If there is a yank living in the UK, would you please contact me? I am going to live in Cleveland until May, and am entertaining the idea of just living temporarily in a few different places as long as my health holds out. Yesterday, the Doc said that I could go 20 or 30 years, and if that is the case, I will wear my chair out long before then if I keep sitting in it. There is not a single member of my family who would want to know about me.
I say I would like to talk to a yank simply because they would have lived in the US and could make a comparison of the costs. My own needs are really modest. I do not require a butler or anything. LOL I am thinking that I would carry a bed roll and air mattress, a few clothes, and keep to Hostels or sleeping rooms.
There would not be any fancy tour buses for me.
I doubt that I would do more than do a quick pass through in London; too expensive, but I thought that a bit of Urban Wandering could be OK.
I promise not to bother a single person there, but I would like to have some feel for living expenses. My English visitor last year said that the UK was quite expensive.
Much Peace
Khadijah Gwen
Comments
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My mother did something similar in the 70's. She stayed in a bed-sit, at least I think that's what it's called. Single room with a shared bathroom. She worked there for six months, to pay for food and rent, at a hotel in London before going back home. It's certainly do-able and fairly easy, although it might be harder if you plan on traveling a lot and changing your residence frequently.
Anything outside the US is quite expensive. By comparison, living in Canada is quite expensive to living in the US. Living in Europe, in general, is more pricey than North America since everything is smaller and there's a lot more people trying to live in it. Of course, the same could be said for any major city.
Good luck with your plan.
Don't confuse London with the UK in general.
London is very expensive even for we Britons but London has more in common with other capital cities than it has with areas elsewhere in the UK. In any case the exchange rate is much more favourable for US citizens than it was a few years ago.
We used to use youth hostels a lot but since retiring we've bought a small campervan (RV) so we use that a lot now. Look into joining the YHA (Youth Hostels Association) which will give you access to relatively cheap accommodation in some stunning locations and the opportunity to meet other hostellers in a friendly atmosphere. We've used the hostel near St Pancras station a few times for visits to London and it's very comfortable.
http://www.yha.org.uk/
I hope if you do visit you have a look round the whole of the UK. Bear in mind that even though the distances seem small compared to the USA, the culture, accents and scenery change very quickly.
Robi
US Dollar compared to UK Pound.
Just casually looking, a nice room in Seattle was about $169 US but a Hostel room was about $30US. I think the rate for a Hostel in Vancouver BC was around the same price.
I live near Portland, Oregon, and my British visitor said that the weather at this time of the year was just like the North of London. My committment in Cleveland is up in May, and it will require a lot of effort on my part to save for the plane fare. 40 years ago, one could book a trip by freighter and it was quite reasonable, but now, who knows. Being retired, I don't care if it takes a day or a month to get there. I am even thinking of crewing on a sail boat.
One thing that may be an obstacle is that I am Muslim and live full time as a woman. While I do know how to do bad stuff, I learned it legitimately on our farm as a child; actually saw the men do it. It is a far distant past and I am peaceful as long as you don't mess with my 'puter. :) Frankly, in close to 6 years, I have only had one or two incidents. So, I don't feel as though I would be in particular danger.
Sue Brown's, "Green Fog" has be fascinated, and I think it could be quite charming to loosely follow the route that the children have and then return back South along a more Eastern route. A year ago, I had the oportunity to do England, Turkey, Egypt, and New Zealand, but at that time I was too fearful to do it alone. :(
Much Peace
Khadijah
A lot depends
A lot depends upon your budget as to what accommodation you can get. If it's rock bottom, then the YHA is a good bet.
There are other possibilities;
1. companion, in return for accommodation
2. doss down with a friend
3. house/apartment exchange
4. depending upon your level of fitness, you might get temporary or live-in work
Bus travel is free for over 60 so getting about might not be a problem.
Some areas of the UK are cheaper to live in than others. I chose a small town in the North of England when I retired; any city is likely to be expensive, and the South is definitely more costly than the North.
Markets are usually cheaper to buy foodstuffs than supermarkets.
Please ask if you need more/specific help.
Susie
UK bus travel
I know it's free for UK citizens (subjects? :) ) over 60 because we use that privilege a lot but does it apply to foreign visitors? I don't know. There is a proviso that it only applies to local buses and not long-distance coaches but it's a huge benefit never the less.
The YHA isn't as cheap as it used to be when hostellers were required to do a chore before getting their cards back but they are more comfortable. Not sure if they're as much fun. Perhaps I'm a masochist and enjoy roughing it a bit. All hostels have a members' kitchen so you can cook your own meals which can be both economical and fun.
I really hope you visit, Gwen (or anyone else on here for that matter). I'm not a patriot in the conventional sense but I do like living here, love our countryside and I'm keen that others share it too.
Robi