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Raincoat and an umbrella!

Definitely an umbrella! And some cheese, because cheddar is good but...just for a limited time. If you leave England, don't forget to take some cider with you

You can buy  at least 150 types of cheese so that's no problem!

marialuciarae wrote:

Raincoat and an umbrella!

An excellent post.

Add a whole bunch of warm clothes for winter, and cold summers.
Much of the world has climate, but England has weather, and that can change in the twinkling of an eye.
Most of the weather involves rain and cold, especially if you head north.

As for our esteemed OP's question about cost - everything is expensive in the UK, more so when you consider the exchange rate for Sterling.

marialuciarae wrote:

You can buy  at least 150 types of cheese so that's no problem!

Don't bring food.
Much of what you're likely to bring is probably illegal to import, and England has a massive collection of international food available anyway.
I don't think there's a country in the world that isn't represented by a restaurant or take away somewhere in England, most by many such places.
This applies on a massive scale for Indian (Yum yum) and Chinese (yum yum) food, but most medium sized towns have food from most popular expat countries. French, for whatever reason, is tough to get hold of outside very large cities.
Malaysia and Thai food is also really easy to find.

I didn't realize how much i enjoy actual biscuits until I brought some mix back and made cheddar biscuits.  Those are basically non-existent here.  So bring a comfort food because although there are many similarities between America and the UK there are also dozens of small differences that will add up. 

As the other poster said, everything is more expensive here, except healthcare and traveling to other countries.  I saw a seasonal pack of Oreo's going for £7.99 the other day.   Travel within the UK is silly expensive but traveling out is cheap.  Get a cab from LHR to London for £80 or just fly to Prague for £25.

Get a dehumidifier.  These little mossy balls seem to pop up all over the place on the sidewalk and in your garden.

Essentials to live in England?...lots of money!!

I agree with Fred above, lots of warm clothes for freezing Winters and some cool summer's. In the Winter, cold just cuts through you. Un umbrella is also mandatory - my very first item purchased in London!! - and I moved there in late June of 2014.

Second- If moving to or living in London, be prepared to pay a lot for accommodation - room or apartment. The prices are very, very high. You need to have a good paying salary in order to have a decent place to live.

Not all is bad - museums are free and you have a very good choice. People in London are starving for a smile. But be careful, a smile can sometimes be interpreted as an "invitation" to something else - some men will ask for your telephone number right away - With so many people in this city, it's hard to sometimes make friends. but, my advice is to smile and be friendly. You receive so much in return. People just need smiles.

You can pretty much find everything in England except:

Niquil
Prilosec
Spaghetti squash
Nutter Butters -- you can find these but they're £10 for a medium package
Peanut butter chips - for cooking
Butterscotch chips - for cooking

In London, I've found that everything else has an equivalent, you just have to learn what it's called. Most large grocery shops have American sections and Carribean sections so the US expats out there can usually find what they need in either of those sections.

Also, why would you waste suitcase space with an umbrella when vendors sell them on every corner when it rains.