New life in Uk

Hey everyone,
Names nick. I'm 19 and I'm lookin at started on my own.
Lived in Canada for 19 years, and I've been hoping to head to the uk for a long time. I'm just looking to gain insight into a couple basic things.

- is it even possible to get a visa without work or marriage.
- how much money should I take to start with
- cheap areas to live in ( London area ) I know it's bloody expensive there, but cheap in perspective.

I'm not worried about crime, I can hold my own. Im looking for an adventure.

Any thoughts and comments are helpful. Thanks !

Look forward to hearing back from this community.

Hi Nick, welcome to the forum!

I'm a 20 year old student and I'm looking to move to the UK as well. This forum is extremely helpful with answering basically any question you have about moving overseas.

I don't have experience in the UK yet but I can tell you a bit about some things I've researched:

You are eligible for the Youth Mobility Scheme visa, which is formerly the Working Holiday Visa, I believe. You get to stay in the UK for up to 2 years and I think work 12 months out of the 2 years. Check out the "How to get a visa to live/work in the UK" thread; it's the second topic. Very, very useful information. When you give it a look you can see you can also be qualified for a 5 year Ancestry visa if you have a grandparent born in the UK.

As far as money goes, I'd say you should save up a lot of money if you're just going on your own without any help from a working abroad program. Unfortunately I can't give you much information on that as I myself are trying to figure it out too.

Also if you're a student you might want to check this out. Go to swap.ca! It's a program for Canadians aged 18-30 and it pretty much is a way for young people to travel and work abroad. We just had a presentation from a rep today at college!

Good luck

Hey Nick!

I'm 23 and have lived just slightly outside London for almost 2 months.
I love life here but will be heading back to Canada in January as I cannot get a job here. I am on the YMS visa.

For visa information, check out the UK Border Agency website. That will give you all the information you will need on the different visas, how to apply, etc.

As for money, I would budget like this:

Start up costs:
-YMS application fee - $314
-budget for living in a hostel for 1 month - $40/night-ish+
-budget for flight (this all depends...my 1-way ticket with Icelandair was $527 with tax)
-budget for checking extra luggage
-budget for food - I can get away with approx. £35/week
-budget for things that you can't take (for girls, this would include things like mirrors, hair dryer, straightener, etc. Lol)

Living costs:
This all depends on your situation. I got lucky and am staying with a friend of a friend for £350/month. Nobody will rent you a flatshare without meeting you first - and be prepared to be turned down if you don't have a job. Also budget for nights out - easily done in London LOL!!

For me, I've ended up spending approx $1000/mnth to live and do everything. Check out gumtree or spareroom to get an idea of rent costs. Different boroughs will be priced differently (they also all have a different feel to them).

Hey everyone,
Names nick. I'm 19 and I'm lookin at started on my own.

Lived in Canada for 19 years, and I've been hoping to head to the uk for a long time. I'm just looking to gain insight into a couple basic things.

Any thoughts and comments are helpful. Thanks !

Look forward to hearing back from this community.

Unless you qualify for the ancestry visa, then the YMS (2-year working holiday visa) is probably the easiest - discussed up thread

Why the UK?

Why not one of the other countries that are in the YMS group, Australia, NZ, Japan, Monaco

You could also before making the huge leap (after you've done your initial research) take a two week vacation, look about, observe the locals see what its all about. The best time IMO for a look about is end April - mid-June.

You've seen what the other posters have said. The UK isn't easy for young people, especially going it alone without friends or family & maybe you wont find work, or, if you do it'll be in an unrelated field of what you were thinking

My only advice is that you take with you twice the money that you think you'll need and only half as much baggage to take with you. I'd take approx one-weeks worth of clothing changes -wheelie carry on suitcase or backpack load

Good luck to you

Hey everyone,
Names nick. I'm 19 and I'm lookin at started on my own.

Lived in Canada for 19 years, and I've been hoping to head to the uk for a long time. I'm just looking to gain insight into a couple basic things.

Any thoughts and comments are helpful. Thanks !

Look forward to hearing back from this community.

Unless you qualify for the ancestry visa, then the YMS (2-year working holiday visa) is probably the easiest - discussed up thread

Why the UK?

Why not one of the other countries that are in the YMS group, Australia, NZ, Japan, Monaco

You could also before making the huge leap (after you've done your initial research) take a two week vacation, look about, observe the locals see what its all about. The best time IMO for a look about is end April - mid-June.

You've seen what the other posters have said. The UK isn't easy for young people, especially going it alone without friends or family & maybe you wont find work, or, if you do it'll be in an unrelated field of what you were thinking

My only advice is that you take with you twice the money that you think you'll need and only half as much baggage to take with you. I'd take approx one-weeks worth of clothing changes -wheelie carry on suitcase or backpack load

Good luck to you

UK has been a dream of mine for a long time. So the weathers bad, it's more expensive in London, and crimes higher, to me it's about following my dream. Being where I've always envisioned being.
Unfortunately, I'd need the YMS. No relatives here. How hard is it to be approved for it?

The YMS visa is incredibly easy to get. I had mine in a matter of a few days.

the ancestry visa applies if a grandparent was born in the UK or republic of ireland (before 1922 in ireland). it's a 5 year one.

I'm going over in january with my EU citizenship, so I don't have a visa. But reading the forums here, with a 1-2year visa you have to be prepared to work at a store, pub, restaurant, etc. it's rare to get a career gig in the UK on a short visa - they don't want to invest training you for only 1 years work. It's possible, of course, but many people have been saying retail work is the easiest on the short visas.

Don't bother looking at flat's until you are a week or so before arrival in the UK, the housing market moves really quick (you view today, and could move in tomorrow!). I've been keeping an eye on easyroommate.co.uk for flate shares. You can search by borough, tube station/line or view postings on a map to really see where they are.

good luck!!

With the YMS visa you are basically rubber-stamped approval. All you need is to prove that you have the funds necessary (1500 GBP) and be willing to jump through the hoops to get it. You would have to go to one of the offices set up for visa services and depending on where you live, that could be difficult and expensive. They only have centres in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton. If you don't live close to one of those cities you will have to travel there for your visa appointment.

I just want to add: you probably won't get a flat if you don't have a job. It took me 3 and a half months to get a job and I am on the YMS visa. It is a TOUGH battle here.

I just want to add: you probably won't get a flat if you don't have a job. It took me 3 and a half months to get a job and I am on the YMS visa. It is a TOUGH battle here.

Lynz, congrats on the job

From your post on October 18, are you still booked to come back or have you cancelled that ticket

If its not being too nosey, do tell us about your job search etc - thats if you want to