The UK as a country

The UK as a country is a beautiful place. It is orderly and clean (ahem, except for town markets and tube stations). It is the country, that as Indians, we have read quite a bit about in our history books and forgotten completely afterwards. There are times when the UK can feel like a walk through long forgotten pages of Indian history textbooks.

The country is full of grass, trees, castles (or their ruins) and gentlemen. The country is well planned and well organized. From the most busy places right to the country roads you will find the same notations for street symbols and road maps, making everything very accessible once you learn the basics of map reading (which is an essential skill). Every little detail has been carefully thought about and most of the towns are very accessible to disabled individuals.

All this however comes at a price. The UK is expensive and probably one of the worlds highest taxed countries. Nearly 30% to 35% of earned income is taken away as tax.

The weather is fickle and roughly the seasons are Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Rain is sprinkled all through the year which keeps the grass growing. Temperatures can vary depending on the town you are in but in general the south is warmer than the north. Temperatures are rarely above 25 degree centigrade.

Majority of the UK populace culturally follow high moral standards of honesty and integrity. They expect the same from incoming students and workers. Respect for the individual, creative freedom, independence and equal rights for women (which also means no reservations or special quotas) are notable cultural qualities. Please, Thank You and Sorry are common words. Individuals not using these words are considered rude.

I must confess the UK is not job friendly. Graduates usually have a hard time finding a good job even if they come from a good university. Partially this is because vacancies are limited and most companies want slightly experienced individuals, not complete freshers. Also the UK work visa is exceedingly difficult to apply for by a company so majority of companies will flatly reject you if you do not have your own work visa. The UK government has realized this and provided the Post Study Work visa, which will give you two years time to look for a job after you finish your studies.