Life as a Foreigner

What is it Like to Live in London?

With restrictively high rent prices, London is the most expensive city to live in the UK, but the comparatively high salaries help balance this. Greater London has the highest average rent price in the UK at approximately 1,615 GBP (2,030 USD), while the average salary is approximately 35,500 GBP (43,300 USD).

London is considered a very safe place to live, however, like in any city, bad things can happen. The most common crime in Greater London is theft, with nearly 260,000 cases between June 2018 and June 2019. In the same period, there were 235,460 cases of violence against a person, 87,604 burglaries, and 43,286 drug offenses, among others.

The borough of Westminster saw the most crimes during the same period with 80,416 in total. Some 43,913 of these crimes were recorded as theft, while 11,559 were “violence against the person,” and 5,064 were vehicle offenses. Also, during this time, there were only 14,032 crimes recorded by the Metropolitan Police in Richmond upon Thames, 3,272 of which were thefts.

Further, there was good news in July 2019 that the number of people killed on roads in London had fallen to a record low in 2018. In fact, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, aimed to eliminate road deaths in London by the year 2041 and planned to launch the Vision Zero scheme.

What are Living Standards Like in London?

Life can be expensive in London, however, you get value for your money in having virtually everything you could want at your doorstep. And the standard of living is generally very good.

Not many cities rival London in terms of its arts, culture, sports, food, and social scenes, and it is generally cheaper than other all-star hubs, such as New York City and Hong Kong. One-bedroom apartments in New York market for 2,440 GBP (2,980 USD) on average while they are 1,725 GBP (2,100 USD) in the center of Hong Kong. This is compared to 1,237 GBP (1,505 USD) for a one-bedroom apartment in London.

Lifestyle in London

New York is “The City That Never Sleeps,” but London has the energy to rival the Big Apple, during rush hour at least. The workers in the city, namely businesspeople, play a big part in creating the personality that London shows to the rest of the world. Londoners live fast-paced lives, and it has been that way for hundreds of years.

Pros of Living in London

Fashion

As well as its art and history, London is one of the fashion capitals of the world, with London Fashion Week, in February and September, drawing the attention of everyone who’s anyone in the industry.

It is one of the best cities to go clothes shopping, with Oxford Street offering many  affordable name-brand stores such as Selfridges, Primark, and Topshop. Then there is Bond Street and Mayfair where you can find high-end designer label outfits.

The Food

There are a stunning 68 Michelin-star restaurants across London, including ten with two stars, and three leading the way with the maximum three stars: Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, The Araki, and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester.

Michelin also awards restaurants that create high-quality food at very good value for money with the Bib Gourmand awards, an alternative to the Michelin star. Michelin produces a “Good Little Restaurants” guide every year after their Michelin guide, with all the latest Bib Gourmands included. In London, restaurants awarded a Bib Gourmand include BAO and Brasserie Zedel in Soho, plus Barrica in Fitzrovia, and Clipstone Restaurant on Clipstone Street.

Parties

When you imagine London, you might think of people in smart suits, pencil skirts, ties, and blazers. But forget that for party time: the two-day Notting Hill Carnival will show you a different, warm, and vibrant side to London life. It features a parade, reggae, ska, and salsa music, and don’t miss the delicious Caribbean food available.

You will have a hard time finding a bigger party than the Notting Hill Carnival—it attracts around 2 million visitors every year and is Europe’s biggest street festival. It started as a celebration of the city’s Caribbean communities and now virtually everyone joins in the fun.

If you want to experience one of the capital’s biggest clubbing spots, try Fabric in Farringdon, which hosts the world’s top DJs and latest sounds. There is also Heaven near Charing Cross Station, which can hold 1,000 people and has three floors. Heaven has an LGBTQ night on Saturdays (called G-A-Y).

For a high-class and laid-back atmosphere, you could try Raffles in Chelsea. Raffles opened in 1967 and has a main room with velvet seating, centering around a raised stage, while there is a Red Room with seating stalls and an authentic Sixties aesthetic.

Festivals

There are some top-quality music events in London, like Hampton Court Palace Festival, where you can have a picnic in the East Front Gardens before the concert. Elton John and Andrea Bocelli have starred at the concert in the past.

There is also the BBC Proms in the Park in Hyde Park. It is the biggest outdoor classical music event in the British Isles, and as well as classical performers and choirs, you can enjoy watching rock and pop artists. Chrissie Hynde, Barry Manilow, Jack Savoretti, Lighthouse Family, and Gabrielle are just some of the artists who have played at the Proms in the Park.

Another huge event in the classical music calendar in London is simply The Proms, which is mainly held at the Royal Albert Hall. It is an eight-week festival of classical music concerts held in summer.

Cons of Living in London

The Weather

There is a reason Brits move abroad to countries, like Spain and Portugal. Although there are beautiful beaches and seaside resorts close to London, even in summer you are never guaranteed sunshine.

There are 106 days of rain in the “Big Smoke” each year, although the downpours are nothing compared to the wettest North American cities. London gets about 30 inches (762 mm) of rain each year. Orlando, Florida, gets about 53 inches (1,346 mm), while Memphis, Tennessee gets 53.7 inches (1364 mm), and New York gets about 45 inches (1,143 mm) of rain annually.

Despite the typical British weather, in July 2019 London saw temperatures of 38°C (100°F) in Heathrow and Kew Gardens, just below the UK’s all-time high of 39 °C (102°F) in Cambridge also in 2019.

London is not necessarily prepared for high temperatures and public transportation can be very uncomfortable on hot days as there is no air conditioning on the Tube. In 2006, temperatures as high as 47°C (116°F) were recorded in the Underground network.

Noise Pollution

If you are looking for peace and quiet, London might not be at the top of your list for places to live. It is a vibrant, lively city, where life moves fast, and noise is an unavoidable by-product of this activity.

Noise pollution is thought to have an adverse effect on physical and mental health. The medical journal, The Lancet, reported that noise pollution causes:

• annoyance;
• disturbed sleep;
• daytime sleepiness;
• poorer patient outcomes;
• weaker hospital staff performance;
• hypertension and cardiovascular disease, and
• impaired cognitive performance in children.

Kensington and Chelsea received 13,790 noise complaints in 2016, the most in London. That is about 87 complaints per 1,000 residents. The two main causes of complaints were street music and basement extensions.

Westminster recorded the second-most complaints per 1,000 inhabitants, with 16,915 from a population of 242,300, or about 70 complaints per 1,000. Hammersmith and Fulham was the third noisiest borough, with 50 complaints per 1,000 people (data from Cirrus Research).