FUNDAMENTALS

The United Kingdom of Great Britain is subdivided into counties for administrative purposes.  In ye olde language, we might have called them “shires”.

Many of these counties are further subdivided into districts.

The local government is typically referred to as the county or district council. 

The local councils are managed by elected councillors.  These are different from the Members of Parliament who may represent the same geographic area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_of_the_United_Kingdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_counties_of_England

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-government-structure-and-elections

https://members.parliament.uk/

The UK operates on postcodes.  If you know the postcode for any place it becomes a lot easier to find.  Most people you deal with will ask for a postcode.

Try punching this post code into Google Maps: SW1A 2AA.

The first part of the postcode is the general area, and the second part narrows it down to a block.

Theoretically, all you need is the post code and the house number to get an address – no street name or town.

https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode

Not strictly, but generally the first couple of letters might correspond to the postal town.  In London, because it is quite big, the first couple of letters give a clue to where in the city the place might be.  London’s postcodes are more aligned to north-south-east-west.  Or more specifically: E, SE, SW, W, NW and N.  Generally, the numbers suggest the distance from Central London.  So SW19 is further away than SW1.  Of course there are exceptions to every “rule”, so just take this as a guestimate guide.  EC and WC for the central zone of London, where the streets are so dense, we need more postcodes.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_Postal_Region_Map.jpg

So, if someone tells you there is a job opening in N1, you know it is just a bit north of central London and probably easy to get to.  If, on the other hand the job was in SE12, then that is some distance away and may be difficult to commute to.

London is split into Travel Zones.  These are roughly concentric rings that determine the price you pay for public transport in London.  https://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help/travel-zones/

Zone 1 is the central middle bit – from Tower Hill in the south-east to Paddington in the north-west.

The zones give a hint as to the property prices.  Or rather, what you get for your money.  In Zones 1 and 2, your flat will probably small and old.  As you get further out in the Zones, the space around the properties gets a bit wider, and there might be more green space around.