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With departure dates rapidly approaching, Indian students are booking tickets and preparing to leave for international universities. To ease their concerns and answer their questions, we've asked students who are already studying abroad to share their experiences. Today, we offer something different -- tips from a current UK resident. Here is the opinion of Vinod Salian, who has lived and worked in the UK since 2001. I came to UK in 2001 on work permit thankfully there were few smart people in my team and I never had to worry about accommodation and stuff. But I guess my situation was different as I had a full time job and good income so never really worried about my finance. I am a British citizen now, I want to give everyone some tip about how to save money and easier ways to live in UK. First and important choice that you have to make is the university that you are going to study in. Although choosing university is your personal choice but you may consider few things if given the option. Please always check which is the closest international airport and the distance of the airport from the University. You can check the distance by inputting the start postcode and end postcode at the following site: http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp As soon as you reach the Airport the one thing in your mind is to inform home that you have reached safely. If you buy a calling card for the airport it will cost you a fortune. If you don't want to buy the card in advance then you can ring through access no. 08715702929 from any BT payphone and then dial your India no. directly. The charge will be slightly more but it is not a rip off and most reliable in emergency situation. It is best if you have BT landline phone at your disposal. There is no Int. airport in the North of England [Images] so if you have joined the university from North remember you may have to travel as long as 6-8 hours to reach the university from the London [Images] Heathrow Airport. Universities are usually very helpful. Please feel free to talk to your supervisor regarding anything you want to know about the university rules, discounts and other support. Students get 10% discount at most of the places including cinemas. Get your ID cards from day one. First few days will be really exciting. As all the courses start in September the weather is usually ok but it gets worse in October and continues to be horrible till April-May it. People from South of India should be especially beware as you would not have experienced such weather. Travelling from India Travelling from Heathrow http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm. Taking web print ticket is even more cheaper but always buy open tickets just in case if your flight gets delayed. For London areas travel by tube beware of the peak time though. Otherwise take a taxi from the taxi stand only.Travelling in tube at late night is not advisable. Accommodation Going for unfurnished house will save you some money and you can buy the old furniture from near by open market. Ask any local to find out where open market is or you can go to http://www.friday-ad.co.uk/. You can also find cheap furniture on www.argos.co.uk. Please note you have legal right for safety �make sure everything is safe and heating is up to the standard if not then please talk to the landlord. Finding someone in UK Making calls to India I hope the above article has helped you. I would like to raise a very important point that please don't be under the impression that the UK is the safest place. It is always advisable that you take care of yourself and don't venture into unknown locations. Sometimes, it seems as if every person living in London has been mugged in the metro at some point of time so please don't travel alone in night, especially in London tubes. The emergency tel. no, in UK is 999 from any phone, even the phone without any credit can make this call. All the best! Regards, Vinod Salian DON'T MISS ~ Are you a student who is studying/ has studied abroad? What advice would you have for other students who may soon be pursuing studies in a foreign country? What are your experience as an international student? What were the things you wished you knew before you left home? Write to us at getahead@rediff.co.in and we will feature your experiences right here. |
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