Thinking of Residing in London :D

Hello there.
I am a college freshman who does not like living in the U.S. at all.
I HAVE been to Europe before, and it is in so many ways so much better.
The reason why I'm choosing to reside in London is because it's in a country that speaks the "second form" of English.
This way, I can easily cope and communicate with its people.
For those of you who are wondering, I am not one of those families who have lived in the U.S. for lots of years.
My parents, aunts, uncles, and everyone else are from Portugal.
Just trying to get a few questions answered early =]
That aside, some friends and I are planning on residing in London and hopefully going to attend Oxford University.
We would like to know just exactly WHERE would be a good place for us to live.
Preferably a place that's close to cafes, diners, good neighbourhoods (something like Notting Hill for instance), and possibly somewhat of a nightlife.
If anyone has any suggestions, we'll gladly take them to account.
Oh, and if anyone can mention a few good places to visit in CENTRAL London, that'd be great too.
Thanks.

Hiya Redqueenavenged,
First thing you need to do is find out what visa you and your freinds are eligible for. You can not legally just come over here and decide to live here. The visa has to be sorted out BEFORE coming here to live.
Not to be a downer on your plans but getting a visa sorted out is the first step.
I can't answer questions about London other than its really expensive to live there. I'm up in Scotland.
Good Luck in your attempts to get to the UK
Kay

If you're thinking of attending university at Oxford, you should check into what it takes to get it accepted there, and then check out student visas and what it takes to get one of those.

And, if that is the case, you might want to think about living in Oxford, rather than London...they aren't that far apart, but the commute might get to be a little much if you're on a student budget.

Best of luck!

My parents, aunts, uncles, and everyone else are from Portugal.

Do you have, or are you eligible for Portuguese citizenship?

I was thinking of the Portugal thing.  If your parents hold Portuguese passports then you should be able to claim citizenship there and since it's part of the EU, you will have the right to live, work and study in the UK.

If not your parents - try going back to your grandparents.  If they were born there, it still may be possible.

Also - Oxford is about an hour + train journey into London.  Oxford is a great city, with lots of cafes and bars and nightlife, so you may prefer to live there.

If you are set on london, then neighbourhoods that would be good for a young student -
Camden
Marylebone
Hoxton/Shoreditch
Kensington (Notting Hill is a part of this larger area)


Good luck and be sure to study hard - you will need it to attend Oxford!