Living Abroad as a Young Woman

Hello loves! I been wanting to talk about how I traveled to London for 2 1/2 months and how great of  an experience it was for me. A couple people had asked me if I was scared about being on my own but I had traveled within the U.S by myself before (California, New York, Florida, Seattle) so it wasn't entirely new for me. What I told myself is that if I was going to go out of the country alone it had to be somewhere where I was familiar with, where I knew people and where I wouldn't feel so out of place. I had traveled to London with some friends last year December 2018 and although I was only there for a few days, in my mind I knew I wanted to return. I had a lot of friends online that were either in London or in a nearby city and I wanted to meet them and to have more time to explore. 

Part of the reason I knew I would be alright going by myself is that I was going to an English speaking country. From having traveled to other countries where English was not the main language, I knew that would make things easier. I would not have to feel so out of place and continuously ask if people knew English in order to purchase things or ask for  directions. I also knew I would be alright because knowing people before you go somewhere is helpful. They can be supportive emotionally, mentally and overall tell you the best places to eat, shop and show you around to the best spots.

I have family in London and they plus my friends were instrumental to making me feel like I was not alone and to go exploring with. If you ever decide to travel alone and you don't know people beforehand, I applaud you. Support is necessary when you are going somewhere that you are unfamiliar with and it can be scary and alienating when you are used to things being a certain way. So for example even though the British speak English there are varying accents that can be hard to understand and even just average everyday words like "water", "literally" and "later" are pronounced differently in American English. When we say those words the "t" is pronounced more like a "d" where in British English the "t" is pronounced. I remember being in McDonalds and asking for water and the server looking at me in confusion and I realized it was my pronunciation to blame. 

Another thing that made me fall in love with London was the international presence. We definitely are diverse in good ol Minnesota but everyone sort of stays in their own lane. Whereas where in London, there is people from all over, from Brazil, Spain, Turkey, Morocco, Albania, Slovenia, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, Poland, France, Ethiopia, Italy, Russia, just people from places I hardly knew about! It was amazing to see such a variety of cultures and languages mixed together.

I loved how easy access things were, trains were 2-3 minutes apart, buses were fast as well and you could get basically anywhere. I am big on public transport because I don't drive in the U.S so I was appreciative of the fact that things were faster and easier to get to. That's not the case in my city where you have to drive everywhere and the buses take longer to arrive. 

There's a variety of different foods you can try and restaurants and grocery stores are open late which you appreciate when you are craving or looking for food super late. I remember flying back to Minnesota and it being 2 am and not being able to find ANYTHING open. Overall though food is usually cheaper but the cost of living is high, most people live in shared houses which brings down the cost of rent. I stayed in East London for a majority of my stay (used air bnb of course) in an area called Forest Green and it was a little more pricey but it was worth it. It was about 30-40 minutes train ride to my school in Central London was close to a few different stores Tesco (which I freaking LOVED their 3 pound meal deals, a sandwich, pasta or salad with a snack and a drink, got them all the time during long days of classes) Poundland and Iceland and Forest Gate Co op. There were other smaller grocery stores and restaurants within walking distance and a 5 minutes walk to the train station. Made things so simple to have so many options and transportation so close. East London has a high Asian Muslim population so there were was a familiarity and mosques nearby. 

Overall I had a safe experience, there is a lot to consider when traveling as a woman. It can be easy to be taken advantage of and to be harmed or taken. My family warned me before leaving to be careful and trust no one. I definitely think I was blessed in that sense Alhumdilah , I met some amazing people through my class and spend majority of my time exploring with them or family so I never felt unsafe or scared. I am grateful because I learned I can take care of myself and survive even abroad !