Cash Currency Conversion

Hey Folks,

I have a bit of a dilemma. I have recently arrived in the UK (last Friday) and made the mistake of bringing a chunk of my "startup" money in cash. I currently have about $500 that I need to convert to GBP and am looking for the most economical way to do that.

It is, of course, a shame that I can't send it back to my US bank and then just ATM withdraw it because their rates our great. However, that doesn't seem like a safe option.

Currently I am getting rates like $2.16 to £1. That'll result in a conversion of the $500 sum to about £231. Is that the best that I am going to do or is there some place that will come closer to the straight conversion rates I am seeing on xe.com. I know I am only losing $20, but every dollar and pound counts!

Thanks for your time.

Just to answer my own question and follow-up...

I ended up doing the conversion at a post office. Their rate was a little better then else I had found ($2.14 vs. $2.16 per £). And there is a great post office finding tool available on their website.