Complete Residents Guide to London
Advice on Living in, Working in and Visiting England's Capital City
Explorer Publishing's Complete Residents' Guide to London is a good travel guide to England's capital, but is aimed at people relocating or living and working there.
Relocating to a new city or country is a daunting experience, especially to a big city like London, New York or Beijing. Apart from the upheaval of moving home, and either starting a new job or being with a husband or wife who is starting a new job in a foreign city, there is the whole question of culture shock. You don't only have to find your way round the city streets, you have to find your way round the customs and manners of your new home. What's needed is a Complete Residents' Guide to London, or wherever.
Fortunately Explorer Publishing has recently brought out the Complete Residents' Guide to London in their expanding series aimed at people who are relocating to live and work in another city or country. Although aimed at people moving abroad, they are so detailed and comprehensive that travelers should also find them useful, and even residents who have lived there for years.
The Complete Residents' Guide to London weighs in at a massive 496 pages, so as well as providing masses of useful information you could also use it to stand on to get a better view of the Lord Mayor's Show or to fend off muggers if you venture into the wrong part of the capital.
In fact, joking apart, what is the crime situation in London? The Complete Residents' Guide has it covered, with two pages of detailed information that is accurate and sensible, without being scare-mongering.
There are several pages on renting property in London, and on buying property, explaining how the English legal system works, and the various fees and types of mortgage. The various residential areas of the city are then described, explaining what they're like by way of Good Points and Bad Points, Accommodation, Shopping and Amenities, Eating and Drinking, Education, Transport and Safety/Annoyances.
The Complete Residents' Guide to London: The British health service
The British health service is also fully explained, including how to register with a doctor, and how to find a National Health dentist in your area – although no mention is made of how hard this is at the moment, with a national shortage of National Health dentists.
So that you can enjoy London once you are resident there, the Complete Residents' Guide then gives over masses of space to London's attractions, which is why it would be a useful book for both tourists and existing residents of the city. From national monuments to nature reserves (yes, there are some good ones in London), from art galleries to zoos, everything that makes London a great city to live in as well as to visit is covered in detail.
The Complete Residents' Guide to London: Sports and Activities
Under London's Sports and Activities, there are listings ranging from American Football to Writing Classes, from Darts to Yoga, via Birdwatching, Diving, Language Schools, Wine Tasting and Watersports. Watersports in London? Yes, there are several sailing clubs, including out in the Docklands, and Rowing Clubs too, up and down the River Thames.
Shopping, restaurants, bars, clubs, cinemas, comedy clubs, theatre, poetry... they're all here, in great detail, which is why the book runs to almost 500 pages. The Complete Residents' Guide to London is just that, and as impressive as it is comprehensive. Explorer Publishing and its team of local London writers are to be congratulated on producing the only guide you'll need to relocating to London, and to enjoying the city once you're there. Ten out of ten.
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The Complete Residents' Guide to London costs £12.99 in the UK, €18 in Europe and $24.95 in the USA.
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The current list of Complete Residents' Guides from Explorer Publishing that are either out now or due to be published soon is:
Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bahrain, Beijing, Berlin, Dubai, Dublin, Geneva, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, London, Los Angeles, New York, New Zealand, Oman, Paris, Qatar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vancouver
Check them out at the Explorer Publishing website.
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