Most people who move to London from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa have done their research. They know roughly which areas they want to live in, they’ve looked at rental prices online, and they have a sense of how the city is laid out. What they’re usually not prepared for is how different the actual experience of finding and moving into a place is from anything they’ve dealt with before.
London’s rental market moves faster than almost any other city in the world. Properties go within hours. References are checked quickly and thoroughly. And once you’ve found somewhere, actually getting your belongings into it turns out to be its own logistical challenge.
Here’s what’s worth knowing before you arrive.
The Rental Market Moves Faster Than You’re Used To
In most Australian or New Zealand cities, you might see a property on a Tuesday and move in the following weekend. In London, good properties in popular areas — Clapham, Balham, Putney, Wimbledon, anywhere with a decent tube connection — can be gone within a day of listing. Sometimes within hours.
The practical implication is that you need to be ready to move quickly. That means having your documents together before you start viewing: proof of income (three months of payslips if you’re employed, accounts if you’re freelance), a reference from a previous landlord, and proof of your right to rent in the UK. If you’re new to the country and don’t have payslips yet, some landlords will accept a larger deposit or a guarantor.
Don’t fall in love with a property during the viewing and then take a week to think about it. Someone else will take it.
The Areas People Actually End Up In
London is enormous and the neighbourhoods read very differently in person than they do on a map. South West London — Clapham, Battersea, Putney, Wimbledon, Richmond — has a strong expat community and tends to be where a significant number of Australians and New Zealanders end up, partly because of the tube connections, partly because of the pubs and green spaces, partly because other Australians and New Zealanders are already there.
East London — Shoreditch, Hackney, Bethnal Green — attracts a younger crowd and tends to be slightly cheaper for comparable space, with a different character. North London — Islington, Highbury, Stoke Newington — has a more established, quieter feel.
The honest advice is to stay somewhere temporary for the first few weeks and explore properly before committing to an area. Your commute, your social life and your budget will all point you somewhere specific, and that destination is usually different from where you thought you’d end up.
Furnished vs Unfurnished: What It Actually Means
In Australia and New Zealand, most rentals come unfurnished. In London, furnished is common — particularly in areas popular with shorter-term renters. Furnished in London means the landlord has put furniture in the property, which may or may not be furniture you’d choose yourself.
If you’re planning to stay for several years and have furniture of your own — either shipped from home or bought here — an unfurnished property gives you more flexibility. If you’re arriving with just your bags and a plan to sort everything out later, furnished is the easier starting point.
The Move-In Logistics Nobody Prepares You For
Once you’ve found somewhere, the process of actually moving your belongings in is where London’s particular geography starts to matter.
Most residential streets in inner London run Controlled Parking Zones. You can’t simply park a van outside the property and start unloading — you need a parking suspension arranged through the borough council, which takes several days and costs money. Victorian terraces, which make up a large proportion of London’s housing stock, often have staircases that make moving large furniture significantly more complicated than it looks.
If you’re shipping belongings from home or moving between London properties, using a removal company in London that understands London’s specific access and parking requirements saves a significant amount of stress. The ones worth using will check parking and access before the day, handle the suspension if one is needed, and show up with the right equipment for whatever staircase or lift situation they’re dealing with.
Storage While You’re Getting Settled
One option that not enough people use: storage. If you’re arriving before your rental starts, or you’re in temporary accommodation while you look for somewhere permanent, putting your shipped belongings into short-term storage gives you flexibility. You’re not paying to move everything twice, and you’re not living out of a suitcase for longer than necessary while your boxes take up space in someone else’s spare room.
Short-term storage in London is straightforward to arrange and cheaper than most people expect.
The Things That Take Longer Than Expected
Opening a UK bank account without a UK address is harder than it should be — most traditional banks require proof of address before they’ll open an account, and you need a bank account before most landlords will take you seriously. The solution most people find is one of the digital banks — Monzo, Starling, Revolut — which have simpler requirements and can be set up before you arrive.
Getting a National Insurance number takes several weeks. Register for one as soon as you arrive, not when your employer asks for it.
London is genuinely one of the most exciting cities in the world to live in. The first few months are also genuinely logistically complicated. The people who settle in fastest are usually the ones who sorted the practical foundations — bank account, NI number, a place to live they’re happy with — before they started trying to enjoy everything else.
