income tax and council tax is two different taxes that has got nothing to do with each other. council tax is a tax that u must pay for residing under a specific city council. only students, elders and special-needs people are exempted of such taxes.

income tax applies to taxable incomes, in this case, interests from fixed deposit. as far as i know, international students are not exempted from paying this tax. so u will have to pay those.

what do u mean by "help"?

are u applying, already applied or already offered a place?

i'm not sure if the twinning programmes actually help u with all the itsy-bitsy part, but so u know, most msian students did not apply through twinning programmes. u just need to apply at the university, get ur fundings ready, do medical checkup, get in touch with british council in msia, sort the visa issue, buy tickets, and fly away!

really, it's THAT easy.

usually the university will sort the accommodation and everything else for u. all u need to do is get urself from the airport to ur registration office of the university. they'll get u sorted out.

they handled thousands of international students who are technically first time outside their own country, alone and far away from home. so dont worry about it!

oh yesss.... do make sure that ur visa covers graduation day! dont be like me!

i actually finish my masters in sept 2004. since the university graduation is in july/august, my ACTUAL graduation is in sept 2005. so i missed my graduation!

but then again, when i came to the uk in 2003, i had a walk-in visa (the one that they stamp the visa in ur passport at the airport). late 2004 they applied the new ruling where u must apply a full visa before boarding flight to the UK. so it was kinda stupid anyway. i still missed my graduation!

owh ask me! ask me!

LOL

most UK universities will try to avoid intakes other than september/october for their undergraduates. so regardless of whatever year u'll be joining in anywhere in the UK, it's almost always will be in september.

snow is the least of my problems. when it snows, or after it snows, there's be little wind. u see, wind is what carries the cold. sometimes the actual temperature is not that cold, but the wind is what brings the chill. i dont mind walking in the snow. heck it's fun. but walking in winter wind...

check train schedules here

natwest's 5 year railcard is also available for those who have been in the country for more than 3 years. usually when u register, u'll get a step accound (not current or savings). that's what i get when i opened an account.

early this year i was offered a savings account, and at the same time, i was offered to upgrade my step account into blue step account. i havent took the offer, but with the blue step account, i'll get the free railcard.

if u're alone and not living in london, then yes, it would barely be enough. ofcourse, u can take simple part time jobs that would pay about GBP70-100 a week, which would be more than enough to enjoy or travel or whatever.

the problem of buying stuff online is not solely unique to natwest's step account, but more to do with SOLO. i use natwest step account and a SOLO card, so the other way to get around the SOLO restriction, i signed up to paypal verified account.

err, london's overrated. visiting london is not the same as living or studying in it.
- everything's expensive. the only cheap thing u can find is maruah
- there arent many british around. u see lotsa white people, but mostly are europeans.
- everything closes at 6pm, except hospitals, fastfoods, pubs or clubs.
- everyone's a snob by default.

i can list all the reasons why i move out of london

well, what i can say about non-london are:

- living costs are reasonably cheaper. infact, the more rural u are, the cheaper everything is.
- accommodations are cheaper too. GBP400 a month can get u a decent 2 storey house (2 to 3 bedrooms) with ur own garden and car park. in london, i rented a small apartment (3 bedrooms, 1 kitchen, 1 bath and NOTHING ELSE) in zone 2 with 2 other housemates for GBP450 per month PER PERSON.
- but as the rest of britain, all shops close at 6pm
- however people are reasonably friendlier, especially the old people.
- lecturers and support staff of the universities are friendlier too.
- there are LOTS of car boot sales! i bought a guitar (decent quality) for 1quid! lol...

should i show u my house contract?

i'm currently staying in a 2.5 storey landed terrace property, 2 bedrooms, 1 attic, dedicated dining, living room and kitchen (means not integrated like most apartments), basement and a considerably spacious garden for GBP380 a month. but it doesnt come with a parking leh... but there's a communal parking nearby, so can park for free.

i assure u, it's not per person

u can still do masters overseas leh...

well, typically, london is one of the most expensive city to live in, in the entire world. other big UK cities like birmingham, manchester, edinburgh, and liverpool are slightly less expensive, while the rest are very manageable.

to live in london, alone, if u're a typical 20-28 years old malaysian single student (per month):

i. accommodation - GBP400-GBP600 for a room, GBP600-GBP1500 per apartment.
ii. utilities (if not included in the rent) - GBP30-GBP50
iii. food - GBP300 if u're not cooking, GBP 100 or less if u're cooking
iv. facilities (internet, printing, phone, photocopying, laundry etc) - GBP40
v. transport - GBP50
vi. entertainment & leisure - GBP50-GBP100

if u're working, add:

vii. council tax - about GBP600 - GBP1000 every six months
viii. income tax - roughly 22% to 40% of ur income depending how much u earn.



that's just rough estimate. the rent is based on my last 2 houses in zone 2 (camden) and zone 3 (stratham) back in 2004. so it would be higher today.

first of all, congratulations!

i dont know about lifestyle in bristol, but on the last points of ur post:

i. it would be easier to open an account once u've registered in bristol. local branches sometimes have special offer for specific universities, so u might wanna look into ur options in bristol. and u would need a residential address to open an account.

ii. u can get a prepaid phone account (here it's called pay-as-u-go) immediately, but u will need a residential address with proof of residence (a bill or bank statement that has ur name and address) before u can register a contract.



frankly there isnt much u CAN do other than hangout and kacau ur brother hahahhaa. dont buy anything in london coz u can definitely get things cheaper in bristol. i would also suggest u to get ISIC card and all other discount cards, but u still need a residential address or to be registered to ur university

woohooo sheffield banjir gila! worse than KL!




i just came back from sunny italy and immediately into the worse british weather.

so much for a first world country

naahh... my house is on the hillside, it'll take the entire sheffield to flood before it reaches my doorstep

my visa took less than 2 weeks, but this was during the less busy weeks, which was in late september, when everybody have already left to study in the UK. i couldnt recall if the officer did ask proof of accommodation, but i do remember i only secured accommodations 2 weeks before i left, which was in december.