Money matters I

London is an expensive city, to live in and to work in. If that’s news to you, you need to do some more research.

It’s not the most expensive in the world by miles, but it still may be a shock for you.

We have a philosophy for our holidays which is very simple and may work for you. It is:

DON’T BE CHEAP

Look, it’s a holiday. Maybe you have spent a fortune on flights and accommodation, travel insurance, someone to feed the cats twice a day, you have taken time off work, dealt with airport security and airport parking, and passport fees, and lost bags and you come to London and find Westminster Abbey costs £30 and you think that’s too much and you skip it.

But look, you wanted to see it. You may never come back here (and if you do, it won’t be cheaper) and where else can you see it? How many other Westminster Abbeys are there in the world (hint: none).

It’s fine not to go there, just don’t complain afterwards.

Don’t waste your money on things you can find at home, or everywhere. Look for local colour.

When we go on holiday, we don’t worry too much about the costs because it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. What’s a happy memory worth? But we don’t want to be conned or taken advantage of.

We can’t make your holiday cheap, but we can give some advice to make sure you aren’t scammed and get the best value you can ie not pay more than you have to.

We also have advice that directly contradicts the first advice.

Such is life…

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Organising your holiday

You’re coming to London for a reason. You must at some time have said “I really want to see/do XXX”.

When you arrive in the UK, at Heathrow say, it’s not impossible some immigration person will ask you what you are coming for, what are you going to do while you are here. They always ask us in the USA. You don’t have to do what you say, no-one will check on you. They just want to know you have sensible plans.

If you say “go up the Eiffel Tower”, you have problems. Wanting to see Buckingham Palace is just fine (just know it is massively disappointing and you won’t see the King).

It would be a shame to come here with a list of things you wanted to do, and not do most of them, so get yourself organised and make a simple itinerary. And yes, London is great for just ambling around just seeing what’s what, and you can do a bit of that too, but make a list.

We can’t do it for you. We don’t know what you are interested in. Later, we do have suggestions of things to do, but they may not appeal.

Also, if you are coming to eg see a play, go to a museum, get tickets in advance if you can. Using foreign credit cards on-line may be a pain.

Now, some museums are free and you can just walk in, but some are not and special exhibitions are often charging and will be busy.

Plus, buying tickets in advance can give your holiday some structure.

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