Moving can sometimes be difficult, let alone moving to London. Whether your move comes all of a sudden because of a job or is a plan that you have been conceiving for a long time, there are certain things that you have to know and arrange before you do so. London is very, veeeery big, and is greatly different from all the other cities and England and the entire UK.
When moving here, a lot of people make the same mistake and don’t prepare well because they don’t know what to expect. The easiest way to avoid all those misfortunes and misconceptions is to hire a professional moving company, like MovingDay.co, who are specially equipped to help you move in an instant. But still, there are other things you should know after you arrive here.
We bring you our most important tips when moving to London.
Be Careful With Rentals
The first thing that you need to do when moving to London is find an appropriate place to live. There are many ways that you can do this and a thousand ways that you can go wrong, so you have to be really careful from the start.
First of all, always make sure to see the place in person. If you are renting, don’t rely on the photos that are set on the internet nor on whatever the landlord tells you. Your eyes are the best way to see what is actually going on. Find some time and go see all the flats and apartments that you are interested in so you make sure you don’t end up in a dump.
If finding an apartment by yourself is too hard, you can always hire a company to do that for you. But mind you, it is expensive to do so as the initial fee for an agency is about 500£. You can consider this option if you have some spare money lying around.
Finally, renting in London is really expensive. Of course, not all places come at the same price but they mostly depend on the zones in London. For example, zone 1 and 2 are much more expensive than other zones and flats don’t come cheaper than 700£. Probably the best way to go is to find some flatmates or share the apartment as that way you also divide all the bills.
An extra tip, if you find a place that you like, go for it. The competition in London is really high and a place that you like today might be leased already tomorrow.
Get an Oyster Card
Whichever part of London you decide to move to and wherever your apartment may be, you will need to a sustainable way of moving around. As we already said, London is big. No, it’s massive! In order to move about you need to use public transportations. Luckily for you, London has one of the most elaborate and most develop public transportation systems in Europe, but in order to use it you need to get yourself an Oyster Card.
For those of you who don’t know, an Oyster Card is a rechargeable travel card that lets you use all types of public transportations in London. It is all unified into one so you can use the London tube, the bus system, and Docklands Light Railway. Public transport in London spans across 6 zones and the tube also works during the night.
Getting an Oyster Card should be your priority and you can get one at a Tube station or simply order it online.
It is All a Big Mess
London is one of the biggest and most organized cities in the world, but it is still one big mess. There are some things that might surprise you when moving here but after a while, you will get used to them as most Londoners do.
For instance, jaywalking is illegal in most cities in Europe and also in the UK. But people in London seem to disregard this rule and walk everywhere and however, they please.
Red foxes are also a thing in London. Yes, a real live red fox! They are everywhere and you can see them from time to time even though this is an enormous city. After a while, it will become a common thing but don’t get spooked the first time you see one.
Finally, postcodes are really elaborate. A postcode in London consists of a compass-points district code and a sub-district serial number. Opposed to other cities in the UK it is very difficult to understand it and actually know where things are.
Apps Will Make Your Life Easier
In order to function in London normally, the only thing that you will need is your smartphone… And lots of apps. Most services in the city work on apps and so will you have to get used to them if you want to be a functional member of society here.
First download the weather app, because the weather in London is changeable and scattered rain appears out of the blue. To move around easier without public transport you can download the Uber app and use it as a way to get around. If you decide to walk to places without getting lost in the process, download the latest city map app with navigation. Finally, when you get hungry and need to find a place with great food you can download apps which can provide you with delivery services, ways to find places to eat, or specific apps for certain places with credit on your phone for shopping there. No money needed.
So there you have, everything you need to know and do before moving to London. If you are still set on doing this, try following some of our advice. We promise you, they might save your life someday.
