Direct: 
You’re going to be moving here; you’re prepared and ready to take on the British Empire and you’re ready to fit in with locals wherever you meet them. How hard can it be? You speak English and the English speak English… or do they? It can be a challenge if you’re not used to the way that locals speak English. It might even sound like a foreign language to you until you pick up a bit of the slang and the words that they use to pepper their conversations. Don’t think you’ll understand it overnight, even in London there are a great range of accents and regional dialects that will have you reeling when you’re in a conversation. The great thing about London though, is that it is a city of travelers, so many people here are from foreign countries and they are very enthusiastic about helping people fit in. You can expect a certain amount of ribbing and joking about YOUR accent and your origins when you arrive in London. There’s no point in taking it seriously, or getting offended, the English make fun of everyone and while it might take you some time to get used to the dry and sarcastic wit, you’ll be able to give your own back in a short time. There is only one conversational rule that you should know about when you’re going to be moving to London and it holds true for the rest of England as well. Forget religion or politics, the rule of London conversation for foreigners is ‘never discuss the weather’. Discussing the weather and complaining about the weather is a topic reserved for people who have been born in England. The Brits will carry on about the weather and how terrible it is and how little sunshine they see, but if a foreigner jumps in, even if it is to agree with the sentiment, you may get a rude awakening! Apart from that, you will have no problem meeting new people and chatting to strangers on the tube or bus. Give yourself the chance to explore your new city by meeting as many people as you can while you’re living here.
