I was dizzy with anticipation when the possibility of living in London on an extended period came up. How could I not? I had always wanted to visit England, the birthplace to two of my forever favorite subjects: football and drum & bass music.
It was an irresistible opportunity. The timing was right. We had no responsibilities to attend to in Singapore and since we’ve always been working on our own, there were no leaves to apply and no limits to how long we can be away.
Even as close as one year prior, I would not have thought living in London would be possible for Wan and I. While we had been running a business together, we were caregivers to Wan’s late mother. Most of the time, we would be working from home, if not from any cafe near our clients’ meeting place.
Content List
The Opportunity
Why 4 Months?
London Weather for Tropical Natives
Living in London on a Budget
Eating Out
Cooking In
Living Cost in London
Traveling Around in London
Is London a Good Place to Live?
Living in London
The Pros
The Cons
The Opportunity
Early on in 2023, my family had been planning for a winter holiday in London. My youngest sister, K, who was working and living in London (from mid 2021 to mid 2024), wanted the whole family to spend some time with her during the year end.
While everyone in the family had their plans concrete by early November 2023, I was spiraling in a depressive episode. I finally caved and had a depression relapse. I excused myself from joining the whole family but promised K that Wan and I would spend Ramadan and Eid with her instead.
The opportunity to cheap-living in London by putting up with K at her apartment was too good to pass up! Our office is always anywhere we can work on our laptops, thus it was the golden opportunity for us to finally be digital nomads!
I was disheartened when we couldn’t join the family to visit London when they did. Spending Christmas there while having everyone together would have been nice but in hindsight, accommodating the 10 of us would have been a challenge. Oh my, imagine the queue for the shower in the mornings!
We weren’t actually ready to travel in December anyway. There were matters that needed our attention in Singapore and Zee wasn’t in the best of mental health to travel. Once we worked things out, we decided we should spend Ramadan and Eid in London to keep her sister company since she would be alone during the festivities.
So February to May it was!
We’ve always had the idea of being digital nomads and this trip kicked off our digital nomad lifestyle. What better way to start by spending 4 months in a place we both had never been before while enjoying the comforts of convenience and familiarity.
Why 4 Months?
As K was ending her work term in London by mid-2024, it would not be economical for her to return to Singapore for Eid. Wan and I decided to come in February and stayed through K’s last month in London. We eventually helped her with the packing of her stuff to be shipped back to Singapore as her tenancy ended.
The decision to stay for 4 months was quite a consolidation of factors. Coming into London in February, was so that we can celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary there. March was already the fasting month of Ramadan.
This was my main reason for coming to London – to be there with K during fasting month.
April was Eid. We stayed through May to help K with packing and cleaning up her apartment before handing it back to her landlord at the end of her 3-year tenancy.
As Zee mentioned, the decision to spend 4 months living in London kind of came up by itself. We would be there for the last leg of K’s tenancy. It meant that we get to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary along with Ramadan and Eid.
February to May also marks the last 4 months of the English Premier League calendar for the season. Being a Liverpool Football Club fan, it was the perfect opportunity to watch a live match in Liverpool which is a train ride away from London. I had to make it happen!
London Weather for Tropical Natives
When we first arrived in February 2024, it was still winter in London. I am one who loves and prefers the cold. My eczema and perimenopause hot flashes mean I enjoy being in the cold weather. On the other hand, Wan cannot withstand too cold weather.
Arriving at a single digit temperature in degree celsius, we both had down jackets to keep us warm whenever we were outdoors. It took us 2 full weeks – having sinus and cold throughout – to finally adapt our bodies to the cold weather.
When the temperature got slightly higher in the supposed Spring, I realized I only needed the down jacket when the temperature dipped below 10ºC. Anything above that, I was good with just a cardigan or a pullover.
Indoors, while the double-pane windows help with keeping the cold out, we would always have socks and home slippers on.
I am terrible with the cold so I was well-prepared prior to arriving in London by packing thermal wear and hand warmers. At least I thought I was.
Nothing could have prepared me for the winter cold in London. On some days I had as much as 4 layers plus gloves and a wooly beanie when we were out and about, but that was still not enough for me. Being a skinny dude does have its disadvantages!
Amazingly, while it was cold, my sinusitis condition didn’t act up as much as it would back home in Singapore. It took me the first 2 weeks for my body to adjust to the London climate. I didn’t suffer the runny and stuffy nose nor the wild sneezing that I was used to. That was a nice change.
The temperature gets warmer and better for me as we transition from winter to spring in April. There was even a day or two when I was perfectly fine with wearing 1 layer of t-shirt while being out. Spring is definitely my favorite season now.
Living in London on a Budget
On the average across the period we were living in London, we spent a collective $1900 monthly; which is slightly below £1500.
I tried to cook as much as I could for the 3 of us. I did come up to London with a luggage full of cooking pastes, sambal tumis and other foods from Singapore. Surprisingly, my supplies were stretched beautifully through the whole 4 months!
Unlike tourists who would stay for a week or 2 and could blow a trip budget during, we had to stretch our income to accommodate our 4 months of stay in London. We share a monthly income from a retainer client, and we also earn respectively from our individual pursuits.
London can get quite expensive. It is, after all, one the most expensive cities to live in the world. We had to watch our spending.
We didn’t do much shopping and we did as many free things that London has to offer. The free entry to almost all of the museums were the best! We cooked and ate in as much as we possibly could as eating out in London can get quite costly.
Eating Out
Occasionally we head out to find halal food in London, and sometimes, I would be cooking in.
One thing that caught me by surprise is that the cost for you to eat in cafes or restaurants would cost more than if you were to take out. In Singapore, we are used to paying for packaging at about $0.25. However, in London, the prices between eating in and taking away your food varies from each item on the menu which can be as much as £2/$2.25
There were also times when we took the convenient option of getting pre-packed salad from M&S Food. While there were no halal options from the range of salad, I loved the salad with fish options. I am allergic to shellfish, thus, my options were narrowed down to salmon, tuna and calamari.
Cooking In
While eating out can get quite expensive in London, eating in was much easier with reasonably-priced groceries from supermarkets like Sainbury’s or Waitrose. It would be cheaper from the budget-tier supermarkets like Tesco, Lidl or Aldi. Unfortunately they were not available in the area of Central London where we were.
The produce sold was much fresher and in some cases, bigger than what we are used to in Singapore. Of course, some things can be expensive there, especially tropical fruits like watermelons but if you stick to locally produced goods, you are golden.
Another thing that I noticed and loved about London is that eating healthy is quite easy. There are ready meals that you can buy from the supermarkets and places such as Mark & Spencer’s Food where take-away salads and pasta bowls are affordable. We sometimes resort to these when we either don’t know what to eat or are too lazy to cook.
Of course we had to skip those with meat in them as none of them offer halal options, sticking with those that had seafood or vegan options in them. My favorites are the Mango & Crayfish Rice Salad and the Prawn Layered Pasta Salad from M&S. Convenient, delicious and filling enough.
Living Cost in London
We saved our budget from any rental as we were putting up at K’s apartment. Our shared monthly budget was £1500 ($1900). Only 4% was spent on transportation.
While London is well-connected with its many train lines, the cost of traveling by train is slightly on the high end. I preferred the bus when we were not trying to cover many places in a day. We had to be mindful of peak hour traffic too.
The average cost of traveling on a touristy day is about £13 ($16.50) per person. This got us to from Victoria Station to Wembley Station for our tour around the Wembley Stadium.
We spent a bulk of our budget on eating out and groceries. Depending on where and what we eat, it could cost between £30 to £50 ($40 to $60) on average for the two of us. We tried to eat as much local food as we could to help bring down the food expenditure as well.
Traveling Around in London
As we were staying with K, we did not spend on any London accommodation. We mainly spent our budget on food and expenses. Only a small amount went to public transportation.
We spent most of the 4 months traveling around London on public buses and the tube. There was only once when we had to take an Uber because we had a very early train to Paris to catch.
Traveling around in London on public transport was pretty much similar to how it is in Singapore. The tube can be a challenge to navigate due to its numerous lines (11 lines as compared to just 6 in Singapore) but if you consult Google Maps or CityMapper on your phone, it makes navigating around easier.
There is no need to get an Oyster Card. You can use any of your debit or credit cards to tap in and out of the trains and buses – just remember to use the same card. We used our Youtrip cards for this.
Is London a Good Place to Live?
This question is subjective and really depends on the individual. Being a creative myself, I would love to be able to live in London.
London is buzzing with creative energy, something that Singapore sorely and sadly lacks. Walking and commuting around London would inspire me very much. It has a thriving art scene, world-renowned museums (which offers free entry) and interesting cultural offerings.
There is plenty to do in London; green spaces for walks and runs, and there is always a musical or stage play you can catch every night. Most musical acts always include London as part of their tours. There are over a 100 museums to go to. There are plenty of sporting events happening all year round, especially football matches to catch. So so much to do!
The possibilities are endless as a creative person in London. The 4 months spent here has given me just a glimpse of it and I can’t wait to return again someday.
Being a very visible Muslim and having spent 4 months (that’s a third of 2024!) in London, I do believe London is a good place to live.
As I experienced living in London like that of an expat, I may be biased. After all, K’s apartment was smack in the middle of London Central; less than 1km from the Birmingham Palace.
Cars were driven at a cute pace of only 20 mph around the city. Drivers were usually polite and would always let pedestrians cross the roads – something I rarely witnessed back in my hometown.
Living in London Pros and Cons
The Pros
As I mentioned, one of the pros of living in London is there is so much to do and see. I can safely say that you can never run out of things to do or places to visit in London. Even if you are on a tight budget, there are still plenty of things to do for free.
There is much diversity and inclusivity in London. On any given day while being out, you can hear a variety of languages being spoken. The diversity not only comes in nationalities but in races, religions and cultures too. People in London are much more open-minded and wouldn’t bat an eyelid if there is someone wearing something out of the norm there.
One of the pros of living in London is the inclusivity. As a foodie, halal options were plenty and without much worry. There are also masjids and prayer halls within the local community.
The freedom of self-expression is also something I noticed. You can be walking down the street in the loudest of Pride colors freely. I loved seeing how colorful the streets are with people of all walks of life.
The Cons
As for cons, living in Singapore has made me realize how many things we take for granted. Things basically just work and if it doesn’t, you know someone will come to fix it.
There were strikes in London where the train services would affect our traveling plans. The internet crawled and the data in our mobile phones were not much better. There was no reception while commuting in most of the tube lines hence why plenty of Londoners read books while commuting.
I was surprised that the London Underground trains mostly are non air-conditioned! Having arrived in London, all bundled up in the winter chill, it was pretty warm and stuffy during peak hour for me who easily sweats.
After being home in Singapore for almost a month now, I do miss living in London. Yes, it may only be for 4 months, but that is enough for me to fall hard for the city.
Looking back, I am glad we had the opportunity and dare I say privilege to have lived in London for 4 long months. It was an experience of a lifetime that I get to share with Wan. With that, it kickstarted this blog into living on the internet.
And here we are, sharing one story at a time with you.
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