London Tips?

Kerilinann

It's on the cards to move to London in September. London's like a second home, however I do seem to spend a fortune every time i'm down.

I currently live in Glasgow and have the joys of being able to walk into the City Centre, £1 shops (where you get proper branded stuff for £1) and Savers (for all your toiletries for cheap) - (Never seen these in London)

Anybody have any good tips and info on how to keep living in London as cheap as possible? (I also wont be a student anymore if I move down, bye student discount )

whu

Try TKMAXX and Matalan for cheaper clothes/goods

lolly5648

There are plenty of cheap shops and pound type places all over London. Once you settle in an area you will soon find them in your local neighbourhood.

Unlike Glasgow where people go into the city centre to shop London is made up of suburbs and that's where most people go to shop like Ilford, Romford, Wood Green, Enfield, Hampstead and Watford or to shopping malls like Brent Cross and Lakeside. I have just mentioned East and North London but there are some lovely shopping areas in South London too.

The West End is great if you are looking for clothes for a special occasion but if very busy and full of tourists.

saintscouple

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mark1024

I would be sure to get an oyster card and all the relevant bus maps (I think the underground at Piccadilly station has a tourist booth that supplies them)
You can then travel anywhere for £3-10/day. I never use the tube, and save quite a bit.

traciekan

we live in a very posh part of west london on a small budget as do many others. its a state of mind not where you live. admittedly housing is the hugest cost with a 2 bed flat here at 450 a week A WEEK minimum and the congestion charge etc but as for shopping its just a matter of looking round rather than going to waitrose

luckycat99

Like others have said, it really depends on where you live. I work around South East London (Peckham, Deptford, Lewisham) and all of these places still have pound shops and Savers as you would have anywhere else. I'm not sure about other parts of London...but rest assured its not all designer shops and overpriced.

A good tip as well if you will need furniture etc when you move is the local freecycle - you'll be able to get all sorts on there!

donna8721

luckycat99 wrote: »

A good tip as well if you will need furniture etc when you move is the local freecycle - you'll be able to get all sorts on there!

If your lucky, you may just end up with some of "her majesty's cast offs" :rotfl:

asea

Presumably you will have a job? Do you know where that will be, you can save yourself a bit of money (& time) by avoiding travelling to work. There are many 'inner city' suburbs which are close to Central London which are not too expensive.

You might want to take up cycling as it's a great way to save money on travel & also to discover London.

There are PLENTY of shops in London which are not expensive & once you move here I am sure that you will find lots of places nearby (most areas have them). There are also alot of fantastic markets all over the place.

Think about flatsharing (if you are coming alone). London can be a little bit lonely & flatsharing is good for not paying over the odds and also to potentially meet new people (try & avoid the nutters though!). You can try the gumtree to look for ads.