Flat sharing with strangers in a new city.

It can simultaneously be one of the most rewarding and unnerving experiences a 20 or 30-something can endure.

Sorting bills. Dividing house chores. Working out where’s the best place to go for coffee on a Sunday afternoon. There’s lots of different things you have to look forward to.

With that in mind, here are a few of our favourite apps that might help you along the way.

 

Splitwise

Ah, Splitwise.

It’s hard to remember a  time when flatmates would use whiteboards and fridge magnets to document who bought the last pint of milk.

That’s all a thing of the past now. Thanks to Splitwise, you and your flatmates can quickly and easily share bills and expenses all with a few clicks of a button. At the end of the month, this handy app tallies up your costs and sends useful notification to remind you who owes what.

Think of Splitwise as the impartial adjudicator in your household finances from now on.

 

Chroma

Sorting out your bills is one thing. Deciding how to divide the chores and who gets the next Brita filter is something else.

Enter Chroma.

With this handy app, you can set up multi-member groups and make to-do lists for everyone to see. Either assign tasks or let someone else pick them up. The choice is entirely up to you guys.

CityMapper

It can be hard moving to a city like London and trying to find your way around – especially if you’re hitting the ground running with a new job that’s conveniently located 40 minutes from your flat.

CityMapper is one of the best (free) investments you’ll make. Enter your location, where you want to go, and you’ll be presented with a bunch of different options. There’s even a live-transport tracker, so you don’t need to check departure times or desperately tweet Transport for London. No one needs that.

 

London Coffee Network

You didn’t expect us to write a whole blog without mentioning coffee, right?

If you’ve just moved over here from New Zealand – and you haven’t quite converted to sourcing all your caffeine from Pret – then check out the London Coffee Network.

This extremely helpful little app shows you all the best local places to find great coffee. It’s simple to use and (best of all) you can earn points every time you use it. Go to one of their hotspots, scan your QR code at the checkout, and you’ll earn one point for every pound you spend.

This app pretty much has its own community following, so it’s also a good way to meet other like-minded, brew-fanatic individuals.

Flat sharing in London

There’s no hard and fast rule for making flat sharing easier for expats in London. A good place to start though is by checking the Kiwis in London weekly flat sharing post or you can download their flat sharing app here.

But nevertheless, hopefully a few of these apps will make all the boring stuff a bit more bearable – so you can get out and enjoy everything London has to offer.

Do you have any app recommendations for expats living in London? Following us on Twitter and share your thoughts.