Packing for university abroad - London

Most International students moving to London for studies, burden themselves packing a lot of their traditional food in their bags. I suppose such behaviour is based on the fact that they are unaware about the availability of their cultural cuisine in a new city.  I did the same.  I carried readymade packets worrying about my palate as I did not know much about the new city and its tastes.

However if I have to give any advice to any international student about what they need to carry for their bellies, I would say that London offers global cuisine which is available in a variety of ranges and qualities from cheap, affordable and expensive depending upon which super market one would choose to go to buy their purchases from. I suggest going to Asda, Co-op, and a few local stores which are reasonably priced.  A Saintsbury or a Waitrose would be a little on the expensive side.  The university international school committees often forget to advise their students regarding such matters probably considering them to be very basic information and therefore such guidelines held back, causes a lot of inconvenience to the new students and is difficult on their pockets too.

So now what are the things an international student must bring along when he/she packs for London?

I would say winter wear is a basic and an essential part when moving to this part of the UK. A pair of warm boots, a few jumpers, a warm winter coat and a pair of gloves is a must. Having these is definitely essential for if one fails to them then a visit to Primark would become inevitable but then one would end up buying things of a poor quality at a cheaper rate. I would also suggest that good quality stationery is overpriced in London and therefore carrying some along would do well to a student. For people who smoke, bringing their brands/roll-ups along from their countries would be beneficial to them because the same would be once again expensive in London.

In short, I would suggest that one should travel light and not unnecessarily over load their journey since a lot is available at reasonable prices in London. Also one must use caution to not rush to buy all the essentials at the same time from the same place but give time to move around and make a judgement of the prices at different places and then only make purchases.

Though London is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world, if only one were to be a little cautious there would be not much of a financial crunch.

Trip sponsored by London Universities International Partnership #LUIP