Work Visas are the Worst and Moving Overseas is a Huge Pain in the Ass

Graduating from College is scary; it is the first time in your life that you are completely out of school and you are practically thrown out into the real world. You cross your fingers and pray to God that someone finds you interesting/skilled and hires you. After what seems like a million rejections, you finally land a job. You then realize everything up to this point wasn’t scary at all… the scary part is realizing you now have to step out of your comfort zone. You now have to move to a new city, state, or country. You have to interact and meet new people. You are now put into a very vulnerable positon of not knowing what to expect. As excited as you are to begin a new adventure and finally put your degree to use, you find yourself clinging onto the things that make you feel safe – your friends, your city, your home and your family. As scary as it was to up and move to London, I knew what to expect since I had completed my internship there. I had already made friends, knew the lay of the land, and had an idea of what was going to happen. This time, I am going in completely blind - I have never even visited San Francisco. The last time I was even in California was when I was about 4 or 5 years old. So as excited and truly amazed as I am that I got this new position, I can’t help but find myself clinging to Springfield and wanting to return to school to get my Masters. So as I begin this new and scary adventure, I want to reflect on the things I learned from my last adventure and maybe help ease anyone that is planning on getting an internship or job overseas after school.

What you should know before living abroad:

It gets lonely – step out of your comfort zone

First things first, there are going to be times when you are a bit lonely. You are moving to a new country where you know maybe one or two people (if that). My best advice for making friends is to go out with colleagues. I met so many people through Annie and they were all constantly going out and doing fun things.

Apps are great for meeting new friends and finding cool things to do. I did succumb to using Tinder, but honestly when you live in a country where you know no one, you almost have to jump on the Tinder game. I met so many amazing people on Tinder and got to enjoy the city in a different way. I also used Time Out to find cool and interesting things to do in London. There is literally ALWAYS something going on, it is hard to stay in when you know there are so many cool things happening all around you. There are quite a few other apps you can use, but I found Time Out to be the most useful in London.

Traveling is much easier

There are so many modes of transportation you can use to travel around Europe. When a group of us travelled to Amsterdam, we decided to take a bus. A round trip ticket from London to Amsterdam and back was about £50.00. However, although memorable… I highly discourage the bus route as it is an incredibly long ride, highly uncomfortable and as we found out, it is prone to individuals sneaking into the bus and hiding on top of the engine. On our specific trip, the individual was found by police forcing everyone on the bus to go through customs twice. We were supposed to arrive back in London by 20:00, but because of this incident we didn’t get back until 2:00.

Other easy options are the train and of course… an airplane. I have taken the Eurostar from London to Paris a couple of times and it is probably one of my favorite ways to get around as it is fast, easy and fairly cheap (tickets usually start at around $60.00). Flying is my least favorite way to travel, but it is the quickest and usually the most cost effective. The sooner you book, the better the price will be – I have seen one-way tickets as cheap as $25.00!

USA Drinking vs UK Drinking

Drinking in London is quite different than it is in the States. When Americans say, “lets pre-game before going out” this usually means, lets get smashed before going to the actual event where we continue to drink, thus leading to an inevitable blackout. In London, the pre-game is a fun and cherished activity, just as much as the actual event.

There is a major difference between a pub in Britain and a bar in America. American bars are usually loud, chaotic and full of frat boys and drunk girls crying and vomiting in the bathroom. The music is usually too loud and you are having to scream at each other in order to have a conversation. In Britain, pubs have a quiet and relaxed environment - similar to an American coffee shop. You can walk into a pub during the day (without fear of judgment) to grab a drink and relax. I also found that most companies will stop working around 15:00 or 16:00 on Fridays to have drinks with colleagues (this is something I believe Americans need to adopt).

Cellphones can be tricky

First, make sure that you call you wireless provider to have them unlock your phone at least one month prior to leaving for the UK. By unlocking the phone, this will allow you to replace your current SIM card with one from the UK.

I found communicating with friends and family to be a bit tricky while in London. In order to make a call to the US, I found that using FaceTime audio works the best as it uses data or Wi-Fi, instead of charging you by the minute. Another issue I had with communicating with people back in the States was the time difference. Six hours doesn’t seem like much, but there were times where I was needing to get ahold of my mom but couldn’t because it was 3:00am her time.

Work visas are the worst and moving overseas is a huge pain in the ass

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade my time in London for anything! But to be completely honest, moving there was such a hassle. I got my short term work visa through an agency, this made things a little bit easier as they mapped out everything and were always happy to answer any questions I had. The process of attaining a work visa is a bitch though. I went the expedited route (as I wanted to get to the UK as quickly as possible) and it still took about six-eight weeks and thousands of dollars. The process is tedious and there are so many steps involved such as: interviews, mountains of paper work, and travelling to your States Immigration Office to have them process paperwork and complete your biometrics.

As awful as the visa process was, it was no where near the headache of realizing you have to move your entire life overseas. You do not realize how much stuff you have until you have to move. You are able to check two suitcases that are under 50 pounds for free and you are allowed one carry on and a personal item. So imagine trying to pack your whole life into the two suitcases that you can check for free if they are under 50 pounds, one carry on item, and a personal item… it is hard. And just when you thought the headache of moving overseas was over, you realize you have to find a place to live.

Transportation is wonderful... if you live in London.

God bless TfL. The Underground, Overground, DLR, and busses make traveling around London so simple. Sure, there are delays, breakdowns, and emergency alarms pulled from time to time, but overall I can’t complain about the transportation. And if all else fails – there’s Uber.

Time

The way people view time is different in every country. Most of the countries in Southern Europe are very relaxed when it comes to time. I remember having to attend a sales meeting in Paris and we were told the meeting would begin at 10:30. When I got to the showroom at 10:30, I was told that I was the first one to arrive. Thirty minutes went by and I was still the only agent that had arrived. The next agent arrived around 11:00, with the last agent arriving at 11:30… a whole hour after the meeting was supposed to start. In their defense, the company wasn’t even ready to present the collection to us until 11:30. That is when I realized that time is just a number and really more of a guideline to them. London views time similar to the US, they expect you to be there on time and ready to go.

Traveling changes you

Traveling and living abroad allows you to get out of the tiny, conservative, Midwest bubble. You not only learn about new cultures – you get to live and adapt to them. Interacting with the locals and finding out their opinions, learning the local slang and just generally immersing yourself in the culture as much as you can, is when you really learn about the world. You make friends from all over the world, connections that you will call upon later. You realize how adventurous you are. You will find yourself doing things because you don’t know if you will ever get the opportunity to do it again. You learn the importance of capturing all of these moments. Whether it’s by taking pictures, videos, blogging about it, or just simply looking around and taking it all in, you learn to appreciate the moments and the memories created.

All of these experiences will make you more employable. You’ve handled awkward situations and dealt with a lot of different kinds of people and cultures. When you live and travel abroad you learn a lot of people skills that can’t be taught in school. This ability to work well with others, adapt, and navigate different situations can give you a real edge in job interviews.