bathroom. So, I expected her to be the same and even better since she claimed she is OCD clean. Sadly, that was not the case, I came from a trip and I saw plates of half eaten food left in the living room, dirty W/C, blocked drains from her hair and a total mess. I was only gone for a week.

Remember Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory and his roommate agreement detailing every little thing from who sits on the couch to everything else?

Yes you should do something similar (not as insane) BEFORE the move. I was really upset when I saw the disgusting mess (the type that get rats into your house) and I wrote a paper for her with Dos and Don'ts. Such as please don't eat my food especially the food I brought with me from abroad that I can't replace. I also included the usual common sense things like please don't leave your clothes in the living room, please put your leftovers in the fridge, throw your rotten food in the trash an take the trash out when I am not in town since it's yours. She was so offended she did not even speak to me.

The end of the story:

I didn't even have to speak to her face to face because she decided to leave the flat without notifying me or paying the rent. To top it off she purposefully stole my really nice cloth grocery bags and pay-as-you-go/top-up gas card and electricity key just to make my life difficult. This should give you an indication of the type of person she is. Without them, I could not get gas or electricity in the flat. I found out all of that after coming from an international trip. I was already exhausted after ten hours of travel and all I wanted was to sleep instead I spent a stressful cold dark night. I kept trying to contact her but she did not respond and then blocked me. I asked a mutual friend to intervene. I did not want the money just the card and key. The flatmate lied about having them and was out of touch.

It was one of the worst experiences of my life. It still sounds bizarre to me. Even my friends were in disbelief when I told them. I know why I was upset, but every time I was annoyed I stayed in my room either tired or working. I was never rude or out of order with her. I am sure she had her reasons but stealing and behaving like that was immature and silly. I am just glad it was over and really sad it ended this way.

Hope you guys don't have similar experiences just make sure you follow the advice above and you will be alright. Some people ended up with really good relationships with their flatmates. It's just a matter of clarity and luck.

Afternoon Tea in Sketch, London

September 01, 2015 in Life in London, London Afternoon Tea, London, UK, London Halal Dining

Happy September everyone!

During the long bank holiday weekend, I got to try Sketch, one of the nicest afternoon tea experiences in London! I have been wanting to go for the longest time and I am so glad I finally did. I had afternoon tea at the gallery. The space was mostly pink with pink chairs and pink walls. It was so girly and dreamy. I liked that they covered the walls with sketches. Some were funny and others were a bit strange.

The afternoon tea was unlimited, which was something I did not expect and really loved! I was full from the first serving, but had a bit more because they kept offering so nicely. It was pure indulgence. It included a choice of tea, vegetarian finger sandwiches, traditional scones, pastries. There were two choices for pastries ones with beef gelatine and vegan ones. I went with the vegan ones and was pleasantly surprised of how yummy they were. I liked that we were able to try more than one kind of tea. I tried the oolong and the rose teas. Overall, the food was nice but nothing out of the extraordinary. The lovely tea selection, the interiors and the amazing service made it all so worth it. To top it off, they had MAD bathrooms that looked like they landed right out of space. It just added a fun twist to the space.

I will definitely be going there again. Keep in mind you need to reserve a table in advance because it gets booked up really fast.

Cheap Eats in Shoreditch, London

June 25, 2015 in Life in London, London Halal Dining, London, UK

Happy Thursday all!

Last month, I was taking daily classes at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts. It's located in Shoreditch, which meant having lunch that area daily. The longer I stayed there, the more places I discovered. From the places I found, were these little hidden gems that I wanted to share with you all

#1 Ruby. Be prepared to queue, but the Italian food is SO worth it! The staff are super friendly and very accommodating as well. It's very affordable. You can get something for a fiver or less. Ps. Chicken is halal! :D

Address: 8-9 Hoxton Square, London, United Kingdom

#2 The little indian cafe. I am not really sure what it's called, but it's really hidden. It's between Pod and Itsu on Eastern St. It's a corner shop, but with hot food inside. A plate of rice and three sides is around 3-4 pounds. It's also really yummy! Ps. Chicken is Halal.

#3 Apostrophe Cafe I love this little cafe and they have fresh vegetarian sandwiches, farm pressed juices and really nice desserts. It's also affordable.

Address: Great Eastern Street EC2 42 Great Eastern Street London EC2A 3EP

#4 Box Park. I only went there quickly and I didn't even get to eat there, but they got a number of pop up shops and restaurants upstairs with a number of affordable eateries. It's super cool and the way they made a quirky use of the containers is brilliant.

Address: 2-10 Bethnal Green Rd, London, E1 6GY, UK

Blogtacular 2015, Annual Blogging Conference

June 14, 2015 in Business Tips, Life in London, London, UK, Blogging

Happy Sunday everyone!

Yesterday I was very lucky to attend the best blogging conference of the year, Blogtacular 2015. It felt like a TEDXTALK especially for blogging and crafting. Being surrounded by people that do similar things and who understand blogging achievements and struggles was priceless and not to mention FUNNNNN! :D

The day started with key notes from Grace Bonney AKA Design Sponge. She emphasised on the importance of expressing fear and taking risks. She also shared her journey and all the highs and lows. She was very encouraging. Afterwards there was a choice of three talks. I chose the travel blogging one given by Monica Stott from the Travel Hack. I must say that one was fully packed of very useful information. Lunch followed and it was waves of awesome networking and I even got to meet Christine from Thomson Holidays. Everyone was welcomed to pitch. Let's hope my pitch takes me places. Even if it doesn't, at least I got to try and that in its own was a great opportunity of being in Blogtacular.

After lunch, there were even more choices and it was hard to pick. I chose the Grow Your Audience Panel. It was an interesting discussion about attracting the right people to our blogs. Then came the Instagram panel. Like I am not obsessed enough with Instagram! The thing that everyone spoke about was the importance of engagement and being picky with the content. The last talk before the ending was from the ladies at Mollie Makes and they suggested few writing and thinking exercise such as writing the second you wake up three A4s without even thinking or editing, just writing. I can't wait to try all their tips out.

The concluding keynote speaker was Anthony Peters. He is a graphic designer and filmmaker. He told us how hard he tried to make his dream come reality and how it happened! His documentary is going to be launched in October. It was an inspiring ending that filled everyone with motivation. It was a proof that hard work does pay off even if it takes time.

The whole Blogtacular community was about sharing and helping each other. They strongly believe that EVERYONE has a place on the table and that the world could fit all of us, which was a very positive message to celebrate.

Credit: Mollie Makes photos taken by Piers MacDonald — Credit: Mollie Makes photos taken by Piers MacDonald

Everyone was AMAZING and we had to take MANY MANY selfies.

With Allison Sadler, The People Shop — With Allison Sadler, The People Shop

With Sonia Nicolson, LayoutLines — With Sonia Nicolson, LayoutLines

With Christine from Monsieur Torres — With Christine from Monsieur Torres

Top Things I learnt at Blogtacular:

1- VIDEOS, I need to start adding them to my blogs because they are the way to the future.

2-There are so many other people who are on the same creative boat, it's only a matter of finding them.

3- Instagram hashtags got to be relevant and even specific to attract the right type of audience.

Can you spot me? ;) Credit: Mollie Makes photos taken by Piers MacDonald — Can you spot me? ;) Credit: Mollie Makes photos taken by Piers MacDonald

After the conference ended, there was MORE! an afterparty at West Elm. We were all so tired by that point, but it was really worth going. I got to interact with even more bloggers who I didn't speak to during the day and we got to craft and chitchat. There were five different crafting stations and I had a finished product from most of them. It was so much fun. I don't think I had this much fun with people that completely get my passion and career choice like I did yesterday. Blogging is a very lonely job at times, where I am glued to my laptop, writing or editing photos, but Blogtacular made it possible for us all to connect and hangout in a very friendly and inspiring environment.

If you could not make the conference in person this year, that's ok! because you can still attend the virtual conference when it is live and get all the amazing tips and pointers :D Follow Blogtacular on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook for their latest updates and virtual conference release date.

Goodie bag & the things I crafted in the workshops