It's been almost a year since we've moved to London.

Wait .. a year??

Whoever said time flies, THEY MEANT IT.

As we're finishing up our degrees and things,

the real grit of why we moved here is surfacing more and more.

And that reason is to stay here for good.

It may be needless to say, but as an immigrant, it's pretty difficult to secure yourself here.

The next four months are crucial, and also completely up in the air.

I've had a plan and process of how I was to go about this,

and if anyone else is in, or will be in, the same situation in the future,

I'm hoping this may help a bit.

Finding Work - Any Work

With the visa that I am under right now, which is a Tier 4 Student,

there are guidelines about work.

You are allowed to work a certain amount of hours a week for a certain amount of pay.

It's not much, but it's enough to keep you afloat finance-wise.

In order to maintain a steady income, finding the right job that could be flexible around my studies was key.

I did a pretty big search for job vacancies on multiple different sites.

There are multiple different outlets you can use, and a great example to take a look at is City Calling.

This is one of my favorite, as it's both easy and convenient, and they are really great about matching you with the jobs that fit what you are looking for - check them out here!

Internships - Experience - ANYTHING

This has been the most important part of my time here.

Finding internships is incredible and beneficial for so many reasons.

Work experience builds up your CV, shows you've got some time in the UK business world behind you,

and on top of this, it's connections - and we all know the only thing that matters these days are who you know...

I've been doing this for both pay and voluntary - it's crucial to get out there and work around the areas that you want your career in.

And if you can make this happen interlinked with the first step of getting an income - GO YOU!

Two birds with one stone, more time for one job rather than less time balancing two.

There's not much more you can ask for.

Apply Apply Apply

This is where I am now.

I'm still working towards internships and work experience,

but I'm moving into needing to look and apply for full-time, salaried positions - which is both exciting and absolutely terrifying.

My advice - attack everything and everyone.

I know myself and what I'm capable of, and the confidence I have in what I can do is great.

In order to secure a job here as an expat, one guideline with a visa is that you have to be a better worker than a UK citizen.

And I am 110% percent sure that I would be the best addition to any company here - and I make that known.

It's tough, but knowing what you are working toward makes it more motivating than ever. 

Talk to everyone you meet, every company you find, every job you see open.

For the 250 ignored emails, rejected applications, and failed interviews,

you may just get 1 offer.

But that one job offer - that's exactly what I came for.

Moving abroad, getting your dream career, backpacking the world, whatever it may be;

ultimately doing what you want - it's hard work

It will be the hardest thing you ever do in your life.

But it's those things that seem near impossible that become not only a literal dream come true,

but the most amazing, thrilling, insane and unpredictable ride you could EVER imagine.

I've been very much in 'London-mode,' as I've been living here for almost ten months now.

But I wanted to back to the expat-topic a bit and talk about my time being here in regards to working.

While I'm still in London for university, it's been much different than my last time here.

I'm able to work now - let me rephrase that;

I NEED to work here now because I need to pay rent - also different from my previous stay.

I've had a few jobs here now; which I think has been good. I can broaden where my experiences lay and get more of a feel for what it is like to work in the city.

If you aren't going into university like I did,
there are still different ways you can still make these dreams happen.

Before I decided on getting my degree, I had looked into a program called BUNAC.

This company assists in finding internships and work in the UK & Ireland for a set period of time.

It's a great way to get over into the country, make some money while you are there, and connect with people that may be the ones to help you with your career in the long run.

From my experience and sharing it with local friends and others who want to go out and explore the world,
The US is a great place to work as well.  As an born and raised American, I know the benefits and impacts working within the country can have on students from outside countries.
And luckily, there are outlets that offer assistance for that too.

The International Student Company (The ISC) specializes in assisting qualified students & young professionals

from all over the world in finding work in the United States.

All of these positions are either paid internships or entry-level work, so no worries about making an income; you will be paid.
BREATHE!

Similar to the programs I considered, The ISC they help with visa paperwork, pre-departure & arrival orientations, as well as on-going support throughout your stay.

On top of this, they offer guidance and advice in your CV & resumes to make sure you land that dream role.

I can't tell you how grateful I was to have someone there for me on my first time abroad

when I had, to put it lightly, absolutely no idea what in the hell was going on.

I still had the freedom of feeling independent in the city, but if there was ever a problem

or something that I needed, I always had that there for me.

On top of it all, these programs are just a fantastic way to get abroad.

If you have never studied or traveled like I have, and found that love for exploring the world,

The ISC is a way to give you that insight and let you experience something that you never have before.

Get a taste of someone else's world, understand culture outside your own.

It's necessary. Believe me.

Check out The International Student Company on Facebook here, or at their website here!

*This post was sponsored by The International Student Company,

but I wouldn't write about anything I didn't feel dearly about.

And exploring the world is definitely something that I do! :D 

I'm off this week for a dance with the devil dressed as a finance exam. Wish me luck with that one..

Oh, look - pictures!









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Miss last week? Check out my favorite post from Jacqueline's adventures in New Zealand's glow worm caves.

You know what to do - link up below!

 

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Tuuuuuuuuuuesday!

Miss last week's linkup?

 No worries - find my favorite post here -->

Sara's Abbey Road Fail

It's okay Sara, I'm pretty sure London decided to name another stop 'Abbey Road'

just to mess with tourists.

REAL FUNNY GUYS.

Link up below!

 
So I've been around the block a bit when it comes to life.
 From Chicago to New York to Ohio to Kentucky to Ohio to Massachusetts to Florida to London,

there's been more than a few places that I've spent my time.
But there are only two places that I really consider myself 'from.'

I spent my childhood in a little town up in northeast Ohio called Chardon.

It was the absolute perfect place for a child.
We lived on a cul-de-sac with a group of kids,
where we would have weekly kickball games and capture the flag.

My backyard was full of forest, and it became our own little world.

I could leave the house at 9 years old and my parents wouldn't have to worry.

Then next half of my life was spent in Louisville, Kentucky.
Like Chardon, it was the perfect to be for the age that I was.
Louisville was big enough to have all the things you want as a teenager.

Mixers, movie theatres, and malls.

It was the type of place where your parents went to your high school,

and their parents went as well.

A literal 'born and raised' city.

Having moved there when I was 12, though, I wasn't apart of that.

I didn't have any ties to the place besides the ones that I was making on my own,
so it wasn't hard for me to leave for college in Ohio - I was used to change.
 Which also made it less difficult to adjust to when my parents moved down to Florida a few years later too.

I've had places that I call home, but I don't know if I've ever felt entirely connected to a place.
Which, I think, is a reason why I was okay with leaving.
Six months felt like a long time to leave for another country,
but it wasn't scarier than the thought of staying put.

I have always felt like my life was meant to be something special - like there was always more to it.
I still feel like that.
Call it my terrible anxiety with 'settling' but I have never been a person to want to feel anything but that I am living one hell of a life.
Which is why I can't just 'let it go.'  Why would I do that?

My biggest fear is to live a life of 'what if's'
so I guess there's nothing left to do about that
other than do everything I've dreamed about.

Yep - I'm okay with that.

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It'ssssss Tuesday!
And you know what that means.

Miss last week? Check out my favorite post from Sara's wanderings in Prague.

Link up below!

I've done a previous series about flat hunting from another country,

but now that I am IN the country and it won't be long until Heather and I start this dreaded process again,

I thought it may be helpful to start explaining how we are going about it, now that we don't have to search from across the world.

London is a big, BIG city.
I can't even begin to guess how many agents, landlords, websites, etc. there are dedicated to rentals.
It gets a bit overwhelming.
But if you've got the basics that are needed to find a place to live,
it won't be as bad as you think.

To start, Heather and I have spent a lot of time around the areas of London that we haven't been to.
This includes areas out in zone 2 and 3 that we've heard about and haven't managed to visit,
but also includes those 'dream' areas that if we find an affordable flat we will jump at.
Right now, we've got a range of areas from Clapham to Fulham to Stratford to Islington.
Having a list of higher priorities makes it much easier take on the millions and billions of areas within the city.

We've first chosen areas based on what we want the most, which are safety and distance to a Tube Station.
After this, we begin listing more of the necessities; price range, how much space, furnishings, etc.

Once we've got a little spreadsheet of our desirables, then it's time to search.
Or in our case right now, browse.

Estate agent websites can be tough to navigate, but they aren't all difficult.
Strutt & Parker specialize in properties around both London and Wiltshire, and is one of my favorites to browse around.
It is a great example of how letting agents should organize their site.
There is nothing better than an easy property search function with all of the categories that can help narrow down to exactly what you are looking for.

Right now, as we have some time before we need to get serious, we are really looking at different agents that we may be interested in,
as well as the portal sites that have multiple different properties.

We're just getting prepared with ideas now, but there's no harm in starting early, right?

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Happy Travel Tuesday!

Not here last week?
Don't worry - I've got the best post of the week right here.

On the greatest things that traveling and jumping out of your comfort zone can bring you, 
check out Amy and the Great World --> How Moving Abroad Has Changed My Life

Link up below!

Had a few guests in town, so we spent a significant time wandering around the city.

Photos are through Regents Park, South Kensington, St. John's Wood,

and embarrassingly my first time ever in Hyde Park..

Enjoy!

Another year gone, another one begins - WOW!
This may have been the quickest year of my life.
What a great one it's been, though.

I started this little space as a 'travel/studyabroad/callitwhatyouwant' type of blog.  I wrote about my adventures through Europe, favorite locations, bucket lists, etc.

I wrote about the things that pertained to my life at the time - looking for jobs, finding a flat, getting a visa, moving to London, etc.

And now I'm IN London - I'm traveling less, settling more, but still writing about what is going on in my life.
It's different.

So how do I manage to make that transition from writing about travel to writing more about life, and having people want to still read?

I mean, you can't write about your past forever.

Why would I want to?

I love my life right now, and that's what I want to share.
I'm finding out who I am, what I want,
what opportunities are out there, and working towards that things that I want.
Whether that includes a trip to another country, a night out in the city, what I'm doing towards my degree, or even a visit to the theatre
 it's my life in London, and that's what I started writing here for.

Plain and simple, this blog began to document my life, and that's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm an expat - I'm making a life for myself on the other side of the word.

I found something (erm, somewhere?) that took hold of my heart, and couldn't shake it until I found my way back. And what do you do in those cases? Duh, you find your way back.

It's called chasing your dreams.

And I guess that's what this blog really comes down to in the end.
It's about being passionate about your life - finding what you truly want, and going for it.

The fact that people want to read about it, in my case though, is something I wasn't completely expecting, but turned out to be more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.

"Thank you for documenting everything you've gone through"

It's receiving things like this that make me so happy I decided to start this blog.  I remember before I traveled abroad for the first time, I went crazy on blog-searches for any type of real experience, not some Lonely Planet review or London travel guide. While they are great resources, I wanted to read about a someone's personal journey - someone like me.

And to be able to get messages like this - that I'm helping someone with their decisions on studying abroad, moving abroad, whatever it may be - is absolutely priceless.
Thank god for Heather, who was always there to bring me down from craziness and overwhelming thoughts about the future and what we were doing.  I'm all for independence, but having someone to give the reassurance that I was taking the right path is something that I needed. And to be able to be that person for other people is an amazing feeling. 

Talk about paying it forward, eh?

 Look, I have no idea what the next year is going to bring for me.

I could find a job in London, I could not.

I could preparing to fly back to America this time next year - I could be jumping ship to some other random place. Who knows really.

2014 has been a year of doing everything I'd been dreaming of.

And now that, after three years of work, that's out of the way,

I'm pretty excited to see where 2015 is going to take me.

Thank you for reading this little space and for taking this adventure with me.

Happy New Year!