Moving to London!

[Helix]

Ah, you're in Bloomsbury for lectures. So much to do in your lunch break.

I think SOAS has a gallery, which is worth a look. (It used to, anyway.) Also, if you wander past the front of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, have a look up at the decorations on the facade. Also UCL has a few museums in the area, although they're a bit more of a hike.

There's also the BM. (But like the NHM, V & A, National Gallery etc, I'm assuming you have that on your list.)

 

[Snitchcat]

If you're in Chinatown for dimsum, go to Jade Garden. It's on the corner. Food and service is better than the others. If you want old style and think you can tolerate the environment, Chuen Cheung Kui (opposite the "gate arch" to Chinatown's main street IIRC). I don't remember prices though.

 

[Bacchus]

what's the Golden Hinde?

It's the ship that Francis Drake used in the "first" circumnavigation of the globe in the late C16th (actually I think it's a replica, but a full size working one that has probably sailed further than the original and it feels right and is a good place to spend a couple of hours)

 

[waylander]

If you are in Bloomsbury this is nearby https://www.soane.org/

 

[onesecondglance]

I'll have to add all of those to the list. I did go to Bath, but it was combined with Stonehenge and I didn't feel that I had nearly enough time there.

Bath is one of my absolute favourite places and the few hours the tour will have given you - I know why they combine it with a trip to Stonehenge but it makes it a manic day - is definitely not enough. I could spend half a day just wandering around the Abbey!

To add to the list of recommendations above: if you go for Borough Market, also consider Druid Street Market. Loads of interesting things to eat and its in the heart of Bermondsey, the unofficial craft beer centre of the capital, so plenty of interesting things to drink too!

 

[JimmyB27]

I'd love to meet fellow London AWriters over a cup of coffee (not just online), actually.

If you're in London for Christmas 2018, I might be about. Would you be interested in meeting up?

We've had a few London meets in the past - been a few years now since the last one. Time to resurrect the old thread maybe?

 

[EmilyEmily]

We've had a few London meets in the past - been a few years now since the last one. Time to resurrect the old thread maybe?

I'm also moving to London in July for my job. I would LOVE to start a writers group, if any of you fellow Londoners are interested.

 

[waylander]

I'm also moving to London in July for my job. I would LOVE to start a writers group, if any of you fellow Londoners are interested.

What do you write?

 

[eliiPe8]

wish you all the best - London is amazing! Have been there several times and it is really inspiring to just walk around the city. I am sure you will love it there

 

[EmilyEmily]

Is anyone else going through the work visa process for UK?

I'm arriving in July; my employer formally applies in June, but HR has been working with me to collect documents, get medical checks, and just generally gather what is needed to prepare. There was a week in April in which I thought my visa wasn't going to happen, but the company my employer uses for visa stuff now says it should be OK. I've worked in three other non-US countries, and the visa process was so easy; I am shocked at how complicated (and nerve-wracking) it is for the UK. Apparently it is tougher than usual this year because of the impending Brexit (not sure why, since EU workers can still work visa-free, I think), and the quotas are being filled sooner each month.

Every other work visa I've gotten came after I'd already arrived and begun work, and needed only a quick jaunt to an office to collect stamps in my passport or sign a few papers. I will be so relieved to finally have the UK visa in my passport at last.

Anyone who wants to commiserate, or who has been through the work visa process for UK, send me a message

 

[ktdude]

Ah best of luck with your move. I'm originally from just outside London. I live in the North East of England now and would love to meet fellow writers, may have to start a thread. My WIP is set in London!

 

[DanielSTJ]

I would LOVE to move to the great U.K!

I don't think I want to stay in Canada after I'm all done university. I'm looking at other options.

 

[s_nov]

EmilyEmily, I start my visa app in like 2 weeks and I'm NOT looking forward to it.

We definitely should do a writing group, if there isn't an AW one already active! I see there's a Christmas meetup being planned, but maybe we could do something monthly if there are a lot of mid-Londoners.

DanielSTJ - I'm going for postgrad, so that's an option, if you're doing undergrad now!

 

[DanielSTJ]

Thanks s_nov, I hadn't thought of that. It would be awesome to earn a graduate degree in the U.K!

 

[frimble3]

I would LOVE to move to the great U.K!

I don't think I want to stay in Canada after I'm all done university. I'm looking at other options.

My mother's advice: If you want to travel, travel as soon as you can, before life interferes. (She knew a bit about both.)
I went to England/Scotland four times in my twenties, (the 1980s) never wanted to go anywhere else, so much to see, etc. After that, work, lack of time and money, etc. and then the health interfered.
So, travel, young Canadian, go fast and go far.

 

[satisverborum2003]

Wasn't it Samuel Pepys who coined the phrase "a person who is tired of London, is tired of life.
I just recently moved back to London after being away for almost a decade and there's no other city like it. Have fun.

 

[AverageJane]

I just spent the last two years living in London (not in school though!). I lived in Queensway and Chiswick. It’s an amazing experience. Enjoy!