22 Things Only Australians Living In London Will Understand

By Brydie Lee Kennedy / October 15, 2015

So you've decided to join the ranks of the few (hundred thousand) young Aussies who make the move to London. You've crossed the Heathrow threshold, dropped your bags in your new Clapham abode and set out to find work, armed with your shiny Oyster card and your trusty Youth Mobility Visa. Your parents did it, your brother had a few lost years doing it, half your mates spent last Christmas Instagramming themselves holding mulled wine and shrugging. And now it's your turn to take on the grey, drizzly city of your dreams because you watched too many Richard Curtis movies and those Instagram posts made you pretty curious about hot alcohol. You don't really expect a culture shock coming from an English-speaking country to another English-speaking country, especially one that colonised your home basically yesterday in historical terms. And, sure, some things will feel familiar - everyone drinks too much, no one likes the Prime Minister and the rent is too damn high. But whether it's the weather (cold!), the people (colder!) or the hours you'll spend underground (bafflingly both cold and hot!), London will still feel very foreign to newly arrived antipodeans. Here are a few things you will come to understand in your months or years in the mother country's mother city.