Kobi & Brian: Europe 2013-2014: Musings of two Aussies in London

So after nearly 10 months of living in London, I think we’re fairly well placed to share our views on the differences between living in London and living in Australia.

Adjusting to life over here was surprisingly easy, once you get over the scale of London. But the lifestyle really isn’t that different – the English drink a lot, are very social, and love sport. They also slag their sportsmen off when they don’t win, sing their team song really loudly once they’re drunk, and then get a kebab on the way home. See? Very similar.

There are some differences though, with many of them linguistic! To Aussies thinking of moving here, you will be laughed at, and on occasions you won’t know what people are talking about, and vice versa. So a guide to the ones that have stumped us.

Australian	English
Cordial	Squash (anything that can be diluted is squash)
Vacuum	Hoover
Pantry	Larder (our flatmates find pantry particularly hilarious)
Whiteout	Tipex (WTF)
Bottleshop	Off license or ‘offey’
Doona	Duvet
Lollies	Sweeties
Chips	Crisps
Drunk	Wankered
Hello	Y’Alright? (after months of observation, we think the answer to this is not ‘yes’ but to just say ‘Y’Alright?’ straight back to them. It seems to satisfy them).
Hungover	Hanging
No way/that sucks	Bollocks
Park	Common

Things to be aware of when moving to London:

Anything that we change to end in ‘O’, they don’t understand. This includes povo, devo, budgo, bottleo, traino.
We need to slow down and separate our words more. 'Dyawantmetogiveyathefiftypence?’ is not a word.
Don’t look anyone in the eye on the tube. Ever. If you cough or sneeze on the tube, prepare to get death stares from the whole carriage.
If you stand on the left side of the escalator, you will be abused. Brian had to instil this in me by punching me in the arm every time I stood on the left.
If you’re walking down Oxford Street or Regent Street while texting, you are the worst type of person. Likewise if you walk out of John Lewis and stand in the middle of the busiest footpath in London trying to decide whether to go left or right.
If you start converting London prices to Australian, it seems expensive (just under double at the moment) but once you start earning in pounds, you realise how reasonable it is. Rent and the tube are expensive, but daily living costs are so much cheaper. To put it in perspective, a block of cheese is about $3.50 instead of $230.00
The beef here is rubbish – but the pork is amazing.
Tuna tins don’t come with a ring-pull. So you need to take a can-opener to work.

But oh, the reasons to move here!

There is always something amazing to do, and so many of the events are free! Some examples? Dog fashion parades, ice sculpture festivals, street food van festivals, Notting Hill Carnivale, museums, photography exhibitions, ice rinks, movies in the park, polo games.
The West End – every show you could think of, every night of the week. Shows don’t ‘tour’ to London like they do Australia – they play every night.
Every borough is unique. When you think you’ve ‘done’ London, just ride the tube and get off at a stop you’ve never gotten off at before and walk around. You’ll find bakeries for dogs, comedy clubs, Walkabout bars with Gladiator game nights, pubs with 4 floors that serve different themed food on every floor, even café’s that charge you 2pence per minute you stay there, and then the coffees are free!
Everything is open every day, until late.
The tube or bus will get you everywhere, you will never wish you had your car here.
Happy hour is everywhere! Two cocktails for £8, from 5-9pm every day of the week! It is so much cheaper to eat and drink out in London then it is at home. You won’t ever want to go out when you go back to paying Australian prices.
Flowers are so cheap you could have fresh ones in your home every week if you wanted. Boys I know this excites you to no end – girls, a fresh bunch of tulips is about $5. Australian florists are up there with oil barons I reckon.
There are over 18,000 restaurants in London – every style of food you can image. You’ll have so much fun trying them all, from the Supper Club in Notting Hill where you get served dinner in bed while watching a burlesque show, to Shalamar late night chicken on Clapham High Street where the middle eastern owners belt out Backstreet Boys every night of the week while cooking your chicken.
Squirrels.
Healthcare is either totally free or ridiculously cheap. My nose job cost £50 (just kidding Mum!)
It’s really not that cold (though everyone keeps telling us that we had the mildest winter ever!) It’s been about 5 degrees during the day, and it really doesn’t rain much at all. When it does rain its only drizzling, nothing like the downpours at home. And the summer was awesome – over 30 degrees most days. And you’re allowed to drink in the parks here. Cider in the common anyone?

Moving to London was the best decision we have ever made, and our time here is flying by. If anyone is thinking of taking the plunge, do it. You will have the best time of your life. And Marmite is actually pretty good.

Signing off with a bacon and brown sauce butty,

Kobi & Brian

xxx