One of the greatest pleasures of a UK vacation, however, is just how easy it is to explore this fascinating and diverse country.  London is an amazing place to live. There’s never a shortage of new things to do: a play to see, a museum to peruse, a modern art show that might not make any sense but is still fun to experience. Let’s see few advices for you staying in London:

1. Accommodation: It is expensive. If you’re not self-funding your life in London, you’ll probably be regularly reminded by your parents just how expensive it is. If you’re a student, finding accommodation through your university is your best bet.  Student accommodation is also very different in the UK than it is in North America. Instead of long dormitory halls lined with double or single bedrooms, student accommodation in the UK are most often set up as flats with around five or six single bedrooms sharing one kitchen and living area. If you’re looking for private accommodation, XcelTrip is the most affordable option. The cost of rent depends where you live; a one-bedroom flat in Islington is a lot more expensive than a 5-person flats share in Wembley. If you choose to live further out from the city center, you should factor in the travel costs since trips on the bus and tube are more expensive the further out you live.

You could choose Queensway Serviced Apartments Located in London (London City Centre) at XcelTrip  and stay in Queensway Serviced Apartments it’s within a 15-minute walk of Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace. This apartment is 2.2 mi (3.6 km) from Natural History Museum and 2.5 mi (4 km) from Buckingham Palace.

2. Food: Being on a camping trip in southern England you probably couldn’t find graham crackers anywhere! The main mid-range grocery stores are Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are slightly more expensive but tend to have higher-quality stuff. Iceland is a good budget grocery store and also great for buying bulk, frozen food. Lidl and Asda are great cheaper options, too. When it comes to restaurants, London disproves the myth that English food is boring and bland, nothing but baked beans and fish and chips. In such a multicultural city, there is a wide range of cuisines to try. Definitely find a good curry place near your flat as soon as you can. There are a lot of good coffee shops in London, too, like Costa or Café Nero, but nothing will ever replace Tim Hortons.

3. Travel: It’s easy to travel around Europe when you have a Canadian passport, but getting a visa to actually live in a new country is not so easy, even when moving to the UK from a commonwealth country. It is also quite expensive.  But using XcelTrip is always easy and cheaper!

4. Weather: It doesn’t rain in London as much as people think, and rain here is more of a slight drizzle than a full-on downpour. If you’re cold in London you can’t complain because people will tell you it can’t possibly be colder than what you’re used to in Canada, but trust me, it feels colder. But in London some people wear trench coats and Hunter rain boots in 2˚C weather and somehow think that’s sufficient. The cold here is a wet kind of cold, which leaves you with a constant damp feeling that is hard to shake. In the summertime it can, contrary to popular belief, actually get quite hot, nearing the high 20˚C’s.

5. Drinking culture: There is no doubt that there is a big drinking culture in the UK. Walk by any pub in London and no matter what time of day it is, it will be overflowing with people. Coming from Ontario, where there are very strict drinking laws. For those who don’t drink, you’re the lucky ones because you’ll save a lot of money.

6. People:  People in London always seem to be in a hurry. Very rarely will someone apologize for bumping into you in the street or stepping on your foot on the tube. There is much less casual conversation between strangers in London than in other UK city.  

The culture isn’t too hard to adjust to. And one final thing to note: English people will be very surprised if you tell them you’ve never seen a moose or a polar bear and that Canada isn’t actually covered in snow 365 days of the year.

Nevertheless, make you next trip to London as comfortable as possible by using XcelTrip - functional use case for XcelToken, Bitcoin and Ethereum. Plan your next trip with XcelTrip!