Moving to England: 5 years later...

I went to England in January 2003 for my masters.
Five years later I am still there.
Five years later I am being forced to look back and think about those days.
The last days in India and the first few weeks in England; the things I learnt and felt as I was undergoing the transformation.

Many things have changed. Things have gotten so much more easier and at the same time, tougher.

While five years are not that long a period in terms of time, the changes that have come about are nothing short of amazing. The change have come also about at both ends, not just in India or UK.

A major change has come about in the first stage of the process itself.

• Five years ago, Internet was not as big a force as it is today in the application process. With the spread of broadband, both in India and UK, the prospectus can now be downloaded off the university website instead of waiting for it to arrive by post.
• Consultants and Universities now use emails and faxes within the admissions process for communication. The whole admissions procedure has been simplified as more and more Indian students go to UK for studies. The requirement for IELTS has now been relaxed by many Universities, for Indian students, as it has become quite clear that students from India, on the whole, speak quite decent English.
• On the whole UK Universities now are keen to welcome International Student Fee (approx. 3 times the UK/EU Student Fee) paying kids from India. In fact most Universities, now, aggressively target the Indian education market through consultants and direct presence during Education Fairs. The lower ranking ones, in a bid to make money, even give discounts (termed as 'scholarships' or 'bursaries') on the International Student Fee.
• The student visa application process has been made dead easy. When I went to UK, one had to que outside the British High Commission at the crack of dawn to get the entry token for the mandatory interview. Then you had to return in the afternoon to find out the status of your application and to collect the passport. Now all applications are accepted at the posh Nehru Place offices of VFS where the documents are varified and pre-processed before being handed over to the High Commission. The passports are returned within 48 hours. Most students are not even called for an interview. You don't need to apply in person and the passports can be couriered to your house! What a contrast! From ques outside the High Commission to couriered delivery of passports!

The second stage, the travel arrangements and infomation gathering (about the city/country you will be studying in) have been similarly affected.

• Now you can get really cheap tickets (18,000/-) and special 'student discounts' on several major airlines (with direct flights). Excess luggage offers are now quite common with carriers like Air India, for students traveling to UK for the first time. We had to settle for second rate carriers with stop-over flights (Kuwait Airways).
• With Google Earth and Google Maps it has become so easy to explore the city you will be travelling to right from the comfort of your home in India. For example using a mapping software I was able to locate my friend's University department and indicate the route from the bus station. I was also able to figure out the bus timings from Heathrow. With the maps a lot of local information was also easily available. Information regarding cheap eating places (such as McDonalds) and grocery shops in and around the campus. If you have the address of your accommodation then you can even explore the area you will be living in using Google Earth and understand the lay-of-the-land.

The third stage is the actual arrival in UK and travelling to the city where you will be studying at. This can often be the most difficult and tense period for both the traveller and the parents/relatives/friends back home. Unless you are lucky enough to have someone meeting you at the airport (from the University or otherwise) or if you have travelled to the city before, you will naturally be stressed out trying to figure out how to get to your city while managing your luggage, money and important documents. At the same time your relatives back home will be waiting for you to re-appear on the radar.

• With international roaming at reasonable rates and shops through which you can get a UK mobile connection from India itself you can re-appear on the radar as soon as you land! A working cell allows you to get in touch with any and all of your contacts in UK. Even if they cannot meet you at the airport they can always guide you from far or just provide helpful advice and a friendly voice to talk to! You can contact your friends and relatives back home and they can call you (facilitated by cheaper calling rates) so that everyone knows you have arrived and you are well! When I had gone there, international calling rates were sky high. We were lucky that someone came to collect us at the airport otherwise it would have been difficult to manage with the luggage and stuff! We got a drop direct to our houses.
  

The fourth stage is the arrival in the city where you will be living. This is the settling down stage where you get your room and start setting up your own space. This is the best stage of them all! By now you have passed through the 3 stages of hell - Exile, Pain and Loneliness. Now you can start relaxing, getting over the homesickness (as you set-up your new home!), get your schedule going, enjoy the new life, start making new friends, reconnect with old friends and get into your course. The amount of fun you have during this stage is dependent upon you!

• With things like broadband and mobile Internet you will always remain connected with friends and family back home. When I had gone there, broadband Internet was very expensive. So expensive that we were sharing a dial-up connection between five people! VoIP services like Vonage and Skype have blossomed and now allow low cost calls to anywhere in the world. In fact if your family members have a VoIP enabled handset in India you can talk to them for peanuts! Mobile Internet allows the use of Skype over mobile handsets! Calls for peanuts where-ever you are!
• When I had gone there we had to spend money buying calling cards from shops and then seek out phone booths to call home. Now you have Reliance India Call service providing a virtual calling card which can be recharged over the Internet and which offers excellent calling rates!
• It was also tough to get a mobile connection let alone use mobile Internet. With 3 mobile service you can now use unlimited mobile Internet for £5 a month! They also give great discount contracts to students. We were forced to use pay-as-you-go for 6 months before we could get a contract.
• Internet banking is another big thing to come up since that time. We were forced to start with crappy Natwest bank. To check bank statements and balances one had to seek out ATM machines or go and visit the bank branch. With HSBC and Lloyds accounts not only do you get the flexibility of a fully working Internet Banking account you can also get things done on phone or through email.
• The number of Indian students in UK universities has exploded in the last five years. You are bound to find students from India in your University. During our days, it was difficult to find a large number of students from India.
  
• India has also come a long way as a country in the last five years. Now more people are aware of India and Indian culture in UK. This makes it easier to make friends there!

Perhaps the BIGGEST change in the last five years, which should really encourage students to travel to UK for studies, is the recently introduced International Graduate Scheme (IGS). Under IGS one can work legally in England and Wales for a year after completing any degree course.

When I had gone to UK, our future beyond the first year, was bleak and uncertain. Getting a job was almost impossible because we were not allowed to work full time (under the student visa) and no company would apply for our work permit. Things looked bleak and without hope once the course was completed. Many students deferred their course and started working 40+ hours in a part time job to earn money. Now students have an incentive to quickly complete their studies so that they can legally work in UK full time through IGS!

The new HSMP rules (since December 2006) further brighten the prospects beyond the one year with IGS.

Probably the only thing that hasn't gotten easier is leaving your friends, family and home behind and moving to a strange country. All in all, things are quite good now and they look to become even better as time passes!

:)

Dedicated to a special friend.
Thank you for the memories!
Thank you for making me smile!
Hope you enjoy your time in England!