How to maximize your exchange in London

Guten Tag! Ich bin Jaclene~ Good day, my name is Jaclene and went on exchange in London at Cass Business School, City University London.
Whether you are coming to London to visit or on exchange, do get the Oyster Card. & if you are traveling around the UK, get the railcard as well which gives you 1/3 off normal rail prices. You also get discount on your Oyster card when you link your rail card to the oyster card. Remember to order the rail card in advance as it takes a few days to come. Then if you are staying for a few weeks or months, self catering apartments Paddington London is the best type of accommodation for you.
Before embarking on exchange, I would recommend investing in a good camera. For me, I bought a GoPro which I used to film this vlog and take most of my pictures with. Another thing worth investing in is a good backpack, and backpack around Europe (which I did!!). Other than being poor students on exchange, I doubt I will ever do this again so would recommend doing it while you’re young and poor HAHA.
London isn’t a cheap city, but definitely, one worth visiting. It is named the Greatest City in the World for many reasons and I will show you why!

If you’re keen on hiking (or just keen on pretty pics), Europe has super awesome hiking trails! For UK, check out the national parks such as Lake District, Loch Lomond, Snowdonia & also 7 sisters in Brighton which is super pretty! I have then also been using https://layermap.com/ a lot as it’s a brilliant way of finding cool stuff near you, so it’s come in very useful. For some of these places, it is best to get a car and drive to the hiking trails, because they are not easily accessible. If you’re getting a car, try getting from Europcar because it is more lax than others (like Hertz) with their rules such as driver needing a credit card etc. There are lots of complications with getting a car so do check all the T&C properly! Also, know the level of difficulty for the different hikes and choose one that suits you best. Wear proper warm clothing & shoes too cause hiking in fall/winter really no joke! ❄
This pic is taken at Aosta Valley, where it is an awesome place near Mont Blanc that is mostly filled with locals. Caught my first snowflake of the year here ☃

I’m super glad I did things I wouldn’t usually do. This pic was taken when I went snowboarding at Aosta Valley at the Swiss & Italy side of Mont Blanc. Super pretty place even tho I suck at it it was fun!! And also I skydive in Budapest where it’s really affordable (& with an awesome view) at about €160 only! Go skydiving you really won’t ever regret it!!! I went for ziplining in Wales over the quarry lake at Snowdonia National Park too. I also love brunch, so was delighted for find this amazing guide to the best brunch places in Manchester, I’ve been to most of them but there are some new ones to try 🙂 I think everyone sets out on exchange with different goals in mind, & one thing I really wanted to do was to experience things I’ve never done before that I wouldn’t usually do. I know it sounds cliché to say to step out of your comfort zone, but exchange really provides this kind of opportunity to keep experiencing new things & so really do it while you’re on exchange!! It helps to have good friends who share similar interests too! I’m really grateful to have done all these despite being really scared of heights thanks to my awesome friends encouraging me along the way. ☺

This is something very close to my own heart, MUSICALS/PLAYS! If you’re in London, go for musicals even if you don’t usually watch you really won’t regret it! & when getting tickets, try not to buy online as it can be pretty ex! Try getting day tickets, or tickets with discounts for students. Sometimes there are lottery tickets so you get to watch for free if you’re chosen! Just Google online to find out these deals. Some of my friends like queuing early in the morning when the box office opens to get the best deals. But if you’re lazy like me then just go 1h before the play and buy & most of the time there’s still cheap & good tickets ? EVERY west end musical/play is awesome serious! Off west end is really great too e.g. Julius Caeser. & if you need more convincing, musicals are kinda perfect date ideas HAHA.
TLDR: watch musicals while in London.

Croatia really rocks ??? (no pun intended) if you’re going, just rent a boat from services similar to yacht charter sint maarten to drive from Split to Hvar & stop by the thousand islands to island hop.

Don’t follow the tours because there quite a waste of money. Maybe it’s the right season or the chill vibes of the place or me having a preference for beaches, but I just can’t stop thinking about Croatia. There’s sailing, island hopping, scuba diving, cliff jumping etc & you can even go skinny dipping ?this place really stole my heart away ?

T

o quote a friend, Shoreditch is bae ???Shoreditch has some of the best bars & clubs in London and awesome graffiti walls! Oh, not to mention old Spitalfields market, brick lane market, Columbia Road flower market. Would really recommend coming here while you’re in London! ?most London markets are only open on weekends so do check before coming!

To end off, there are awesome things to do in different cities, especially one like London. You can go for culinary classes at Le Cordon Bleu, explore start-up scenes, go for free talks such as those by RSA and so much more.
I know this sounds kinda cliche but exchange really a good time to discover more about yourself and learn about what you want. I started off my exchange with a list of things to achieve while on exchange. I think it is good to make full use of exchange to not just travel, but also pick up skills. And while traveling, explore with a purpose & to broaden your mind. Make friends and learn to be an independent adult who can live with others haha. And definitely, party as hard as you want because work hard play hard is super important hehe. That basically sums up my exchange. ? If there’s any advice I would leave, I think it is really really important to give more than what you take out of your exchange. ?