Your First 30 Days in the UK

Rentals

There isn't a whole lot you can do before you arrive. Don't fall into the trap of trying to find a place to rent before you arrive, because you need to check out different areas in person. What works for some people or comes highly recommended will not work for you. You need to get on the ground and check it out yourself.

What will be a nice street will be a bad street — or a bad area just two blocks over — and you won't be able to tell until you land. Don't spend your time stressing about finding a place before you arrive; there are plenty of spaces, houses and bedrooms in London, and you will find one.

If you do want an idea though, the best places to look are SpareRoom and the Aussies in London Facebook group. One thing that might help alleviate your stress is to look for a sublet. A sublet at least might give you a month, and usually will have other Aussies or Kiwis in it — yay, friends!

Finding a Job

England loves using recruitment firms and recruitment services, and aren't so much about direct applications.

Of course, apply directly — but I haven't had experience with that because I've gone through recruitment firms. I've tried to apply to recruitment firms in the past before being in the UK, but they weren't really interested until they could meet you in person.

Don't freak out about it. Just have some money in the bank and wait till you arrive.

Money

You won't be able to open a British bank account without being in England. What you can do, though, is open a Wise account (if you haven't already). Wise is by far the best and easiest provider.

Wise gives you UK banking details (a UK address, an account number, and a sort code — the English version of a BSB). You can receive your UK wages into it, spend from it, make virtual cards, set up direct debits, transfer to other UK bank accounts and easily exchange currency inside the app.

The exchange rate is usually pretty good as it uses the mid-market exchange rate, which is an average of all the exchange rates on the day, meaning you'll never pay some overly inflated figure.

You've probably also come across Revolut. I've used Revolut multiple times in the past, but I found the service to be lacking, with random freezing of my accounts, transactions not going through, etc. I ended up giving up on Revolut after a month's worth of my salary was frozen — which obviously leaves you quite panicked!

If your grandma is telling you about traveler's cheques, or your Dad is trying to tell you about a travel money card at the bank — that's all old school, and you don't need it.

You can, of course, use your Aussie bank card, but you'll pay a lot in fees and transaction fees. If you just need coverage for a couple of days that'll work as well, and it'll also let you tap onto the Tube, etc.

UK Address

Often you'll find you need a UK address, which can be a bit of a catch-22: you don't yet have an address, but you need an address to sign up to something. The UK also loves sending letters instead of emails or texts, so it's important to have an address you can rely on.

For some stuff you can just use your initial accommodation — your hostel or a friend's place. But if you want something permanent, or even something before you arrive, you can check out UK Post Box. It gives you an address where you can have letters and parcels sent. They can also store parcels for you and then forward them on to you.

If you're really keen, you could even send yourself some stuff ahead from Australia. It's also just good to have a reputable UK address before you land and while you're getting set up once in the UK.

Travel Insurance

Of course, please don't fly or travel without travel insurance! In the rush and panic of moving, it's easy to overlook and forget to buy it. You'll need one-way travel insurance as you're moving from Australia to the UK, but it's worth having to cover any disruptions, flight delays, or if you get sick, etc, in your stopover location.

Once you're in England and you've landed, you have full access to healthcare and all services, so you won't need travel insurance for that.

Also, don't forget travel insurance for your trips to Europe or other places from England. Once you start travelling regularly you can get annual travel insurance, which means you're covered for the year. The only catch is you can't get it until you've spent at least six months in the UK as a resident and are registered with your GP. I can't make any personal recommendations as I've never had to make a claim, but it's worth doing this online and most prices are pretty good for a year's worth of cover.

Sending Your Stuff

One big question you're going to have is how to get all your stuff to the UK. The first time, I was hardcore and came over with 14kg total — you don't have to do this!

The easiest way to add extra luggage is just to add an extra bag to your ticket, or buy a ticket that includes two hold bags or more.

If you're sending more stuff, the best option is to use Send My Bag. Don't use Aussie Post unless it's something very small — it's way too expensive and slow. Send My Bag is made for people moving overseas, returning home, or going on trips. You can send up to 30kg boxes, and they use air mail, which is obviously quicker than sending by ship. In most cases they'll use the biggest courier in your area; for mine it was FedEx and took about seven days to get to the UK.

If you're not there when they go to deliver, they'll try to re-deliver twice before holding it for collection. So don't worry if you're delayed, or you sent it to a friend's place and they weren't home.

That's about it for preparation before you arrive. I know you're going to be feeling quite daunted, but don't worry — it's always easier once you land!

Welcome to the UK, bruv.

In this case I'll assume you've landed at Heathrow, but most of this information applies to the other airports like Gatwick, Stansted and Luton too.

Getting Into London — The Train

Taking the train (in this case you'll be using the Tube — so make sure you refer to it as 'The Tube' from now on).

The two main Tube lines that service the airport are the Piccadilly Line and the Elizabeth Line. The Elizabeth Line is faster but takes a different route. The Piccadilly Line is slower but stops at more stations.

Prepare yourself if taking the Piccadilly Line — I'm not exaggerating when I say it is over 100 years old. It's small, dirty and will make you second-guess your whole move in the first hour. Don't worry though, most of the lines are like this!

Both lines can be paid for using your debit or credit card. No one uses an Oyster card anymore, so just use your Wise card on your phone to pay and it'll be fine.

The third option, rarely used (and looking like it'll be phased out), is the Heathrow Express — a direct train from Heathrow to Paddington. Good if you're staying directly at Paddington, but pricey if not booked ahead and rarely used by anyone.

Taxi

Ok, I know you've seen the movies, but don't bother with a black cab. They'll be seriously expensive compared to other options. Fares are calculated on time and distance — whichever is higher is how the fare is worked out (i.e. a mile in five minutes is cheaper than a mile in 30 minutes, because you spent longer in the cab).

For sure give them a go in central London over a short distance, but hold off when you're super jetlagged and have probably been in transit for over 24 hours.

Private Transfer

If it's not a train and it's not a black cab, the other option is a private transfer. While Aussies don't usually use a private transfer or car pickup, it can make life a lot easier when you're super tired, you've just arrived, and you just want to get to your accommodation. Remember, the Tube will get you into Central London, but you're probably still looking at a bus, walk, cab or another Tube to get to your accommodation or your friend's place.

One of the best private transfer services I've found (having used them in England, Europe and Asia) is Welcome Pickups. It's super easy to use and the prices are very fair — cheaper than a black cab, but obviously more than the Tube.

The great thing about Welcome Pickups is you get 90 minutes of wait time from your flight landing — even if your flight lands late. The waiting time only starts when your flight lands, so if it takes a while to clear baggage or immigration, you know your driver will still be waiting for you. They'll have a driver waiting outside arrivals with a big sign with your name on it, and take you door to door.

I personally (especially when travelling to Europe) have found the service super valuable. It's been a real pain sometimes landing at 9pm and trying to figure out the metro in a foreign language with foreign currency — versus just getting picked up and driven straight to my accommodation. I know it's a bit more, but the peace of mind is absolutely priceless. If you don't have enough cash to pay for it, just tell your parents and they'll get worried about you and pay it for you.

Monzo

People in the UK either use a high street bank (a bank with branches) or an online-only bank with no physical branch. The online banks usually have way more features and are way easier to open — and everyone pretty much starts with Monzo.

Monzo is probably the best of the online banks, with way more features than Aussie banks and some good money-management tools to help you save for your Europe trips. The other option is a high street bank, but they're harder to apply to, you'll need more documents, and you'll probably have to go in.

1P Mobile

I'm going to tell you right now: don't move to the UK expecting fast mobile internet speeds. They're really behind on their 5G, and often you'll have slow 4G or okay 5G. In London it's not too bad, but once you get outside you'll see it drop off dramatically.

Again, it's hard to get a mobile plan because you'll have no address history or credit. The easiest one to open with the best prices is 1P Mobile, which uses the EE network — the best coverage in the UK. For £25 a month it's unlimited calls, unlimited texts and also unlimited roaming in the EU, which is great if you go on holiday a lot. You can pay extra to add calls home, but use WhatsApp for that numnuts — and don't even think about Facebook Messenger, boomer.

The other thing with 1P is it's easy to sign up, but be warned the website is very old school. Don't be put off — it's all part of their cheap aesthetic.

Bolt

Bolt is an alternative to Uber that started in Europe. While it probably doesn't have as much coverage as Uber, it still works well in London and I use it as a backup if I can't get an Uber or there's none in my area. The pricing is a little bit fairer too, but essentially it's the same thing. It's also good to have downloaded if you go to Europe, because sometimes it's the more popular option.

NI Number

While I don't have a service recommendation here, you definitely want to get your NI number application in straight away. NI is your National Insurance number — the UK version of a tax file number. Without it you'll be taxed at the highest rate when working (don't worry, you can claim that tax back).

It can take quite a while to get an NI number, and it involves calling the government, sometimes a sit-down interview, and then getting the letter sent to you in the post. Some services online say they'll help manage that or speed it up. The service I used no longer exists, but there are others that promise to help. I can't vouch for anything, but if you feel overwhelmed by the process they might be able to help. Just watch the price — at the end of the day it's completely free to do yourself.

Change App Store

Remember to change your app store to the UK App Store, because some of these services won't be able to be downloaded due to your phone being on the Australian App Store. You can do this by changing your App Store login and making a new one, then logging into the App Store on your phone — but still keeping your Apple ID as Australia.

Heading into your first month, I'm hoping and blessing 🙏 that you've found a share house or somewhere to live — congratulations if you have. For a share house you probably won't have to worry about installing utilities. But if you've found your own place, these are some of the utilities and services I recommend.

Rightmove

If you still haven't found a place and you're looking for your own, the best website to use is Rightmove. It's like realestate.com and seems to have the most listings.

Octopus

Octopus is probably your best energy provider in the UK. They offer both gas and electricity, have great customer service and probably the easiest-to-use website. They have a range of tariffs — you can choose a variable tariff to start with that goes up and down based on the cost of electricity, or you can lock in your tariff for 12 months on a fixed fee. I can't really tell you what's best because it changes, but they also have tariffs for if you use energy late or you're charging an EV.

Zzoom

Just like the mobile internet, the UK is way behind on fibre internet, and lots of houses still have a broadband connection. Zzoom Fibre seems to be one of the best providers, and will also install fibre to your house for free if you don't have the connection. You can pay monthly or yearly, and they're very quick at coming to your house and sorting it out.

If you're in a share house and they're lagging behind on internet speed, I'd try and get them across to fibre as quick as you can — and tell them it's free installation. You need those TikToks loading fast!

ExpressVPN

If you're desperate to watch The Block, or just need to hear some Australian commentary when watching football, ExpressVPN has been one of the better VPNs we've used for watching shows back home in Australia.

Ocado

You probably need some groceries for your house, and the best grocery delivery company I've found is Ocado. It's completely online — kind of like the Amazon of groceries. They're super quick and the website's really easy to use. They offer a price-match guarantee with Tesco, so you'll never pay more than Tesco anyway, even though you have access to a bigger range. They're also very keen on enticing you back, so you'll constantly get voucher offers. They have more delivery slots than competitors, you can get a refund on the plastic bags they provide, and they partner with M&S if you want something a little fancy.

Too Good To Go

If you don't feel like cooking, a great app is Too Good To Go, which connects you with cafés and restaurants that want to get rid of leftover food. You usually pay no more than £5 and they give you a pretty generous bag of food. There are major chains on the app as well as local restaurants, and you can pick up anything from pastries to currys for a few quid.

Trainline

If you're not quite ready to jaunt off to Europe yet but want to get around the UK, the best app to book train tickets is Trainline. It's super easy to use — just put in where you want to go and they'll show you all the ticket types, available routes, tell you what platform, and even show other trains you can swap to if you're delayed. This is the closest thing to getting your hand held when taking a UK national train.

Tide

If you're starting a business in the UK, or continuing one from Australia, Tide seems to be the easiest way to get your business registered. They do a business registration service for you as long as you open a Tide bank account — that doesn't mean you need to keep the Tide account; you can move to a different banking service the next day.

Otherwise, registering a business via the government portal is a lot slower and costs a £100 application fee. At the moment, registering through Tide will only cost you £14.99 instead of £100. I tried using Monzo Business, but because I was a new UK company (although I have an established Australian business) they wouldn't accept me — too new. Tide, however, was super easy and sent me a card the same day.

That's the list of what I've used before arriving in the UK and in my first 30 days. I hope it helps and makes your time in the UK a little easier ❤️ I made this document to be as easy as possible to use — that's why you can read it on the web or download it without entering your email.

If you do end up using any of these services, please feel free to use any of the referral links below — I'd really appreciate it! Just tap a card to head to the offer.