We just wrapped up five weeks of living in London, which feels so surreal to say because living in London has been on my bucket list for over a decade!
And instead of showing up in London as a new graduate looking for her first job (like I once thought I would), I got to live in the city with my husband (Colin), 10-month old daughter (Baby C) and dog (Ellie).
We stayed in London for five weeks as part of our Baby Trip – 9 months we’re spending slow travelling through Canada, France and the UK during our parental leave. And our dog is along for the ride too!
Our Baby Trip started with 10 weeks in my hometown of Toronto, living in my parents’ basement and catching up with loved ones. From there, we flew to Paris and then lived in Orleans for six weeks, with lots of side trips through the Loire Valley.
We drove from Orleans to Normandy, up to the northeast coast of France, took the train across to the UK, and landed in London to experience the Big Smoke for five magical weeks at Christmastime.
Below I’m going to share all of the pros and cons of living in London, what worked for us and what didn’t, some of our favourite things to do and eat in the city, and my tips for anyone else looking to live in London short term.
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Why we chose to base in London
Family portrait at Buckingham Palace
The original plan for our Baby Trip was to spend it all in mainland Europe – mostly in France and Spain. But when our France visas fell through, we had to pivot and make a plan to leave the Schengen Zone after our allotted 90 days.
After lots of research, we decided to head to the UK. Yes, it would be expensive, chilly in the winter and tough to get there with our dog, but it was the option we felt most comfortable with.
We toyed around with a few UK destinations but eventually realized we could make London work. We’d have to stretch the budget, but it might be worth it to realize a lifelong dream of mine to live in London.
You know you love London when you are this joyful on the tube!
Spoiler alert: It was worth it!
I was so excited to be heading to my favourite city, London, and to be able to experience it with my little family. To be in London at Christmastime was the cherry on top!
We knew London would offer us lots to see, do and eat. We were also looking forward to being in a big city with good transit connections, and being able to speak and read English, after our two months in a smaller French city.
What I loved about living in London
Brixton Village
There are so many things I loved about living in London. Some of the reasons why we chose London – like the good public transport, diverse cultures and cuisines, and ease of English everywhere – were huge pluses.
I really loved living in Brixton, the area in southwest London where we were based. It reminded me a lot of growing up in downtown Toronto, with lots of people out on the streets, produce markets, great restaurants and independent shops.
We lived right next to Brixton Village and found some amazing places to eat in there. I also loved shopping at the little craft and homeware stores, buying fresh produce from the markets, and admiring the street art.
The Wallace Collection (a free museum)
On most days, we’d take the tube or a bus into Central London and go to a museum or gallery. I loved that there was so much to do. As the quote goes, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” and we never got tired of London!
Being able to see two West End shows (three, if you count Colin going to see one too) while we were in London was also such a treat. I’m a huge musical theatre fan, so having easy access to London’s incredible theatre scene was amazing.
Meeting Santa at the London Transport Museum
Lastly, I absolutely loved being in London at Christmastime! I’ve visited London at all times of year, but never at Christmas, and it really was so magical. All of the lights, markets and window displays brought me so much joy.
And what I didn’t love about life in London
Our original plan was to spend the winter of 2025/2026 in the south of Spain. So comparably, London was cold, rainy and expensive. Though not as rainy or cold as I thought it would be!
You can’t fly dogs in-cabin into the UK, so we had to take a complicated and pricy route through France, requiring paperwork, vet visits and a pet taxi. I’m glad there was a clear process laid out on the UK government website, but it was still difficult and expensive to bring our dog in.
There were lots of places to eat in Brixton but not a lot to do between meals. That meant we had to leave the area anytime we wanted to go to a gallery, museum or tourist site.
And while Brixton did have good transit connections, it still took a while to get to places. Especially when you factor in travelling with a baby and needing to work around her eating and sleeping schedules.
Which I think contributes to the thing I struggled with the most in London: FOMO. I had so many things on my London bucket list that were just impossible to do given the realities of life and travel with a baby and dog.
Churchill War Rooms, something we were able to tick off the bucket list!
We didn’t get to half the things I wanted to do in London – let alone go on any day trips. It’s nice to know there’s always more to do in London when we come back, but hard to know you’re missing out on things in the moment.
Lastly, while our apartment was really nice, unfortunately we could only afford a one-bedroom rental in London. This was a big change from our spacious two-bedroom in Orleans that was walking distance to everything in the small city.
Our apartment in Brixton, London
Despite being smaller than our place in France, I really did love our Brixton rental. We were in a spacious one-bedroom with a big entryway, well-equipped galley-style kitchen, modern bathroom, and combined living and dining area.
The bedroom was nice, with enough space for Baby C’s crib and a big set of drawers we could unpack into. We also had room to shove our suitcases into the closet.
The apartment had a little patio, which we didn’t use a ton since we were there in November/December, but it was still nice to get some fresh air and light. Speaking of light, there was also a skylight which made everything feel so much brighter and airier.
There were a few tiny things I didn’t love about the place: The dining area was tight to get chairs around; there wasn’t a separate bedroom or office so I usually worked from the dining table or a chair in the hallway; and I missed having a dryer (which I know isn’t common in Europe/UK).
But overall, our Brixton apartment worked well for us! It felt very homey and it was perfectly situated within Brixton. We had restaurants, shops and a park to walk Ellie right on our doorstep; and we were minutes away from the tube, overground and buses.
Diverse, a store in Brixton 
A shop inside Brixton Village
I would definitely recommend the London Airbnb we stayed in and staying in Brixton in general. It’s not a posh neighbourhood – it’s lively, diverse and deals with issues, like homeliness and poverty, the same as any community.
But I never felt unsafe in Brixton. I loved living in a vibrant neighbourhood with restaurants, shops and art that serve its local community.
Getting around London with a baby
We exclusively took public transit to get around London during our five week stay and it worked out great. Renting a car in London doesn’t make sense and cabs are expensive, so choose public transit!
Our apartment was less than a 10 minute walk to Brixton underground station. Brixton is a fully accessible station, meaning there are elevators that go directly from street level to train level and the platform is raised so there’s no gap to the train.
This was very helpful since we always had Baby C in her stroller when we headed out for the day. Brixton is also at the end of the Victoria line, meaning we were always guaranteed to get a seat when we boarded since it was the first stop.
However, not all tube stations are as stroller-friendly as Brixton. Many are not wheelchair/stroller accessible. This may mean they only have escalators or, worse, they only have stairs.
Even stations that are accessible with elevators often required us to walk much farther to get to the lift, then stand in a long line or wait a long time to use said lift.
This was especially painful when we were at larger stations, as you sometimes had to take a series of elevators to get from your tube line up to street level. A connection that should take a few minutes often took us 5-10.
We also took buses around London, which had their pros and cons. On the plus side, it was a lot easier to get our stroller onto the bus and bus fare is cheaper than tube fare. There’s even a designated stroller-parking area on each bus.
However, only two or three strollers can fit in the designated area and wheelchairs get priority. There were a few times when drivers wanted to deny us boarding because the stroller area was full or occupied by a wheelchair user.
Luckily, we have a travel stroller (it’s the Joolz Aer stroller which I highly recommend!), so we could fold it up and still board the bus if the stroller area was full.
Look how small our travel stroller folds up!
Overall, it was a lot easier to get around with a stroller in London than it was in Paris or Orleans. London streets are much more stroller-friendly; there’s less cobblestone, sidewalks slope to meet the roads, and the sidewalks are large enough for strollers and people walking by.
Baby C also loved being on public transit! She was so happy to see new people on the bus and tube every day and always made new friends. Complete strangers would smile and wave at her, which was always lovely to see.
One person even said, “I think your baby is the only person who is this happy to be on the tube!”
Is living in London expensive?
The London Eye
Yes! The cost of living in London is extremely high. We come from an expensive city (Vancouver) so are used to high prices, but London was still a brutally expensive place to live.
What hurt us the most was the conversion from British pound to Canadian dollar; the pound is worth almost double the Canadian dollar.
We’d often forget about the conversion and then turn to each other and say something like, “Did you know we just paid $14 for a magnet?” or, “So that was $40 for three coffees and three pastries.”
Not good for our budget? Visiting Hamleys toy store!
Our biggest expenses in London were accommodation and eating out. Our London apartment was the most expensive place we’ll stay throughout our Baby Trip and also the smallest.
Eating out in London is not cheap. We didn’t do any fine dining and rarely ordered drinks with our meals, but still found ourselves paying over $100 CAD for lunch on many occasions.
A takeout feast from Brixton Village
Of course, you could save a lot of money by not eating out in London or eating out less. But we really wanted to make the most of all of the good food available in Brixton and throughout London, so we chose to spend more on food and less on other things.
Luckily, there are ways to save money in London and not everything is expensive. I was happy to see that groceries were cheaper than back in Canada. We mostly shopped at Iceland (a cheap chain grocery store) and local produce vendors.
And even with eating out, you can save a ton by going out for lunch instead of dinner and skipping drinks.
We found lots of places with cheaper set lunch menus or deals for certain days of the week, like 50% off pizza on Mondays at Mama Dough or £1 wings at The Joint on Wing Wednesday.
The V&A Museum (free entry!)
There are also so many free things to do in London! Almost all of the museums and galleries we visited were free. And most of the Christmas-y stuff we enjoyed around London was free too.
Even West End shows can be seen at a discount. By using the TodayTix app, entering show lotteries or applying for rush tickets, and taking advantage of Black Friday sales, we got all of our show tickets for £20-30/ticket.
And while TfL (Transport for London) fares are going up, public transit is still an affordable way to get around the city, especially compared to taking cabs or renting a car.
My favourite things to do in London
The cast of Operation Mincemeat taking their well-deserved bows 
Saatchi Gallery 
Hunterian Museum
We did a ton of stuff during our five weeks in London, so it’s hard to narrow it down. But I’d say my favourite experiences were:
- Seeing London all decorated for Christmas. From the street lights and window displays to Christmas shows and meeting Santa, it was a really magical time to be in London.
- Watching two West End shows. I got to see Titanique and Operation Mincemeat, both of which were new to me and excellent!
- Seeing the London icons again. It was so cool to be back in my favourite city and seeing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, but this time with my husband and daughter.
- Going to incredible museums and galleries. I was really blown away by the Churchill War Rooms, Hunterian Museum, Saatchi Gallery and Imperial War Museum.
- Eating out in Brixton. More on this delicious part of our London expat life below!
My favourite restaurants in London
Naan roll from Dishoom!
Once again, it’s incredibly hard to narrow down all of the places we ate in London to just a few favourites, but here’s my best stab at it:
- Dishoom: I dedicated an entire newsletter to how much I love Dishoom’s breakfast. The bacon and egg naan rolls are so good!
- We ate at a few different food halls around London, like Mercato Mayfair, Tower Bridge Collective and Seven Dials Market, which are fun and delicious ways to try new foods, while eating cheap and quickly.
- Common Breads: We don’t eat Lebanese food often but tried the lamb shawarma ka’ak and beef kafta manouche and both were so tasty!
- Hong Ji Dim Sum Thai Restaurant: I’m not sure how we stumbled into this spot but I’m so glad we did. The few dim sum dishes we tried were great and the Thai basil chicken dish, while spicy, was really yummy!
The Joint 
Jefferson’s 
14 Parish
I’m writing an entire post dedicated to where to eat in Brixton, because we got to try so many delicious restaurants.
Some of my favourite dishes include burgers and chicken wings from The Joint, green beans and bbq skewers from Banh Banh, earl grey honey buns from IRENE, beef patties from 14 Parish, cod fritters from Fish Wings & Tings, chocolate ice cream from Jefferson’s, and dan dan noodles from NOKO.
5 tips I’d give to someone who wants to live in London
I’ll specify that these tips are if you want to live in London for a few weeks/months with the primary goal of sightseeing and experiencing the city, like we did.
If you’re coming to London to work or go to school, or if you only have a few days in London, you’ll likely have different priorities.
1. Stay somewhere close to good transit connections
London is a huge city and the best way to get around is on public transport. You don’t want to spend half your day commuting in and out of the city.
Stay close to good public transport connections, ideally a quick walk from a tube station. Even better if you have multiple underground, overground or bus connections nearby to choose from.
2. Try new foods
They used to say that British food was terrible (trust me, it’s not!). But even if you’re not a fan of British fare, there is so much incredible food from all over the world in London.
Being such a multicultural and cosmopolitan city, London offers really high quality cuisine at all different price points. Staying in the city gives you a chance to sample food from everywhere.
Seven Dials Food Market
3. Embrace your neighbourhood
It’s easy to want to head straight to Big Ben or to try and live as close to Buckingham Palace as you can. But London is made up of neighbourhoods, each with their own charm and personality.
Take some time to explore the neighbourhood where you’re staying. Eat at the restaurants, visit the shops, walk through the parks and find out what makes that pocket of London awesome for locals.
Electric Avenue in Brixton
4. Save money in London
Yes, London is an expensive city to live in. But like I shared above, there are so many ways to save money in London.
Ride the bus, visit free museums, walk through parks and eat out at places that offer cheap lunch menus or discounts on weekdays. If you come from somewhere with a weaker currency, exploring London a budget will be even more important.
Imperial War Museum (free to enter!)
5. Do the iconic London things at off-peak times
There’s no such thing as off-season in London but there are ways and times to do the big bucket list things without every other tourist in town there next to you.
Instead of going to see the Christmas lights on Oxford street at 5pm on a Friday, go at 9pm on a Tuesday when the streets are empty. Visit the usually-packed Borough Market in the morning when the stalls are just opening, not at peak lunch hour.
And take your photo with a classic red telephone booth facing away from Big Ben. Sure, you won’t get the nice backdrop, but you also won’t have to wait in line!
Wrapping up: Would I live in London again?
In a heartbeat. I would come back to London tomorrow if I could! In fact, we might be planning another short stay in the city in the very near future…
On one of our first days in London, we had just eaten a delicious Lebanese lunch and were making our way to a Christmas shop near Buckingham Palace. The sun was shining, there were people all around us and I was in my favourite place doing some of my favourite things.
I turned to Colin with a huge grin on my face and simply said, “I’m so happy!”
As basic as it might be, London is my favourite city in the world. It’s my happy place. I have visited London 10+ times and have always dreamt about living there. I can’t believe I finally got to make that dream come true!
Happy as a clam under London’s Christmas lights!
Yes, living in London has its pros and cons. It is an expensive city. It does get cold and rainy. And it’s not as exotic or romantic sounding as living on the beaches of Thailand or in the rolling hills of Tuscany.
But London has so much going for it! There is an endless amount of things to see, do, eat and experience in London. We were there for five weeks and barely scratched the surface.
I’m so glad we had this opportunity to live in London, even if it was only for five weeks. It was so special to be in London over Christmas and to share my love for this city with my husband, daughter and dog.
I cannot wait until our return to London. And I know we’ll be back many more times after that, whether it’s to live or just to visit. My love affair with London is far from over.
If you have the chance to spend any amount of time in London, take it!
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