zeban

Ah I see, that's great. Can I be mosey and ask what line of work you're in?

Am I missing something about the whole US thing as I thought without your job actually relocating you that it's pretty much impossible to just get up and move there unless you have citizenship/a green card? Also in terms of SF, I have a friend who is always talking about the high costs of property there. He just posted an ad for a studio flat going in the building he rents in. It was just as much if not more than the price of a studio in a decent part of London (around ?800-900 pcm) so I'm afraid it's not at all cheap in SF anymore.

Not quite East Dulwich, but Romeo Jones in Dulwich Village has some excellent gifts at Christmas. They just posted some pics on their facebook page with a taster of what's on offer : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Romeo-Jones/217330958314640?hc_location=timeline ETA: There will also be a late night Christmas shopping event in Dulwich Village on the 5th December from 5pm involving lots of Dulwich traders.

It is unfortunately (or fortunately for the dogs themselves) very difficult to find pure breed Dachshunds at a rescue centre, and nigh impossible at that to find puppies.

Spot on Quids and Bob! that's exactly what it is and I can't blame Admin at all. They don't want to have to deal with these bullying, threatening, pretty nasty businesses, despite those threats having absolutely no legal standing. It's just not worth the headache. Life's too short! If this is the response of a business it tells me a lot about the business and I'd just take my money elsewhere.

Let me be clear, there is a limit in Japan as to how much you can claim for your commute, they won't accept you commuting in from other cities, unless they really really want you, otherwise you will be asked to move so sorry if I made that a bit unclear.

Also minimum wage is minimum wage, you can't lower that, but those on minimum wage still get their commute paid for. And minimum wage is based upon the local cost of living so it differs from region to region. Tokyo is the equivalent of London for cost of living and minimum wage there is around ?8 per hour. Services and goods are expensive here though, so it might have some knock on effect in that respect but who knows as Japan has always been an expensive country in terms of goods and services.

I have no idea Marmora Man, but I think it is the employer because employment laws are very different here compared to Britain and in fact a founding principle of Japanese employment law is the principle of equality between worker and employer, thus there is an obligation towards employees here that are expected to be taken seriously, and in return the employee is expected to show dedication in return (not OTT dedication but some overtime and work dos are things you generally can't get out of).

yep true, I am writing from Japan!

In Japan the company you work for has to pay for your commute, it's illegal for them not to. Something that would NEVER happen in the UK but bloody brilliant and hugely beneficial. Another price hike is completely unacceptable

Lived there for 2 years and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately though I'd agree about the rent hikes. The first year they hardly raised it at all for me, but the second they raised it massively and I could no longer afford to live there and moved out. This is very obviously going to continue year in year out as the housing situation in London gets worse and worse, and to be honest not sure if will ever get better, so just be aware of that. Despite the huge rent hike my studio flat was let within 24 hours of it going on the market so it's a very desirable road to live on, people are prepared to pay the raised rents because of this, and Grainger know this.

Interesting Sue, didn't know about JustSnipe, might have to give it a go!

I like ebay as a buyer but I'm hopeless at bidding and definitely don't have the patience for that. I've only ever bought 'buy it now' items or messaged a seller to ask if they would let me 'buy it now' even if that means risking not getting it at a very low price- if it's something that I like then I'm prepared to spend the money anyway and quite often a seller is willing to do that as it means a guaranteed sell.

the brownies there are the best I've ever had. They're expensive, but so worth it

Thank you all of the above!