Every year, thousands of people from New Zealand move to London for various reasons. Some come to London for work, for higher studies in the world-class universities in London, and for a change of environment to experience new ways of life. Still others come to enjoy the beautiful and historical touristic locations that London has to offer. Other Kiwis come to London as one of their stopovers as they traverse the global village. Whatever the reasons for relocating or moving to London from New Zealand, there are quite a number of things you should know before you make a move. This will also make your relocation experience smooth and worthwhile. With this in mind, here are some of the greatest pieces of advice for Kiwis moving to London from New Zealand.
Looking for and Securing a Job in London
Finding a job in London can be a difficult task for any newcomer in the city. Whether you are interested in full-time, part-time or just a one-off job opportunity, or just something to supplement and support your studies, London provides it unique challenges to newcomers. Fortunately, as a new Londoner from New Zealand, you already have an advantage in that you already know the Queen’s language.
The best way to look for a job in London as a Kiwi is through job agencies (such as Blue Arrow, Reed and Adecco) and web portals (such as Monster, Total Jobs and Indeed) in the UK. Keep you CV up-to-date and optimized for jobs in London. For more of the casual working positions in London such as waiters, bar attendants and others like those, you can secure one by just visiting these establishments and asking whether they are hiring. Most of these casual jobs are posted on the doors and windows as well as notice boards depending on the type of establishment.
Preparing for Weather in London
People from New Zealand are used to quite a range of different weather conditions. This is characterized by snow during winter and temperatures similar to those of London during summer. However, iwis are not used to damp weather conditions. When moving and relocating to London form New Zealand, you should have, or be prepared to buy high quality outdoor outfits.
You can purchase proper ones at the Trespass or Go Outdoors if you are already in London and want to buy new or additional outdoor clothes. These two outlets have good quality clothes for the price they attach.
Looking for Affordable Housing in London
There is no escaping the fact that housing in London can be expensive. However, with proper and credible property agents in London, one can work around the issue. Kiwis work around this by house sharing. As a newcomer in town, house sharing has provided people from New Zealand and from other places with an opportunity to live in places they would not have otherwise been able afford in London.
Meet with other Kiwis
There is nothing as good as meeting with fellow citizens in London. This you can do by joining groups and liking pages about New Zealand on social media even before leaving the country. There are quite a number of Kiwis-living-in-London groups on Facebook, Meet Up and Twitter.
