The complete guide to living and working in London 💂🏼‍♂️

It can be a long old road and job rejections can get frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. At Give a Grad a Go, we can help you find you’re your ideal graduate job in London, get in touch today or head over to our graduate jobs board to find out what job vacancies we have live.

One of the biggest disadvantages of working in London is the costs! The high costs of commuting, living and eating in London means that working in London can be very expensive. If you have already started the interview process, there are loads of things you can do to ensure you save the pennies, find out how you can save money when travelling to London. For more information, scroll down to ‘Commuting in London’.

This can be a health concern, with road transportation being the main source of air pollution in cities, followed by and domestic and commercial heating systems. This is something to consider if you have severe asthma or breathing or lung problems. Therefore, we would always recommend cycling or walking wherever you can… or choosing public transport over taxis and cars to travel around London.

Download the BBC weather app (which seems to be the most accurate) so you can check the forecast before you leave for work in the morning. It’s always worth keeping an extra jumper and spare umbrella at work during the winter months – but remember, layering is key as it can still get quite stuffy on the underground even in cold weather.

If you don’t like hustle and bustle and busy crowds… working in central London might not be the one for you. London is very busy and if you’ve never worked in a city before, it can be a big culture shock and take a little while to get used to.

There’s no other way to put it, even in winter crowded tubes can be very hot and stuffy and you are often required to stand a bit too close for comfort next to Joe Bloggs, particularly during peak times in the morning from 06:30 to 09:30am, and in the afternoon from around 16:00 to 19:00pm. Try to walk down to the end of the platform when boarding a tube as the front and back of the tube tends to be a little less cramped.

The traffic in the city is another disadvantage of working in London. Instead of travelling by car or bus, it might be quicker for you to hop on a tube! Remember to factor this in when working out how you’re your commute to London is going to take, particularly if you are travelling during rush hour or other peak times!

When commuting to London you will often find that people walk with their heads down and rarely interact with each other, it can seem unfriendly at first, but you get used to it! The pace of life in London is much faster than many other cities and once you start working in London you will probably also find that your life becomes much busier also.

The biggest disadvantage of living in London is the cost, London is one of the most expensive cities in the world. It’s a good idea to do your research on the cheapest locations to live and the average cost of living in London. Prices tend to get lower the further out of London you go, house shares are also often cheaper. But there are more expenses than rent, with council tax, energy bills, and Wi-Fi costs to factor in. Find out tips for budgeting in London. Visit London Gov for more information about average rent costs around London, or visit Expatistan for more in-depth pricing comparisons for food, housing, clothing, transportation, personal care and entertainment costs.

The high costs of running a car in London with congestion charges, along with the hassle of driving around busy central London and issues with parking spaces, means that many London citizens choose not to have a car in the city.

The London underground is known for its overcrowded nature; you lose that sense of personal space when you travel at peak times in London. Whether it’s a sweaty armpit in the face or a head of hair in your mouth, prepare for the worst and you will soon get used to getting up close with a different stranger every day on your commute.

London is experiencing dangerously high levels of air pollution, hence where London gets its nickname ‘the big smoke’ from. Wait until you see what surprise is left on your tissue when you blow your nose…

9. While on one hand, CCTV cameras around London can ensure we feel safe, on the other hand, some individuals feel as if they are being spied on, with more cameras in London than any other place on Earth. On average, a Londoner is captured on CCTV every day around 300 times! (World Atlas) Some people believe this is unethical as it is like having your private life spied on… however, we would suggest you weigh up whether you’d choose privacy over safety and protection?

Most restaurants, events and other activities in London require pre-booking, particularly on weekends, so it can sometimes be difficult to have a spontaneous weekend of touristy activities (of course this depends on what you want to do!) There are some restaurants that require booking weeks and even months in advance.

If you are thinking about living in London, prepare yourself for much smaller accommodation; as London is so crowded, space is limited. The further out of London you go, the more space you will get for your money.

With many people in London solely reliant on public transport, this can make travelling at peak times extremely busy. Londoners are squashed onto tubes like cattle, and when there are problems such as rail works or train or tube strikes, this can make rush hour even worse, often at standstill for long periods. We would always recommend you travel by foot or cycle wherever possible, to avoid traffic, or make sure you leave the house early enough to allow for significant delays.

Keep your eyes and thoughts to yourself on the tube. No one talks (unless on the rare occasion someone bumps into an old friend), but otherwise, no one speaks. It might seem like a bit of a rude and awkward atmosphere at first, but you might grow to enjoy the brief silences around such a buzzing city.

If there’s one thing that Brits like complaining about, it’s the unpredictable weather. Throughout the winter months, London can become very grey, damp and dreary and so most of us will lack vitamin D during this time. Don’t fret, vitamin D supplements can support and maintain your health and immune system.

As with all cities around the world, there are some rough areas that are high in crime. It’s important to have your wits about you and avoid travelling alone at night or in rundown areas. It may be that you can only afford to live in the run-down areas, and so you need to be careful of your belongings and don’t walk around London with your phone in your hand, as you could find it is snatched from you.

We queue for everything, particularly in London. There are queues to get on the tube, train, bus, to get cash out at a machine, to cross the road, to enter a tourist attraction, busy restaurant, the list goes on. If you are thinking about moving to London, get used to queuing. Scroll down to ‘commuting to London’ for etiquette about how to queue in the underground.