“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of Life”, almost everybody living in London is familiar with this quote. While it is hard to get tired of London as it boasts the most amazing restaurants, scintillating nightlife and stunning beaches – moving here can be an overwhelming experience.
When we consider London’s English-speaking population – proximity to both North America and Europe, and it’s a strong economy, the fact that the town is full of expats doesn’t surprise us.
So, if you are considering becoming one of fabulous London’s expats, here are some must-knows for surviving and thriving in the British capital.
Cut your tube Apron Strings
Top Tip to anyone moving to London – leave your car at home and get on the tube. The city has affordable public transportation, buses, overground trains, the famous Underground and cab services. If you want to explore London to its fullest – you’ll have to master the combination of all these transport facilities as some of the coolest neighbourhoods can never be discovered by tubes. Plus, travelling aboveground in trains will give you the opportunity to have a better sense of how the city is laid out.
Having said that, live somewhere close to your work. Seems quite obvious? Many people ignore this practical advice and get exhausted during the long tube journey from suburb to their office.
Know Where You Stand With Work
If you are moving to London for work, chances are that the organisation will require some special documentation. You are also going to need to acquire a U.K. work visa. Work culture in London is different than that in other cities. The dynamic nature of the economy and business environment may require employees to work extra hours. So, prepare well in advance. The organisations, however, implement team building events and policies to reduce the pressure of work on the private life of the employees. All these events contribute awareness of work-life balance in a positive light and encourage employees to work efficiently in the workplace.
Apart from London, there are various other destinations in Europe where you can have fun with your corporate buddies.
Download Some Apps on Your Phone
Londoners love technology, especially because it makes their life easier and helps them to get around the city. Use Citymapper to map your journey from A to B, the Cycle Hire App to get to your nearest metro station, and Uber for a bar crawl and to ride anywhere in the city at any time. Make sure you download Met Office for weather forecasts and Dojo to get updates about all the happening things in the city. The best part about using these apps is that you can make all the payments using your credit card.
Get some Culture
In many cities, there’s a misguided concept that the culture and history are for the tourists, and the citizens deliberately avoid going to the galleries and museums. That’s not at all true in London, the museums and galleries in the city are packed with the locals. Most permanent exhibitions in the city are free, but the real attraction is the late openings, which happen monthly – sometimes weekly, depending on the venue.
It’s Always Better When the Sun Shines
A day of sun is definitely a day of fun. It’s not always raining here – but in general the most glorious days are few and far between. As such, the people in London make the most of the blue skies and warm temperatures and shrug off their prior commitments to make impromptu fun plans. Londoners are excellent at fun-on-the-fly and love to go green – almost one-third of the city is covered in public green areas – royal parks, urban gardens, and small squares. Plus, you can legally drink in these green spaces. So, make sure you grab your lads and go do that.
Conclusion
London has so much to offer – from world-class museums and restaurants to a wide range of job opportunities – there’s a lot to love about England’s capital. But if you are planning to move here, you will have to jump over a few obstacles before you can call it your home.
Considering to say hello to Big Ben? Make sure you are well acquainted with these fundamentals about moving to London before you sit on the plane.
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!