Living and working in London

Cost of living

Although London is generally regarded as the most expensive place to live in the UK, in 2012 it was found to be only the 26th in the world for cost of living (Mercer).  

 

Websites showing cost of living

• Workgateways [external]
• NRIOL (Non Resident Indians Online) [external]
• Numbeo [external]

 

Getting to LSE

 

LSE is located close to the tube (Temple Station, District and Circle Line or Holborn station, Central Line) and several bus routes. The closest overland station for commuters living in the suburbs is Waterloo.

For detailed information see our Maps and directions pages.

Take a virtual tour of LSE's campus.

 

Getting around

 

Public transport (bus and tube) in London is run by Transport for London (TfL).

A variety of ticket types are available, both paper and electronic, including theone-day travel card, which you can buy at stations, and the electronic Oyster card.

Useful websites

• Transport for London for information on tickets, getting around and service updates.
• Cycling information can also be found on the TfL website
• National Rail Enquiries to plan rail journeys into London or around the UK

Medical care

Once you have some accommodation, you should register with a doctor (in the UK often known as a ‘GP’ or general practitioner) in your area. The National Health Service (NHS) website can help you find one.

• NHS Choices

 

Shopping

Food: for everyday needs, several of the UK’s biggest supermarket chains have small outlets in central London. For a treat, visit historic Borough Market in Southwark Street, or Berwick Street Market in fashionable Soho.

Fun and fashion: for clothes or gifts, head for the famous Covent Garden Market (walking distance), or Oxford Street and the West End.

Books: as well as Waterstone’s Economists Bookshop on campus, there are many good bookshops in central London. You can find Foyles and Blackwells in Charing Cross Road and a bigger branch of Waterstone’s at Gower Street.

Free time

When it comes to wondering what to do with your time off, you’re spoilt for choice in London. Here are the websites of some well-established organisations to help you decide:

General information about what’s available in London (external sites)

• Timeout.com – London pages of the well-known listings magazine
• Visitlondon.com – official London visitor guide
• Rough Guides (London) – online information from the travel guide people

Green spaces

• Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the largest public square in London, is just behind LSE
• City of London: parks
• Kew Gardens

Libraries

• The British Library of Political and Economic Science – LSE’s very own library, with its outstanding collections 
• The British Library – a copyright library with a collection of over 150 million items

Attractions

• Time Out’s top 10 attractions in London

Close by

Some of the interesting places near LSE, many of which are within walking distance

• The Houses of Parliament

Theatres 

• The National Theatre
• Shakespeare’s Globe 
• The Old Vic

Museums and galleries 

• Tate Modern
• The National Gallery
• The National Portrait Gallery
• The British Museum
• The Sir John Soane Museum - house and museum of the architect Sir John Soane, which is kept as it was at the time of his death in 1837 
• The Hunterian Museum – a medical museum based at the Royal College of Surgeons
• The London Transport Museum