New York girl wishes to move to England :)

I just wanted to wish you luck on your journey. I have to say that I absolutely love traveling, and knew I wanted to go to England. I studied abroad there, only for a semester though as it's all I could afford, and I fell in love with it, met my best friend and boyfriend (got lucky meeting him ), but I have to say it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Even though I went on my own, my parents weren't happy at first but they came around eventually, I was proud that I did it on my own (though I am in debt because of it, it was completely worth it). I say if it's a dream definitely go for it and I hope that everything works out for you in the end

Thank you very much! I appreciate it! Weell, funny you should say that because... my best friend/..erm.. lover.. lives over there as well. He's who I stayed with. So that's another reason, to add on to the other reasons, why I'd much like to move there. But it's not ONLY JUST for him. Just having him live there happens to be a bonus is all, lol. So hard to resist that English accent. <3 Hehe. Exactly! I felt the same way! I was so happy I did it, it gave me this new found confidence and I feel like I can do anything! I do too, thanks again, I want so badly to make this happen for myself.

aw!!! that is so cute, I have to say, I absolutely adore the english accent, while all the friends I made there loved the way I spoke! Where is he from there if you dont mind me asking? I stayed with mine too his family was lovely and now I want to go there for good

I do too, that way of speaking to me.. is just... favorite accent ever. I really could, (and did) listen to them talk all day. <3 Haha, they did?? Lucky you! Everyone made fun of the way I said certain things! I was like 'There's this huge tomato (tomado, when I say it fast, lol) on my hamburger, wtf.' And everyone was like, 'Lol, Say it again, it sounds so weird. That's not how you pronounce things!' Classic. Or Aluminum, margarine, those kinds of things. His family was lovely as well, really welcoming. He's from Norwich. How 'bout yours?

 

 

lol I know, I could've sat there all day and just said, speak to me! say anything ! the alphabet I don't even care!

everyone wanted me to repeat everything I said, even just by saying "you're welcome" i was told to keep repeating it, i was of course shy but did as they asked. it was so much fun though I wanted them to talk all the time to me, but they wanted to hear me say things as well, I remember first time meeting dans friends at a party, i didnt want to drink and make a fool of myself, so all i did was go around meeting people and talking, absolutely loved it. everyone was so welcoming to me there! and it was such a relief that I seem to get on well with everyone. wasn't it nervewracking at first?

yeah, daniel and i were best friends for 8 years now, met him there and you could hardly tear us apart. he is from essex, i really do like it there though, i never had any trouble and I have to say i absolutely adore getting around just by train never having to drive has its perks.

LOL! They really don't know how sexy they sound, do they? Why can't my accent have that affect on people?? Aw, see, no one even mentioned my accent (except when I 'mispronounced' something. It's how I was taught! :c) It was, but you're right, everyone is extremely welcoming!

When I was there, was in November and the 23rd of the month is my birthday. I got gifts not only from his mom, dad, sister, but his friends as well! I was like, woah, did not have to do, but thank you!
I've known Alex for about 5 years now. He came to visit me three years ago.. but back then we were just besties. Now it's turned into a bit more. :') My first train ride was there! It was so cool! How often do you get to go over there if you don't mind me being nosy?

You aren't being nosy at all, do you just want to pm? I feel bad for taking up all this space! lol

i'll just pm you now 

Alrighty!

I've never told anyone about this.. buuut.. I'm kind of intimidated by the British's education system. Since the education over there basically kicks the US's ass, lol. I'm sooo scared if I don't understand something down to the tee, or if I ask too many questions, or need more help about whatever, I'll be labeled a stereotypical 'dumb American.' I'm not the smartest person, but I'm far from dumb. So... if that were to happen... Worst. Nightmare.

The education systems are different, but they both have their good and bad points (as the teachers here on the forum will tell you).

- The UK system requires you to specialise much earlier than in the US - we finish compulsory education at age 16, and then if we want to go to university, we have to specialise in between 3 and 5 subjects only for the next 2 years. We also have to choose our degree subject before we apply to university... which means I basically chose my future at age 16, when I dropped all subjects except Physics, Maths and Geography... and then went on to take Physics classes only for 4 years of university. This system is good for some people (I was okay with it because I decided what I wanted to do with my life when I was 14), but for others, who don't know what they want to do when they are that young and want to try out various different possibilities, it's not so great.

- Conversely, the US system gives a much broader education, with students taking classes in various different subjects right through into college, before specialising in their major later on - which is good for those students who have no idea what they want to major in when they start college and those who do know, can take classes in their major but will also study other subjects too. From my experience of the two education systems, it seems that US colleges work their students harder than UK universities... there's much more emphasis on homework and class participation in the US, whereas in the UK it's much more a case of each to their own. We had barely any homework assignments in my physics degree and you didn't have to attend class if you didn't want to, but you were expected to do your own work and research around your subject without actually being asked to do so (it was recommended we do 3 hours of home study for every 1 hour of class time, although most of us didn't bother).

I have to say I really respect you. To read that you accomplished your dream, it's inspiring, even if it wasn't meant to be after all.

Thanks . It was one of those horrible things... the minute I landed in the US, I just knew I'd made the wrong decision to move. It just felt wrong to be there and because I started in the Spring semester and was thrust into teaching subjects I'd never studied before (Geology and Environmental Science), I felt completely out of place there. I spoke to the International students advisor (who recognised me from the last time I'd studied there) and she told me to try and stick it out for a semester, which I did. I spent months agonising over whether I should stay in the hope it would get better or whether I should leave... and I think the decision was finally made when I flew back to the UK in July for my masters degree graduation ceremony and I cried for 4 days straight at the thought of going back!

Thank you very much! I appreciate it! Weell, funny you should say that because... my best friend/..erm.. lover.. lives over there as well. He's who I stayed with. So that's another reason, to add on to the other reasons, why I'd much like to move there.

Oh, I didn't realise you had an English boyfriend ... in terms of visas and things, that could make things much easier - if you ever wanted to get married and live in the UK together, then you could get a spousal visa which would allow you to work in the UK without needing to worry about getting a work visa. Alternatively, if you will be studying in the UK for more than 2 years and you were to live with him continuously for at least those 2 years, you could potentially qualify for an unmarried partner visa, which would also allow you to live and work in the UK without a work visa. That way you wouldn't have to worry about shortage jobs or getting a company to sponsor you (you would have the same rights to work as any British citizen). However, you do both need to be over 21 in order to qualify for a spousal or unmarried partner visa, but it's something to be aware of/to consider in the future .

Yeah, that does sound like it can be a bad way of going about things for people who are unsure of what they want to do education wise. That is true but sometimes in college they can be having you take classes that aren't really needed for your degree, which I'm sure can be annoying. Woah, really you think so about the US working their college students harder? That is saying something. Hm, that is interesting..
You're most welcome. Yeah, I suppose the good thing to come of it is at least you don't have to wonder what might have been.
Haha, oh yeah.. about him.. It's just that didn't want everyone to think right away, because he's over there, that's the reason I want to move. It's really not, like I said, it's just a bonus that he happens to live there. Ooooh boy, uhhh, haha! Well, uh, marriage is a little.. um, out of the question right now. However, I do like the sound of the unmarried partner visa. That would be a definite bonus to not have to worry about those kinds of things.

Woah, really you think so about the US working their college students harder? That is saying something. Hm, that is interesting.

Well, obviously the amount of work in the UK differs between degree subjects (some degrees have 20+ hours of classes per week and others have less than 6 hours), but I definitely felt like I worked harder in my year abroad in the US than I did in the other 3 years of my degree all combined ! In the US I was doing about 3 hours of homework per night, but in the UK I only spent about 3 hours per week on homework. 

In my final year of university, all my classes were graded purely on the final exam... so I had no official homework for a whole year (except for working on my research project, which I probably spent only about 6 hours per week on ) and in my final semester, I only had 2 hours of class per week!

My former British flatmates tell me that in their classes, they had very little homework, but their exam results counted for everything. If you don't do well at test-taking, this can be a problem. You don't have the opportunity to soften the blow with class participation and homework.

I wonder how I would have fared in the UK system. I'm an independent learner; I've never had a problem handling lots of course readings. I'm also a strong writer. However, I did like discussing what we were reading in class. It helped the material to sink in more.

On the other hand, I didn't declare a major until the end of my sophomore year, and that would not have flown in the UK.

Although this has changed when I went to Uni in Scotland if you got above a certain grade on the work throughout the year (it was a year long course) then you didn't need to take the final.  I think there were about five short papers (less than five pages) for the whole year.

I didn't need to take the final, but if you did the final was the only thing that counted for a whole year of class.  Stressful.  I had to take a German final.  Ahhh.

It is definitely possible to get enough government/private loans to study in the UK, although my boy came over on the old student visa rules we would have qualified under current rules.

I will say though, a three year degree here has cost him over $100K in student loans, so you have to be prepared to shoulder the cost (and have a co-signer with amazing credit) if you really want to do it. I will also say that the boy had a high GPA and a really good transcript with several AP courses and was still rejected from 3 universities before he got a place.

Everything ended up working out fine, he's now doing his masters at one of the best university in the UK/World but it was complicated and a bit crazy, stay organised and find someone with REALLY good credit who is willig to co-sign you over $100,000 worth of loans.
(and yes, the masters is another $30,000 worth of loans what a way to start married life! Worth every penny for us to be together of course...)

Pandaz, I think it's really great that you want to study abroad and such! I wish I would have done that as well! (I've had a few friends do it though and they raved about it!) I think I was always just too scared of being far away from my family! (Which I guess I got over because I'm moving there to be with my fiancee!)

I wanted to add some info I had to learn to consider to your knowledge bank as well! I do know that a marketing degree is good to have there as there are TONS of marketing jobs there (that's the upside!). I originally looked at coming to the UK on a workers visa because of a U.S. based company that has a UK branch had asked to interview with me for an open marketing position (my degree is in marketing and I knew people on the U.S. side of the company that put me up for it!).

But what I found out later (the downside!) was that the U.K. side of the company wouldn't hire me (and I wasn't employed on the U.S. side, just recommended by people I knew in management positions of the U.S. side of the company) because I had to have a masters degree in order for them to prove that they couldn't find my kind of skills anywhere. (I don't know if it's a law to have to have a masters degree, or if it's just a law that the company needs to be able to prove that they couldn't find a person in the UK to hire with the same credentials and I wonder if more of the different job fields aren't going to start requiring that as well in the near future as immigration progresses) but it may be something to look more into and consider getting when you go to the University in order to allow you to stay and get a job after you are unable to stay on a student visa any longer because of graduation and such.

I didn't research anything more solid on the school/work side because I'm marrying a native anyways and can be brought in on that, but otherwise, I would have looked more into maybe going back to getting my masters in the US or UK to pursue it. Luckily, the company is willing to wait for me to get there and go through all the legal processes then come back and re-interview for a job position.

I don't know if that was much of a lead help, but it was something that I the company had told me I would have to consider if I wasn't getting married, so, I thought maybe that would be useful for you to check into since you were interested in jobs and such as well!

Good luck!! You can do it!