London, UK

[Songyun]

I might be sent there working for a few months. Is there anything I should bring with me? (I mean, I have a 810 probably will leave it home, and just bring my 45 camera with me) Is there anything particular expensive in UK, or generally everything there is expensive? What is the VAT? If I have working visa in UK, am I free to travel to anywhere in Europe Union?

[Patrick Dixon]

Things are cheaper in the UK than they were, because the GBP is much weaker against the USD than it was - but anything that's imported (film, cameras, electronics - most things these days really) is generally still more expensive than the US.

VAT is 17.5% at the moment, but we have an election due and who knows what it will be after that (someone has to pay for all those crooked bankers), but prices are always quoted with VAT included, so the ticket price is the price you pay.

AFAIK you can most cross national borders in the EU without even being stopped and checked, but airlines and channel crossings still require passports. I think when you enter the UK (assuming we let you in) you automatically gain entry to the rest of the EU.

[Steven Tribe]

VAT levels are different in the various EU countries (some are up to 25%). It used to be possible to buy things without VAT for temporary visitors from outside the EU. A lot of paperwork/procedures were involved - and the buyer is expected to pay the relevant duties when he/she re-enters their country of residence! Travelling around Europe by air has become the cheapest means of travel in the last few years. Companies like Ryanair etc. offer routes almost everywhere, including main provincial cities and medit. islands. You will have to search for the best days/times to get the right deal though.

[Steve Gledhill]

I might be sent there working for a few months. ...

If you'd like a day or two out with your camera outside of London (but still in England!) I'd be happy to oblige. PM me if interested.

[Ash]

VAT is included in the price of what you buy, when you buy it. Forget about it unless you plan on collecting all your receipts and trying to claim it back at customs on the way home. Most stores don't have the forms readily available for VAT return.

Are you sure about the free-crossing to the rest of Europe Patrick?? I would of thought any foreign national would still need to check with his/her embassy before they try to go into Europe even if they've arrived in the UK. Mostly this is because we're separated from the continent - if you're in France you can easily hop the border to Benelux or Germany, or Spain.

Songyun, ask in your local travel agent or embassy for info on getting through Europe.

Don't try to set up a 5x4 on the streets of London, you're likely to get it knocked over by the other thousand tourists trying to get a photo of whatever it's directed at. Police are very sensitive toward cameras in general right now.

Most places outside of the most busy tourism areas you might be able to set your camera up, but be prepared for a lot of questions (if not from the pork pies, from the other tourists).

Depending on your budget and how long you're over for, you may be good to leave the heaviest items home and buy them here (like tripod). It depends what your airline is like for excessive baggage.

Can't help as far as opinion on film, because you'll have a lot of places to buy it in London, but the price will make you cry.


Oh and if you got the time, head down my way, I can show you Avebury and Stonehenge and all that kinda stuff.

[Patrick Dixon]

Are you sure about the free-crossing to the rest of Europe Patrick?? I would of thought any foreign national would still need to check with his/her embassy before they try to go into Europe even if they've arrived in the UK.

Well I'm not 100% sure, but if you drive across EU Europe these days, you can't find anyone at the old border crossings to show a passport to ... even if you wanted to.

[Ash]

That's true once you're on the continent and on-land, but I don't think it holds true for any more public means of transport, and getting to and from the UK. I had issues coming back from France once and I'm a Brit.

[BrianShaw]

I found it much easier to use a TLR or MF SLR with a monopod during my days in London (and other parts of UK).

[Songyun]

Thanks everyone! Steve, Ash, thanks for the invitation. What I have known so far is that I can not work in U.S. till Oct, meanwhile I might be sent to London to work until then. I wish to get to work as soon as possible. I think I will bring a Chamonix 45N1 (not the new N2, although I wish I had a N2) with a few light weight lens, and maybe a handheld 45 (which is still in production...) As for film, I shot b&w + RVP. Maybe it's time to stock some RVP QLs? Things on my short list ... hmm... ps945, I dont know if there are any shop in UK has the lens in stock so that I can take a close look at this lens. I process the film at home on CPP2, I guess that I will bring the exposed film back to U.S. to process.

[Songyun]

What is the weather like in London from April to October?

[Phil Hudson]

I have lived and photographed in the centre of London for 5 years and I use 4x5 on a tripod without any bother at all.....perhaps I'm just lucky so far?

[Songyun]

I have lived and photographed in the centre of London for 5 years and I use 4x5 on a tripod without any bother at all.....perhaps I'm just lucky so far?

probably ppl has different experience.
I used tripod to shoot at time square without any problem so far. :)

[Patrick Dixon]

From April to October we could have anything from freezing to 30s degC, we will definitely have some rain and some sun, and from time to time it will be windy.

It will occasionally vary between these extremes from one day to the next ...

[Vlad Soare]

There's no passport control inside the Schengen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement) zone. However, not all EU countries are members of the Schengen convention. Romania, for instance, isn't. This means that, while Romanians are free to go to any EU country (and any EU citizen is free to enter Romania), they must show an ID when leaving or entering Romania, and when entering a Schengen country. Once inside a Schengen country, there's no passport control until you exit the Schengen space.
For example, if you have a German visa, you can go from Germany to Austria or France without even having your passport checked. But if you want to go from Germany to Romania, then you must have a valid passport and a Romanian visa.

Airports inside the Schengen space usually have separate gates for Schengen and non-Schengen destinations. Whenever I fly directly to Romania, I must show my passport or my national ID. But when I flew from Warsaw to Budapest last year I didn't have to. There was a group of gates used exclusively for Schengen destinations, and I arrived at my gate through a corridor where there was no passport control.

I don't know whether UK is a member of the Schengen space or not. The map in the above link shows it in a different color and marked as a "cooperating country". I don't know what this means. :confused:

[IanG]

I don't know whether UK is a member of the Schengen space or not. The map in the above link shows it in a different color and marked as a "cooperating country". I don't know what this means. :confused:

No a Schengen visa isn't valid in the UK, my wife has to get a separate UK visa despite having a 3 year Schengen Visa for work and about 3 years left of a 7 year US Visa, even though I'm a UK Citizen.

To make the farce even more ridiculous I have to write inviting her to the UK for her Visa application each time.

Ian

[BrianShaw]

probably ppl has different experience.
I used tripod to shoot at time square without any problem so far. :)

For me it was more a matter of how much stuff was being carried, and how fast I could move when I wanted to.

[Bill_1856]

Don't forget to stop at Customs, and have your 4x5 and 8x10 converted to 5x4 and 10x8 so you can make pictures there.

[Ash]

Wilhelm very funny!

Vlad, as Wikipedia dictates, UK co-operates on policing and policies, but you must have a visa to enter and leave the country regardless of your visa status in Europe.

According to the Metro yesterday Britain is predicted to have a blistering summer to break the record books.... but the chances are that summer will last a few hours on one Sunday in August.


You're going to need 400iso film for regular use. I stick to 100iso and regularly have my lenses wide open on smaller formats.

I recommend you only bring the handheld camera that you will be getting, and you bring a tripod as and when you need it.


Remember, in the UK we have Chavs.... they're like a milder form of gangsters in that most don't carry guns, but they almost all carry knives and ALWAYS prey on the unfamiliar. If you go for a run they'll run alongside and say things to get a reaction, if you happen to be in the wrong street they'll try it on. Set up your camera on the wrong street and it may not work for much longer. That's an extreme example, but be wary. The UK isn't always pretty.

[Steve Gledhill]

Don't forget to stop at Customs, and have your 4x5 and 8x10 converted to 5x4 and 10x8 so you can make pictures there.

I don't get too many laughs from this forum but that's priceless ...

[Vlad Soare]

No a Schengen visa isn't valid in the UK, my wife has to get a separate UK visa despite having a 3 year Schengen Visa for work and about 3 years left of a 7 year US Visa, even though I'm a UK Citizen.

Vlad, as Wikipedia dictates, UK co-operates on policing and policies, but you must have a visa to enter and leave the country regardless of your visa status in Europe.
OK, that settles it then. This means a UK visa won't give one the right to travel throughout the European Union. A Schengen visa would be required, too.
The good news is that any such visa, be it German, French, Greek, or whatever, will grant one the right to travel through the entire Schengen space (but not through non-Schengen EU countries, which require visas of their own).

[Patrick Dixon]

OK, that settles it then. This means a UK visa won't give one the right to travel throughout the European Union. A Schengen visa would be required, too.


I'm not sure it does: it might mean that a UK visa implies a Schengen visa too, although a Schengen visa alone definitely won't allow you into the UK.

[Vlad Soare]

That might be possible, though in my opinion not very probable. A visa requirement usually works both ways, and I'd be very surprised if the Schengen space accepted UK visas as long as the UK doesn't accept Schengen visas. But this is just my guess. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[Steve Gledhill]

These might help ...
wikipedia: Schengen Agreement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement)
Documents you will need (http://europa.eu/travel/doc/index_en.htm)

[Vlad Soare]

"There are 34 countries whose nationals do not need a visa to visit the EU for three months or less. These include Australia, Canada, Croatia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States."

That's great. I didn't know that. :)
It has nothing to do with the UK visa, though. It's an agreement between the Schengen union and each one of those countries, and Songyun will be allowed to travel through Europe because he's a US citizen, and not because he has a UK visa.

[Songyun]

"There are 34 countries whose nationals do not need a visa to visit the EU for three months or less. These include Australia, Canada, Croatia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States."

That's great. I didn't know that. :)
It has nothing to do with the UK visa, though. It's an agreement between the Schengen union and each one of those countries, and Songyun will be allowed to travel through Europe because he's a US citizen, and not because he has a UK visa.

No, I am not a U.S. citizen. Thanks for all the discussion. I will checkout the regulations make sure that I can come back to London, if I travel. :)

[Songyun]

OK guys, I am leaving for London very soon. Still have to find an apartment first. Any recomendations? My company is near Moorgate tube station. I will be there for 4 months. Should I look for an apartment within walking distance (how much is a studio or one bedroom apt costs?) or shoud I take the Tube everyday and live far away.

BTW, my plan for the Europe is probably gone now, stupid visa policy ... anyway.

[Pete Watkins]

My son lives and works in London. He has lived in a few different places but seems to feel happier and safer in the Notting Hill / Holland Park area. It's not the cheapest part of town but he thinks that it's worth it. Personally I would not consider anywhere south of the river (but old hang ups die hard). The transport connections are excellent and improving all the time (unlike the rest of the country) so a short commute to Moorgate should not be a problem. I would not advise buying a car as parking is difficult and local taxes are nothing short of a rip off.
Have a good journey,
Pete.

[Songyun]

My son lives and works in London. He has lived in a few different places but seems to feel happier and safer in the Notting Hill / Holland Park area. It's not the cheapest part of town but he thinks that it's worth it. Personally I would not consider anywhere south of the river (but old hang ups die hard). The transport connections are excellent and improving all the time (unlike the rest of the country) so a short commute to Moorgate should not be a problem. I would not advise buying a car as parking is difficult and local taxes are nothing short of a rip off.
Have a good journey,
Pete.

Thank you Pete, I never considered buying a car. I learned to drive on the right. :p

[john biskupski]

Songyun

If this is your first trip to London, spend a little time in different boroughs, just as we would if visiting New York, before rushing off around UK and Europe.

Everyone's choice is different, but visiting places like Aldgate (nr Moorgate), Clerkenwell, Smithfield/St Paul's, King's Road/Chelsea, Hampstead, Campden market, Notting Hill/Portobello, Canary Wharf (get there by riverbus), Greenwich, Richmond/Richmond Park - - and the list goes on. Keep asking, you'll get lots of interesing ideas.

[Steve Barber]

Visa requirements depend on your citizenship, your country of residence, type of passport and whether you are transiting (as between planes in an airport terminal) or entering a country of destination. One of the best sites for this is the Delta Airlines site, but you need to be aware of the qualifiers above and use it to determine your requirements for each country, individually, that you will be entering or transiting. You also need to be aware that the rules are different from country to country regarding the remaining period before expiration of your documents and whether or not your visa is in an expired passport, even though you have another, new one, that is currently valid.

Just because you were not required to pass a control at a border does not mean that you do not have to comply with each country's individual requirements. If you have any question after using the Delta service, you will have to resolve it by accessing each individual country's visa requirements. Usually, you can do this by finding one of their consulates that is on the web and has "visa" on the services menu. If you cannot find that, then the other alternative is to use the telephone and dial up their nearest consulate office and ask them. I strongly recommend that you satisfy yourself on this using information published by each country and not rely on any of the services that come up when you google "visa".

Delta's site :

http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/index.jsp

[spkennedy3000]

If you are going to take the tube option I would avoid living on the Northern Line, the busiest line and can be difficult to get on in rush hour.

Notting Hill is very nice but you will need deep pockets to live there.

If you are finding some more interesting places than the obvious tourist spots 4x5 should be no problem. You might be questioned by the police occasionally but as long as you are not obstructing other pedestrians too much and are cooperative you should have no problem.

[tlitody]

What is the weather like in London from April to October?

Just take a Bowler hat, Brolly, Shorts and thermal underwear. That should cover all eventualities.

[tlitody]

Getting a flat for 4 months will be problematic unless you pay through the nose.
For that length of time I would get your company to pay for a hotel. It would take weeks to find a decent pad by which time no one will want to let it for such a short time. There will probably be a 2 month deposit plus one month rent to find up front and you might lose the deposit if you move out before end of 6 month tenancy agreement. If you were staying for a year then things would be different.

[Pete Watkins]

Just Google (or whatever) some decent Estate Agents/Letting Agents in areas that you fancy living in. All sorts of deals exist. My son once rented a flat for a month.
Pete.

[Songyun]

here, here, I am finally in London now, very nice city.