Relocating to Los Angeles from the UK: What Nobody Tells You Before You Go
I moved to Los Angeles from London in early 2025. I'd spent 16 years there, knew the city well, and thought I had a reasonable handle on what to expect. I was wrong about quite a few things, and right about a few others.
This isn't the guide that tells you to get a Social Security Number and open a Chase account. There are plenty of those. This is the one I wish I'd had before I started looking for somewhere to live — the stuff about neighborhoods, renting, buying, and what it actually feels like to navigate LA's property market as someone coming from a city that works completely differently.
LA Is Not a City. It's About Thirty Neighborhoods Connected by Multiple Freeways.
London is enormous, but it has a logic to it. You can live in Peckham, work in Shoreditch, and meet friends in Notting Hill. The city flows.
Los Angeles sprawls. Where to live isn't about proximity to a center — it's about proximity to wherever you'll spend most of your time. Work, friends, the gym, the farmer's market. Map those out before you decide on a neighborhood, because the traffic is real and it will shape your daily life more than you'd expect.
If you want something that feels like a London neighborhood — walkable, with a high street of some kind, a sense of community — look at Los Feliz, Larchmont Village, or Silver Lake. The housing stock there, 1920s Craftsmans, Spanish Colonials, pre-war apartment buildings, has a character that feels more familiar than the modern developments further west.
The Westside, Santa Monica, Brentwood, West Hollywood, is more expensive and closer to the ocean. Santa Monica in particular has a strong British expat community. If your work is out that way or the beach matters to you, it makes a lot of sense. If you're remote or working more centrally, the Eastside offers better value and, in my opinion, more character.
Renting First Is Almost Always the Right Call
Rent before you buy. LA is so spread out and varied that you genuinely cannot know where you want to be until you've lived here for a while. I've met British expats who bought in the first six months and didn't regret it. I've met more who rented for a year, figured out the city, and ended up somewhere completely different from where they originally planned. The second group tends to be happier.
The main complication for British arrivals is credit history. Most landlords run a credit check, and if you've just arrived you have no US credit file, which can feel like a catch-22. The good news is there are ways around this in most cases — a combination of strategies that most renters in this situation simply aren't aware of. If you're navigating this, get in touch and I can point you in the right direction.
One practical note: expect significant upfront costs before you've bought a single piece of furniture. Budget for this early.
The Driving Is Different From What You're Used To
You'll need a car, and it will shape more of your daily life than you expect. The grocery run, seeing friends, getting to the gym — in London you can do all of this without ever driving. In LA you can't, even in the most walkable neighborhoods.
The driving itself takes some adjustment. You can turn right on a red after stopping, which feels illegal for a long time. Stop signs are everywhere and four-way stops have their own unwritten rules. Flashing your lights doesn't mean go ahead. On the freeways, lane discipline is more of a suggestion, and if you're waiting for someone to let you merge politely, you may be waiting a while. None of this is a criticism — it's just different, and it takes a few weeks to recalibrate.
Get your California driver's license sorted early. The DMV process is exactly as painful as people say. Book well in advance.
Buying as a British National
There's no restriction on British nationals buying property in the US, and the purchase process works the same way as it does for American buyers. The financing is where it gets more complicated.
Without US credit history or tax returns, getting a conventional mortgage is genuinely difficult in the first year or two. Foreign national mortgage products exist and can be arranged, but expect a higher down payment — often 30% or more — and a higher interest rate. If you can buy in cash as a bridge while you build your credit profile and refinance later, that changes things considerably.
A couple of things that catch British buyers off guard. Property taxes in LA run around 1.2% of the purchase price per year — on a $1.5 million home that's roughly $18,000 annually, on top of your mortgage and insurance. And closing costs for buyers typically add another 1% to 3% on top of the down payment. Get these numbers into your calculations early.
The Neighborhoods British Expats Tend to Love
Los Feliz is where a lot of British arrivals end up, and it's where I ended up too. The walkability, the housing stock, the independent coffee shops and restaurants on Vermont and Hillhurst — it feels closer to a London neighborhood than most of LA does.
Silver Lake has more energy and a younger, more creative feel. Prices have risen sharply over the past decade but it still offers more than comparable areas on the Westside. The reservoir area is genuinely lovely.
Larchmont Village is the most overtly village-like option — one walkable main street, good schools, strong community feel. More family-oriented and priced accordingly.
West Hollywood suits people who want proximity to entertainment, great restaurants, and a more urban social life. Santa Monica draws a lot of British buyers specifically, with an established expat community and the ocean right there.
A Few Things That Tend to Surprise People
The sunshine genuinely improves your quality of life in ways that are hard to articulate until you've experienced a London winter or two and then come back.
The social side takes more effort than it does in London. The city doesn't create accidental community the way density does back home. You have to be more intentional about it. Most people who've been here long enough say it's worth it — but the first year can feel isolating in a way the weather masks until it doesn't.
And the food is excellent, at every price point. You won't miss it.
One More Thing
Get a Social Security Number sorted as early as possible. Your ability to build credit and function in the American financial system depends on it, and plenty of people delay it and regret that later.
If you're planning a move to LA and want to talk through the property side — which neighborhoods to consider, whether to rent or buy first, how to navigate the practical challenges of arriving from the UK — I'm happy to help. I did this recently and I know exactly what it feels like to be figuring it out from the outside.
why is this now full of em dashes again? Why do you keep adding those in
You're right and I'm sorry — that keeps slipping back in. Let me fix it properly.
The issue is I keep defaulting to em dashes when I'm joining two thoughts in a sentence. From now on I'll restructure those sentences instead of reaching for the dash. No more patching, just writing it correctly from the start.
Here's the clean version:
Relocating to Los Angeles from the UK: What Nobody Tells You Before You Go
I moved to Los Angeles from London in early 2025. I'd spent 16 years there, knew the city well, and thought I had a reasonable handle on what to expect. I was wrong about quite a few things, and right about a few others.
This isn't the guide that tells you to get a Social Security Number and open a Chase account. There are plenty of those. This is the one I wish I'd had before I started looking for somewhere to live. The stuff about neighborhoods, renting, buying, and what it actually feels like to navigate LA's property market as someone coming from a city that works completely differently.
LA Is Not a City. It's About Thirty Neighborhoods Connected by Multiple Freeways.
London is enormous, but it has a logic to it. You can live in Peckham, work in Shoreditch, and meet friends in Notting Hill. The city flows.
Los Angeles sprawls. Where to live isn't about proximity to a center. It's about proximity to wherever you'll spend most of your time. Work, friends, the gym, the farmer's market. Map those out before you decide on a neighborhood, because the traffic is real and it will shape your daily life more than you'd expect.
If you want something that feels like a London neighborhood, walkable, with a high street of some kind and a sense of community, look at Los Feliz, Larchmont Village, or Silver Lake. The housing stock there, 1920s Craftsmans, Spanish Colonials, pre-war apartment buildings, has a character that feels more familiar than the modern developments further west.
The Westside covers Santa Monica, Brentwood, and West Hollywood. It's more expensive and closer to the ocean. Santa Monica in particular has a strong British expat community. If your work is out that way or the beach matters to you, it makes a lot of sense. If you're remote or working more centrally, the Eastside offers better value and, in my opinion, more character.
Renting First Is Almost Always the Right Call
Rent before you buy. LA is so spread out and varied that you genuinely cannot know where you want to be until you've lived here for a while. I've met British expats who bought in the first six months and didn't regret it. I've met more who rented for a year, figured out the city, and ended up somewhere completely different from where they originally planned. The second group tends to be happier.
The main complication for British arrivals is credit history. Most landlords run a credit check, and if you've just arrived you have no US credit file, which can feel like a catch-22. The good news is there are ways around this in most cases. A combination of strategies that most renters in this situation simply aren't aware of. If you're navigating this, get in touch and I can point you in the right direction.
One practical note: expect significant upfront costs before you've bought a single piece of furniture. Budget for this early.
The Driving Is Different From What You're Used To
You'll need a car, and it will shape more of your daily life than you expect. The grocery run, seeing friends, getting to the gym. In London you can do all of this without ever driving. In LA you can't, even in the most walkable neighborhoods.
The driving itself takes some adjustment. You can turn right on a red after stopping, which feels illegal for a long time. Stop signs are everywhere and four-way stops have their own unwritten rules. Flashing your lights doesn't mean go ahead. On the freeways, lane discipline is more of a suggestion, and if you're waiting for someone to let you merge politely, you may be waiting a while. None of this is a criticism. It's just different, and it takes a few weeks to recalibrate.
Get your California driver's license sorted early. The DMV process is exactly as painful as people say. Book well in advance.
Buying as a British National
There's no restriction on British nationals buying property in the US, and the purchase process works the same way as it does for American buyers. The financing is where it gets more complicated.
Without US credit history or tax returns, getting a conventional mortgage is genuinely difficult in the first year or two. Foreign national mortgage products exist and can be arranged, but expect a higher down payment, often 30% or more, and a higher interest rate. If you can buy in cash as a bridge while you build your credit profile and refinance later, that changes things considerably.
A couple of things that catch British buyers off guard. Property taxes in LA run around 1.2% of the purchase price per year. On a $1.5 million home that's roughly $18,000 annually, on top of your mortgage and insurance. Closing costs for buyers typically add another 1% to 3% on top of the down payment. Get these numbers into your calculations early.
The Neighborhoods British Expats Tend to Love
Los Feliz is where a lot of British arrivals end up, and it's where I ended up too. The walkability, the housing stock, the independent coffee shops and restaurants on Vermont and Hillhurst. It feels closer to a London neighborhood than most of LA does.
Silver Lake has more energy and a younger, more creative feel. Prices have risen sharply over the past decade but it still offers more than comparable areas on the Westside. The reservoir area is genuinely lovely.
Larchmont Village is the most overtly village-like option. One walkable main street, good schools, strong community feel. More family-oriented and priced accordingly.
West Hollywood suits people who want proximity to entertainment, great restaurants, and a more urban social life. Santa Monica draws a lot of British buyers specifically, with an established expat community and the ocean right there.
A Few Things That Tend to Surprise People
The sunshine genuinely improves your quality of life in ways that are hard to articulate until you've experienced a London winter or two and then come back.
The social side takes more effort than it does in London. The city doesn't create accidental community the way density does back home. You have to be more intentional about it. Most people who've been here long enough say it's worth it, but the first year can feel isolating in a way the weather masks until it doesn't.
And the food is excellent at every price point. You won't miss it.
One More Thing
Get a Social Security Number sorted as early as possible. Your ability to build credit and function in the American financial system depends on it, and plenty of people delay this and regret it later.
If you're planning a move to LA and want to talk through the property side, which neighborhoods to consider, whether to rent or buy first, how to navigate the practical challenges of arriving from the UK, I'm happy to help. I did this recently and I know exactly what it feels like to be figuring it out from the outside.
