So, it’s been a few months since I moved to London and I already found myself giving tips to some friends that were on their way here.. so why not write it up and share it for the grater good? 
If you are going to be here for any considerable amount of time, you’ll want to find a house in London. If you come from the US, the first place you’d think of would be craigslist (http://www.craigslist.com). Well, wrong, nobody uses craigslist in London, the only ads I have seen there are scams.
Instead you’d want to turn your attention towards the two most popular bulletin board websites here:
- GumTree (http://www.gumtree.co.uk)
- Moveflat (https://www.moveflat.co.uk)
They are both pretty good and I recommend using both of them (sometimes the same ad is in both places, but there is also a lot of unique ones per site).
When looking for a house the area becomes the first question. In reality that strongly depends on what you want. Living on your own in London is expensive.
In general (very very general) the central and west side of London are more expensive. The East side used to be pretty trashy, but now it’s becoming hipster, so you might be able to find a good deal there, but you also need to be ok with living in an area still “in development” (if you have know San Francisco, it makes me think of the Mission district). The south side tends to be cheaper and there are several areas that should be avoided, but I have also been to a couple of nice areas. Honestly I haven’t been around enough to give good enough information, as I said this is very general.
Regardless of the area, don’t just look, put your ad on those websites, don’t just reply to other people’s ads; it’s BY FAR the best way to get contacts.
Find a good housing situation, London can get gray and wet and you want to be looking forward to going home! (I worked hard and got lucky and I have amazing housemates)
Next is transportation:
- The tube of course runs all over the city, that will be the main way for you to get around. Too bad that it stops running at around half past midnight.
- Buses. A nice alternative to the tube, especially in the off peak hours and if you want to see the city from above ground!
- Taxis are also available. The black ones are the only ones you can call from the side of the street (even though it is recommended that you call a dispatch station to make sure you are not boarding and illegal cab) and they are more expensive. There are also other taxi companies, but in this case you have to call them from home and they will come and give you a ride (I believe there are also designed places across the city where you can board them)
- Bicycle is a great way to get around, weather permitting. I would recommend getting a bike, or even signing up for ‘rent-a-bike’ (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11598.aspx)
So far London has been great. We’ll see what’s to come.
