The 8th week of classes just wrapped up. Concluding just over 10 weeks total in Europe. It really hit me this week how accustomed to England I’ve become. When I first arrived it seemed as if there were some things that I’d never get used to, let alone have them be second nature. However, now I’m at the point where I’ll actually have to readjust to certain things back home. For example; cars driving on the left side of the road, not tipping at restaurants, referring to pop as “fizzy drink” and readjusting to saying dollar instead of pound (which was the hardest habit to break upon arriving here.) These are just a few of the things that I’ve grown accustomed to seeing and doing.
With the risk of sounding like some click bait article I thought at this point I’d share 5 tips of advice for living and traveling in the U.K.
Tips
- Book trains in advance! This is a big one that I’ve learned a little too late. (Sometimes this isn’t possible when taking last minute trips.) We all know that booking in advance on anything usually saves a few dollars, but with the trains it can save far more than that. For example, when I was going to London I checked the fast train prices at the train station and they cost 60 pounds if I were to buy them on the spot. However, getting the same train to the same place cost me only 11 pounds when I booked online a month in advance. Even if you book a week in advance you can pay less than half the price! Just to put that in perspective. I cut the price from the equivalent of $80 to $15. This can be a real money-saver.
- Get a pay as you go phone. If you’re concerned about having data while in England then I suggest getting a pay as you go phone, especially if an overseas plan isn’t possible with your carrier. Now of course this depends how long you’ll be in the country but the options are fairly cheap. I went with a carrier called vodafone. I bought a very basic smartphone for around $70 and then got data/text/call plan for $13 / month. No credit card or anything is required, cash works just fine, and you only pay for the next month if you want to continue using it. There is no contract. An even better option is to bring your own unlocked smartphone and then all you have to pay for is whatever data bundle you choose.
- Get Uber, if you don’t have Uber (which you might not if you’re from a smaller area) then be sure to get the app. Uber is essentially a taxi service, you link the app with a credit card and you’re good to go. It’s the simplest, fastest and cheapest way to get around in most cities aside from just walking. You might even get a talkative driver that can give you insights on places to go and see.
- Bring an umbrella. This may seem like a small and disappointing piece of advice, but trust me, you’ll thank me later.
- Be aware of lingual differences. For example if someone asks “Are you alright?” they aren’t implying that somethings wrong. It’s just another way of saying “How’s it going?” It’s worth googling a few of these before coming
P.S. Sorry for the low quality pictures of the German markets, the crowds and night time didn’t help haha.
The American Globetrotter 