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Geek Culture / Study Abroad in England

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alex 1337
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 05:44
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Hello, I live in America and currently attend high school. This summer, I want to do a study abroad thing in some part of England. As I know most people on these forums are from England, can someone suggest some cities in which it would be nice to vist. I really want to go to London, but are there any other nice ones to see?
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BatVink
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 10:45
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Depends what your interests are. There is everything from coastal scenic to coastal commercialised, mining areas, textile areas, museums from natural history to film and photography, British history (Royal Armouries), and so the list goes on.

And don't forget that Wigan, home of The Game Creators is a landlocked town with a pier!

Tell us what you like, and I'm sure you'll get lots of replies.



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Kenjar
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 11:04
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Naw, you want wales, mountains, lakes, forests, green grass, rain, sheep, and a quaint little people who'l mug you in an alley way somewhere for a tenner.

Oh, and for those of you that watch the Johnathan Ross show, women in boob-tubes who'll fight seagulls tooth an nail for a carten of chips!

I lay upon my bed one bright clear night, and gazed upon the distant stars far above, then I thought... where the hell is my roof?
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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 11:15
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Quote: "women in boob-tubes who'll fight seagulls tooth an nail for a carten of chips"

Ok - now my work colleague think I'm weird for laughing at my PC... ok weirder...

Bear in mind, uni in the UK is VERY expensive... Although I'm not sure how much it costs outside the UK so it might be a poor comparison. I know I met some chinese foreign students who were paying £10K a year to study at Essex Uni which I was at (while I was paying £1.1K). I certainly wouldn't have paid £10K a year for that level of education, but they seemed happy enough to pay for it.

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ESP
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 11:17
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We're full, try France

Robin
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Fallout
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 11:31 Edited at: 13th Nov 2006 11:31
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At the end of the day, the guy should really study in London. Not that there arent good unis and good places to visit anywhere else, but if you want to maximize the experience, go to London. Of course, London is hiiiiaaauuge, so the question should probably be "I want to study in London, so where in London should I consider?"

I would advise against Brixton.


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Nicholas Thompson
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 11:55
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Quote: "the guy should really study in London"

Why?!
Yeah, you have some good/great Uni's in London - but you also have great Uni's outside London.

For example, UEA (University of East Anglia) has one of the toughest Law degree's in the UK to the point where (so I've heard) if you pass it then you're almost exempt from some application tests for things like the LPC and some training contracts.

Personally, I'd consider what you want to DO before you pick a uni.

Another thing to know about London is that it is EEEEXPENSIVE! You can easily spend twice as much on things like accommodation and sustenance in London as you would "up north" in somewhere like Birmingham.

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Fallout
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 12:08
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I don't think the dude is coming to England for the uni though. I think he's coming to check out another country. If you're gonna check out England, you might aswell do it in London.


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Kenjar
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 12:24 Edited at: 13th Nov 2006 12:25
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If you want to spend the rest of your time in deep debt, londons your choice! But remember that Cardiff university is pretty good for technology and engineering. You'll end up spending alot less for your education as well, cardiff is much, much cheaper to live in. The city is more pleasnt to live in than london as well, it's not remotely as crowded.

Remember, just because you live in Cardiff doesn't mean you can't visit London for a weekend, the train station runs 4 - 6 trans a day, so you can just jump on one, four hours later you are there in the centre. You'll spend alot less, and you can visit just about any city in england, and wales you wish.

But like he says, find out what you want to study first. Once you know that look through various prospectouses. The course will be the same if you take it in london or anywhere else.

Oh one last thing, the beer is a hell of alot cheaper in cardiff too! And don't forget the seagull fighting women! You can't buy that sort of entertainment (well, acually you can, it's 90p, and a quick throw)

I lay upon my bed one bright clear night, and gazed upon the distant stars far above, then I thought... where the hell is my roof?
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Dazzag
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 12:40 Edited at: 13th Nov 2006 12:40
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It's grim up north. Fair enough you will be penniless, but at least you will enjoy yourself I know because I come from Wales (consists of two cows, a bingo hall that changes into a cinema every 3 years, and about 3 million sheep) and can appreciate the difference....

And as all Welsh people know, Cardiff is infact England really. Don't deny it!

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Kenjar
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 13:15 Edited at: 13th Nov 2006 13:16
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I live in the south, makes all the difference. I lived in cardiff for about 2 years.

I lay upon my bed one bright clear night, and gazed upon the distant stars far above, then I thought... where the hell is my roof?
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RalphY
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 13:19
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If you’re gonna go to Wales at least go to Swansea, the unis on a beach, well ok so there’s a road between the uni and the beach, but it’s almost on a beach! It seems quite popular with American exchange students as well, had quite a few here last year.

Like others have said I'd consider what you want to do first, the thing you've got to remember with England is it’s so small you can basically visit anywhere here no matter where you’re staying.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 14:05
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Visit...

London -> Nice shopping places and a lot to see
California -> Why not visit places where you Americans have stolen names from!
Twatt -> Because of the name, but that more of the Orkney Islands not really England as such.
Cambridge-> Nice buildings to look at, good place for study, just don't come anywhere near me though
Sussex -> Nice bit of countryside
Somerset -> oooh argh a combine 'arvister, nice agriculture.
Dorset
Dover -> See France from the castle.
Battle -> See the grounds for the battle of hastings and battle abbey, and watch out for the old guy in the coffee shop outside of the abbey, he's so senial its funny...
Leeds -> Just to get into a fight and murdered
Oxford
Cornwall
Also, I'd visit Germany while you're here.

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Miguel Melo
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 15:17
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You must go to Slough and Swindon.

I have vague plans for World Domination
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Manic
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 17:31
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Quote: "Leeds -> Just to get into a fight and murdered"



I'm not dead yet!

I don't have a sig, live with it.
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 17:31
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oh and the cottswolds, saw the best looking Japanese tourists in Upper Slaughter around there

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Dazzag
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 19:18
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Quote: "You must go to Slough"
I work there. Although not for long as I'm moving to Cyprus next week. Luckily the same company will keep me on as a consultant for 4 days a week. Thanks to nice tax out there I should be on the same money for working for 5 days a week in Slough. Tops. Wireless programming on the veranda. Tick. If I can stretch it (3G card perhaps?) then wireless programming on the beach. Or at least wireless programming around my sisters (big pool) at the very least. Excellent...

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 20:22
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Quote: "I'm not dead yet!"


That's because you're the don over there, I mean, you're the one people look out for, that why, you fool...oops I mean your highness, please don't kill my family...

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Jeku
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 20:26
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The nicest city I've ever been to is Bath. The architecture, the scenery, just jaw-dropping. It's in the top 5 most beautiful cities.

The Cottswalds are nice, but seemingly not a lot to do (although I'm probably wrong).

http://www.codercafe.com - My blog
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 22:07
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Quote: "The nicest city I've ever been to is Bath. The architecture, the scenery, just jaw-dropping. It's in the top 5 most beautiful cities."


Yet my town is on the cover of Britain's top 50 crap towns volume 2;



Never been to bath, but the cotswolds are great, but you are right, there isn't much to do, okay, the campsite we were at had water sports, that was fun, but most of it was enjoying the parts of the area, plus I got my most reliable bag there, the first one not to fall apart after a couple of months But it does get boring after a while which is where a bit of canoeing in after noon made up for

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Raven
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 22:15
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Quote: "Hello, I live in America and currently attend high school. This summer, I want to do a study abroad thing in some part of England. As I know most people on these forums are from England, can someone suggest some cities in which it would be nice to vist. I really want to go to London, but are there any other nice ones to see? "


Why?! Why the heck would anyone willingly study and move to this country!?!

If you're dead set on comming to England, then I'd strongly suggest some-where in the South (except London).

Depends on what you want to study depends on where you might be best to go. Also I would note, that UK Degrees are a damn sight harder than they are in the States.. Generally it's less overall work, but they're much more difficult because the standard of education here is quite a bit higher.

Not that those fighting for better education here would agree that we have a decent education system here. I mean most claim that cause more people pass GCSE and Degrees here now, that means that they're getting easier despite the workload now being far more; Funny how no-one ever seems to want to believe the obvious that as a nation we're getting more intelligent. Probably because all you see of kids in the news nowadays are "Chavs" who are really like a step-back in evolution.

This said you won't meet many Chavs in the south unless you visit central London. Can't say much for places I haven't been/lived in however Warwickshire, and Herfordshire seem to have far less of a problem with the Chav culture than Manchester, Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
(didn't even know what one was until I moved to Derbyshire)

In-case your wondering what they are, imagine your sterotypical "homeboy" without a gun and yup you've got the right idea of what a Chav is.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, 512MB DDR2 667MHz, ATi Radeon X1900 XT 256MB PCI-E, Windows Vista Business / XP Professional SP2
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 22:36
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South is good, good places for Education is around Oxford and Cambridge, now Oxford and Cambridge being the two best rated universities in country, you will find a lot of difficulty in getting there, hence I am trying to go for the lesser university in Cambridge called the Anglia Ruskin which was rated best for the course I want to do, and it close enough to home. Just watch which cities you want to study in, I was thinking of applying for Buckingham university, but being near High Wycombe, where my Mum used to live, you can imagine I got advice not to go there because of gangs. Leicester is okay, I mean the town is nice, easy to get to and has 'cheap' shops, so if you find yourself on a budget whilst studying, you know where to get cheap stuff (I went into one of them when over in Leicester), also the subway shops give you a generous helping in your sandwich But the university itself is good as long as it has your course, I mean some reason me and my friends found it amusing to go to the 12 floor in one building on the elevator and run down the stairs...Its also good to look at reviews and stuff, ucas.com is the university website you will want to visit.

Quote: "Why?! Why the heck would anyone willingly study and move to this country!?!"


Believe or not, a lot of people, hence you find more foreign people in a university than in a school

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Miguel Melo
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 22:45
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@Seppuku Arts: Is that a real book? What an awesome idea! LOL

Anyway, as a foreigner that lived in the UK for a while and visited around a bit (though not as much as I should have), I thought Bath, Oxford and Windsor/Eton were beautiful.

I found Brighton to be very cheerful too. Further afield, I liked Cardiff (Wales) and Inverness (Scotland).

If you hop over to Ireland, I would pick Dublin over Belfast. The first is more hectic and "artistic" while the later is a fair bit more like a "run-of-the mill UK city". Everywhere, though, it really is a island chock'a'block full of friendly people (mind you, I have no real complains from the British either).

I have vague plans for World Domination
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Chris K
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 22:54
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I think Dorset is probably the most beautiful part of England.

It's kind of an American's view of England... nice picturesc little villages, pubs where everyone knows each other, green rolling hills etc.

Of course, there are also some big cities which are pretty nasty, but it is the warmest part of the UK and has got awesome beaches.





And yes 'warmest part of the UK' is like the nicest part of hell.

-= Out here in the fields, I fight for my meals =-
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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 13th Nov 2006 23:46
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Quote: "@Seppuku Arts: Is that a real book? What an awesome idea! LOL"


It certainly is and it is really my town as well, you see those two benches, in the afternoon/evening you will find them filled up with skaters/emos/scene kids, well that's before the dispersion order, which left me bored of people to wind up last Friday when I had to wait around town.

And the book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0752225456/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/026-6012827-7738048


Quote: "It's kind of an American's view of England"


I always thought the American view of England was posh people who have butlers who serve them tea and crumpets or cockneys

Quote: "but it is the warmest part of the UK and has got awesome beaches."


Yup, avoid parts of camber sands though, its a nice beach, one of England's longest (7 miles long) but we camped at Park Resorts there, terrible, bloody awful, chav camp as well, we complained, the customers services woman was really argumentative and b**chy and we've filed in a our complaint, written a letter since, no reply, so we're watch dogging it (We demanded for refund, because we left on the third day and had to pay for another site), hopefully giving the company a bad reputation.

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alex 1337
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Posted: 14th Nov 2006 00:47
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Yeah, I definetly want to see Cambridge but I think I'll spend most of my time in London. Well, thanks for the sugestions! Bath also seems nice.
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ESP
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Posted: 14th Nov 2006 01:06
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Hi alex 1337,

Just remember there is no 'r' in bath.....

Robin
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Dazzag
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Posted: 14th Nov 2006 09:42
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Quote: "This said you won't meet many Chavs in the south"
Really? I live right next to Ascot and Windsor. Can't get much more royal than that. Chavs by the bucketload.

Personally I always thought the American view of England was little boys with hats and covered in soot and saying "Guvnor" all the time, blokes with bicycle taches, and people talking like Hugh f***ing Grant. Oh, and bad teeth (fair enough). Heh, Austin Powers did that joke, but does anyone remember when Mike Myers first started out with Timmy Mallet on Wackaday? Totally didn't remember that one till I saw it on a "before they were famous" episode a while back.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Steve J
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Posted: 16th Nov 2006 05:58
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@Dazzag: Have you seen south park? Pretty much what you described is South Parks Satirical view on england

http://phoenixophelia.com

Steve J, less, and less Controversial!
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Dazzag
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Posted: 16th Nov 2006 10:17
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Yeah, I know. Esp the Pip in London episode. Most amusing.

Although I remember watching a Neighbours (australian) episode years ago and they went to the UK. And there was this little street urchin who kept saying "Guvnor" all the time (they gave him their Michael Jackson tickets because he lived on the streets or somesuch). Wept tears of laughter over that one. Am sure it was written by someone from the UK for a laugh. Much like Dom Jolly when he took the piss out of American tourists in London.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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El Goorf
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Posted: 16th Nov 2006 19:59
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do you mean england in particular or just britain in general?

if you mean britain, then i recommend wales or scotland, since the unis are much cheaper than in england.

also, bear in mind that the costs of living vary greatly throughout britain, and can outweigh the costs of unis.

just for further info, the organisation you need to apply through in the UK is UCAS.
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