What did you do to pass the time while on your fiancé visa?

Not sure if there's a current thread about this, but I thought it would be a good way for all of us who are applying or are currently in the UK on a fiancé visa to get some ideas on how to occupy your time. Obviously, volunteer work is out of the question, but there have to be interesting and fun things to do. Anybody in London it would be a real treat to hear about your experiences. My 8 year old will be in school, my fiancé will be at work and my few friends who live through out London work. So other than wedding planning and sightseeing, what are some other suggestions to make the 6 months go by a little faster?  Everybody please feel free to chime in!

Well if you are in London there are all those free museums and parks you can take advantage of!

But I think you may want to make friends with this website: Time Out London

Start a photo blog. Go to knitting classes (or any other crafty thing of your choice). Take a cooking class. Walk, walk, walk. Explore all the amazing things there are to see in London. Join a book group.

There are so many things to do in this world and not nearly enough time to do them all! 

There are so many things to do in this world and not nearly enough time to do them all! 

So true!!!

I didn't do anything to pass anytime for a fiance visa because I didn't have one, but I think 6 months off to settle into a new country is pretty awesome!! I went into work the third day I was in the country, still jet lagged and awestruck, not knowing a soul.... 

 I would just say walk around, go to all your local shops, figure out the buses, get driving lessons, go to the library, get yourself aquantainted with your daughter's school, search for jobs (so that you know what's out there- should you wish to work),  and just find your happiness in your own hobbies again.  6 months should fly by!!!

I was in the outer suburbs of London while on my fiancée visa.  While we didn't have the funds for me to go into London as often as I would have liked, each time I did go in I tried to maximize my "value for train ticket".  I had one main activity in mind for the day, and then added other things around that.  It was a great luxury to have most of a day in London at my disposal.

Closer to home, I learned a lot about what was going on in my local area.  I got to know our town and nearby ones, explored parks, learned about local services, and kept up with local happenings.  I got plenty of exercise and also got plenty of rest.  I taught myself how to apply makeup for our wedding (though you already know how to do that!), read and did crosswords to my heart's content, engaged in other hobbies, and kept in touch with family and friends in the U.S.

I also spent time making sure the household was running smoothly.  Doing chores when I was home alone meant that my now-husband and I could have more time together when he wasn't working.  He still did things around the house (neither of us would have wanted it to be otherwise), but I took on the bulk of the tasks so that we could maximize our time together.

You mentioned that you're looking for the time to go by faster -- I hope that it doesn't feel like the time drags on and on.  If it does, perhaps it's time to think of some new and different things to do! 

I went into work the third day I was in the country, still jet lagged and awestruck, not knowing a soul....  

Oof -- that must have been rough. 

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies  I feel a bit better about the 6 months of not working..

Do you have a wedding date yet? It was a real eye opener for me on how many stars have to align to coord a wedding in England (register availability & venue availability lining up was the biggest).  Oofta   Would have been easy if we'd wanted to marry on a random Weds at 9:15 am.  A casual backyard wedding via a friend who had an officiation via the www sounded better & better all the time    It worked out though.  Aiming for Oct 19 in England (fingers crossed for that dang fiance visa!). 

Do you have a wedding date yet? It was a real eye opener for me on how many stars have to align to coord a wedding in England (register availability & venue availability lining up was the biggest).  Oofta

I second this!  (especially the oofta!    although my family would say ufda.   )

I arrived end of July last year and it took a while to get my name on a bill and receive it (you need a piece of mail proving your address to give notice). 

Once we had that, we found the register office was booked out a whole month just to give notice. 

Then we had to wait another full month to get married (at a register office on a Saturday- like CWrummy I'm sure we could have gotten in earlier if we'd been able to get married on a random weekday at an odd time).

We got an appointment to apply for FLR at a PEO for a month after we got married (we booked this before we were married).

In the end, I arrived 27 July, we gave notice 10 October, got married 10 November and applied for FLR in-person on 10 December.    We had no idea it would take that long and while we were well clear of my visa expiry, it was still pretty stressful.  So plan ahead. 

Oh yeah, that's right TravelingFrog (great name BTW).  I had a utility put in my name too.  It wasn't hard, just tedious.  We'd call to make the request & were told it would happen, but then the bill would come in my fella's name.  Sooo, we'd call again.  I think it took about 3 bills (ie 3 months) before the bill actually had my name). 

Giving notice was pretty easy for us.  You do that at an office in the area you will live in England.  After 2 wks, we returned to pick up a certificate of marriage that we gave to the Register's Office that we have reserved.  Sooo, you can see how it takes time to coord (like everything else).  My dreams of a fancy manor house wedding quickly changed to a casual do (EASY) at a local pub that we reserved for the night.  Even that requires a fare amount of planning as their calendar fills up quickly too.  I have a dress in mind, but who knows if there will be enough time to get it made.  I don't really care though.  I've got the fella, the ring, the register, & a pub.  The rest is gravy.  The all imp't fiancé visa is the last hitch.  Oofta   

If we could harness the determination shown by all of the good folks on this website we could move a mountain!  Ha! 

Do you have a wedding date yet? It was a real eye opener for me on how many stars have to align to coord a wedding in England (register availability & venue availability lining up was the biggest).  Oofta   Would have been easy if we'd wanted to marry on a random Weds at 9:15 am.  A casual backyard wedding via a friend who had an officiation via the www sounded better & better all the time    It worked out though.  Aiming for Oct 19 in England (fingers crossed for that dang fiance visa!). 

The funny thing is we have yet to set a date, but I believe we're looking at Feb 2013. We need to send our Save The Dates soon.. We're looking at doing a 'knees up' pub wedding. Fun, simple and intimate I know I'll be busy with the planning, but I would love to take in all that London has to offer. Anyone know of some fun groups to join?

Look for meetups online.....like meetup.com

I didn't go on a fiance visa, but was there for six months before coming back to the States to file for my settlement visa. We'd already been married nearly five years then, and he'd lived in the States. Oddly, the six months flew by, but being in Blackburn, I would have loved all the free museums, sights to see and fun walking to explore in London. I tried to cram as much as I could into the three day visit I had there last year in April, but three days wasn't enough to even start.

Enjoy this time, and all the exploring you can do.