Travel to London, United Kingdom.

Country/Town visited: London, United Kingdom
Date of stay: 2005 - 2011 
Where you stayed: Various parts of London 

London is an amazing city and one I’d highly recommend visiting at some point in your life. I headed to London early 2005 on a 6 month holiday and ended up liking the London lifestyle, vibe and ease of travelling Europe so much that I stayed 6 years. The OE Travel Blogs team have all spent a few years living and working in London and we loved our time there. If you have any questions, thoughts or anything else to add from your own experiences please feel free to add a comment. 

If you’re headed for London it’s most likely you’ll arrive at Heathrow airport which has five terminals and is one of the busiest airports in the world, if not the busiest. The expat community in London (Kiwi’s, Aussie’s & South African’s) is huge but you have so many other cultures living in the city and this is what makes it the largest city in Europe.

So the question is…… where to start.

This review would be helpful to travellers looking to set up base in the UK but there's also some helpful information for those visiting London and be sure to check out our London advice blog.

During my time in London I lived in a number of places and my favourite part of London was South of the river, Putney & Barnes. Dossing is a big part of London life, what is dossing I hear you ask? A dosser is someone who sleeps in share houses on the floor or couch for an extended period of time, most dossers will contribute between £5-10 per week and help with cleaning etc. This is great if your fresh of the boat and want to save some £££ till you find your feet.

Travelling around by tube is great but taking time to see the city above ground where possible is a must. Use buses if you can or take a walking tour. 

Once you arrive, be sure to buy an Oyster card, this will enable you to travel on the London Tube, Bus and Train networks. It's a pay as you go card that you swipe when catching public transport. New Oyster cards cost £5 pounds and this is a refundable deposit. Another important item is the London tube map, you can obtain one from all Tube stations. Each underground line has its own name and colour and each station is marked in order on its line. Stations that are marked with a black circle indicate that you can change lines at that station. IE: if you were travelling from Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, and wanted to get to your Hostel located in West Hampstead. You would take the Piccadilly Line (dark blue) until you got to Green Park, and then change onto the Jubilee Line (grey) to West Hampstead station. Visit TFL London for more information and the journey planner is quite handy too

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