Studying abroad in UK?

Question

Hi-

So my cousin's planning on studying abroad in UK and she wants you guys to help.

How is life in UK? We live in U.S. and is it really different there?

Is it easy to make friends there? Do people keep in touch with the friends they made there?

Thanks!

Answer 1

My answer is a 'it depends'. It depends where in the US she is from and where in the UK she will be studying. Having lived in a large city in the mid-west and now living in a large city in the UK, I do not see much difference culturally. The only big difference is the work environment that is much different and if she is entering the UK on a student visa she will be allowed to work 20 hours a week while studying, if my memory is correct. She may get spoiled by the British work culture and find it difficult to adjust back to the American style of working. Minor differences includes pub (drinking) culture here and religion does not have as large of a role in daily life like it does in the US.

Politically I find the UK to be more 'left-wing' liberal than the US with very few people holding strict conservative idealisms. Even the Conservative Party here is not so conservative. Their stances I believe tend to equate more with moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats than those who are true Reagan Republicans. So if she enters the UK with a strict conservative idealism she may find very few people hold those views.

In addition to the above one more thing she will find that she needs to be aware is there is a lot of anti-American sentiment here. I suspect if McCain wins in November 2008 that it will fuel a temporary rise in anti-American feelings due to Obama's Iraq withdrawal stance which is popular here. Furthermore taking a I love George Bush stance will probably not help her win any popularity contests nor taking a 'right-wing' conservative Evangelical stance.

Do not get me wrong, there are a lot nice people in the UK. The point I am trying to make that she will no longer be in America and expecting people in another country to conform to American ideals is not practical. Instead she should be prepared to make changes to how she interacts with people and be willing to listen to views that maybe diametrically opposed to hers.

Making friends should be easy as I find 'Brits' to be more genuine and sociable than Americans. However she will need to learn patience and accept that things do not happen as fast as they do in the United States. So if she approaches people with 'American' standards she may find making friends will be difficult. As for keeping in touch with people she meets I would expect that they would as we do have internet and mail.