Living London
Whether you are coming to London to work or study, finding accommodation must be your priority. At LondonUP! we have over 5 years of experience providing flats, studios and rooms in house shares to foreign students and professionals.
If you browse other websites to look for accommodation you might be confused by the vocabulary used. So we have put together a guide that should make your search easier.
House/flat share: you have your own room but living areas (kitchen, bathroom and lounge) are shared with other tenants. Looking for a house share in London?
Room share: sharing a room with another person.
Bedsit: a very small studio with a main room that comprises the bead, and a kitchenette. The bathroom is often shared with other tenants
Dossing: when you arrive in London and stay at friend's house, but pay a very small fee, which is put towards the bills.
Hostels: shared rooms with between 2 and 14 people in the room. It may include breakfast.
Pubs: sometimes they have rooms to let and you may get a job that includes food and drinks.
Lodger: when you live with the owner of the house in the same property.
When looking for a place to live, you need to ask what is included in the rent. Often, bills such as gas, water, electricity, TV Licence, telephone and Council Tax are not included in the rent. The total of these bills can easily add £100 to £150 to the rent. When the bills are included in the rent, you will see "bills inc" or "inclusive of bills". Even then, it's best to ask what bills are included.
At LondonUP! all the bills you have to pay are included in the rent already.
Find out more
Cost of living in London | Get a Bank Account | Finding a Job | Public Transport
The cost of living in London
London is notoriously expensive. The closer you are to the city centre, the more costly life is. We have put together some of the most common expenses:
Bus pass per week: £18.80
Travelcard zone 1-2 per week (this includes tube and National Rail journeys): £29.20
Supermarket per week: £40 - £50
Rent per week: £90 - £180
Accommodation will take up a good part of your income. The best way to keep that cost down is to live in shared rented accommodation.
LondonUP! has a range of affordable rooms available in house shares in great locations.
Check our house shares available
In order to open a bank account, you will be required to bring a utility bill (gas, water, electricity, Council Tax or TV Licence) to prove your identity and your address. The problem is that without having a bank account it will be difficult to have such a bill.
LondonUP! can help you with this. If you stay in one of our properties, we will help you open a bank account with Barclays Bank. So save yourself the hassle and choose LondonUP!
London is the most cosmopolitan city in the world, so finding a job even if you do not speak perfect English is possible. Depending on the type of work you are looking for, you will use different resources: local newspapers, national newspapers, online job boards or recruitment agencies - a lot specialise in multilingual recruitment. A good place to start is your local Job Centre
Going out in London
London is home to many world-class attractions (The London Eye), museums (The British Museum), restaurants (from all over the world) and theatre (the West End). The nightlife and club scene is also second to none.
London's transport system is currently being upgraded with new trains and buses, improvements to stations and even new lines being built. The best place to go for information on all of this and transport services in London is the website for Transport for London (TfL).
You will find LondonUP properties in great locations close to
important Tube and Bus stops across London so you can always find a
good place to stay with LondonUP.
Tube and Bus services in the evenings and nights
Mondays to Saturdays the last Tube will leave Central London at around 00:30 am. After that you will have to use the 24h buses or night buses. There might also be a number of National Rail services available, but usually not after 01:00 am. Buses run all night: "24 hour" buses operate on the same route as during the day, whereas "N" buses take a different route at night. Check with the driver if you have any doubts.
For more information on tickets, fares and routes, please visit Transport for London.
Medical services
You need to register with a General Practitioner (GP) to receive free healthcare. To find out who is your GP - it depends on the area you live in, go to the NHS website. Then call the practice of your GP and make an appointment. At the doctor's office, you will be asked to fill in a few documents. A few days later, you should receive your NHS card by post.
There are also lots of emergency and walk-in clinics if you need immediate help across the city.
