So, you’re moving to London? Or maybe you haven’t yet decided and are interested in learning more about the English capital city before taking the plunge. Well, either way, you’re in luck, because I’ve rounded up a bunch of London experts to give you their best recommendations, information, and tips to help with your own relocation.
All of the peeps who submitted tips for this guide are either London-born locals, who know the city like the back of their hand or expats who have their own personal experience to share from relocating to London themselves. These guys are the experts, and they’re here to tell you everything you need to know about moving to London.
Note: Some of the tips in this post may be the most helpful if you’re an American moving to London (such as visas), although many of them contain useful info for anyone!
Feel free to jump around using the table of contents below.
Jump down to:
Finding an Apartment or “Flat” in London
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Manpreet of HelloManpreet.com.
“Welcome to London, a city so culturally rich, with each town being so different from the next, which can make it overwhelming to know where to live and how to start your search.
Ideally, you will want to make sure you are located as close to an underground train station as possible. The network is vast, so you will have lots of areas to focus on. Being near the train will mean that you will be able to access most of London within about 60 minutes of travel. However, being near these stations can mean a slightly higher price than in other areas.
Once you have chosen your area, you should head to Rightmove.co.uk/ and Zoopla.co.uk where you will enter the area you are looking in. If you have a train station nearby then enter the name of the station and choose a reasonable diameter. E.g. if you don’t mind walking 1 mile a day to the train, then select 1 mile. Once you pull up your searches, sort them by newly listed and there you go. You can now see all the apartments listed recently in your preferred area and look through them.
Call up the agent of the one you like and start making appointments!
A few follow up tips to note: some agents have been known to ask for a ‘finders fee’ or a ‘non-refundable deposit.’ These are unethical practices and please do not hand over any cash for this purpose. However, it is common that they will ask for a 4-6 weeks deposit once the property owner has agreed to have you live there.
You must make sure you get a signed receipt that this has been placed in the Deposit Protection Scheme, which is a government intervention to keep your deposit safe and returned when you leave.”
How to Find a Job in London & the Different Visas
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Sarah of Endless Distances.
“Finding a job in the UK is one of the most important steps of immigrating here, but also the most complicated and stressful. It always happens that way, doesn’t it?
Your first step should be determining what kinds of jobs you’re eligible for. This will depend on your own nationality and the type of visa you’re applying for.
Different types of visas that allow you to work in the UK:
There are many different types of visas, but for Americans the most common are spousal, student (tier 4), and employment (tier 2).
A spousal visa gives you the most freedom in finding work – as long as your partner meets a certain income threshold with their job, you can apply for pretty much any job you want, or be self-employed. You can also work any number of hours per week.
I previously lived in the UK on a tier 4 student visa, where I was limited to 20 hours of work per week. For this work, you are not allowed to be self-employed. While studying, I worked for my university’s writing center for about 15 hours per week.
A tier 2 employment visa is the most coveted but also the most complicated in terms of finding appropriate work. You must be accepted for a skilled job before applying for the visa and arriving in the UK. Your employer has to sponsor you for the visa, but they also have to be a registered sponsor. Check this list of registered sponsors (which does include the NHS).
You also have to prove that nobody in the UK can perform this job, and that’s why they’re hiring you. This is called the resident labor market test. The easiest way to meet all those standards is to work for a US company that is willing to eventually transfer you to their UK base. However, you can bypass the resident labor market test if you work in a shortage occupation. Here is an updated list of shortage occupations. In either case, your job must pay a minimum threshold, which is currently £30,000 per year.
If you have a parent or grandparent who was born in the UK, you may want to apply for the ancestry visa which will give you full work rights. Lucky you!
If you’re from the EU, you didn’t previously have to meet any of those visa standards. Sadly things have gotten more restricted with Brexit and new changes in freedom of movement. It’s not totally clear what the laws are going forward, but stay posted on the UK Visa website.
Got your visa all figured out? Here’s where to start your search:
Some good resources for starting your job search are Reed, Jobsite, Indeed, and NHS Jobs. It’s definitely worth reaching out to employers directly to ask about their willingness to sponsor candidates.”
The Cost of Living in London & Keeping Costs Down
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Lucile.
“Moving to London can be very expensive! Once you have all the basics figured out and have found your accommodation, you will want to start enjoying the city. Here are a few easy tips to keep costs down and live your best life in London:
Gym subscriptions can be really expensive in London – I’m talking up to £200 per month with most gyms going for in between £50 and £70! If this is a problem for you, instead of getting one, another option is to work out at home or in one of London’s many parks with some fun and simple equipment. This is an awesome way to keep costs down when moving to London. You can also join workout meetups if you enjoy running or biking, which is a cool way to meet people.
Another tip is to watch out for food discounts as food can be very relatively expensive here as well, we are talking around £60 a week for groceries, and more if you enjoy takeout and eating out at restaurants. Want in on a secret? Go for food items that “expire” on the same day as they tend to be heavily discounted at most supermarkets. This can help you save tons of money on food.
There are so many free things to do in London as well, and you’re in for a treat if you like free entertainment. I personally love exploring the free museums in the city such as the National Gallery or the Natural History Museum. Be on the lookout for free concerts as well: a quick Google search will help you navigate the many styles available from Jazz to Techno.
How to Meet People and Make Friends in London
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Victoria of Day out in England.
“When I first moved to London I only had a few people there that I knew from journalism college. I knew I had to make some more friends in order to be happy there. I was so excited to be there though, I couldn’t wait to get stuck in!
I joined a netball team and made some good friends there – we’re still in touch now 13 years later. I found that people in London were a lot more open to new friends than in other cities I’ve lived in. Everyone seems to be up for an adventure.
I’d recommend looking on MeetUp for fun activities and events in London around things that you’re passionate about, then you’ll meet your tribe. When I started going to travel blogger meet-ups I met so many great people – it was easy to make friends in the likeminded crowd.
Also, when I was finding somewhere to live I was sizing up the people as well as the room, so I’d have some fun instant friends. I was also lucky enough to get on really well with my friends from my first job in London but sometimes you have to be the one to initiate the after-work drinks and encourage people to go. Maybe even ask if they fancy a day of fun in London at the weekend? Then you can slowly get to know them and become lifelong BFFs (hopefully!).”
Getting Around and Public Transportation Tips
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Ella of Many More Maps.
“Public transport in London is comprehensive and affordable – you can get wherever you want to go in the city with minimal effort! There’s absolutely no need to have a car – it’ll be more hassle than it’s worth.
An essential for any Londoner is the CityMapper app. Simply type in your starting point and your destination and the app will offer you real-time options of how to get there the fastest. It also includes the price of your journey.
To use any of the public transport in London, tap in with your contactless bank card (or Oyster Card) and you’ll be charged depending on how far you travel. Don’t buy the paper tickets –they’re way more expensive than using contactless or Oyster!
London’s Oyster Cards
An Oyster Card is London’s transport card but is now a bit old fashioned. The only reason it’s worth getting one is if you are a student or have a discount railcard, such as the 18-25 railcard. You can buy these railcards online and they give you discounted train travel. You can get the railcard discount on your Oyster Card by applying online, which means you’ll get a sweet 30% off London travel!
Options for public transport in London:
Buses are the cheapest way to get around, with prices set at £1.50 per 90 minutes of travel. For the Underground, the city is split into 6 zones, with Zone 1 being Central London and each following Zone getting further and further out of the city. A one-way journey on the tube within Zones 1-2 costs £2.40
An amazing way to explore the city is to hire a Santander Cycle. You’ll see docking stations for these red bikes all over the city. For just £2 you can hire a bike for 24 hours. The first 30 minutes of every journey is free, and if you decide to cycle longer than that, you’ll be charged an extra £2 for every extra 20 minutes. This is a great budget option, as most people simply dock their bike at a new docking station every 30 minutes before checking it out again to avoid the extra payment.”
Tips for Shopping in London
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Anuradha of Country Hopping Couple.
“London does not only attract travellers, history enthusiasts, and royal family fans but also a great deal of shopaholics. Apart from Big Ben, London Eye and the tourist attractions, people flock the city’s shopping epicenters – Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Bond Street. While I can write an entire 1000 worded article about shopping in London, here’s a few quick tips on where to start:
Oxford Street is home to many designer outlets, High street chains, and landmark stores. Some of the shops include Selfridges, Debenhams, John Lewis, Debenhams, Urban Outfitters, and Primark.
If you are looking for high-end luxury shopping, celebrity spottings, or perhaps window shopping, visit Bond Street. Shops include Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, and Chanel.
For hip fashion, urban streetwear, unique souvenirs, handcrafted jewellery, arts, chic fashion, and bohemian vibes visit Covent Garden.
Grocery Stores and Pharmacies in London
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Lauren Kanapka of Wayscaped.
The major grocery chains in the UK are Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s. In central London, you will find very few full-size grocery stores, most are smaller “Metro” and “Express” stores. These smaller stores are good for your everyday items (bread, milk, basic vegetables, eggs, etc.) but won’t have as wide a range as the full-size stores.
However, if you don’t have a full-size store near you, an easy option is grocery delivery. All the major chains offer this service and the delivery fees are very affordable, often not much more than the cost of a bus ticket. The prices are also very comparable to in-store. Asda and Tesco sell a wide variety of items in addition to groceries, comparable to a Walmart in the United States.
The largest health and beauty chains are Superdrug and Boots. These chains and the large grocery stores will usually have a pharmacy.
Insider tip:
In order to reduce plastic waste, large stores in the UK are required by law to charge a minimum of 5p for each plastic bag, so to save money, bring your own reusable bags. It is expected that you will pack your own groceries, there are no bag packers like you see in cities like New York.”
How to Open a Bank Account
This “moving to London tip” has been submitted by Evelina of EvBeing.
“To open a basic bank account in the United Kingdom, you need two separate documents: proof of identity and proof of address.
Documents to use as proof of address:
- Current EU/EEA photo driving license
- A utility bill issued within the last three months
- A Valid tenancy agreement
Documents to use as proof of identity:
- Current EU/EEA passport
- A photo driving license
- An HMRC Tax Notification
- An identity card and a valid UK Visa where applicable.
I recommend you provide the bank with a passport instead of your national identity card.
- The Top 10 Banks to Open an Account in London:
HSBC
Barclays
Lloyds TSB
Royal Bank of Scotland (Natwest) - Standard Chartered
- Santander UK
- Halifax and Bank of Scotland (owned by Lloyds)
Nationwide (listed as a building society)
Alternatives to a bank account in London:
You can open an account with Revolut (listed as a financial technology company) in seconds. You will need a picture of your passport and a selfie. Opening an account with Monzo (listed as a digital bank) also takes just minutes. Download the Monzo app, take a picture of your ID, and a short video of yourself. Open a multi-currency borderless account with TransferWise (listed as an online money transfer service). Send, receive, and deposit money at the real exchange rate with low commission rates.”
Well, there you go! The best tips and expat advice for your move to London! If you’ve recently moved to the city, be sure to check out my One Day in London itinerary to get a feel for your new home.
What is this guide missing? Anything else you need to know before moving to London? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! ⬇️ ⬇️
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There are many good things about London , Enjoy even under the current climate, Also if your looking for a job in sales check out the more niche job boards