Moving to London in September - any tips about adjusting?

I accepted a position in the Lewisham borough of London. I know very little about the South East part of London. Does anyone have any tips, suggestions, etc about adjustment? Can you tell me any stories about your experiences in adjusting to this big city?

When I first moved to England I found it hard it to adjust. One thing is the doors. I found I often got locked out because in Britain the outer doors are self locking and they dont have door knobs, you need your key when you go out unless someone can let you in on the inside.
I always find it is the little things like that that make adjusting hard. I was little when I left Canada and after 10 years I pretty much have the hang of it.
Also, if you like Root Beer, drink it while you can-hard to get in the UK!!
Hope this was helpful
Republican

www.canadian-republic.ca

Hi Donnaone,

I lived in Northern London for the first six months. I avoided ging into the city centre... waaaaaay too many people for a country girl like me! And the underground?... noooooo way!!! Not for me.
I found the round-a-bouts most daunting in the beginning but I'd like to think I have those down to a T now. .

Having said all that, I must agree with Republican... it's the little things that you miss the most. Like Nabob coffee, Old Dutch Potato Chips, Astro Yogurt, live hockey games... the list does go on!

There's not much you can do about watching a live hockey game but when I'm really missing some of those things from home I send for a care package or if you don't mind spending a little more on yourself for those good ol' Canadian goodies you can visit http://www.canadashop.uk.com. That's what I do.

Good luck and welcome to UK. The people here are really great!!

Unfortunatly, I have no knowledge of that part of London. However, I do have some tips on adjusting in general after 10 years of being an expat. Here are my top tips:

1) Keep in touch with news in Canada, it will make Canada seem less "foreign" when you go back for visits. Got a favorite paper? Chances are you can find it on the web.
2) Enjoy Canada while you can, cherish the little the little things. I am not ashamed to say that on a recent visit home I drank some root beer almost every chance I got-not toomuch though
3) Visit when you can.
Thanks to dogpony_uk for the website address. One thing though when people write my name, they can they remember "republican" is with a small r. Capitol R's imply the American Republican party, where as I am a Canadian who wants a republic. Petty but to me it makes a difference
republican

Hi republican,

Sorry about using a capitol 'R'. The thought of the American Republic party never even crossed my mind. I hope I have not offended you.

And... good tips for keeping 'in touch' with Canada.
Now, if I could just manage to get my hands on some REAL Canadian Maple Syrup instead of this watered-down stuff....

don't worry you diddn't offend me, I used to make the same mistake when writing the word republican
As for real maple syrup, that would be really nice. Does Canada shop sell maple syrup?Personally I loveit from a farm in the countryside mmmmmm One thing I miss is real root beer, I just love it so much!!
republican

You can get Root Beer at Sainsburys supermarket. It's not the same as A&W but it's better than nothing. And if you make it into a root beer float it's pretty close to the real thing.
Sometimes you can get Reeces Pieces in Tecsaco petrol stations.
Also if you stay up until half past 12 on Thursday nights, channel 5 has been showing a few NHL games. And if you're really lucky you might even catch it when a Canadian team is playing.
Englands not so bad once you get used to it, but you're right, it's always the little things you miss the most.

See you're a social worker. If that's what you'll be doing in Lewisham,
you probably won't have time to be homesick -- some of London's
bleaker neighborhoods are to be found there. Depends exactly where in the borough you'll be. (The 'hoods get better the further south in the borough you go).

Having said that, I in southeast London (Lambeth, on the line with Southwark) and I wouldn't live anywhere else. Housing's cheaper
(relatively), it's easy to get around once you get to know the
bus system (virtually no Tube, which is frankly uncivilised anyway),
and we have some of the best places to eat in town. Some might say
crime is an issue, but I don't regard it as any worse than elsewhere
in London -- and South London neighborhoods tend to have more of
a sense of solidarity than the toff-y ones on the other side of the Thames.

To use a New York metaphor: south London is Brooklyn, north London is Manhattan. (To which north Londoners would say: North London is Manhattan, south London is ... New Jersey. But to each his own.)

RoM

The city is 15 times bigger than Toronto. It takes about three hours on any public transportation to get from one side of it to the other. Public transportation is EXPENSIVE. The money thing is a shocker; $2.60/£1. Canadian money will go FAST.

If you already have the job offer and the requisite work permit or visa, that will help immensely. I was told that they would never make a bona fide offer over the phone without seeing me in person first, came over here in person and got SCREWED. But then, I gather that the rest of the world expects "Canadians" not to be "Red Indian" or God forbid any other race than white, or whatever can pass for white. I gathered that from being in the States for many years, but apparently England has become Americanised in regards to that.

Get used to being called "American" a lot. ALL Canadians face that problem. They are accustomed to scorning Americans over here, and we don't sound different enough from them for the British to get it right, let alone the foreigners. I have been told Canada is America, Halifax is in the United States, Mexico is South America, etc. Wear the Maple Leaf loud and plainly visible at all times. Sometimes it helps, sometimes people actually don't know what country that symbolises.

East London is actually better than the rest of it because they're not used to having visitors, they're more used to having people actually stay there.

HI Donnaone,

I have just come across this website and saw your post. I just had to sign up to reply to your message.

I'm orginally from Toronto, but now live in London. In Lewisham, in fact. I moved here because I married an English man and this is where he lives. It was very hard to leave Canada and my family behind. Luckly his family has been very supportive, and I had another friend in England who had done a similar thing. It was very helpful to talk to her about our similar experances.

Althought they speak the same language over here and the culture seems the same, there are little things that at frist seemed very strange.

I've been here for almost 4 year now and feel very settled now.

I'm sure there is more I can tell you, but thought I'd introduce myslef and if you'd like to talk more send me a private message.