Why not come to the UK for a visit, see what its like to drive on the left, eat fish and chips on Fridays and drink warm beer? You don’t need to rely on reading books and surfing the internet to find out if coming to the UK is a good idea...

Budget Airlines

If you have never been to Britain before, why not come and see what it’s like with your own eyes? With air-fares as cheap as they are now from the budget airlines, you can get to airports all over the UK from all over the world for a bargain price.

Many 'no-frills' airlines can fly you to European destinations for as little as £30. So, there is no excuse for not coming and checking out our country before you commit to a long-term stay.

There are lots of different budget airlines to choose from now, so you need to find out who flies from your country, and where they fly to. Some websites provide you with this information where you can just click on the country you are flying from, and it will give you the option of which UK city you would prefer to fly to. You then get directed to a cheap airline which flies the route you want!

So once you’ve booked your flight, and got a few English pounds to spend, where are you going to go?

Things to Do

The cheaper airlines fly to the smaller airports so they can keep the costs down. So, if you are planning on moving to London, and want to take a sneaky look in advance, you may land at Stansted airport, which is 60km from Central London.

You can get from Stansted to central London by train in about 45 minutes, trains usually leave every 15 minutes and a return ticket will cost about £29.00 for a return journey. Or you can get a coach which will take longer but be cheaper. It takes maybe 1.5 hours, depending on traffic and coaches leave very frequently, but you may want to check the timetable online before you arrive. If you travel by coach you will really get a picture of how big London is.

When you finally arrive in London, you can have a look at all the things you’ve heard about. Check out Buckingham palace, the Tower of London, take a stroll around Hyde Park, and if you’ve got plenty of spending money, visit the famous Harrods store on Knightsbridge. Or if the weather isn’t too good, you can see it all from inside the cabins of the London Eye. One thing is for sure, you won’t run out of things to do, whatever the weather and whatever your interests are!

Of course, many of you may not be thinking of coming to live in the capital. And if this is the case, maybe visiting London is not the best thing to do for you. But luckily, the cheap airlines fly to airports all around our little island. And there is plenty to see and do in our smaller cities, which might also give you more of a realistic idea of what life might be like in the UK.

Major British Cities 

The budget airlines fly to places like Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, East Midlands (between Derby and Nottingham), Glasgow and Birmingham. All of these places offer something for the tourist who is trying to get a sample of Britain.

Liverpool – home of the Beatles and European Capital of Culture for 2008 – is definitely worth a visit. If you are old enough to remember the music of the Beatles, you can easily spend a whole day here reliving their history at the Beatles museum, on the Beatles tour bus, and at the famous Cavern Club where they performed in their early years.

But aside from its association with the Beatles, this is a great city with impressive architecture, the historic Albert Dock and the Tate Liverpool art gallery. And when you’ve finished seeing the sights, you can have a night out at the Cavern and watch the latest young bands.

If you fly into Birmingham, you are arriving at England’s second biggest city, where you can ‘shop till you drop’ at the new £500 million ‘Bull Ring’ shopping mall, which has 160 shops and 25 restaurants to help keep your strength up!

And if you fly into East Midlands, you could visit Derby, home of the very British Rolls Royce cars. This is a quaint roman town – don’t miss the fantastic cathedral with a 16th century tower standing 64.8 metres high.

Wherever you decide to fly to, with air-fares as low as they are today, it is definitely worth coming for a visit before you move to the UK. And if you know where you are planning to move to in the country, you can have a week’s trial! So, no excuses, get online, order your tickets and come and have a look for yourself.

 
By Matt Taylor

USEFUL WORDS

check something out = to find out if something is correct or acceptable
a week’s trial = testing something before you make a final decision
a sneaky look = a secret look to see if you like something 
a realistic idea = a sensible idea which is possible to achieve
stroll (around) = walk in a slow, relaxed way
budget airline = an airline which runs a basic service at low prices
no frills = including only the basic features, without anything that is unnecessary


Similarities & Differences Idioms

Similarities
We’re all in the same boat = the same situation
He’s following in his father’s footsteps = the same career
She’s a carbon copy of her mother = they look the same
Join the club = your situation is the same as mine
They are the spitting image of each other = they look the same
On a par with = the situation is the same as or equal to another one
Six of one and half a dozen of the other = there are as many advantages as disadvantages

Differences
He sticks out like a sore thumb = he looks very different to everyone else
A different kettle of fish = the situation / person is completely different
I’m the odd one out = I’m the only one who is different
They’re poles apart = they have completely different personalities
They’re as different as chalk and cheese = they have completely different personalities
A far cry from = a very different situation
She’s one of a kind = she’s unique
There’s a world of difference between them = their situations are very different