For all you Brits out there...

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So I've just been wondering about studying abroad for a semester, sometime in my junior year (which is still a year off, but I've got to plan in advance, no?) and was thinking about going to London.

Now I was just wondering about the living conditions in London, i.e. is there a lot of stuff to do, is it too noisy or anything, is the weather sad and dreary like most people say, etc.

Also, I'm an engineering major, and was wondering what schools are good in that field.

Much appreciated~

 

Well, lucky for you Imperial College has an amazing engineering department. The only draw back is that London is ridiculously expensive to live in, although there is a lot to do in the city. In a rush so that's all I have just now, might post more when I get back from work.

 

yeah, London is extremely expensive. You would probably be looking at about £30 per week on food, and about the same on transport (at least thats how much I spend).

Yes, the weather is a tad dreary and grey. You get some really great summer days, but alas just not that many. It doesnt rain constantly, but it rains a fair bit and the sky is usually clouded over.

Other than that, there is plenty to do, lots of things to see, lots of bands to watch, lots of cool places, nice restaurants, nice parks, good museums (although I havent made the time to see them).

I come from a much warmer climate (South Africa), so sometimes the greyness does get to me, but in general its not a bad place.

No idea about universities though.

 

Don't move to London if you want a taste of England, there aren't any English people there. And yes it's noisy, smelly, busy and all in all unpleasant. Unless you like that kind of thing.

 

What about lodgings?

 

Not sure, as I've never lived in London, but I'm pretty sure that student accommodation there is more than other cities. In all likely-hood, this'll apply to non-student accommodation too. London is known for being a very expensive place to live.

If you've never lived in the UK before you'll probably find there are a lot of grey, kinda rainy days regardless of where you stay. I don't know how much London has cleaned up, but it was always said to be very polluted in the past.

 

It still is! Accomidation there will cost you a *lot*

I suggest you actually read up on universities instead of planning on location first. Wherever you go in Britain will be quite a lot different to the next city or county

So wherever you go will be an experience of some sort.

London has some very beautiful architecture in some parts, and others is very grey and dismal. The pollution does affect the weather though as well as the density of living.

That said apparently Bath is the third most polluted city in europe and is still incredibly beautiful and has good Summers and seems less grey than London probably because of the density, again.

 

Hmm, you could probably get a room for as little as £300 per month. Dont expect much more than a closet at that price though. More typically you would be looking at £400 per month, especially when bills are taken into account.

I've seen some other parts of England, and I have to agree that London isnt English. Its something else.

 

I'd say £300 is quite a low estimate. Perhaps for a cupboard, yes. Accomidation round where I am is £300 each for cheap, shared accomidation. With bills on top of that.

 

If possible try somewhere up north. The people are generally friendlier, everything is cheaper, and the countryside is better.

As for London, it might be cheaper for you to get a place outside and commute, but as I try to avoid London like the plague, you'll need another SPer to confirm this.

 

Quick answer to each: there is so much to do in London you'll never get close to being bored. The city is extremely noisy as others have mentioned and pollution is terrible especially if you're not used to it. The weather's nowhere as bad as people say, compared to Scotland at least! Yes, it'll rain on some summer days but on average it's not too bad. But London is very, very expensive, especially if you're coming from abroad. Everything is significantly more expensive than the rest of the country; don't be surprised if prices are double (or more) that of other cities (I'm comparing to Edinburgh, which is relatively expensive to begin with).

Plenty of English people in some parts of London. However they tend to be the rudest, most obnoxious people you'll meet in the country (true of every big city I've been too, unfortunately). There are lots of nice people of course, but it's hard to meet them among the 8 million people there.

I wouldn't count on less than £400-500 excluding bills. London's always been expensive, but rent seems to be going up in some places. You'll be able to find a relatively good and reasonably priced place but you'll need to do some digging to find it.

Commuting daily will bring its own set of problems. If you're commuting from outside the urban London you'll have to use the trains. Depending on whether you need to change and then use the tube you could be be looking at £10-15 per day and an hour and a half commute each way. Buses are cheaper but take longer. And naturally you'll have to contend with "snow on the tracks", "cows on the track", "leaves on the tracks", "unstable bridge ahead", "is there a policeman on board?" and every possible bizzarre excuse for the train stopping in its tracks.

 

I'm a Londoner and English at that. I wouldn't live anywhere else. Oh and it's hot today and sunny. We do get sunshine sometimes...
Yes, London is very expensive but I'm sure you can get a flatshare or somesuch.
Londoners are (in general) unfriendly compared to, say, folk from up north, and commuting can be a pain, though usually it's OK - just depends what line you're on as they're all contracted out to different companies and some are better than others. As for the tube in rush hour, imagine being pressed up against a bunch of hot, smelly, grumpy people in 40 degree heat and you won't go far wrong...
I still love London, though.

 

Hmmmm.....I had heard that London was expensive, but didn't think it was THAT expensive...

The dreary weather I can live with, and commuting won't be a problem (Seoul is about the same, if not worse, on the subways). The pollution I won't really know until I get there.

I was trying to go there because a) I want to live in Europe for a while and b) I don't have to be fluent in a different language (I do know French, but am not completely fluent...and they don't have programs for students in BSs for engineering anyway). Plus, schools outside London in Britain didn't seem to have engineering programs.

This is going to be a lot more hectic than I thought

 

Hmm, well (and I'm asking this for my own sake because I have rather similiar plans) - in my case, I wouldn't need to go to University and thus would have no need to stay at London specifically. Could anyone recommend some nice non-London places to stay with hopefully nice jobs and lower living costs?

I'd still want to live around London because it's one of the hubs of Europe and from there I could take cheap flights to other countries (or so some internets sites would have me think...is this true, even?).

 

Eh? Edinburgh's two main universities both have engineering programs (and I suspect the third one does as well). I've not checked other universities but I would be very surprised if, at the very least, Manchester, York and Newcastle didn't. That said if you're looking for a specific engineering program that's another matter.

 

Yeah that's true enough but you don't have to be in London to fly. The best and easiest airport I find is East Midlands (but then it's about a half hour drive from me).

London is horrible I think. I spend all day on the phone to Londoners, at least 60-70% of them aren't English. This is not a massive deal to me, but then a good chunk of that percentage can't speak a word of the bloody Queens. It's a nightmare. I speak to VERY few people who aren't self-obsessed, impatient obnoxious swines (there's exceptions, some are lovely). And don't me started on that bloody tube. I support the IT for that place and wouln't go on it if you paid me! Sweaty, irritable, self-important rude idiots all carrying bags pushing past you without apologising. I hate the tube, mkes me feel so clostrophobic (whatever spelling, can't be arsed).

Move up north, you'll be much better off. You could move to just outside London, but to me anything below Birmingham is south and therefore over-priced. You can't get a decent fish and chips in London either, unless you want to spend a fiver on a crappy Harry Ramsdens. They rip you off on beer as well, don't expect to pay under £3.50 for pint down there. Oooh, I'm a boy from t'North, proud orrit and I love me graaavy!

 

Kenixkil, Ziad is right. London is certainly not the only uni to offer engineering programs- I know that Glasgow does for sure. Have a look around at what the others can offer.

 

How could I forget Glasgow! Strathclyde Uni is quite good.

Spot on Barmy. What bothers me the most about the Tube (and London in general) is that it has a tendency to turn me into an irritable rude idiot after just a of day of being there, considering the only way you can get to where you want is by pushing past people who insist on blocking passages and who naturally just glare at you if you politely ask them to let you through.

You sound like a boy from the North even when you type
Though I would hardly call the midlands North. Anything south of the Borders is South as far as I'm concerned