US to UK hopeful

Hello, my name is Megan and I currently live in Illinois. I am hoping to move to London in about a year or so. The reason that i want to move to London is that i LOVE that city and the people who live there! I just recently got back from a 4 month study abroad there and fell in love with London and the rest of the UK. I stayed in Kensington but I am not sure where I will be looking to live when I move there. I graduate college with a Bachelors in English December 2012. My plan is to try to find a job prior to moving, and hopefully an apartment, but I am just starting my research and it seems that its hard to find a place before getting to the UK. I am really glad I stumbled across this website as I have found much useful information so far, especially about the process to bring my dog with me. I hope that everything works out, job and Visa's and such, so that I can move to London because I fell in love with that city when I was there and was much more at home there then I ever was here in the states!

Welcome to UKY!

Unfortunately, if you're relying on your Education to get you to the UK, you probably won't make it. Unless you're in a desirable niche field and can find an employer to sponsor a Tier 2 visa for you or you're interested in furthering your education with a Masters, etc programme with a Tier 4 visa or you have another route such to the UK such as you're the spouse of a British/EU Citizen living/moving to the UK or you have EU/British Citizenship yourself, your chances are slim to none.

Not trying to rain on your parade, just being realistic...especially in this economy and the restrictions on Non-EU/British workers in the UK (last time I checked the limit is 20,000-ish per year) it's not that bright of a prospect for those who 'just want to move' to the UK and have no other ties (spouse/partner) or an established/approved Tier 2 Sponsor already with job offer in hand.

I wish you the best of luck, however.

There's also Bunac's Intern in Britain program that will allow you to have a 6 month internship in the UK.  Obviously, it's not a long term solution, but it is a possibility.

Hello and Welcome! I wish you luck and look forward to hearing about your journey.

Thank you for the reply's and suggestions. I fully understand it will be diffucult and maybe not work out just like I plan but I intend to try anyways!

I appreciate any information (like the intern link and the visa information) as this is all new to me so it is important for me to know what is needed in order to try and move to London.

Thanks again!