At some point you’ll have to make a decision on what to take and what to leave. And you’ll naturally want to only take things that you can’t get in the UK to save on space. How do you know you're making the right decisions?
How do you fit years of your life into a few bags?
You really can’t.
At some point you’ll have to make a decision on what to take and what to leave. And you’ll naturally want to only take things that you can’t get in the UK to save on space.
Let me tell you this
You're making a BIG mistake!
I get it. It’s a big move. It’s bound to be confusing. But here’s thing, once you’ve gotten to the UK, you might have already made a mistake which is why its really important for you to plan ahead.
And I know you have a lot on your plate which is why I’m doing the heavy lifting for you today.
Electronics
Don’t buy electronics in the UK if you can help it.
A lot of you might think that electronics are cheap in the UK because they’re cheaper than most countries in the US.
But that is a very big misconception.
So you have to understand, the cost of an item has a tax component to it. Plus its also about the source of the item.
Electronics are cheaper in the US because a lot of the brands are registered there. But in the case of UK, nothing is manufactured or assembled here plus there’s tax. Put it together and it ends up being more expensive than many other countries, India included.
A Macbook air with the M2 chip 8GB & 256GB storage costs £1,249 in the UK but costs ₹119,900 in India which is approximately 1201, which is a difference of £48 which is about ₹5000. The same goes for other electronics like phones and watches, earphones and the rest.
The only thing you should bear in mind is that wherever possible try and get international warranty so you’re covered especially for phones. I mean laptops to be honest, I’ve been using the same Macbook air for about 6yrs now and I haven’t had any challenges.
2. Home-wear
Don’t buy inexpensive clothing in the UK when you can buy it from your home country.
If you’re coming from a country where lounge wear or pyjamas are not expensive, buy it there. The same goes for socks, regluar wear t-shirts
Let me tell you why.
If you take the example of India, a regular set of pyjamas cost about Rs. 500. But if you need to buy a set of pyjamas in the UK, its going to be at least £15 at a budgeted store. If you look for something a little better, you’ll end up paying £20 and above.
The same goes for joggers. You can buy really comfy joggers for Rs.800-1000 but in the UK you’ll end up paying a min of £15 for a decent pair.
Use this same logic for socks, everyday wear t-shirts, formal trousers. Basically regular clothes. Not warm clothes. But anything that you might need, especially if you need more than one of this piece of clothing.
3. Packaged India Food
Here’s the thing.
After we moved to the UK, we were craving India food in a month or so. And we happened to come across some packaged butter chicken masala and biryani in the stores that needed to be popped into the oven.
Obviously we were excited so we bought some but when we tried it at home, we realised multiple things
It tasted nothing like actual Indian equivalents. Everything was sweet. Butter chicken was sweet, chicken tikka was sweet. It was like eating kheer. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t what I was expecting.
All the gravies tasted the same. There was hardly any difference between butter chicken and chicken tikka.
Biryani was just coloured rice. We’ve tried biryani from so many stores now. It’s never good. Never. I’ve just given up.
4. Luxury Skin Care
Don’t buy premium skin care items from the UK
This is something I learnt the hard way.
I have a very particular skin care routine and I don’t want to change brands. I expected a slight difference in prices like a few pounds but its a lot more.
Clinique moisturiser is Rs. 3100 in India and the same one is £40 in the UK!
5. Touristy items
Don’t buy touristy items when you come to the UK
You’re going to be intrigued. You’ll see an I love London t-shirt and you’ll want to get one. Or you’ll see a Oxford sweatshirt while you’re visiting Oxford and you’ll want to pick one up.
Don’t fall for the trap!
The fact is that these items are meant to trap tourists into parting ways with their money based on whims because they want to take back souvenirs. But you’ll be living here, you aren’t a tourist so you don’t need the souvenir.
To add to it, these items are usually overpriced for absolutely no reason and so not worth it.
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Until next time!
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