Features of life in London: work, real estate, advantages and disadvantages

What do we think when we hear about London? Of course, this is nobility, high cost, the queen, beautiful open spaces, unusual buildings and structures. Foreigners planning to move to London would like to know many moments of life in this city, and in principle throughout England. Today we will tell you what are the advantages and disadvantages of living in London, what is known about real estate, study, work. We will describe many other points that will be of interest to foreigners.

The benefits of living in the capital of England

Of course, I want to start with the positive points that were noted by students and other categories of foreigners who arrived in London. Among the advantages are observed:

1. The ability to choose an educational institution. It is London that is rich in various universities, which are leading not only in England, but throughout the world. In the capital there are a huge number of language schools, in the framework of which a variety of languages ​​are studied. Everyone will be able to choose something to their liking. London is famous for a large number of international language facilities, as well as other educational institutions.
2. The ability to combine study and work. The education system in higher education institutions is structured in such a way that study and work can be combined. It is also worth noting that foreign students who have a visa valid for more than six months are granted the right to official employment.
3. Career. The capital of England is the center of economics and business internationally. That is why this city attracts many students for practical training. After graduating from an educational institution and practice, a student becomes a qualified specialist who has a career opportunity.
4. Social adaptation. Life in London provides an opportunity not only to master perfectly the English language, but also to get acquainted with a huge number of people, learn to live in an international environment. The national composition of the capital is very multifaceted, there is a dynamic update and population change.
5. London is the center of world fashion, culture, art and the film industry. The city itself and the rhythm of its life will inspire any person, will allow you to plunge into the unusual atmosphere. There are many museums in the capital, where rare exhibits are collected and demonstrated, telling both about the history of Britain and showing great achievements in the field of art. It is noteworthy that the culture of the city will acquaint with the history and traditions of not only the British, but also other peoples who inhabited and inhabit the islands of Britain.
6. Transport links deserve a separate item. Life in London is strictly disciplined. That is why public transport runs on schedule. You can always take a taxi or metro. Once at the public transport stop, you can see how long the bus will arrive. There is also a night bus service that will allow you to move around the city at any time of the day. It is very comfortable. After all, if you walked around the city at night, then you can not be afraid that you will not get home.

We suggest you watch a video with a Russian review of life in London. It tells about life in the capital, the mentality of the people, working conditions. A young man considers the pros and cons of work and life in London.

Disadvantages of living in the capital of england

Having examined in sufficient detail the positive aspects of life in London, it is necessary to note the negative nuances. These include:

1. The language barrier is becoming a serious barrier for students who come to England to learn the language. It is necessary to be extremely careful and careful, because it is in England that there are dialects that can put a foreigner in a difficult situation. In general, at first it is advisable to travel around the city with native speakers or with phrasebooks or translators.
2. Fairly high real estate prices. Living in London is an expensive pleasure. This is largely due to the high cost of housing. Students who arrived in the capital must live either on the outskirts of the city, or are forced to rent terrible housing, or live several people in a room to save money.
3. Public transport. It would seem that we just wrote how convenient it is, but the cost of transportation is definitely included in the minuses of the city. Public transport is characterized by high prices and tariffs. It is more profitable to purchase tickets, and even having bought them, moving around the city cannot be called a cheap pleasure. The budget vehicle is the metro.
4. Removable housing, namely rooms in apartments or host families, are distinguished by their small size, conservatism and ascetic decoration. Moreover, the cost, as mentioned above, is quite serious.

The main feature of life in London, as we noted, is associated with high prices. The largest percentage of financial costs for visitors to lay down on real estate rental.

How to get a job?

As we noted earlier, life in London is a very expensive pleasure. That is why a foreigner first of all needs to think about work. In order to legally earn money, you need to have two important documents. The first is a permit to work in England, and the second is an employment contract concluded with the employer. Entry into the state is allowed both independently and at the invitation of the employer.

In England, a whole system has been developed that is aimed at attracting highly qualified specialists from outside to the inside of the state. In order to arrive in the country without an invitation from the employer, you need to undergo testing at the consulate and score a sufficiently high score of 75 and higher out of a possible 100. If we are talking about an invitation from the employer, you must also pass testing at the consulate and confirm your qualifications.

As a general rule, a work permit should be acquired, but there are also such categories of foreigners who are allowed to work without special permission. These include:

1. Representatives of student associations who came to the capital to work on the exchange system.
2. Workers planning to work in the service sector.
3. Workers in the business sector.
4. Figures of the field of art.
5. Teachers and educators.
6. People who have arrived for in-depth study of the language.

If we are talking about interns, sponsors, investors, business partners, permission is also not required.

So how to get a job in London? We draw attention to the fact that independent job searches in most cases lead to failure. With this issue, it is better to contact a recruiting agency for help. The specialists of such an agency find suitable vacancies corresponding to qualifications and work experience. They accompany the employee during the interview and finish their work at the time of the official employment of the person. It is noteworthy that the agency’s staff can start a job search and paperwork even if the client is in Russia. Also, employers in London pay attention to characteristics from their previous place of work. If there are no recommendations from previous employers, your resume will not even be considered.

Demanded and unclaimed professions

Have you ever wondered how many Russians live in London? Enough. No matter how it seems to us that life in London is a sky-high dream, according to data for 2018, 150 thousand Russian-speaking citizens live in London. This is a huge amount. Most of the visitors from Russia work. The most popular professions for Russians include the following:

1. The governess, that is, everything related to the house, children, household. This is the most common vacancy among women.
2. Russian language teacher. No matter how we are told that the Russian language is unpopular, the teachers of this discipline are sorely lacking.
3. Secretary in a diverse company.
4. Guide. However, knowledge of the language is necessary here.
5. Real estate agent in real estate is a good enough job for Russians in London.
6. Seller. At the same time, we are talking not only about the grocery store, but also about the clothing, cosmetics and other goods store. Everyone will find a sphere interesting specifically for him.
7. Auctioneer, marketer and manager.

Note that the work of a governess for Russians in London is the most popular and promising. The fact is that the British consider the Russian education system one of the most effective. Therefore, the demand for Russian governesses remains high. The positive side is that it is not mandatory to know the language perfectly.

Among the unclaimed professions, we can distinguish financiers, accountants, lawyers and medical workers.

Work for students

Earlier, we noted how many Russians live in London. Among the total, there are many students. Taking into account the high cost of living in the capital, every foreign student is forced to look for work and work in order to secure her life. According to the data for 2018, for Russian students, the most relevant are the vacancies of a waiter, promoter, dishwasher, as well as a cleaner. Such professions do not require special qualifications, education, or work experience. For students, there is only one feature. If they study at the University of London, then their work activity cannot exceed 10 hours a week. No work permit is required here.

What about housing?

Currently, many foreigners are trying to get to London, and not only foreigners, but just citizens of England. That is why the demand for housing is enormous, which means its prices are simply huge.

Consider this issue on specific examples of rental housing. Of course, the cost depends on the specific area of ​​the city in which you would like to live. In the city, rental prices will range from 500 to 4,000 pounds, which is about 40 to 312 thousand rubles.

1. If you want to rent a small room on the outskirts of the capital, while you will not live alone, but with strangers, then the cost of rent will cost you 500-600 pounds. This is just 40-45 thousand rubles. Here you need to pay attention to the lease. It must indicate whether utility bills are included in the rental amount.
2. When we talk about a studio in an area not far from the center, that is, in the first, second and third zones of public transport, the rental price will be approximately 1,100 pounds per month. Translating into rubles is approximately 85,000.
3. A two-room apartment, the so-called one bedroom, will cost £ 1,300 a month. This is about 100,000 rubles.
4. The best areas for living, the west and northwest of the city, are characterized by even higher prices. In such areas, a two-room apartment can cost about 4 thousand pounds, which is about 312 thousand rubles.

Regarding the search for housing, there are two ways: using real estate sites and paperwork through agents and brokers. When choosing an average you need to pay 650 pounds for the work of the agency, but this is a guarantee of security and the legality of the transaction. The agency will check the status of bank accounts, analyze certificates from work, check the solvency of a person. The whole procedure takes about 1-2 weeks. The second option is free search portals. In this case, contact occurs directly with the owner, there are no intermediaries. The lease is usually verbal, which means that you do not have any guarantees or protection from the law. There is a chance of getting into scammers.

How much is real estate in London? On average, a two-room apartment in a favorable area costs about 400-600 thousand pounds. Of course, there are apartments for millions. If you try, you can find cheaper than a million, but it will certainly be secondary housing, which will certainly be too far from the center.

Products

With regard to products, the situation in the capital is more favorable and adapted to the population than with housing. There are a huge number of chain stores, and each chain is designed for a specific budget. That is, you can, in principle, live with dignity, without spending huge amounts of money on products. Food prices in London range from £ 150 a month. This is 11 thousand rubles. There are shops in which you can give about 50 pounds (4 thousand rubles) for just one purchase, and there are shops where you can buy food for a week for 15-20 pounds quite calmly. Everyone chooses a suitable option. Common chain stores are German chains Lidl, Aldi, European chains Morrisons, American stores Walmart.

Most residents buy food at Tesco and Sainsbury's chain store, which is British. Drawing an analogy with Russian stores, this will be Auchan. If you give examples of the cost of specific products, then we can say about cheese - a piece of 400 grams will cost 5-7 pounds, this is 400-550 rubles. A kilogram of chicken costs between 4 and 8 pounds (300 to 600 rubles). Vegetables and various fruits cost about 2-3 pounds per pack of 400 grams.

Transport

We said earlier that transportation is quite an expensive pleasure. Now we will talk about this in more detail. Life and work in London provide for constant movement within the city, which means transport is simply a necessary means of transportation for any resident of the capital. There is one company in the city that manages all public transport, and travel cards called the Oyster Card are also installed. This is an analogue of the Troika card in Moscow. The public transport network includes the underground, underground and light metro, as well as buses and trams. There is river transport, but the pass does not work on it. The cost of a trip along the Thames will cost 5-6 pounds, this is 500-600 rubles.

The whole city is divided into six zones. Within the first and second zones (close to the center) the fare is from 2.5 to 5 pounds. The first price is on the pass, the second is without it. By bus in this area, the fare is about 1.5 pounds. There are special travel cards that operate in a specific transport zone. A monthly pass costs 33 pounds, which is 2,500 rubles. The annual pass is 1,320 pounds, which is approximately 103 thousand rubles.

Regarding cars, we can say that they are not as popular here as in Russia, because it is not so efficient and quite expensive. For example, the cost of entry into the city center is 11.5 pounds per day. But the bicycle infrastructure is actively developed.

Entertainment

Nowadays in London there are a lot of different opportunities to have fun and interesting time. Young people often go to the cinema and clubs. In an inexpensive cafe, the trip will be approximately 20-25 pounds, which is 1.5-2 thousand rubles. This price includes a full dinner. In more expensive restaurants, the bill goes up to 150 pounds per person. If we are talking about a fast food cafe, then you can order a sandwich for 5 pounds. 2D movie tickets cost about 10-12 pounds. This is approximately 1,000 rubles. In London there is a huge amount of entertainment, for example, the National Gallery, the Museum of Natural History, Victoria and Albert, as well as the Tate. Entrance to museums and exhibition halls is free.

Relocation to permanent residence

At the moment, many countries in Europe have a fairly tightened immigration policy. Great Britain is no exception here. This is due to the huge flow of foreigners who seek to live in England, including in London. Now for a legal stay in the capital and moving to it for permanent residence (permanent residence), you need to fall under one of the grounds:

1. Moving as an investor.
2. By permission from the employer.
3. With the help of a student visa, which in the future can turn into a work visa.
4. As an entrepreneur.
5. For family reasons, this includes a marriage visa.

For the first reason, moving to London is the easiest and fastest. In this case, the requirements for the level of knowledge of the language are not provided to the foreigner. It is necessary to invest a million British pounds in the development of the state. Money is invested in the form of securities. After investing money, the investor receives a residence permit, in five years he receives permanent residence and the right to sell the invested bonds. If desired, further citizenship can be obtained.

Permanent residence in London can be obtained through a work permit, which we spoke about earlier.It is only necessary at the appointed time to arrive in the capital and begin work. Hours will be counted and in the future will serve as the basis for obtaining a permanent residence in the capital. A significant disadvantage here is the difficulty in finding an employer who would send an invitation.

For students, moving to London is not so problematic if the young man passed all the exams and entered the university of the capital. However, this option of moving is quite expensive, because you have to pay for study, life, housing, food and other expenses. As we know, the standard of living in London is quite high, respectively, and the prices are not low. At the same time, no one gives a guarantee to the student that after graduation he will find work in London and apply for a work permit.

Business migration is one way to move to the capital of England. The positive side is that the owner of the business can take a partner who shares with him the expense and the business itself. All the time spent in London will be counted in the period of residence, on the basis of which in the future you can obtain permanent residence and citizenship. The downside is that you can not carry out any other work than your work. You also need to invest 200,000 pounds. They should be spent precisely on the development of the case, as confirmed by official documents. This amount should not include the acquisition of real estate and construction, finishing work. A business visa is valid for three years, after which it must be extended for another two years and then obtain permanent residence.

How to move to London for permanent residence on a marriage visa? Thanks to such a visa, the wife or husband of a citizen of England can move to the capital without obstacles and live there for five years, after which they will receive permanent residence. After another year, you can get citizenship. In this case, a British citizen must have an income of at least 18,600 pounds per year. Note that divorce is the basis for terminating the legal residence of a foreigner in the country.

We told you about a huge number of features, some of the nuances of life in the capital of England, objectively listed the pros and cons of staying and living in the city. The main thing we want to wish you is not to be afraid of changes and be ready for a new rhythm of life. Good luck in conquering London!