Whether you're getting ready to study abroad in London one month from now, a year from now, or even five: here are 5 things I wish I had known before studying abroad in London.
To give some background about myself and my study abroad experience in London:
Hi! If you're new here, I'm Claire. I'm currently a senior at Elon University in North Carolina, and I studied abroad in London for the Fall semester of 2019. I lived in the beautiful and elegant SOUTH KENSINGTON (I know a dream it was insane), and I was lucky enough to even have my classes and internship right down the street from where I lived! I always knew that I wanted to study abroad in London, so this was a no brainer for me, but if you're on the fence about your study abroad choice, hopefully, this article can clarify any concerns you might have! If you would like to know more about my time in London, feel free to reach out to me directly through Instagram or even check out my London series here!
Without further ado, here we go 5 things I wish I had known before getting to London!
1. Download CityMapper now. No, literally, download it. Not only is it amazing for London, but it is programmed in 41 cities from all over the world. Some people absolutely live by Google Maps, but personally, I am not a massive fan of it at all. CityMapper is hands down the most accurate app I used during my time in London. It gives you the exact directions to get from point A to point B, even telling you where to walk, what tube/bus to get on, when the next tube/bus is on its way, and so much more. If you start your semester with CityMapper already downloaded, you will already be ahead of the game.
2. This one is kind of cliche, BUT - I had no idea how many chains were in London. I’m a huge shop small type-of-girl, and I wanted to make sure to really immerse myself in the local culture, but I found it to be super difficult to find actual small coffee shops or restaurants in London that didn’t have another location a block over. FYI: If you see a Cafe Nero, yes it looks super cute but unfortunately it is not a “local coffee shop”. Save yourself the embarrassment, don’t be like me thinking the one a block down from my apartment was unique, just to find out there’s over 500 locations in London alone.
3. Going out is EXPENSIVE. No really like incredibly expensive, way more than you probably think. Before my semester abroad, the only European countries that I have partied in were Portugal and Spain, where drinks were relatively cheap, and you could basically get in with a promoter for free. To my surprise, the London nightlife was extremely expensive. On Fridays and Saturdays, most places had a 20-pound cover fee and about each drink costing an average of 10 pounds. If you drink about 3 drinks in a night, that comes out to about 50 pounds ~ $65.
Don't let this scare you. It's all about the deals. Many places offer deals with low or no cover charges on weekdays. It is possible to watch your spending in London, you just have to do it smartly.
4. The Weather: Gray, misty, chilly. That was the typical day from September to December. There were many times where my friends and I would be sitting in our London apartment on Instagram, seeing our friends in Italy and Spain enjoying beautiful weather on boats, sipping champagne and tanning. In the beginning, we were all extremely jealous of them, but at the same time, fall and winter outfits are honestly the best *, in my opinion,* so you win some you lose some.
Not necessarily the weather, but this is definitely something I had wished I knew. By the end of the semester, the sun was starting to set very early. I'm not talking like 5pm early, I'm talking like 3:45-4:00pm. With the sun setting so late, there were times where class and work felt a tad bit *un-motivating*, but it all is with the adjustment.
5. Enjoy the United Kingdom. I was so quick to want to fly over Europe and visit all of these amazing cities, but I feel I completely missed out on enjoying the outskirts of London and other amazing cities in the UK. Taking the train out to cities like Brighton or Bristol is relatively cheap (my roundtrip ticket to Brighton from London was 11 pounds) and I wish I had explored other cities in the UK rather than waking up early and wasting so much time running to the airport to go to other countries.
All in all, my time in London was some of the best months of my life. I honestly loved London so much that I am looking for post - graduation jobs there. With any change, it takes time to get adjusted to the new environment so in the beginning, things will definitely feel weird. Just believe in yourself, know it is ok to be “uncomfortable” and above all, enjoy your time in the beautiful city of London!
To read more about my semester abroad and London tips in general, feel free to check out my London posts here.
Let me know in the comments below if you plan on studying abroad and if so, where! If you have any more questions about London, study abroad, or anything in general please feel free to leave those below!
