When applying for an internship in London, the International Office supported me very well, so that I had already found a suitable company within a very short time of writing my application. As I was able to make direct contact with an accommodation agency via the agency that had arranged my internship, finding accommodation also went smoothly.

After I had arranged my internship and accommodation, I also took out travel health insurance, as I was not sufficiently insured abroad through my health insurance.

I completed my internship at the company Janus Solutions in the marketing department. During my first few days at the company, I received a very friendly welcome from the entire team. During my internship, I mainly assisted with research activities to identify potential new customers. I was also involved in the creation of online surveys for market research.

My work colleagues were always open to questions, invited me to lunch and gave me lots of tips on interesting places and things to do. I particularly liked the latter, as I had already seen the classic tourist attractions during a vacation in London and now wanted to explore the places that you don’t necessarily get to see as an ordinary tourist.

I lived in a student apartment in Streatham. I was really happy with my accommodation, as it was very close to my work but also outside the city center in a quieter residential area. I was also very happy that I chose a student apartment. I quickly got to know new people my age, with whom I also spent a lot of time at the weekends.

There are usually so many different events taking place in London, especially at weekends, that it’s impossible to visit them all. To get an overview of what there is to do and see, I often used the website “London on the inside”. It gives you a preview of upcoming events within the next month.

In addition to the numerous events, there are also a variety of different places that are definitely worth a visit. If the weather is good, you should definitely visit one of the many parks such as Hyde Park, Hampstead Heath or Richmond Park. The seaside town of Brighton, which is only about an hour’s train ride from London, is also very beautiful. If it rains, you can visit one of the many museums. Most of them are free and really interesting. I liked the Imperial War Museum best.

For Harry Potter fans, I can definitely recommend the Warner Brother Studio Tour and the cocktail bar “The Cauldron”. Even though the studio tour is not exactly cheap at £77 (transportation + admission), it was still very impressive to visit the various film sets of the Harry Potter films. In the basement bar “The Cauldron”, you get a cloak and wand and can concoct your own cocktails based on the potion lessons from Harry Potter!

If you find yourself outside the city center near Brixton, we also recommend “Pop Brixton”. This is a pop-up mall made from recycled shipping containers, which houses various small stores and street food stalls. Here you can eat very well and sometimes cheaply.

In general, the various (streefood) markets such as the Borough, Old Spitalfields and Greenwich Market are a good place to eat, as they offer a wide selection of different dishes and restaurant food is often very expensive. For small appetites, there are so-called “meal deals” in supermarkets such as Tesco or Boots, where you can get a sandwich or pasta and a drink for £ 3-4.

If you’re not in the city center (from zone 3), you can sometimes eat very cheaply in a pub. In Streatham, for example, I only paid £6 for a burger, chips and a drink. You can get a cheap but really good typical British breakfast at the Regency Cafe.

There are also helpful food websites, such as London Cheap Eats, where you can find places to eat in the area for under £8.

To use public transport in London, you need either an Oystercard or a credit card, which can be used to pay free of charge. You can buy an Oystercard from the ticket machines at subway stations.

You can also choose between two payment models: The Travelcard and “Pay as you go”. The Travelcard is purchased once a month for a certain number of zones and can then be used on the subway and streetcar only within these zones and on buses in all zones without restriction. If you opt for “Pay as you go”, you pay a certain amount each time you use public transport. There are daily caps, after which further journeys are free.

During my stay, my company paid for a monthly Travelcard for zones 1-3. This was completely sufficient for my activities. Looking back, “pay as you go” might have been a bit cheaper, as I didn’t get home from work until 6pm during the week and rarely did anything after that. I only really used my Travelcard at the weekends, when I was out and about a lot.

As the information on bus stops and routes was a bit confusing, especially at the bus stops, the “citymapper” app helped me a lot when using public transport. It uses the respective location and destination to determine the best bus or subway line.

My estimated costs for my stay in London amounted to £1,300 per month. Even though my accommodation was a bit out of town, I still paid £670 per month for a room with a bathroom, kitchen and living room, which I shared with my flatmates. I spent about £300 per month on food and about £200 per month on leisure activities. The monthly Travelcard for zones 1-3 cost £153.