London General Tips by shutterlust

Favorite Thing: ...and not all telephone booths are red!

The typical London telephone booth is known for its bright and cheery red color. (as are their bright red double decker buses!) However, the transportation authority has decided that red is not the only color in the transportation spectrum. Lately, we've been seeing more and more black telephone booths AND double decker buses.

What is the world coming to?!


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Favorite Thing: Didn't know where else to put this...so here it is! In "general" tips!

Are you an international student trying to find work in the U.K.?

First things first:

You need to be a full-time student (40+ hours) and need to be attending an accredited school. You need a letter from your school to show customs. You need to get a CODE 2 stamp in your passport that says "no recourse to public funds". This stamp allows you to work up to 20 hours a week.

Once you have this stamp, you need to allocate a job. That's the easy part.

Then you need to speak with the employer. Get a letter from them stating that you officially are being offered employment.

You take this letter, your passport, the letter from your school saying you're a full-time student, PLUS 2 official documents proving your permanent location (your original home location...possibly your parents?).

You need to take these documents and schedule an appointment for an identification appointment at your location Job Agency. Make an appointment to get a NATIONAL INSURANCE number. You cannot work legally in the UK without this number.

Once approved, you will be given a TEMPORARY NI #. This will be used by your employer in order to file your papers properly and then you can begin working.

Make sure your employer understands that you don't get your PERMANENT NI# for a few months and that your TEMPORARY NI# will have to do for now. Some employers just don't listen.

Summary: Code 2 in passport, school letter, and NATIONAL INSURANCE NUMBER.

It's that last bit that always gets everyone.


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Favorite Thing: I love Starbucks. I adore it. And I don't care who wants to argue how commercialized or consumer-specific it has become. (of course it isn't as good as good old regular NY coffee that comes in Greek cups!)

How to order something "skim" at Starbucks?

It's easy!

Just say "skinny!"

"Hi. Welcome to Starbucks. How can I help you today?"
"Hi. I'd like a skinny cafe latte."

-oh. what does that mean?
-oh. it means a cafe latte SKIM.
-ooohhh.


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Favorite Thing: I am not the studying type. I hate the idea of studying and have never subjected myself to such torture.

However, I adore reading. So I'm kinda stuck. My personal solution is to read far, far, FAR ahead of the class. That way, it's not an "assignment" so it doesn't feel like I'm studying. Crafty, eh?

Sitting on one of the benches on the north side of the Thames, between the Temple and Blackfriar Tube stop, near the MIllennium Bridge and across from Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe is my favorite place to chill and read a good law book. Haha. Seriously!


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Favorite Thing: http://thegumtree.com

Very similar to craigslist in New York or dailyinfo.co.uk in Oxford, thegumtree.com website is a go-to information site for flat rentals (long term or short term), sales, personal ads, services, jobs and other community related information. Their flat and job listings are particularly helpful. You can search flats by location and duration and jobs by field.

thegumtree is not limited to just London, but to all of England, Scotland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.


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Favorite Thing: http://www.timeout.com/london/

TimeOut London is the sister magazine/website to TimeOut New York. It is the place you go to find out what's going out in London, from concerts, clubs, social/community events, parades, and whatever else is going on in London! It's a fantastic site/magazine that everyone who visits London must visit/purchase to see what local events they can participate in. I've found out about several street fairs, local parades, even hotel suggestions from TimeOut. It's incredibly helpful and I highly suggest you use it as a resource when visiting London.


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