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Posts Tagged ‘canadians moving to london’

Relocation to London – For You…

Monday October 3rd, 2011

 Writing a blog about moving to London is easy. Writing a blog about moving here that is useful and readable is a little more of a challenge. Just this week, we received a comment from a reader of the London Relocation Services blog who asked for more specific information about recruitment for accompanying spouses. What was originally intended as a general post about the challenges facing partners and relocation, turned into an in depth, useful series of blogs on the subject of relocation jobs.

Feedback is essential to the growth and penetration of an online resource and that’s what London Relocation Services blog is all about: Delivering excellent information for people planning their relocation. Hearing from readers about what they want to read on the London Relocation Services blog is very important to us.

More attractions? More about moving? London areas and neighborhoods in depth? Banking and finance? Let us know what you’d like to read about and we’ll cover it. Some people have very specific questions when they’re planning a relocation. Americans and Canadians moving to London may have questions and issues that they would like resolved before they move.

There is no question that is too silly when you’re planning an international relocation. Your question could help others around the world who are considering moving to London. If you leave a comment we can either get back to you in person or address your question on a platform that may help other expats.

Striving to be the very best relocation agents, is not about moving as many people as we can, but about offering a comprehensive resource and personal service so you are settled into life as fast as possible. It’s about the details of your life that will make a huge difference to the success of your relocation to London.

Would you like to learn about the challenges facing expats on arrival? Perhaps more in depth information on the economy and how it compares to your own country? It’s your blog, your resource and all about YOUR relocation to London.

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Relocation to London: What Should I Bring From My Country?

Thursday September 1st, 2011

No doubt in your planning of your relocation to London your mind is full of questions as to what you should get in your home country that may or may not be available here.  As you know the dollar is weak against that of the GBP sterling, so in fact there are a few things that you really want to consider bringing with you before your international relocation is permanent and you’ll be relying on others “back home”, to send you what it is you crave.  Now I’m not speaking right now of food stuff’s for certainly there are American and Canadian brand food items that you CAN buy in England, albeit they are FAR more expensive, but that is a common thing.

For instance, when you started working with your relocation services company and your relocation agent began sending you flats and apartments you must have been amazed at some of the lease prices for such small spaces.  Yes rents can be shocking when your first working with your London relocation agent, it’s not the standard North American sized places you’ll be seeing.  Paying 2,100 GBP a week in rent in places like we discussed yesterday, Kensington area is not uncommon.  As a side note, that equates to $3,400 USD for all you Americans moving to London and $3,346 CAD for all you Canadians moving to London, oh yes, and that was a weekly price don’t forget.  Certainly there are rents to be had that are more reasonable, and your London relocation agent is just the person to speak to about it.  Let them know your price range and start by seeing properties in your price range.  But you may want to be prepared to increase your budget when you see the size of London apartments.

So what is it that you can get back stateside that you will really pay through the nose to buy in England?  Well jeans for one.  Let’s take that all American Jean Levi’s.  I priced a pair of 501′s around town and they are asking approximately 75-90 GBP for a pair of ladies boot cut jeans, which equates to $113-$145 USD, for a pair of Levi’s!  It’s about the same in CAD, $111-$143 for our Canadian expats.  So you see some absolute basics, and I do consider Levis as a basic, can be really quite expensive.  Periodically I’ll continue to update you with items you may want to stock up on while still back stateside, but for now let your planning your relocation be about where you’ll live instead of what you’ll be wearing.

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Living in London, the London Pass Series : Winston Churchill’s War Room

Monday August 29th, 2011

Churchill was Prime Minister of England not once, but twice, first in 1940-1945, during the second world war, and again in 1951-1955.  The instant thought that comes to mind for most people is his victorious efforts in World War II, and his famous orations and speeches.  Yet there is so much more to Churchill than just his status as Prime Minister and world leader.  Did you know that Churchill was an officer in the British Army, an accomplished historian, a writer, and an artist.  Until this day Winston Churchill is the only Prime Minister to have won the Nobel Peace Prize for literature.

Churchill was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States, (for all you Americans moving to London).  There is so much most people don’t know about this incredibly historic figure, and when your living in London after your relocation is the best time to find out more.  The Churchill War Room chronicles the most famous of all Brits and lays out the 60 years of political service he performed.

The Churchill War Room is one of the top 10 attractions that your London Pass will get you into for free.  This is the location of the underground master headquarters of the war effort.  It’s a must see for all those living here.  What’s great about this attraction is that it’s completely interactive and runs at your own pace.  There is a 15 meter long lifeline chronicle of Churchill’s life that allows you to digitally access each and every entry point, so the visitor can further investigate beyond the displays.  There’s a great deal of footage as an expat you’ll be glad you’ve seen so you can really get a good understanding of why the native English population have such extreme loyalty and pride with this incredible icon of London.

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Relocation to London: Camden Area and Regent Park

Friday August 26th, 2011

As we are a blog about relocation to London, it’s important that we let you know about the neighborhoods so many of you Canadians moving end up selecting as a location to be here; Camden.  Camden area is a terrific area, a suburb and has great amenities in the local area.

Camden is on the north end and bordering Camden is the Royal Regent’s Park.  Regent’s Park has its own underground station on the Bakerloo line.  This outstanding treasure is 166 hectares (410 acres for you North Americans) and its rose garden is one of the most visited.  The park has excellent sports facilities of which 100 acres of the park are dedicated to.  It’s the largest outdoor sports area, for all of you moving with boys or girls into sports (or grown husbands looking for pickup games).  Regent’s Park has the world’s first Zoo opened in 1848.  The amenities of this playground for families, couples, and singles is a perfect addition to an active lifestyle in which outdoors and exercise is a priority in your living in London. For the health conscious and the nature and theater lovers who are considering a relocation to London should contemplate living near this London treasure.

The Regent Parks Open Air Theatre is one of the most intimate seating arrangement of 1,240 people you will ever be a part of.  Each summer beginning in May they put on the first of four productions that are provocative, dramatic, and very well done by the company of actors.  Being in the final of this year’s four production now playing is likely of great interest to those Americans moving to London, it’s a Charles Gershwin’s’ “Crazy for You”.

For those of you living in London whose relocation is already complete, you have two weeks left to catch the production.  Ending in just 15 days, Crazy for You is playing nightly at 7:45 p.m. and is an excellent evening outdoors enjoying something contemporary and immersing yourself in the arts a bit.  It’s also a perfect date night destination J Gershwin’s always light and uplifting to the mood and spirit, a true legend of the glamorous age of Hollywood when productions were the largest form of entertainment in the entire world.

Check out your surroundings while living here, your relocation agent can forward or email you more information about the neighborhood of Camden, and we’ll be sure to give you more posts about it and the amenties living in London’s north end has to offer you.  Just respond to this post’s comments if you care for us to send you example apartment listings and average pricing in the area, oh and please include your name and email.  With that I will leave you of a description of the Regent Park Open Air Theatre’s description on their website, having enjoyed shows there (yes on date night) myself with my significant other, I can tell you that I couldn’t describe it better myself:

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is the only permanent professional outdoor theatre in Britain. Its steeply raked auditorium is one of the largest in London with 1,240 seats, yet those who attend say it is one of the most intimate. Each night an incomparable atmosphere is created by the buzz of people enjoying their theatre going in every sense: people setting up hampers on the picnic lawn, filling their glasses with wine or drinking Pimms in the bar as the fairy lights twinkle in the trees.  

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Relocation to London: What You Must Do for Yourself When You Arrive

Tuesday August 23rd, 2011

Writing this blog I of course do read and sometimes make comments on other blogs in and around London.  For all the blogs that cater to expats I must say one thing is clear: moving to London you ARE going to have feelings of regret and homesickness once in a while. Sure gearing up for your international relocation telling everyone you know and meet that your moving is an absolute thrill.  (Partially because they aren’t aware of the stress that can be involved moving across the globe.)  But yes, it is a chance to take a bow, even if you are not the one with the new job, or the one going to school here, you are “living the dream”.  Nothing is quite as romantic and picking up with your significant other, leaving all you know behind and diving into the absolutely exciting “unknown”.  Sounds romantic no?  Well it is in a sense, but that doesn’t mean that there will never be a time when you are blue for the Red White and Blue, or the Maple Leaf of home.  Every rainbow needs it to rain first, no pun to today’s earlier post intended.

But all Americans moving to London and Canadians moving to London would do  well to follow the advice I read on every relocation services companies blog: JOIN A GROUP.  No doubt that some of you at least know about “Meet-Up” Groups.  They have Meet-Up groups of underwater basket-weaving in Bangladesh there are so many of these groups.  Becoming ever increasingly popular with the evolution of social media, think of Meet Up groups as the next step after Facebook.  Any Meet-Up group consists of people with a like interest meeting at a predetermined time and place about once a month.

Well this Meet-Up Group is made up exclusively of Canadians and Americans who have taken that big leap of romantic faith, navigated the potential pitfalls, and have come out on top with all new friends and acquaintances making London their new home. The name of the group is “The London Expat American Meetup Group”  and even their group photo looks fun.  As it goes with Meet Up groups sometimes the turn out is a bit more sparse, the very next month you may take over the entire establishment.  The point is not how many people go, the point is that everyone there is or has gone through the new things you’ll be experiencing for the first time since your relocation to London: a fish out of water just a bit.

If you think sports teams pull complete strangers together, or a hobby, try replanting and restarting your life somewhere completely foreign, needless to say, you’ll not be hard pressed thinking of what you’ll say next.  Everyone there has learned to reconnect in a new way, in a new environment, with completely new people.  For Americans and Canadians Moving to London (Don’t be put off by the name, read the home page) this Meet Up group is a must to investigate.  You may even try connecting with members via Facebook, certainly an open ended question such as, “What one thing would you have done differently if you had it to do over?” will spark a slew of answers of things you may have never considered.  It will make finally going to an event after your relocation that much smoother.

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Relocation to London: Living Overseas -Part 1

Monday August 22nd, 2011

 If your in the midst of planning a relocation to London than there are some matters you will want to familiarize yourself with pertaining to international relocation.  If your an American moving to London, or a Canadian moving to London and you are using a professional relocation services company, much of this investigation will be done for you.  Still it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the requirements.  Any persons entering the United Kingdom are subject to the immigration rules of the relocation UK.  You can always go to source sites like the British Embassy, British Consulate, or the British High Commission.

You can always visit the  official UK Government website that lists all the specific information and requirements that your London relocation agent will be helping you with during your move.  But this site will have a listing of all the British Embassy phone numbers in case your have other specific questions you’d like more clarification on. You will also find detailed information about visa requirements, application, rules, helpful travel and health advice, and warnings about trouble-spots to avoid.

Australians, Canadian, New Zealand and American citizens will need a work permit to work in England, but do not have to get a visa for stays up to and under a six months time-frame.  As the relocation agent will instruct you, you need to buy a visa from the British Consulate in your own country before you leave if you will be staying and working in the UK for more than six months.  Though if you are not working, then tourist visas only cost 36 pounds. In the next post we will visit some other good information to know and have before your relocation.

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Relocation UK: Power to the People

Thursday August 18th, 2011

 

One thing that many Americans moving to London, or Canadians moving to London fail to think about is their personal appliances.  When relocation UK is on the agenda for you and you have so many incredibly small details to think of, (which is why it’s key to use a London relocation agent, to help with the multitude of details) one is key to remember, electricity.  In Canada and back home in the United States, when you plug in an appliance the wall outlet you choose is, as industry standard, 120 volts through any wall plug or socket. Relocation UK will soon show you differently when living in London.  Any outlet you plug an appliance into there will immediately receive 240 volts, which will fry out any appliance you bring from across the pond.

While it’s not something you readily see here in North America, think of your larger appliances, like a gas dryer, or a refrigerator, those stranger looking plugs, with the large plug sizes, well that’s what is coming from the walls in London, well, everywhere in England.  While one might think, “oh I’ll just get an adapter”, not so.  An adapter stateside means taking a three prong plug and converting to a two prong, or vise versa in the States, but all plugs in the UK are three pronged.  What you need in order to use your North American appliances is a converter or a transformer.

A converter is a good choice to be able to take the U.S. or Canadian appliances and convert the voltage from the wall from 240volts to the 120 volts required to use your appliances from back home without ruining them.  Your London relocation agent will likely recommend that you use a converter power strip. Much like the power strips from back home, except that is will provide just the right amount of voltage so that you can plug in a few of your appliances you brought with you on your relocation to London.  Converters can be purchased at a hardware shop in London, or you may want to order one to have with you that first few days after your moving to London while you get initially settled.  Again, your London relocation agent can tell you where to get one if you don’t bring one with you on your international relocation.

The other item you can use is a transformer.  Unlike the small black box looking converters, a transformer is a larger metal box that is heavier and more substantial, so of course costs quite a bit more.  However it really is a better choice if you are going to plug in a power strip and you want to leave everything plugged in and not think about voltage ever again while living in London.  You can check, but most of your recently purchased televisions as well as computers are already 120/240 adaptable, meaning they will have no problem working from the direct wall sockets in the U.K.  But when you start to think of bringing the coffee pot, the iron, the hair dryer, blender, things that use a large amount of electricity in short bursts, your best bet is to purchase them in England.

Remember if you have questions about what you should and should not bring, or what type of voltage conversion appliance you need, contact your London relocation services company for advice. They are willing to help with any of your related relocation UK questions, big or small.

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Relocation to London:London Relocation Services

Wednesday August 17th, 2011

 

You know we put out this really great blog so that as Canadians moving to London, and Americans moving to London, everyone, will be in touch with everything here that is different from home.  We never do mention that it applies to us a London Relocation Services as well.  We are a different London relocation services agent.  No longer do we just make such claims, but now we’ve won awards to prove it. We’re very proud that the communities of our areas recognize how an American owned company can be operated to serve and be recognized as the best at doing just that here in England.

For individual accomodations for the corporate relocation person who is moving to London for a job, we can find exactly what you are looking for.  We will soon have you the top picks of what you want to find when you come home from work, in a neighbourhood that is feels comfortable to you.  Many popular corporate relocation apartments are within a managable distance to workplaces in the city.

We are just as set up with studio apartments and what’s available.  We have students that need a place to study and concentrate and we know where to take you.  We can recommend the city places you’ll want to be famililar with too.  There are many international relocation students, we can find people and communities that make you feel at home with others like yourself.

So we will keep giving you all your relocation to London services you have come to expect from an award winning London relocation agent, as we should, serving you and what you need most.  We thank you for the votes of confidence, the many fine referrals and of course for your readership.

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Living in London – As English as…

Wednesday June 15th, 2011

One of the things most people struggle with when moving to London is adapting to day to day living. When you’re moving to London, you must try to push that concern to one side so that your enthusiasm for the big move isn’t dampened by your anxiety for how it could fail. I think what really helps to ease the transition is discovering something that you like about your new home. It really isn’t that hard (unless you’re determined not to find anything you’ll like).

My personal list of favorite things about living in London probably amount to all the clichés that I’ve discovered are truisms. I mean the kind of things you read about in books or see in movies and then come over here and you discover that it’s just the way you pictured it in your head.  Like bangers and mash.

It really does sound like the simplest meal ever, doesn’t it? And it is. It really is. But it’s also very tasty. And when you combine ‘simple cooking’ with ‘very tasty’ you get what is officially the top recipe on The Lazy Person’s List of Cooking. Honestly, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Get some bangers (sausages if you’re new to this English thing), potatoes, baked beans (you could try gravy if you wanted but I did say this was for lazy people) and bread. Fry up the sausages, cook the potatoes and mash them, put the baked beans into a pot, get them hot and toast the bread. Now, arguably speaking, that’s more of a sentence than it is a recipe. But, like I said, it’s very tasty.

And if you’re the lazy sort of person and if it’s been a particularly trying day at the office, you could do far worse than stopping at your local Tesco’s on your way home from work, picking up the necessary ingredients and heading home for some (All together now) Bangers and Mash! It might not be up there on the list of the most wholesome meals you could eat while living in London, but it’s quick, easy and very English.

 

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Living in London – Tea for Two!

Wednesday June 15th, 2011

Immersing yourself in fine English traditions can be a whole lot of fun when you’re living in London. When you’re moving to London one of the first English traditions that you have to experience is ‘Tea and Scones’. If you want to show off that you know a bit, call it a Devonshire Tea instead of just Tea and Scones (Or Cornish Tea). Cream Tea is another common name for this popular practice. Tea and Scones is the kind of thing that’s become so ingrained in the British culture that you could go to any tea room across Britain and be offered a proper English Tea with Scones. It’s also popular outside of Great Britain and you could go as far as South Africa and be able to be served a Cream Tea.

Here then are the best places in London to get a proper Cream Tea:

The Ritz – First of all, we’re talking about one of the oldest and most recognized hotels in the world. The Ritz isn’t so much a hotel as it is an institution. And much the same could be said of their Tea’s, with five sittings a day, from 11:30 to 7:30.

The English Tea Room, Brown’s Hotel – None more English Tea Room than this. This place comes with  specially wood-paneled rooms and a pianist offering some music,  all for that classic, “olde worlde” feel (they’ve done the same at the Ritz. Pianists really do add to that high tea feel!).

The Mandeville Hotel – This place is as traditional as they come. How traditional? When they serve the tea, it’s brought in blue china cups for the men and pink floral cups for the women. That’s how traditional.

The Savoy – Much like the Ritz, the Savoy is another London hotel that’s pretty much an institution.  Again like the Ritz, you’ll have someone tinkling the ivories just to give the setting some ambiance.

And lastly, because I have a major sweet-tooth, go to The Metropolitan. All the other places I’ve mentioned have a fine selection of cakes and sweet treats but when I saw a photograph of the offering at The Metropolitan, that was enough for me to call ahead and make a booking.

Moving to London and acclimatizing to your new home doesn’t have to be that hard, although you will pile on the pounds if you make afternoon tea a daily ritual!

 

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Living in London – Ghostly Goings On

Monday June 13th, 2011

You’re settled into your new London rental; done the tourist sights and now you may be looking for something a little different. As an American living in London, it may interest you to know that the city is almost two thousand years old. Scattered all over the city are many old buildings, many of which date back to the fifteenth century.

No, this isn’t another history lesson. Something far more enticing: ghosts.

London, you see, is as famous for its numerous haunted buildings as it is for being the home of the Royal Family and there are a number of tours for you to take that show off various haunted areas of London.

The Tower of London is a popular visit for ghost-fans, seeing as it was used as a prison and saw its fair share of executions (including beheadings). Henry VI is supposed to be one of the ghosts holding residence there and legend has it that his ghost supposedly appears as the clock nears midnight, walking back and forth till the clock hits twelve.

Another famous tale of the haunted Tower of London tells of Mr. Arthur Crick, a custody guard for the tower. Apparently, he decided to take a rest from his rounds and had just slipped his shoe off and sat down when he heard a voice behind him whispering, “There’s only you and I here.” To which Mr. Crick replied, “Just let me get this bloody shoe on and there only be you.”

Another of the Tower’s famous undead residents is the ghost of Anne Boleyn, former Queen of England and married to Henry VIII. When Henry grew tired of his wife, he ordered her beheaded and her remains were buried within the Tower’s grounds. Anne’s ghost is said to be seen roaming the grounds quite frequently, scaring the living daylights of anyone who crosses her path.

Over at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End, the ghost of the theatre’s former manager, Mr. John Buckstone, who passed away over one hundred years ago, still haunts the theatre, with his voice often being heard in the backstage dressing rooms.

So if you’ve just moved and you’ve got the nerve to try it, take up one of the Haunted Tours.

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Living In London – People and Personalities

Sunday June 12th, 2011

While you’re living in London and indeed even in your own country, you notice people and services that have been influenced, aided and developed by one of the most famous Londoner’s of all time. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that an entire part of our entertainment today has been influenced by this man. Without him, we’d have no CSI, no Law and Order, no 24, and very possibly we’d never have seen Don Johnson starring in Miami Vice in the 1980’s. Okay the last one probably isn’t a huge loss, but the modern police force and investigation techniques are the work of one outstanding man: Sir Robert Peel

Sir Robert Peel

With a diverse background and a myriad of interests this man is the founder of the Metropolitan police Force and Prime Minister of England bringing about great social reforms in working conditions, industry and prisons. Born in 1788, this great Londoner has had a far reaching effect on the modern police force across the globe, as well as being active in politics and social reform until his death in 1850. A statue stands in Parliament Square right outside the Palace of Westminster.

Peel helped create the modern police force and to this day, London uniformed police officers are known as “Bobbies” as a tribute to Sir Robert. The other less affectionate term is “Peelers”, but unless you’re on the other side of the law, you’ll only ever see them as Bobbies on the Beat, patrolling the streets of London in their unique uniform and proudly acting as ambassadors for their city and their country.

One of the most important aspects of the police reform that Sir Robert placed into action concerned the ethics of behavior and investigation. This was the forerunner of the exacting standards in forensic investigation that have to be used before a person can be arrested of a crime. “The police are the public and the public are the police”, Sir Robert was fond of saying.

As a politician, Sir Robert Peel is most famous for his Factory Act. This Act of Parliament cam down strongly against wealthy industrialists who had made their fortunes on the backs of children and sweat shops. The Act regulated the amount of hours that children could work, and introduced the first basic machinery safety standards. In his second term in office as Prime Minister, he repealed the Corn Laws which protected the landowners by restricting foreign imports. Despite knowing that it could bring about the end of his political career, Peel forged ahead and broke the monopoly that had been one of the causes of the Irish Famine.

To be a police officer during the time of Sir Robert was an exacting position and required you to wear your uniform both on and off duty. London police were equipped with a wooden baton, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle to raise an alarm if need be. The rattle was later replaced by a whistle.

To this day, uniformed police officers are not armed in the United Kingdom, which is a testament to the respect that many people have for the police force. His legacy will remain for as long as there are Bobbies on the beat, fighting crime and helping you back to your new apartment after you’ve lost your way. Go on I dare you, just ask a Bobby for directions and you’ll see how friendly and professional they are.

 

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Living in London – Talk like a Proper Londoner

Friday June 10th, 2011

Many Americans moving to London are a bit baffled by the change in terms and names for things you’ve grown accustomed to in your homeland. Perfect examples are pavement to sidewalk, chips to fries and petrol to gas. It’s the kind of thing that could more than likely save you some confusion in day to day life here in London city. Asking for jelly on your sandwich may very result in you getting a large blob of wobbliness quivering between two slices of bread. Ask for jam instead.

Also, don’t worry that you’re being slightly un-PC should you ask for a dummy; that’s what they call a pacifier in these parts. Likewise, asking for a banger won’t result in a large man walking up to your table pounding his fist into his palm threateningly. Bangers are to England as sausages are to America. It’s one half of that famous national dish, bangers and mash (that’s Mashed Potatoes)

Heading to the Emirates Stadium or Stamford Bridge to take in a match? Then whatever you do, don’t call it soccer. It might make you grate your teeth if you’re a devoted NFL fan, but in England, twenty two guys gathered on a field to kick a ball around is officially known as Football. Calling it soccer could risk some rude comments from the ‘footie’ fans.

To become a true Londoner, try using the more particularly English terms, the slang if you will. If anything, learn these terms largely because of the pleasure you’ll take when you see the surprise on your English friends’ faces when they hear you throwing around the local slang.

Here then, for your edification:

It’s not a telephone, it’s called the blower.

Underwear? “Alan Whickers”, Cockney rhyming slang for knickers. Often shortened to Alans. As in, “Keep your Alan’s on!”, the English equivalent of “Don’t lose your shorts.”

Another bit of Cockney rhyming slang is Ayrton. As in Ayrton Senna. He was a world famous Formula 1 racing driver. It rhymes with tenna for Ten pounds.

Bollocks, which essentially applies to anything which can be called rubbish, drivel or nonsense. Used effectively and in the proper situation this should go some way to showing off the burgeoning Anglophile that you are. Not to be confused with ‘dogs bollocks’ though which applies to anything cool and inarguably awesome!

There you have it. There’s lots more than that, but living in London and spending enough time with the locals, you’ll be throwing around London talk with the best of them in no time.

 

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Living in London – Art Underground

Friday June 10th, 2011

If you’re moving to London, it may surprise you to find out that the London Underground is not a political movement (thanks to ‘A Fish called Wanda’ for that one). What it is, is a very convenient way of making your way around the city. The London Underground (just call it the Tube or the Underground like everyone else), is the second longest metro system in the world, it has about 402 kilometres of railway track and is used by about 3 million people every day.

The Underground serves the area of Greater London, covering everywhere from Aldgate East to Highstreet Kensington, as well as from Elephant and Castle all the way over to Regents Park and Great Portland Street. It’s a nice thing not to have to be the one making the effort with the transport, what with driving around and fighting through traffic and then having to find parking. Better to buy a ticket, catch the train and take a seat while the train carries you to your destination. You’ll only have to fork over a few pounds versus all the hassle of driving, petrol costs, the congestion and then having to pay for parking as well.

And it’s not as if you’ll be bored waiting for a train to arrive. If you don’t have a book about yourself, or your phone to surf the web, the Underground has projects like ‘Arts on the Underground’ and ‘Poems on the Underground’ to keep you entertained. Featuring the diverse art of high school students, abstract art, sculpture and pencil portraits of Jubilee line staff, you’ll spend more time looking at the scattered art throughout the Underground than you will looking at the watch on your wrist.

It’s a given that security will be a concern, but thankfully, there’s a constant police presence. The Underground works hand in hand with the Police so crime shouldn’t be a worry. That said, keep your wits about yourself and if you use the tube at night, make sure you’re with other people.

 

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Living in London – Visa Freedom

Wednesday June 8th, 2011

Many people who are moving this year will be moving to a pre-arranged job. This means that your employer will take care of the visa details for you and your family. If you are going to be living in London with your partner or spouse it might be wise to check with your employer about making sure that they will be able to work for the duration of your stay. There is nothing worse than moving to a foreign country and not being able to get out and meet new people, find a job or open a bank account.

For those people moving to London without the cushion of guaranteed employment, or if you just feel like London is calling to you, then you may find it a little more difficult than you thought to get there. It’s always made easy in the movies; the character packs a backpack and gets on the next plane to Heathrow. In reality it’s quite a bit more complicated than that, and the last thing you want to happen is to be deported for not having the right paperwork, or not to be able to get a job when you arrive in London. Your pounds will soon run out and your dream of living in London could be over sooner than you think.

Visa Freedom.

As an American you may not find it as easy as you thought to find work in the city if you do not have the right paperwork. Citizens of the European Union and members of the Commonwealth will find it much easier to live and work. There are a number of different visas that you can apply for that will allow you to live and work in this magnificent city.

If at all possible, you need to apply for your visa before you leave home. It is an excruciating process to have to apply for visas while you are actually in the city that you want to be in. Have a look through our handy Visa Guide today for more information about the different types of visas and how to make your dreams of living in London come true.

 

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