London is an expensive place to live- and eat. Especially
when the conversion rate is around 1.5 US Dollars to 1 GB Pound. No, London is
not just a large but still quaint, English city. It is the business capital of
the world and an international melting pot equitable to living in New York
City. In preparation for my study abroad this summer I thought, “It’ll be so
great to have a flat where I can cook all of my meals. I’ll average about $4
per meal!”- No.
Any place
you study abroad you will want to experience the local cuisine as much as
possible. As someone who enjoys cooking, I have found myself cooking dinners at
home only about one night a week. I eat lunches at home another 1-2 days and
most breakfasts. Other than that, I’m always out and about in the city, traveling,
exploring new places, not worrying about getting back to the flat to make
myself a sandwich when I can pick one up on every street corner- beautifully
prepared with a side of crisps from Pret a Manger.
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Problem #2
with trying to plan ahead and keep a well-stocked fridge: the food goes bad
within a matter of days. Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve found the downside of the
fresh, non-GMO, preservative-free food populating the grocery stores in the UK-
it rots at rapid speed. Here, it’s the social norm to run to your local
Sainsbury’s or Waitrose to grab your next meal every day, maybe twice a day. Keeping
large amounts of food at home isn’t realistic for a busy student like you or
me. When your bread, deli meats, and cheese are all perishing at different
paces and you don’t want to buy a whole bottle of mustard or mayonnaise for the
1 to 2 months you’ll be here, why bother? Just go to Itsu and get some
half-priced sushi between 7-8pm and punch another notch in your loyalty card.
BUT don’t
let all this get you down! There are still plenty of ways to stay on track and
on budget while studying abroad in London:
-Sainsbury’s offers a meal deal of either a sandwich, pasta,
or salad with crisps (chips) and a drink for 3 pounds (about $4.5). Stop by in
the morning and bring it with while you’re traipsing around town.
-Have “family dinners” with your flat mates. As often as we
can, my flat mates and I take turn cooking for each other. When you buy
ingredients from the store, it’s going to be enough to feed 5 anyways.
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-Don’t spend money on water bottles. All of the tap water in
London is safe to drink and tastes fine! Keep 1 or 2 bottles at home and reuse
them.
Be sensible
with your spending on food but know that a typical meal out is going to average
6-10 GBP (tack on 4 GBP if you plan on getting a drink). This will come out to
about $15-$20 per meal.
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