Thanks. As I say, they've told me i've been successful and it's just a case of references / security clearance and stuff coming through ok. I can't really think of any solid reason why it would break down, but it's just that if this falls through for some reason i'm right back to square one and i'd be absolutely distraught.
As for moving out... I hope I can. I've not properly gone through the numbers about how much I could afford to pay in rent etc, but I think it should be doable - especially as if I stay here, i'd have to pay rent to my parents (ok, not the market rate of course, but still a fair bit) and money for the commute and obviously the extra time that takes - i'm sure it'd work out quite similar financially either way, and of course the extra freedom and stuff which comes with it, which you can't put a price on.
Pretty much all my life is here and i've only got a couple of friends who live in London, but I can make new ones and more often than not i'm sick to death of Bedford anyway, so taking that step is probably for the best. Plus, it's only an hour away on the train anyway, so it's not as if I couldn't come home every now and again.
I emailed the HR people last week (because I thought they were due to get back to me last week) and they said things are ok but they won't hear back about the security stuff until next week (now this week), so there's nothing to suggest anything is wrong, but i'm just trying not to jinx it or bring any bad karma my way
OK, this has turned into a bit of an epic post, but nevermind.