So you have made up your mind.
You are going to do an Australian rite of passage.
A trip that many before you have done.
You are going to move to London.
The first thing you need to do is sort out your visa.
I tried to be crazy organised and tried to do as much as possible before I left the country. I found a company called First Contact which really was a god send. All I needed to do once I got to London was go to their office in Tottenham Court Road and collect everything I ordered. My sim card, the details to set up my bank account (you need to have an address to open up an account so they supply that), all the details to get an NI number (just like a tax file number)
Book flights.
Don't bother going to a travel agent. It will just cost you more money on flights. Jump onto Skyscanner and find the best flight for you.
Tip: Find a flight that has a 30kg baggage allowance - Jumpers and jackets are heavy and you will need them (but don't forget things that will make London feel like home.)
Tip: Set incognito or privacy settings on your browser - these websites use your browser history and if it knows you are looking for certain flights then they will put up the prices.
SAVE SAVE SAVE!
It is always a hard moment when you exchange the thousand of dollars for what seems like only a couple of hundred pounds. Try not to stress. Yes living in London is expensive but you can save if you are smart about it. Rent is always going to be cheaper the further out you go. I thought that you weren't living in London if you weren't living next to a tube station, but simply living a 15 minute walk away from a station made rent so much cheaper. And you will save on food. If you are broke just before pay and you need some cheap options for dinner - find an Iceland and thank me later.
Re-establish a routine.
This is not a holiday. Sure you will be excited to be somewhere new and exciting and sure spend the first couple of days exploring London but you won't be spending a lot of time in those tourist areas. The quicker you get back into a routine, the easier you will settle in.
So finding a place to live is the number 1 priority. Spareroom and Gumtree is what I used and I found a place to live within a couple of weeks. Think of looking at houses like a job interview. You need to sell yourself because if it is a nice place - there will be a lot of interest and if the housemates don't like you, that's it. If you are travelling by yourself and you really want to emerse yourself in the British experience, then I would suggest going for a medium sized house ( we had 5 bedrooms) that way you are going to meet more people and end up doing lots of social things with your housemates.
Finding a job.
When I first moved to London, I had a job within the first week. A lot of Australians move over with a promise of having a job as soon as you move over. A great paying job catering to VIP events. From what I have heard you are basically a waiter and are forced to work long hours with little training and you have to buy your own uniform - sometimes more than one uniform if you are working at different locations.
I however jumped on indeed and found 2 different jobs via that website. Yes I also went to certain companies websites but a lot of places will advertise here.
While we are on the subject, you will need to change your resume - firstly by referring to it as your CV. Make sure you have your references ready ( written are best as I don't think they really want to be making international calls to make sure you are a good worker.)
Learn the lingo.
They speak English, I speak English. How hard could it be.
Sure most things are the same, but there are some slight differences. You don't want to be caught in the rain yelling that your pants are wet (like I did) and turn around to see a bunch of shocked English people. I was quickly told that pants are underwear and from now on I should refer to my pants as trousers.
I told myself when I first arrived to the UK that I would never say some things. I would never call chips crisps and I would have a hard time saying pounds instead of dollars. That didn't last very long. Living and working with English people, I was mocked if I said anything in the Australian way. Within a couple of months I grew tired of being teased so I just accepted my fate. I called lollies sweets, I called chips crisps, I said half 8 instead of 8:30 or half past 8. I was turning into a monster, but life got a lot easier.
Beware the dreaded "you alright." I asked numerous people what was the correct response to this when somebody said it to me and I still don't understand it. So people just looked at me like I was strange when I responded with "I'm good how are you." Wrong! Apparently you are meant to say "yeah you alright." I was also told that they don't care about your response. They say it out of habit now.
Must have apps.
London is a huge place and can be crazy over whelming at times. I would spend most of my time looking at the maps that they have on almost every street corner of Central London - looking like a tourist. Then I went to lunch with my friend and she told be all about citymapper.
It's a free app that helps with all the transport and getting around that seems hopeless in London (they do other places as well but not anywhere in Australia yet... slackers.)
All it will do it find your location, you put in where you want to go and it will give you the options to do so. Walking, bike, taxi, light rail, tube, overground or bus. It tells you how far away it is, what time you will need to leave your location in order to get to your destination on time, even how many calories you will burn if you walk. This is the app of the Gods and even though I knew my way around after a certain amount of time, I still found myself using it on a regular basis.
TodayTix is the app you need if you want to go and see a show on the west end. They sell tickets super cheap and take the hassle out of having to line up somewhere. Yes sometimes you will need to go to the box office to collect your tickets but that wont take nearly as long. You can get some fantastic deals. I wanted to see a bunch of shows before coming home so I went on the app and never paid more than £30 for a show. Sure some of them weren't the best seats but I could still see everything and I loved every second of it. Highly recommended.
Uber. Trust me on this one. Uber is a life saver. When you have had a big night the last thing you want to do is jump on a night bus (some buses run 24/7 - crazy right) and the London black taxis will charge you an arm and a leg to leg home. Then there is Uber. I found Uber to be so much cheaper and you don't have to worry about getting home and finding your money as it's all done through your card. I always felt safe travelling with them and never had any major issues.
Viber and WhatsApp. Almost everyone in London uses WhatsApp. So much to the point that one day I got a normal message and it took me a few minutes to find out where to find the normal messages where on my phone. Viber is fantastic for staying in contact with everyone at home. Sure I used Facebook messenger and skype but viber was the app that I used most often for messaging family back home.
ENJOY YOURSELF!
Whether you are making the move for good or for 2 years, the most important thing to do is to go out and create memories. YOU ARE IN LONDON! Not many people get to do what you are doing and it is an amazing opportunity.
Try not to let peoples moods get you down (easier said then done), and try to explore and find new things instead of going to the same places over and over again,
It is so cheap to travel from London so if you want to go somewhere - DO IT!
Don't have any regrets.
London is a hard city to live in. People can be rude, you almost never get a seat on the tube and sometimes you have trouble trying to figure out what people are saying. But I wouldn't change my 2 years at all.
So grab your jacket, oyster card and your pounds (and pennies!), meet new people and have an adventure!
Trust me... you won't regret it!
Aussie Out
xo
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