Londoner's Life

You’ve finally found an internship in London? You think you’re done and now there is only 2 or 3 easy things to do? Don’t be so sure! Don’t rest on your laurels because once you have found your internship, there remains a lot of things to do, which are not as obvious as it appears. Mostly due to the fact that you have to manage it from France.

I will try to summarise the main tasks that remain to be done before leaving and also the traps you need to avoid:

-Buy your flight (or train) tickets

-Find a flat in London

-The first things you have to do when you arrive

Travel meanings

The first issue is to travel by airplane. It’s the fastest (less than 2 hour flight) and the most practical way to reach London. The best thing to do is to look for flights as soon as possible to benefit from the best prices. If you look for your ticket in advance, you can find one for less than €100 by British Airways (23kg luggage included in the price). You could find cheaper tickets with low-cost companies but there will be an additional luggage fee.

You can also choose to travel with the Eurostar from Paris to King’s Cross railway station which is close to the city centre (zone 1).However, this is more complicated because you have to reach Paris first.

If like me you’ve never been to London before, I advise you to arrive 4/5 days before starting your internship so as to become more familiar with this big city.

Remember that if you don’t have an electronic passport yet, you should think about updating it. Indeed, with the electronic passport you will pass the identification controls in less than 5 min when you arrive in Heathrow. Otherwise, you will have to wait in boring long queues and waste time.

Housing

This is the most complicated thing to handle from France! The rent in London is incredibly expensive ! The rent is usually calculated by week and you will have to spend 100 to 150 pounds per week for a proper flat.

You can go on housing websites like Gumtree, Flatshare... but without visiting first, you don’t know what you will be getting until you arrive in London. Fraud is frequent on such websites because you are dealing with non-professionals.

The best way is to rent a room in one of the youth hostels in London, which have cheaper prices. Then you can look for a flat at the same time. This way, you will be able to visit your flat and see who your flatmates will be before making a decision.

First things to do in London

Once you’re settled, I advise you to go to a Tube station and buy an Oyster Card, which will be your means of transport. This will allow you to travel easily and very fast in London. You will pay a £120 monthly plan for the zones 1 and 2 (usually sufficient). You will pay an extra if you want more zones.

Then when you have time, go looking for a phone plan! There is lot of offers, but I think that a free SIM card that you can top up is the best solution if you’re staying only 3 month in London. Phone companies call that ‘’Pay as you Go’’. It is free of engagement and for £10 per month; you will have a lot of texts and 1 hour of calls.

That’s it! With those elements, I think that you can arrive unfazed in London and benefit a maximum from this amazing city!

If you want to read the french article, please follow this link:

http://nicolas.kolz.overblog.com/preparer-son-voyage-a-londres