FWIW...I traveled to the UK and London many many times working for GSK. IF anyone had an issue with America they rarely took it out on me and never gave me grief. Of course I'm not one to get up into anyones grill when abroad. Plus my jersey italian manner of speech kept them entertained. I had been told that conversation with me was like a Sopranos episode.

In general I'd bet your biggest issue will be getting accustomed to the prepared food. I know I know that's an old tired joke but there is truth in it. Otherwise England is a great place to live and get worldly experience for a college student.

Being an ex Englishman I know London but never lived there. I lived outside of London. Most of the English are reserved and don't say much. However they will talk to you if you want help. If you come across arrogant and loud that is not good. Being Canadian I sound like an American. Some English have tried to rip me off with money coz they think I don't know any better. I soon straighten them out.

There are good areas of London and not so good. However I would be more comfortable walking at night in London than a major US city. I avoid all back streets at night. Stick to the main road for walking.

English food has come a long way. Pub food is great and there are good Indian restaurants too. I wish your son all the best in his studies. I think it is a great move for him.

Guy

Please don't say you're Canadian if you are not. Thank you

Main road? in London? :confused:

Got my flag pin at a Canadian Tire, thank you very much. :D Lovely country. Learned how wonderful and helpful you folks are when I blew a power steering line driving from Timmins to Ottawa in January.

What I mean is the sidewalk next to the main road!:)

The British Museum is really big and full of old stuff. Cool if you're into that sort of thing.
Beer is great, coffee sucks - stick to tea. Expensive as hell, and they drive on the wrong side of the road. Rural England is quite pretty. I had an uncle in Scotland for a million years until he died. Pretty little town. Glascow is more my speed - working / industrial city. If you do get up north, find a small pub and have a local Scotch. You'll never have any so good on this side of the pond.
Cheers!
-C

Re: Canadian flag pins.
We experimented. FWIW.
We received far better treatment with the Canadian pins, as opposed to no pins.
Canadians are recognized over there, due to the immense war sacrifices, in Europe. It is not a question of disliking Americans, necessarily.

Is there a US pin? i certainly have never noticed one. in my travels within Europe.

Some good insight here. Anyone have any general information on the city itself - what is the character of the various neighborhoods, advantages to being closer to the center of the city vs. the suburbs. Is there a line generally demarking the "City" and the surrounding suburbs that make up Greater London? Things like that.

Being this far north I can do a convincing Canadian accent if I flatten my vowels and don't talk too long, but I'd never try it in real life. I was mistaken (briefly) for being English the one week I did spend there for business. My Midwestern didn't seem to offend speakers of the King's English, so I have that going for me. I figure I'll walk a lot, smile and keep my mouth shut unless I'm asking politely for directions.

English accent is a cinch. Toss in some "tally hos" and "old chap" and you'll be golden...

Jolly right, there, guv. :)

Lovely news on the youngster, Mike. There is nothing better than to send the spawn out into the world equipped, without a Canadian Flag for the love of God, with a sense of humor and intellect.

He will always remember you did this for him.

First of all, when say "The City" in London, that refers to the very small inner London finance district. London is broken up into boroughs, with postal codes, like SW7 for Kensington, where I lived. There are also distinct neighbourhoods. Like I said before, I like the SW7 area, as it's fairly close to the college, but also close to most of London's nicest places to visit. And on the District and Circle lines.

The attached link looks like an excellent place to get educated.

Best areas in London | LondonTown.com

Happy to help. Lived in London most of my life. Moved out to the country but still work there (Hackney - trendy east end).

Twickenham is inner suburbia, quiet and reasonably genteel but not as much as Richmond, just across the river (very nice area).

Happy to answer questions if you want.

Read the post again, will try to answer. Central London is technically two cities: City of London (business district) and the city of Westminster (shopping, government, Buckingham Palace etc). If you refer to 'the City', it means the City of London so you are talking about the business district. The two are next to each other, Westminster being to the west (the 'West End' is Westminster) and the City of London to the east. The East End is east of the City of London (east of Tower Bridge really) and used to be the area with factories, docks, markets etc but now hopelessly fashionable in parts.

Mayfair is big on shopping, galleries etc.

Its such a big and diverse city that its hard to explain. If you are staying for a holiday then go for the West End if you can, but transport is good so its easy to get into the centre from outside. I've travelled extensively in the US but its hard to make a comparison. Parts are like DC, Mayfair and Chelsea are a bit like Georgetown, but other parts are much more New York, even Baltimore. Hard to sum up in a single post. It is a very safe city, friendly people and lots to do. Check out 'Time Out' for listings.

I loved Scotland.

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And you'd, to a large degree be correct. My travel was always due to business and I rarely had the chance to eat anywhere but small local places. The "ploughmans platter" became my favorite meal. SmileWavy

Wife and I moved to East Twickenham from Indianapolis at the start of the year. We're about two miles from your son's Uni, near the Thames, by the Richmond bridge. We love the area, spend more time in Richmond since the high street area is closer than Twickenham's. I'm not sure if you're asking if your son should live outside the area, but if so, I can't see why. There's everything you could want from an activities standpoint, Richmond has the most green space of any of London's boroughs, tons of pubs, shops, sporting venues, etc. Plus, as others have mentioned, easy access to the tube from Richmond station or the overground from Twickenham or St Margaret's to get you to anywhere in Central London. Congrats to your son, wish I had been smart enough to do something like that at his age! Let me know if I can answer any questions with more specific info.