Now that you’ve made the first step in moving to London and actually packed your bags, hopped on a plane, and arrived, what do you do next? Odds are when you first move to London you aren’t going to have a flat to move into, so you may be wondering where do you stay? Thankfully there are some great options on places to stay in London for all price points and neighborhoods. Figuring out where to stay when you first move to London doesn’t need to be a hard problem to solve!
Where to Stay When you First Move to London
1. Ask around for a place to stay!
Let’s start with a free option first – staying with someone you know or staying with a friend of a friend is the best way to go. You won’t have to spend a ton of money during the weeks that you’re looking for a place to live, which will save you future rent money.
When I decided I was going to move, I reached out to all of my friends who lived in London. I was really lucky that one of them has parents who love having people from around the world crash at their house. They literally told me I could stay there for as long as I needed to find a place to live. I sent them flowers when I finally did find a place to live and this was thank you enough for them!
If you don’t personally know someone who lives in London, reach out to everyone you know anyways. Odds are at least one person you know from your past knows someone, who knows someone, who lives in London and is willing to let you crash on their couch. Just make sure you buy them some wine and maybe treat them to dinner a few times to say thank you!
2. Couchsurfing
Speaking of couches, another great way to figure out where to stay when you first move to London is by Couchsurfing. I’ve never personally used the site before, but I have a lot of friends who swear by it. Not only will you have a free place to stay, but usually you’ll be staying with someone who is either a frequent traveler or loves helping people out. That means that before you’re even settled in London you’ll know some local spots from your host.
3. AirBnB
AirBnBs are great because there are so many price points available on the site. Whether you’re looking for an entire flat to stay in for a few weeks while you look for your forever home or just looking for a room to sleep in while you spend your days flat hunting, you can absolutely find something in your price range. You can also search for AirBnBs by neighborhood which is awesome if you already know where you want to live. That means that when you finally find your new digs, it won’t be a pain in the ass to move your belongings in.
To save on your first booking, sign up here!
4. Hostels
Hostels are another awesome pick for places to stay when you first move to london. Like AirBnBs, there are lots of price points for different budgets. If you’re interested in saving money, book into the biggest mixed dorm you can find. If you don’t want to spend as much as you would spend on a hotel, a private room is a great choice. There are also tons of other rooms in between. One of my favorite hostels in London is Wombats, so check them out.
Oh, and if you’re staying in a hostel, it’s usually easy to extend if you’re having trouble finding a flat to rent.
5. Hotels
I wouldn’t really suggest staying in a hotel when you first move here because you could easily spend an entire month of rent on one week in a hotel. But, if money is no option for you, there are many gorgeous hotels around London that would be great to stay in when you get here. There are also some good deals you can get on apps like HotelTonight which offers heavily discounted reservations to hotels that would usually cost an arm and a leg (download the app here and use code TFULLER27 to get $50 back after your first booking).
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