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UK at a glance City Life Indian Diaspora
UK at a glance
Geography
Before you understand and adopt the lifestyle of UK it is important to know the various parts that make up the continent. The United Kingdom comprises three major countries, England, Scotland, and Wales. Its province Northern Ireland also forms an integral piece.
England
The most prolific country of UK, England boasts of major cities like, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and small yet important cities like Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, Norwich or York. The major cities, essentially the capital London, is home to a vast number of international students, specially Indians, thus the Indian student will find a taste of his home country in an environment where education is at its most productive. England is renowned for being the headquarters of huge corporate and business empires. Following the completion of your education it offers a sea of opportunities for enthusiasts ready to enter the world working scenario.
Scotland
Believed to be colder than the other UK countries, Scotland is beautiful and scenic covered with mountains and brimming with rivers or lochs. With major cities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Sterling, Scotland is a welcoming country for International students.
Wales
Wales is known for its magical old world beauty. Gorgeous landscapes, exquisite castles and country-houses, make Wales, specially its capital city Cardiff, a traveller's delight. You will be happy to be a part of the rich and varied culture in markets and community places.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is a little away from the main Great Brittan but easily accessible by ferry or plane. Its glorious monuments and historical destinations attract and arouse curiosity.
Polity
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the prime minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors). The United Kingdom is one of the few countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution, relying instead on traditional customs and separate pieces of constitutional law.
Economy
Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is the fifth-largest economy in the world; the second largest in Europe after Germany, and the sixth-largest overall by purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates.
Society and Culture
The major cities in UK reflect a highly varied religious community. The several religious monuments and places of worship all over UK bear testimony to the Governments open acceptance of all religions. An international student will be free to practice his religion and would be welcome to join in the religious and traditional festivities of the hosts as well.
City Life
UK offers modern transport systems, convenient telecommunications, cosmopolitan shopping complexes and excellent medical services.
City transport
Since UK is divided into several small countries that are quite close; it is easy to travel in UK. The available options for moving around are:
Roads: UK boasts of a well developed and well maintained road network. If you are driving you should be aware of the speed meters in UK that are 48 kph in built up areas, 97 kph in single carriage ways and 113 kph in dual carriage ways and motorways. If you don't want to drive or simply can't, you can easily avail of the bus service and stage coaches. The bus service may facilitate you with a students' discount.
Taxis: Easily accessible Taxis run all over UK and can be found especially at bus terminals and airports. Another kind of taxi available in UK is Minicab, which is cheap and available only through prior booking from the Minicab companies.
Rail: A comprehensive rail network runs through UK connecting cities and city centers and suburbs. Here too, you can avail of students' discounts.
The London Underground: For convenience and order the London Underground network is divided into 6 zones. If you want to spend the entire day roaming around London in the Underground you can buy the ‘one day travel card', whereas if you want to do it on the weekend or the entire week or month get the ‘weekend travel card' and ‘week /month travel card'.
Money and Banks
The currency of the UK is pound sterling, represented by the symbol £. The Bank of England is the central bank and is responsible for issuing currency, although banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover the issue.
Food
With religions and cultures, UK adopted the culinary tastes of the world. An Indian international student in UK can now find all his favorite delicacies in the major cities of UK, especially London. While as a guest with a British family, an International student will be treated with the food the host serves keeping in mind a strict adherence to his tastes or religious beliefs, if important. UK restaurants now serve Indian, French, Italian, Chinese, and almost all cuisines of the world. These restaurants follow a set pattern: some may open from early morning to mid night while others may open at just meal times. A student not only enjoys tasting new dishes or sticking to his “home food” but would also save money by buying meals that suit his pocket.
Miscellaneous
Driving: This will depend on where your license was issued. You may be able to drive using your current license for up to 12 months and then take a test. Alternatively, you may be able to exchange your license for a British license or apply for a provisional license and then take the test.
Indian Diaspora
Indian community
Since the beginning of the 17th century, London has been a popular place for the Indian communities to settle. Now home to 173,000 overseas nationals from India, London accounts for over a third of the UK total. If British-born people of Indian origin are also considered, this number reaches 437,000, accounting for 6 per cent of London's population. The most popular, and highest-density, residential areas are the boroughs of Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Hounslow and Redbridge. All of India 's major languages are spoken here, including Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali and Tamil. All cultural and daily requirements pertaining to India are comfortably met.
North America
North America
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