Survival Guide in Manchester – from Asian Perspective

Posted on August 10, 2010

Manchester is a great place to live, study and work. It’s a major city with a diverse population of more than two million, and a reputation as a friendly and warm welcoming place which best described as “Northern Charm”. What’s more, it has been rated as the best student city all over United Kingdom, as you could find Manchester University and Metropolitan University are among the best educational establishments here in England.

However, these are things that you need to know if you’re coming to Manchester :-)

Do and Don’ts

  • If you’re coming from a hot country, you should get a duvet to keep you warm at the winter time. And a portable heater would be very useful as well.
  • Getting an annual bus pass would be very essential for studying in the off campus university. A price of £165 will be worth it. Trust me!
  • Everyday Essentials – Don’t bother bringing all you favourite’s toiletries along. In fact, you could find a lot more here in Manchester and pretty cheap as well.
  • Stationeries – Personally, I would recommend bring some of them from your country, it is because of the currency exchange rate would make you think twice before you buy them here.

Craving a taste of your home country?

Witnessing Rusholme’s “curry mile” as the largest concentration of Asian restaurants in the UK, would be an opportunity that you don’t want to miss. Over 65,000 diners per week came down here, wanting to sample the award winning Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi cuisine on offer.
However, as a Malaysian born country-boy, sometimes I miss the taste of the home-made mum’s cooking. Fortunately, I found Manchester as my second home as I could feel the Malaysian atmosphere when I visit the Lotus Restaurant. Where I could find the Nasi Lemak Rendang, Roti Canai and Laksa here and the price is affordable too. There are several numbers of Restaurants that offer a Malaysian cuisine as well, such as NING and RICE. These are my favourites.

Experience a Living

Studying in the off campus university gives you various options to stay. Most of the university halls are readily available for the new students. However, living in a hall could be very hectic where there are always people around which can be annoying sometimes, especially in the examination period. There is always an option, house-shares are very popular in Manchester, and it’s a lot cheaper and fairly comfortable too. Why don’t give it a try??

Earn While You Learn

If you are looking to earn some cash & gain some skills whilst studying, here in Manchester there are various kind of job they could offer, from kiosk work to office work. Why don’t experience that “northern charm” while having some money in your deep pocket.

Syed has lived in Manchester nearly three years, he graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University and now he is working with AroundTownFlats as a Purchase Ledger Clerk.

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