7 Apps you need when moving (or visiting) London

Y’all, can you believe I’ve been living in London now for over 3 months now!? I swear time is flying by. I’ve been in a blog hiatus due to running around the city and being deep in midterm assessments for my Masters program (read: wrote 2 essays, 1 précis and a marketing business strategy in just 2 weeks).

Moving to London has been one if the most exciting times of my life, but also full of ups & downs as I navigate getting my life set up here. From opening a bank account, conquering the tube, and making friends, there’s so much I had to figure out as I went and by asking others who have moved here before me.

I realized from my experience that there are some unspoken but SUPER helpful apps that can make your move (or visit) to London a smooth tranisition.

CityMapper

This app is a GAME CHANGER. It gives you real time navigation including trains, tubes, buses, bike, and uber travel routes. Plus the travel time is always accurate which is key when trying to run around the city! My mom was raving about this app when she was exploring the city during her last visit while I was in class. Download it right now.

TodayTix

For all my musical lovers, this one is for you! My mom and I went to see Dear Evan Hansen and started chatting with the guy to my left which is how I found out about this app. At 10 AM everyday a couple of tickets for shows that evening are released at extremely discounted prices. He showed me his upcoming tickets and was going to see musicals like Wicked, Phantom of the opera, and Frozen for as little as £15! Obviously, you have to be available to get this last minute deal but they also have other discounts and insider scoop on West End shows.

Monzo

When I first moved to London, I found myself in the never ending cycle of having issues opening a bank account while also trying to get signed on an apartment lease. The bank account needed a copy of my signed lease contract for my permanent address to open an account, while the apartment complex needed to see bank statements in the UK in order to approve renting an apartment. Enter in Monzo, which honestly saved my life. They had much less hoops to jump through and after approval through their app, my debit card was sent within 2 days. With everything being contactless these days, it’s nice not to have to go into a bank to get things done!

Onezone

My friend Rachel told me about this app, and it has been so fun to discover new areas of London with the recommendations they have. You can search by a specific neighborhood in London and it will give you ideas on places to eat, drink, shop, etc. Think of it like yelp meets open table.

Treatwell

Moving to a new country is stressful. You have to find your new go to places are for coffee, groceries, parks, and beauticians. It can take years to find a hairdresser or nail technician you love. This app has all of the best rated local beauty services where you can book and pay with a discount ahead of time. All you have to do is show up, and relax.

Wise money

Similar to my issues with opening a bank account, my next issue became figuring out how to transfer money from my US bank account to my new UK account without paying all the crazy fees. This app allows you to transfer smaller amounts down to literally $10 for a fraction of the service and banking fees.

Fever

Get all the latest scoop on events happening in London and book directly through the app. There’s lots of hidden gems in London on the site as well.

There’s obviously way more apps that I could list out that have been helpful here in London, for instance Uber, open table, and Whatsapp. But I wanted to give you some London specific apps that have truly helped make my transition here easier.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions on life in London 🤗

Until next week! x

Sincerely,

Sarah

Follow me on instagram @sincerelysarah.co for travel tips, stories, and reels!

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to get more updates on future travels and tips!