An Expat Talks about Moving to London, UK

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

London

Name three things that you wish you had brought and three you wish you had left at home.

Wish we had brought: ice cube trays! Only tiny ones here! Solved this by having the brother in law bring some over!

Wish we had left behind: skis. For some reason I thought we'd be skiing a lot. Coming from NYC we were able to make day or weekend trips to ski. In the UK it's not as easy. Skis are taking up too much space!

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What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

What's your job? Remember that London is a very large city so commuting from one side of central London to the other can take as much as an hour! If you have a stressful job look in neighborhoods nearer work, keep an open mind about up and coming areas, BUT London has a terrible street crime problem right now so bar it in mind.

What type of housing do you live in? Is this typical for most expats in your area?

2 Bed/1 bath flat. It's a good size in nice building in a somewhat "dodgy" neighborhood in the East End. Our apartment complex seems to be occupied by young professionals (we're near The City), I bet most of them are expats.

How did you choose your neighborhood and find your home or apartment?

Lots of checking stuff out on the internet, followed by a three day recon trip to check out neighborhoods, then a real estate agent on arrival.

Are your housing costs higher or lower than they were in your home country? What is the average cost of housing there?

Compared to NYC the housing costs to RENT are the same - expect to pay at least 1200 GPS for nice 1 bed in a decent building (that's almost $2000), add on Council Tax - "rates" (yuk! Ours are 111 pounds a month!) and utilities and it's as much as NYC or more.