Tips Before Moving To London

Tips to Know Before Moving to London to Make Settling in Easier -> From a Kiwi Perspective

Location: Biscuiteers cafe in Belgravia, London - drinking a cup of tea from Cornwall

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Moving to a new country is amazing and exciting, but can also be scary and difficult. You are faced with a new environment, culture and norms, likely different to your home country. And if you were like me and didn't know many people when moving to London, a lot I had to figure out on my own and talk to others I met. Even just the little things were a learning curve like where to buy cheaper groceries or the go to pharmacy stores to not get ripped off. Do you walk on the left or right side of the path? Where to buy shoes and clothes that won't cost an arm and leg but still alright quality? Luckily I met people quickly and learned the ropes pretty quick too. I've been here 8 months now so I feel it's a good time to share what I've learnt to help your experience smoother than mine.

Here is my heads up list to make getting on your feet easier when you land in the London:

• Tesco and Sainsburys are the two cheaper grocery stores in London. Get a Tesco club card or Sainsbury's Nectar card when shopping to get the discounts. They are both free and worth it. I have both as I often shop at both. Waitrose is a more expensive grocery store so I don’t shop there often haha.

• For pharmacy type stuff - e.g vitamins, beauty products, skincare, medications - Boots is your go to! There are lots around. Some are the small ones which have the basics. Some are bigger that have more of a range and others are specific such as Boots Beauty (has a large range of beauty specific products). You will notice them everywhere in London. You'll also notice that there smaller versions of shops like Sainburys Local and Tesco Express and small Boots, but also larger ones dotted around too. So if the small one does not have it don't get disheartened like I did! The bigger one might still.

• Take vitamin D in winter! Us Kiwis don't have to worry about it in NZ but over here with the lack of sun for months on end, you need to take vitamins D. You don't want to get deficient.

• People aren't as friendly in public compared to NZ (and Australia too I hear). Londoners often have their heads down and don't say hello when you pass them in public. Especially on the tube people don't often talk. This is quite the contrast to NZ where I would say hi to most people that walk past and make conversation with people next to me on public transport. As a person that loves meeting new people, I found this quite different and hard at times.Just know it's not offensive, it's not you, it's just the culture of London. People are more in their own worlds. There are still people that will talk to you and smile. But usually when you are in the street or public transport they won't acknowledge you as much. But I find at work, in a cafe, or a shop, people are a lot more relaxed and friendly. I'm not sure if it's a safety kinda thing when you are out and about. But just don't be shocked, it's not just you, it's London haha. I ‘m not going to change who I am so I smile at strangers in the street and care for others when out and about. There are mixed responses. Some freak out and look away or at the ground and walk past. Others smile with a happy and surprised look. So either makes me happy or laugh. Win win really! haha. I still like to spread kindness where I can so London culture won’t change me completely.

• No, there is no right side to walk on the streets, it's chaos! Some are on the left, some on the right. It's not ordered at all and the level of awareness people have in general when out and about is a lot less compared to NZ. People will often be in their own world and bump into you. I find myself just weaving left to right to get where I want to go in the busy streets. I am a fast walker so I don't like to be behind the slow ones sometimes haha. The exception is if you are on an escalator or stairs - stay on the right! There will be signs. This is commonly in the tube stations. People get very annoyed when others don't stay to the right if they are hussing it up the stairs or escalator. I just followed what others were doing at the start - so if in doubt observe others. This has gotten me far with travelling in general!

• Clothes shops. Primark is the closest version to Kmart. I don't find the quality as good though and more expensive for what it is. It has a large range. I haven't had much luck with the clothes but others find some good finds and a good one stop shop. As you might already know everything in London is quite expensive. I find H and M and Zar are my favourite for a middle range shops that isn't going to break the bank. Another thing to think about is op shops, which they call charity shops over here. Their charity shops are quite good especially in the wealthier areas. A fun day out for me is going to a nice area in London and roaming the charity shops and popping to a nice cafe somewhere in between there. I have had some great finds for good prices! I love it.

• A wee side note. London is expensive and getting on your feet is expensive so make sure you have a good amount of money saved up to bring over with you, especially if you don't have a job lined up for when you land. It took me longer than I thought to find a permanent full time job and cost more than I thought too. So worth it though! Stressing about money is the last thing you want to be doing, you should be enjoying this new incredible adventure you are on!

• That leads to accommodation. Getting a flat also takes a while sometimes so make sure you have something when you land that doesn’t break the bank while you get on your feet. There are a lot of shared accommodation/hostel situations for people who move over or students. This can be a good place to meet people that are in a similar boat as well as reduce rent while you are getting on your feet. This is what I did and has been great! It's not fancy so feels like you are roughing it a bit, but it does the job haha

• The water is hard, over here which means it has a high mineral content. It feels heavier compared to NZ. I found it hard to drink water as it just felt so heavy. I am used to it now, so don't be surprised if it tastes weird and takes a bit to adjust to. They mainly get their water from rivers (including Thames river) which isn't the cleanest of rivers. But don't worry it may taste different but it's safe to drink (from cheeky google search).

• The hard water also is roooough on the hair. I find my hair breaks a lot and gets dryer because of the water. I have been here 8 months now so the breakage is starting to show with lots of regrowth. But it's a common problem among most. Getting good shampoo and using a leave-in conditioner helps. But I haven't fully fixed this one, still trying to find a better solution (any tips then please let me know!).

• My skin dries out alot too. So much sure you get a good thick moisturiser for your WHOLE body, even the ass checks haha. Their water dries out my skin soooo much more. Daily moisturising fixes that easy though.

• When you move over your face will take time to adjust. I broke out alot when I got here and then it was quite dry. It settled after the first 1-2- months and then I was good to go. It's just your body adjusting and learning a skincare routine that suits your new environment. So don't freak out it's not only you! A lot of friends from NZ and Aussie had similar issues.

• Getting a proper bank account here can be hard to get straight away. Banks have specific rules with living situations and residency etc. A lot of people that have moved over use Monzo, Wise and Revolut. So look into and see what's best for you. I use Wise which I love! You can get set up and have your card before you move over which is so handy! It's so easy to use and can hold up to 40+ currencies at once. They are very transparent on transaction fees too. I have used it for all my travels and it makes it so much easier when travelling. You can learn more about it here if you are interested.

• There are alot of people in London but it can be hard to meet people if you don't already have a friend base or not putting yourself out there to go to different things to meet people. I found facebook pages so handy to join your hobbies or pages like Kiwis in London or Aussies in London to find people in the same boat. It can feel lonely when you are in a big city but don't have a big friend group. Just know it's normal to have to put in more effort to meet people and that others do to! I never had to put in effort previously, I just met people from day to day life. But I had to put myself out there a bit to find like minded people over here. I’ve met some amazing people and it was so worth it. So jump outside that comfort zone if you need to and remember you are in London, so live it up girl!

I hope you have learnt something from this and it helps with your move over to London! If you have any specific questions about moving to London let me know, always happy to help where I can. I'm excited for you because this city is just amazing. You are going to love it! Follow along here and on my socials if you want more travel/life tips and encouraging content to live your life how you truly want to.

Thank you for being here <3

Until next time,

Ruby-Rose