By Khoo Yi Jin
Many of us might face a difficult choice in picking a destination for an overseas exchange programme. From the school culture, to the cost of living, to even the places of interest to visit, these factors will shape your experience. Ultimately, the decision is largely dependent on your preferences. To help you find out if it is really the city of your dreams, I have decided to share a little about the wonderful city of London, and some tips to survive the infamously high cost of living in London.
Disclaimer: Everything written in this post is based on my own experience, retrieved from my horrible memory. Therefore, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH TO MAKE SURE WHATEVER WRITTEN HERE IS STILL RELEVANT WHEN YOU ARE GOING ON EXCHANGE. Additionally, all costs in this post are denominated in the Great British Pound (GBP), but no worries: provided you know how to multiply numbers by 2, you can figure out how much things cost in SGD.
Why London?
- Location
If you study in London, not only do you have easy access to the rest of the United Kingdom, the rest of Europe is also at your doorstep. The most wonderful thing about studying in a European country is the extra convenience and lower cost of exploring the rest of Europe. This opens up so many more options when you are planning how to spend your free time on exchange. Of course, there are many other European cities one can choose to go for exchange, but another main reason why I chose London is…
- Language
I am embarrassed to say that I am hopeless at any of the European languages. I feel the most comfortable when I understand everything that is happening around me. For those who have mastered a third language, or simply love to throw themselves into a brand new, foreign environment, go ahead and pick other European countries. The beauty of staying in the capital of the United Kingdom is that you get to hear the wonderful English accent wherever you go, and most people understand what you are saying. This really helps when you get lost, when a train breakdown is announced, or when you feel lonely and just want to talk to the person sitting next to you.
- Convenience
Among so many other cities in the United Kingdom, London is the obvious choice for me because a big city just presents so much more convenience. It boasts of an extremely well-connected transport system and ubiquitous supermarkets. With lots of shopping to do in the day and places to eat and drink at night, central London has something for everyone, any time (many other European cities fall asleep by 8 or 9pm).
- Culture
Countless free museums with incredible collection. Amazing number of big West End hits and vibrant fringe theatre scene. Talented buskers colouring the vibrant streets of central London. Need I say more about this wonderful city?
- FOOD
Yet there IS one more thing I’d like to say: the wonderful food that you can find in London. Ironically, London has so much great Asian food that I rarely eat “British food”. The Chinatown in London has an amazing selection of Asian food, and the sprawling food markets across all corners of London boast of an even more diverse selection of cuisines from around the world.
The downside?
Put simply, nothing comes free, and for all the attractions I have just pointed out, London is one of the most expensive cities you would find in Europe. Accommodation will cost you a bomb (from 600-800 pounds per month depending on how close you stay to central London), transport will burn a sizeable hole through your wallet (1.50GBPper bus ride and 2.40-2.90GBP per tube/subway ride), and you should probably only dine at restaurants for special occasions (expect to spend 15-20GBP per meal).
However, if you have already fallen in love with the city and would like to brave the world of budget-living, there are many ways you can save money in this crazily expensive city.
Ways to Save
Accommodation
Generally, the more people sharing an apartment together, the cheaper it will be for each individual. Student hostels may not give you the lowest prices because you will most likely get a room to yourself. In return, however, they come with better security and amenities. Conversely, sourcing for apartments via external platforms like Airbnb may get you cheaper rates, but you will be all by yourself out there (you can save quite a bit of money and trouble if the Airbnb comes with a washer and dryer as well, since the laundry services at school hostels can get pricey).
You also need to weigh in the distance you stay from central London. The further away, the cheaper accommodation gets. However, you may end up spending more on daily transport, since almost everything is in central London. My best advice is to find a location within walking distance to your school while maintaining a reasonable distance (a bus ride away) from central London.
Transport
Best way to save money? Walk. A lot. A walking distance of about 40 minutes seems like the norm for exchange, saving you lots of money in the long run (pun unintended). Apart from that, utilise the cap on bus fares as they do not charge you beyond the third bus ride in a day (meaning a cap at 4.50GBP per day). A similar cap applies for the tube, but at a much higher rate and it varies accordingly to the number of zones travelled and peak/off-peak periods. Check the Transport for London (TfL) website for the latest information. (https://tfl.gov.uk)
Across cities, using the rail and coach card (at cost of 30GBP and 10GBP a year respectively) would get you a decent amount of savings as well. More information is available in the exchange booklet prepared by the AGA sub-committee.
If you have a group of 4, it would be good to note that taking an Uber sometimes may be even cheaper than taking the tube…
Additionally, apps like Citymapper (https://citymapper.com) and GoEuro (http://www.goeuro.com) are extremely helpful in planning journeys; the former showing you the most efficient route to get from point A to point B in London through a combination of tube, buses, and walking, while the latter recommends flights, trains, and buses to help you get from city to city in Europe. Just take note that Citymapper may not get the locations of small businesses accurately all the time so do double check with other apps like Google Maps.
Food
As with almost anywhere in the world, preparing your own food is indubitably the cheapest option. There is an abundance of cheap groceries in supermarkets at every corner of the street. Tesco Express and Sainsbury Local will likely be your best friends because they are really everywhere, while the bigger Tesco Metro and some bigger Sainsbury Local (like the ones near Camdem Town and Whitechapel) provide much greater selection and even cheaper options due to the increased variety. Alternatively, there are also other less common but equally good supermarkets like Morrisons, Asda, Iceland and everyone’s all-time favourite Poundland (everything goes at one pound!). Even Tesco stocks rice, oyster sauce, and soya sauce, so you are covered without visiting the many Oriental supermarkets around London, and predominantly in Chinatown.
If your culinary skills are undeveloped or you have been banned from the kitchen due to multiple mishaps, it is still possible to get by with minimum spending on sandwiches (Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Pret a Manger, etc.), kebabs, or Subway and Macs.
Musicals and Plays
What’s a trip to London without catching some awesome musicals and plays at ridiculously low prices? Full-priced tickets are still a better deal than in Singapore because honestly, even the worst seats are really good by Singapore’s musical standards. If you would like to find half-priced tickets, many online sites have suggested queuing at TKTS from early morning as it is the only legitimate half-price ticket booth in London (see http://www.tkts.co.uk).
However, if you are lazy like me and cannot get out of bed before 9am, you can try combing online ticket sites for discounts on various tickets and just make sure you cross-check them against the musical’s website so you don’t end up paying more for the same ticket. Alternatively, just walk by TKTS whenever you are around the area and you might get lucky.
My friends have also successfully gotten cheaper tickets for musicals like Wicked about an hour before show time at the theatre ticket office itself as they may give discount on shows that are not fully sold out (this sadly does not work well with extremely popular shows like Les Misérables and Book of Mormon).
Getting there!
If you are all fired up and ready to travel to London after reading this post, here are some tips to help you find your way there!
International Flights
For those flying into London via international flights at the start of your exchange, you will most likely land in Heathrow Airport.
Here, you have two main choices of transport to get to the city centre.
1) Heathrow Express straight to Paddington Station
2) Underground to whichever station you need to travel to. Heathrow express is a direct train service that brings you to Paddington station (relatively city centre) but it’s more expensive.
The alternative is to take the underground, which is cheaper, but takes much longer and you will have to transfer across one or more lines. The main issue is that not all underground stations in London have escalators or lifts. Only those with a wheelchair symbol on the metro map have wheelchair accessibility facilities. If you have to change lines at a stop without, you would have a ‘wonderful’ time lugging your giant luggage(s) up and down the stairs.
Of course you could take a taxi, but I highly advise against that, unless you have too much cash to spare.
Regional Flights
If you are flying in from other parts of Europe, chances are you would land in one of the three smaller airports (Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted). Each of them has their equivalent of the Heathrow express (Stansted express etc.) which goes to a specific station near the city centre, but I usually stick to coaches as they are the cheapest option. I usually go with National Express for reliability (and 1/3 price off using my coach card), but I think there may be other cheap coach service providers as well if you search for it.
Documents and Visa
The customs are pretty strict at the UK airports so be prepared to answer a series of questions before you are allowed to enter. For those studying a semester, prepare to show your letter of acceptance by your host university stating your exact term dates. Keep this important document as you will be asked to show that every time you re-enter the UK. If you are staying in the UK for less than 6 months, you DO NOT have to purchase a visa to enter (https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y/singapore/study/six_months_or_less). You will get a chop at the customs allowing you entry into the UK.
For those travelling for a few weeks, generally a ticket showing your flight out of the UK will be helpful.
Conclusion
Though London has a really high cost of living, there are ways to mitigate it. If you are on an extremely tight budget, you may want to consider other European countries or even Asian countries, and just drop by London some day for a short vacation.
My best advice is to do as much research as you can about the city of your choice, find out about the local culture and way of living , and ask yourself if it is something you would like to experience for your exchange. Some people prefer the quiet, calming sense of nature that comes with smaller cities, while others thrive in the hustle and bustle of big city life. If the latter sounds more like you, maybe you have already found the right place for yourself.
