<p>My daughter will be studying in London this fall with Notre Dame. I am wondering if there is any advice others could give about visiting her, things she may need, etc.?</p>
<p>Our son studied abroad in London for a term when he was an undergrad. He took everything he needed with him…operant term…PACK LIGHT. Our son’s school had an info packet on what the students NEEDED to have with them. You might want to see if your kiddo’s school has something like that too.</p>
<p>We did visit…over the week of Thanksgiving (which is not celebrated there). Just make sure you make reservations in advance and hotels too. We were there for 10 days and I wish we had just rented a flat…something that can be done for a week. You might want to check that out.</p>
<p>This is a great opportunity for your daughter.</p>
<p>My brother spent a term in Madrid. He laughed when my mom wanted him to get one of those money belt things to wear under his shirt. He refused and in less than two weeks his wallet was stolen in a crowded bar. Thankfully, his passport was at his home stay residence. When I go abroad, I am getting one of those belt or shoe things.</p>
<p>My D studied at the University of Edinburg, and used that as her “base of operations”, and planned week-end and day-trips ahead of time. She also took advantage of the planned outings that Arcadia (the organizing group) planned. She even would up meeting and making friends with some other kids from her home school - that she hadn’t met prior to the study abroad experience. </p>
<p>But the BEST way to enjoy it - at least from my D’s perspective - was joining a club team with Edinburgh in a sport that she played in the states. It gave her a ready-made close group of girls she could share experiences with. My d liked her experience so much she almost stayed at Edinburgh to graduate.</p>
<p>And I am sure that London is a GREAT place to stay and enjoy and share. And isn’t even Paris just a day-trip away? So tell her to do a little planning and enjoy the heck out of it!</p>
<p>Could write you a book, but don’t have time right now…daughter is there right now…off the top of my head</p>
<p>1) get her a capital one credit card; only one that doesn’t charge a foreign excchange fee on top of the $$>>>lbs conversion</p>
<p>2) Bof A debit card; no charge for withdrawals from Barclay’s ATM.s all over Europe (but mostly in London)</p>
<p>3) Intra european travel : get a european approved carry on bag; found this out the hard way…different dimensions than US…google on the amazon uk site for the right dimensions or go on the British Airways UK site…</p>
<p>PM me with any other questions…</p>
<p>Thanks so much. My daughter is so excited. Any travel around London trip advice?</p>
<p>If you go to London…get an Oyster Card for use on the Tube (subway). You can charge it up with whatever amount or time you choose. The Tube is great public transport and goes most anywhere.</p>
<p>Your daughter should get one too!!!</p>
<p>Speak to your child about alcohol.</p>
<p>I have posted this advice before, and 99% of the time the parent instantly replies something along the lines of “my child would never drink”. That may be the case in the US when it is against the law. However, the problem arises when it is not illegal, and they are offered a drink with every meal, all their friends are going out drinking, they are offered sweet drinks that taste nothing like alcohol etc (or they have secretly always wanted to try absinthe). If this issue has never been discussed, the student probably doesn’t know the difference between one glass and binge drinking, and it’s a slippery slope.</p>
<p>US study abroad students have a terrible reputation in the UK for drunk and disorderly behaviour (above and beyond the general reputation of all students for this). I would advise your child against fulfilling the stereotype.</p>
<p>^^interesting post; what my daughter has found is that now that they are legally allowed to drink, they don’t feel a horrible need to have more than one drink or so when they go out…</p>
<p>sorry to hear about that reputation though; that is not good…</p>
<p>D2 just returned from a semester in London; your kid will have a wonderful time! Lots of good advice here already - Capital One card, Oyster for tube/bus travel. She got a really cheap phone from (I believe) Carphone Warehouse with a plan that gave her very inexpensive overseas minutes - great for those first couple of weeks of adjustment.</p>
<p>One thing she did that turned out to be a great choice - joined the student orchestra at her college there. She rented an instrument, and the group she ended up joining was the one where the musicians all went out to the pub after rehearsal. She got to know a number of English students rather than just the Americans on her program. There’s probably an equivalent for your child’s particular hobby or interest.</p>
<p>European travel is really inexpensive. D took great advantage of this and had some wonderful experiences, and one not-so-wonderful one. This is where the money belt idea comes in. DO NOT trust hostel arrangements, especially in Rome. (I can PM anyone with a specific place to avoid if interested.) Life lessons.</p>
<p>D took her American laptop and camera with British adaptors. No problem.</p>
<p>My D was in London for a study abroad this last fall and loved it.</p>
<p>What is the residence situation? Mt D was housed in a university residence that consisted of flats, 5 or 6 singles, with a shared kitchen.
All linens and cooking supplies had to be furnished by the student.</p>
<p>If this will be the same case, I suggest not bringing all the needed stuff that will add to the weight and bulk of the luggage.</p>
<p>London has a place called Argos which sells all household stuff at very cheap prices. There are catalogues, …one chooses, and they go in the back to collect the merchandise. These stores are all over the place and very popular with students.
[London</a> Argos Stores - Find your nearest Argos Branch in London](<a href=“Web Server's Default Page”>Web Server's Default Page)</p>
<p>D bought her comforter, sheets, desk lamp etc and all kitchen pots and pans, crockery, kettle etc, and left most of it there to donate when leaving.</p>
<p>Make sure D advises credit card companies, and ATM card bank (preferably B of A, affiliated with Barclays as mentioned above) in advance that she will be in the UK, or traveling for those months, in order to avoid a hassle of having the cards refused due to fraud alerts.</p>
<p>Phone…we used this company here in the US:
[Low-cost</a> Europe cell phones and European SIM cards](<a href=“Callineurope.com”>Callineurope.com)
They send you a cellphone a few days before departure, already activated, and they bill on a credit card by month. We found it very reasonable and convenient. </p>
<p>Yes, pubs are very popular. However my D did not experience situations with fellow students where alcohol consumption was excessive…not in the least…though most students she hung out with from her residence were European internationals.</p>
<p>And one warning: If your D travels outside of the UK (which she will since travel is so inexpensive) make darn sure she has her documents with her…not just the passport, but the visa and the proof of University session…one kid forgot one of his documents and was refused re entry and sent back to the US! (His parents were not thrilled)</p>
<p>Wow, a student visa, I did not think of that.</p>
<p>"And one warning: If your D travels outside of the UK (which she will since travel is so inexpensive) make darn sure she has her documents with her…not just the passport, but the visa and the proof of University session…one kid forgot one of his documents and was refused re entry and sent back to the US! (His parents were not thrilled) "</p>
<p>OMG I can imagine…Sequioa, can you tell us which country please??? Daughter is scheduled to travel almost every weekend until May…</p>
<p>BTW, her school told the students that you only needed a visa if you were doing an internship or were getting a job…</p>
<p>Our D had a visa for internship, but did not need for any of the countries she traveled to (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece and Czech Republic)…</p>
<p>Oh yeah, might want to increase her travel budget :)</p>