London is the capital of Great Britain - it is no exaggeration to say that this expression is familiar to almost every inhabitant of the earth. England is also called Foggy Albion, and in recent decades - the birthplace of Harry Potter. It's an amazing country with slightly eccentric people who consider themselves to be the British elite. Here it is customary to eat oatmeal for breakfast, have tea parties and not leave the house without an umbrella. This is how life is in England.
How to get to London?
You can read thousands of times about how people live in London, but it's better to see everything with your own eyes. To do this, you will need not so much: desire, finances and a visa to England. Contrary to popular belief, there are no monsters in the embassy who, with bloodthirsty enthusiasm, refuse to issue a visa to every second person. The main thing here is to fill out the documents correctly and meet the requirements.
You can apply for a visa to England on your own by submitting all the relevant documents to the consulate, or contact the visa centers, where specialists will do everything for a small surcharge. Usually, people who work unofficially, and thereforethere is no one to give them a certificate. However, it is worth remembering that such agencies, although they can draw any “linden”, do not guarantee that the visa will be approved.
Required documents
To get to England, you need to collect a whole package of documents. The first thing to do is fill out a form. Information must be provided as accurately as possible. Any discrepancy with reality - and the consequences will be dire.
In addition to the questionnaire, you need to take care of a color photograph of 3.5 by 4.5 cm in advance. Then you can start collecting all the missing documents:
- A passport with two free pages and a deadline of at least six months from the date of application.
- Photocopy of the first page of the passport.
- If there is, then old passports that will show the history of movements.
- Printed and signed questionnaire.
- Photo.
- Documents confirming marital status.
- Certificate from study or place of work. It is important that it indicates the position, salary and the fact that the workplace is assigned to the future tourist.
- Bank statement confirming that you have enough money to travel.
- Information about booked hotel and air tickets.
- Medical insurance. This item is not mandatory, but will affect the decision to issue a visa.
- Receipt of payment of the consular fee.
This package of documents is typical for a guest or tourist visa. To get a student ora work visa, you need to provide additional documents: certificates confirming knowledge of the language, and documents confirming the availability of an educational or working place.
Foxes and estates
And now about life in England. The first thing that surprises visitors from Russia is the absence of homeless animals. This is carefully monitored in the country, so that cats and dogs are full-fledged members of English families. But wild foxes are often found in cities, but it seems that the British are used to them, but an unprepared person may be frightened. And by the way, the legendary British accent can not be found in every city.
Also in the country there is still a division of society into the lower class, the middle class and the aristocrats. You can't confuse these people with each other, they not only look different, but also talk differently. Representatives of the middle class earn about 2,000 pounds a month (165,000 rubles) and actively buy property on credit. The British prefer to live in their own houses, and not in apartments, as is customary in Russia. Already almost 70% of the British live in private sectors, where there are houses with a separate entrance. Renting such housing costs about 1 thousand pounds (87.5 thousand rubles) per month, plus you have to pay separately for utilities ≈ 15-20 thousand rubles.
Fish and chips
Life in England surprises with its cuisine. The signature dish here is batter-fried cod with French fries. In the morning, they usually serve oatmeal or classic English here.breakfast with eggs, sausages, beans, bacon and mushrooms.
The British also consider themselves the most musical nation, since it was in the UK that such bands as The Beatles, Queen and The Rolling Stones were created. The argument, of course, is so-so, but let them believe it if they like it.
And along with all this, it is worth understanding that life in England and tourist idleness are not the same thing. Someone says that the country can only be visited for sightseeing or for study. The life of immigrants in England is not as bright and carefree as it might seem.
Features of migrants
Russian people learn about life in England mainly from the words of those who came from there. But many migrants have one distinguishing feature: they lie about their status, career success, earnings and quality of life. In fact, these people can be understood, because not a single person voluntarily admits that he lost, so migrants lie godlessly.
If a person manages to get hooked on some decent job, he will greatly exaggerate his success. And if it didn’t work out, and he had to return, he will say that migrants are being pressed, they are not hired, and in general, it’s impossible to break through at least somewhere.
The second feature of migrants is, oddly enough, hostility towards their compatriots. Emigrants do not like each other and try to avoid meeting. True, this is valid only for Russian-speaking citizens. Lithuanians or, for example, Poles are trying to stick together in a foreign country.
Why don't you need to go to England for permanent residence?
It rains here 200 days a year, it's easy to get depressed, especially if things don't work out. But in addition to rain, the country is often wrapped in an impenetrable veil of fog and there are strong winds. Not everyone can bear this kind of weather.
Some visitors claim that medicine is bad in England. There is no such thing as a preventive examination. If you come to the doctor, then he asks the reason for the visit, when it is not there, then the person is sent home. Before going to a specialist, you need to get a referral from your family doctor.
The life of ordinary people in England is too measured. Outside the capital, a migrant is unlikely to find any entertainment. Cinema, cafes, shops, theaters - all this is available only in London, and in other cities it is not so easy to find them. In addition, institutions operate according to a very strange scheme: banks can close at two in the afternoon, and shopping centers - at nine in the evening, no later.
Standard of living
In general, living conditions in England are quite good, but to achieve them, you need to work tirelessly. Here, the average salary is high - about 179 thousand rubles, if translated into Russian rubles, and in London - all 290,000. Highly paid specialists are brokers, lawyers, doctors, company executives, sales and marketing managers.
Those who first came to England should not count on mountains of gold. The life of Russians in England begins with job searches (if they were not invited to the companyin advance). The maximum they have to count on at first is £6 an hour, which is the minimum wage in England. For a month a person can get about 1000 pounds (depending on who, how and how much will work). This money is enough to rent the cheapest housing, for the minimum food and also for free expenses. If a person wants to eat normally (almost like an aristocrat), then he will not have free money.
Although the standard of living in England is high, people have to spend too much. The cost of a rented apartment is 900 pounds, food will also cost much more than we are used to. Yes, and public transport will have to spend at least 100 pounds per month (about 8 thousand rubles). Also, do not forget about taxes - the higher the salary, the more you give to the state.
Working issues
In a word, you can't come to England (or any other country) "out of the blue". There is work in England for Russians, but you need to take care of it in advance. No developed country will refuse a highly qualified specialist with knowledge of the local language. But even if a person is far from a master of narrow specialization, the British authorities provide a whole list of work visas.
Basic requirements for working in England: knowledge of the language and qualifications. To get a good job, you need to have a certificate confirming knowledge of the language. Knowledge of other languages will be an added advantage.
As for the qualification, it's not so simple. The education and work experience received may not meet the requirements of labor law in England. To check your qualifications, you can use the NARIC online service, which operates on behalf of the British Government.
Also, to get a job, you need a sponsorship certificate - this is a kind of letter of guarantee from the employer that the applicant for the job is a highly qualified specialist.
Intermediary firms will help you look for a job. But you can try to do it yourself, via the Internet. It is best to look for a job in London, where the local labor market absolutely cannot cope with the high pace of development.
Life in retirement
Most of all migrants are attracted to England by the life of pensioners. Older people who spend their days in cafes and restaurants with a glass of wine or travel the world cannot but be envious.
In 2016, the UK carried out a pension reform, which resulted in the establishment of a "new state pension" and raised the retirement age to 66 years. To receive a "new state pension", you need to have at least 10 years of work experience. This refers to the experience in the UK. Also eligible for an English pension are those who have received National Insurance credits for at least 10 years and those who have voluntarily paid pension contributions.
So, how do pensioners live in England? On the covers of glossy magazines and on TV screens, we see what is good. But they are unlikely to be able to live carefree only on state benefits, here the systemfocused on self-sufficiency. Of course, the government does not allow pensioners to live in poverty, providing various benefits, free medicines and additional social benefits, but if a person wants to have a comfortable old age, he must save up for it himself.
Good points
As with every country, living in England has its positives and negatives. The pros and cons of life in England are seen differently by every migrant. It is difficult to find a job here due to the high level of competition, if nothing serious has happened to your he alth, then it is extremely difficult to get medical care, and it also rains here all the time.
But the country has unusually beautiful nature. There are many nature reserves and parks that make the country look like the England that existed in this place several centuries ago. The same feeling is reinforced by ancient castles and fortresses.
History lovers can settle not just in old, but in super-old houses that are already over 400 years old. Although they have low ceilings, these buildings are always equipped with fireplaces, as big as in the past.
People here are sociable, smiling and easy to get in touch with. In England, it is customary to talk with strangers on simple, abstract topics. It's almost impossible to make close friends. It's not that the British are cynical and heartless egoists, they just have a different mentality. They are reserved in expressing their emotions and are not inclined to share their experiences over a cup of tea, but they are always ready to help.
Alcohol, cheese and dairy products are available here, but good quality vegetables and fruits are extremely hard to find.
It may sound strange, but there is practically no crime in England, so you can safely walk late at night and not be afraid of robbers.
Daily life in England
At first glance, it may seem that life in England is no different from the foundations of other European countries, but if you look in more detail, you can find a lot of differences.
As already mentioned, the British love to live in private two-story houses, which is not only a tradition, but also a confirmation of status. Also, the inhabitants of this country save electricity, water and gas. Washing dishes under a stream of water running from a tap is, in their firm opinion, the height of waste. In winter, no one heats houses around the clock. It is believed that it is enough to turn it on for a couple of hours in the morning and in the evening - that's all heating. Here it is considered normal to walk around the house in two sweaters, three pairs of socks and go to bed with a heating pad in your arms.
The British do not wear dressing gowns (except when going from bed to the bathroom), stretched tracksuits and slippers. Home clothing usually consists of comfortable trousers and a T-shirt or sweater. The people of England do not like to spend time preparing food, and even more do not like to stand in lines every day. So they buy semi-finished products on Friday or Saturday for the whole next week.
The British are by nature hospitable and helpful people. Buthere the concept of hospitality is very radically different from that to which the Russian people are accustomed. No one comes here without an invitation, and you should not expect a magnificently laid table “on two floors” either. If the meeting was agreed in advance, then the person will certainly be met in a good mood and will be treated with great respect. The British will never discuss their problems with guests; they always have “Everything is fine!”
Here it is, life in Foggy Albion. Here it rains 200 days a year, ancient castles are hidden among the green crowns of nature reserves, double-decker buses travel around London, and at five o'clock in the evening the whole country sits down together to drink tea. Living in England, on the one hand, is difficult, because it is a foreign country, but, on the other hand, there are many places worth visiting, many unknown customs and traditions that would be nice to know. Echoes of bygone years still hang in the air, wide fields of farms stretch out under a leaden gray sky, similar houses line up in a row in the suburbs. It's quiet and almost boring here, but no one complains, because everyone has too many thoughts that require careful thinking over a traditional cup of tea.
