<p>My dilemma - DS has been selected for an internship at a college in the UK. We just found out yesterday and now we have to get everything together for this trip. He leaves mid June.</p>
<p>Help - What will he need to take?<br>
I’m not sure about phone service - We have Cingular.</p>
<p>What about money? Will he need to open a bank account in the UK?</p>
<p>He’s hoping to get a dorm on campus and what is this “Oyster Card” he was told he should get. How safe is the public transportation in London?</p>
<p>Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. He’s just so excited to go I’m not sure how much he researched all of this.</p>
<p>Last time I was there I went to a supermarket and got a phone card. I don’t think our regular cell phone would work overthere. Money, I would use travelers check temporarily and exchange at the post office. Is it in London?Bus/train transportation is what I used in London because they charge to park in the city. I took the cab to/from the airport but I think there are train to/from the airport.</p>
<p>Although I’m not in London yet, here’s a couple of things I’ve gathered from tips given by current GU students in London and former students who studied over there:</p>
<p>1) Oyster Cards are smartcards that scan automatically when placed on an Oystercard scanner (if you’ve ever been to Washington D.C., think SmartTrip cards). It’s used for the Tube and other forms of ground transportation, and deducts the lowest calculated fare for the trip. I believe the concept is you scan in at your entry point and then scan out, at which point the proper fare will be deducted from your Oyster Card. For more information, Wikipedia has a decent description of the Oyster card: <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_card[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_card</a></p>
<p>2) I would suggest that he not take his current cell phone; if he does, he should use it sparingly. If he is able to use his phone while in London, international roaming charges typically kick in, and those charges are exorbitant, if not outright outrageous. Calling cards or VoIP contact is probably the best; he may be able to get a prepaid cell phone for local UK use.</p>
<p>3) Most banks in the UK do not give bank accounts to foreign students abroad. Usually, students must be studying for six months or more (most of the time the minimum requirement is twelve months) before a bank agrees to give out a checking account. </p>
<p>Most U.S. banks have affiliates in the UK; if your bank has a partner in the UK, chances are there will be no ATM fees for usage. (e.g. I use Bank of America, and Barclays is the UK affiliate, zero bank fees). Otherwise, debit card/credit card should work fine in accepted places.</p>
<p>Good walking shoes, not just sneakers. Depending on the internship, he may dress a little better than the typical college kid – in any case, I think that white athletic shoes label anyone as an American. (not a bad thing, but not helpful if he’s trying to blend in.)</p>
<p>My daughters had good luck with Virgin Mobile cell phones when they were in the UK. <a href=“http://www.virginmobile.com%5B/url%5D”>http://www.virginmobile.com</a> They have to be the ones bought in the UK, not bought here. There are Virgin stores all over, though. They were inexpensive and minutes could be added as needed. I think each girl spent $60 on the phone and minutes for 6 weeks. They can use the phones if they go back by just adding minutes. Make sure that you have international long distance on your phone, too.</p>
<p>Tripadvisor.com is the nuts. Go to their “forums”. They have “local experts” who will guide you along. It is invaluable. </p>
<p>D is in Spain, not exactly London but… I bought down the roaming on her tri-band (quad band is even better) cingular phone to $1.00 a minute on the “world plan” or some such for $6.00 or $7.00, still :eek: but I wanted an umbilical cord for immediate contact whatever the costs. She uses a calling card purchased there and a pay phone for routine/long/friend calls. Other than that e-mail it is.</p>
<p>Tell your S to be very careful with his wallet. My sister had her wallet stolen out of her purse while on a bus in London (1974), and my friend had the same thing two years ago. My D has been to London twice and loved it (more than Paris!).</p>
<p>If your DS is taking a laptop and will have Internet access, have him install Scope. (And buy a cheap microphone, if he doesn’t have one.) If you install it, too, you can talk via Internet, free, and call landlines for a low fee.</p>
<p>Skype. At least I bet it’s Skype:) IP calling from your computer. That’s how D will be making most of her calls from China this summer…her calls in China will be made on her phone but I’m getting it unlocked so she can put in a China SIM card, then change it out if she really needs to use it to call the US.</p>
<p>My daughter was in London for the summer a couple of years ago. She was able to use a UK Vodaphone cellphone (borrowed from a friend) that was prepaid and you could add minutes to. What made that system affordable for us was that in the UK you aren’t charged for incoming calls on the cell, so she would call me when she was able to talk, and then I would immediately call her back on my T-mobile, which had an international rate that wasn’t too bad.</p>
<p>Call Cingular and ask about rates. My d was able to use her cell phone in Spain for a reasonable rate, esp since she sent a daily text message instead of talking. (we’re still trying to collect from her friend who used the phone to text the bf repeatedly). At least he’s then covered for the first week until he learns what’s best there.</p>
<p>I was just on hold for 30 mins with Cingular and then the CSR had no idea what I was talking about. </p>
<p>My question to her was, Can you give me information on International Long Distance rates between the UK/US? I didn’t think it was that difficult ;).</p>
<p>Looks like I’ll be making a trip to the local Cingular store tomorrow.</p>