Australians Moving To London
For those of you are who are considering moving to London from Australia, you’re in good company – thousands of Aussies move here every year and there is a fantastic expat community in London. Many of you will be able to get advice from friends or family members who are already settled in the capital, but just in case, we’ve put together a brief guide for you to read before you move here.
However, before you begin reading, we cannot recommend highly enough the 1st Contact Kickstart Package, which is designed to help working travellers settle into London with everything they need. Take a look at this extremely affordable set-up option.
Getting to the UK from Australia
Types of visas for Aussies in the UK
How to transfer money from Australia
Where to live
If you’re looking to live side by side with other Aussies in London, then there are a couple of areas of London to head towards. Earl’s Court (known affectionately as Kangaroo Valley) was once where most Aussies congregated when they first arrived in London, but rental prices are quite high there, so people drifted out to nearby Shepherd’s Bush, Fulham and Acton instead. Nowadays though, it is Clapham in South London where the largest population of Aussie expats is to be found. Balham, Streatham and Tooting also being good local options. The north-west of London is also quite popular with Aussies – take a look at Willesden, Kilburn and Queen’s Park.
You can start searching for accommodation or people to share with, before you even leave Australia. Sign up with Easyroommate for FREE.
Finding workIf you’re planning on working in the UK, then you’ll need to obtain a National Insurance Number. Whilst you’re waiting for this to come through, we strongly advise that you polish up your C.V and upload it to Monster‘s recruitment database for FREE.
Find out more information on getting a job in London on our Working in London page.
Getting to the UK
As you’re no doubt aware, it’s a long old journey to England from Australia and there are many different routes to choose from. You’ll probably make your decision based on 3 things:
- Cost of the journey
- Duration of the entire trip
- Number of stopovers
To help you view the best and most competitive range of flights on the market, use EXPEDIA.
Visa Information
For a full list of visas that you can apply for, including Ancestry visas and Youth Mobility Scheme Visas, please visit our Visas page or visit the UK Border Agency site.
How to transfer money from Australia
Banks are not the only option for Foreign exchange and international transfers. Most consumers don’t know this. Ironically the Banks know that most consumers don’t know this and they tend to take advantage by charging exorbitant fees and below average exchange rates. Don’t be fooled, do your homework and make the most of your hard earned cash. The more pounds you can get out, the better!
One company that guarantees to save you money is 1st Contact Forex.
1st Contact Forex is an International Money Transfer Company that provides a quick, easy and secure online money transfers service; offering great rates with the lowest fees.
Find out more about transfers from Australia…
1st Contact Forex is offering all Moove2London readers their 1st transfer free
Australia Day
London welcomes crazy celebrations of Australia Day on January 26th each year. Hopefully you won’t mind that crowds of UK citizens also jump on the bandwagon and enjoy descending upon one of London’s many Walkabout pubs to join in the fun. We’ll keep you posted on specific celebrations nearer the time!
Popular Australian Pubs in London
Walkabout pubs are Aussie themed and are extremely popular with Aussies and Brits alike due to their laidback no-nonsense approach to getting slaughtered and having fun! They’re also a great place to watch sport. Walkabouts can currently be found in Clapham, Covent Garden, Finchley Road, Shepherd’s Bush and Temple.
The Redback Tavern (the Reddy) fancies itself as being the best Australasian live music scene in London. It’s located in the middle of Acton and is home to 3 bars, a split level dance floor and a massive beer garden which is great for summer bbqs. The Reddy has a courtesy bus service for
pickups and dropoffs within a one mile radius (will go further for more than 4 people) in the evenings from Thursday to Sunday!
An infamous afternoon out – The Church, currently located at Clapham Grand ( Clapham Junction) is an unusual way to spend a Sunday lunchtime. From 12 till 3.30pm expect to drink a lot of beers, wear fancy dress costumes and be thoroughly entertained on the Sabbath.
Aussie Dating in London
You might be particularly interested in Antipodate which is a dating website specifically for Aussies, Kiwis, South Africans who are living in the UK.
Check out our Dating in London page for more advice on finding a date in London, including great dating locations and safe dating.
Aussie Rules
If you want to play Aussie Rules in London, then you might be interested in joining the North London Lions. They field 3 teams a week and also have quite a lot of fun off the pitch. The club is quite laidback and understands that many of us in London have other stuff going on, so they’re quite flexible if you’re not able to make training one week. Visit aussierules.co.uk for further details.