A few weeks ago, I received this email from a girl called Caity, with a broad & vague question:

I’ll be studying close to London this summer- any advice?

London is all that I know & love. I’ve never studied in Central London, so I don’t feel qualified to give specific studying advice, but living in London, I’m a dab hand at…

Study-time

Image by Mil

London is home to more than 90,000 international students from over 200 different nations, so it’s no surprise that you want to study here! (You should remember that too, when you’re feeling alone in a new & strange place, that there are 89,999 people in the same boat, so break the ice & say hello!) There’s a lot to consider when you’re moving to another city, or even country, particularly when it’s a big, bustling place like the Big Smoke! It can be a big culture shock for a lot of people, especially when you realise just how busy it is here, all the time. It can be hard to find a moment to yourself!

Remember to work hard, have fun, make use of everyone at your disposal to help your studies & make sure you mingle with your peers– if you’ve come from abroad, you have the perfect chance to immerse yourself in a brand new culture & the potential to make life-long friends. Gala has a great article on how to settle in to a new city & make friends.

Getting Around

Image by Fabbriciuse

London is a rich, multicultural & dynamic place, that has a lot on offer, so the first thing to do is familiarise yourself with your surroundings. If you’ve come from a really quiet & small town, then the underground might seem daunting, but don’t worry as if you start heading in the wrong direction, you can always jump off & onto a train the other way, which is why I’d always suggest buying Oyster Card to save you money, especially as you can use it on buses & some trains too. You can grab a free tube map at most underground stations, but a lot of diaries / planners will have one at the back. Alternatively you could download & print one out from the internet beforehand! This is also a really good map, with universities & places of interest on it as well.

Food & Drink

Image By Kake Pugh

With so much food on offer, it’d be easy to eat-out or get a takeaway every night of the week, but if you’re on a budget, buy your groceries from a nearby supermarket (or support local businesses by going to your local butcher & food market.) You could even order your food online, if it’s easier. If you are going to have lunch / dinner out, go to a cafe or pub, for delicious meals ranging from burgers & fries, to fish & chips, to sausage & mash, to salads.

There’s restaurants & pubs on every street, but check out Baozi Inn, Square Pie & Tibits. Remember to look out for buffets, 2-for-1 offers & subscribe to Money Saving Expert’s restaurant deals to hunt out some bargains!

Nightlife

Image by Aubrey Arenas

As you can imagine, London is expensive (& busy), so it’s always good to look out for vouchers & special offers. Try & ring ahead if you’re going to a specific club & see if you can wangle a space on the guest list. A lot of places will honour this, if it’s a birthday or something special. It might not mean free entry, but it’ll certainly save you from waiting in a queue for hours! Check out Matter, The Underworld & KoKo as well as your Student Union bar. With great transport links, you don’t have to go out in London town itself- check out Croydon (Tiger Tiger, Reflex or The Black Sheep Bar), Kingston (Oceana), Brighton (Honey Club) or any other easy to reach place.

If clubbing doesn’t float your boat, there’s also an abundance of live music & comedy nights, in & around London, every night of the week, as well as cocktail bars including Belushi’s & 22 Below.

Days Out

Image by paulbence

Cathedrals, museums, galleries, shopping stores, parks, greenery, river cruises, 3D cinema experiences, markets, festivals, parties, theatre, exhibitions… London’s got it all! Once you’ve done all the obligatory attractions such as The London Eye & you’ve shopped til you’ve dropped in TopShop, H&M, Selfridges & Harrods, you might feel like you’ve exhausted all that London has to offer, but keep your eye on Time Out’s What’s On page for one-off experiences & bizarre attractions. Also, remember that as well as the flagship stores along Oxford Street, there are tonnes of markets, vintage stores & charity shops to rummage through too, for one off pieces.

Sometimes, a girl just needs some time out, so go & do something different. Go & scream on rollercoasters at Chessington World of Adventures & Thorpe Park, feed lambs at Godstone Farm, throw pebbles into the sea at Brighton Beach, coo over cute animals at London Zoo, fly a kite on Hampstead Heath, go to a chocolate-making workshop, go to leafy Surrey for a bike-ride, have a picnic in Hyde Park, watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, go to a pole-dancing lesson & have fun! If you look closely enough, there are lots of free things to do too.

London can be big & scary, but there is so much to do, right on your doorstep. I’m not advocating the neglection of your studies, but if you’ve been given the chance to live in a new city/country for a year or more, use your time wisely & take your head out of your books every now & then, to look at this amazing new place that you’ve landed in.

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	Filed under: Articles, Hints, Tips and Advice, Life and Love, Travel On: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Love: 8 Comments »