I am in my last semester of law school and i have the option of studying in london-should I do it? I live in los angeles and I love to surf, so my concern is that I might not like living in london for a few months. Is the daily life there fun? Take in consideration that I don't plan on partying or anything. thanks. oh, i will be there from january till april

just GO!

I had a friend who while studying there moaned and groaned about how boring it was. Looking back now, he said he'd never trade the experience for anything, and only wished he'd taken more advantage of his situation instead of being what he called a spoiled sport.

So, I say go!

I suggest you check out the cost of living. In general food in London is expensive. The prices would be ok if they were in dollars, but they are in £.
Right now £10 = $17.20 US at the wholesale rate of exchange.

The climate is also a consideration.
It will be much cooler and wetter than LA. Is the opportunity worth it professionally?

Is the daily life there fun? Well, my memories of my last semester of law school are such that compared to that, life in jail might have been fun. Oh yeah, I actually did spend quite a bit of time in jail that semester.

But it seems this is a great opportunity to live some place very different from LA for a long enough time to get to know it but a short enough time that you'll be able to live without surfing. And it will probably be a very long time before you have the opportunity to do anything like this again.

Sounds like surfing is a big deciding issue, certainly the only one you seem to have a problem with in your posting. Take the train from London to Newquay and keep on enjoying the surf. Find out all you can about this coastal town and see if it influences your decision. It's located in Cornwall, a county (a dutchy to be precise, but lets not complicate things) about 300 miles west of London.
Be prepared for colder weather than L.A. but not as cold as some areas in the U.S. (have you spent a winter in Boston or Buffalo?) and if you don't mind the difference in temperatures, colder seas for surfing, more rain and grey skys then you shouldn't waste the opportunity at all. Like others have said 'Go for it'.

I have to encourage anybody willing to ask the question and call himself by "Valleyboy" to get out and see the rest of the world, and London is a fine place to start.

The surf will be there when you get back, in fact it might even be better once you've spent a few months away from it.

GO, Valleyboy. GO!

Jules

you guys all gave awesome responses! thank you all for your infinite wisdom. i have decided to set my board aside for a few months and explore the UK. thanks for giving me that push that i needed.

What a fantastic opportunity,there is nothing like living somewhere and experiencing different things to a tourist. What is a few months out of your life? The surf will always be there and you may find something you like even more. Have a great time.You'll never know till you give
it a go!

Valleyboy, wait just a second. I may have an idea for you. I´m writing from San Sebastin where I just finished my law finals. I too faced the exact same situation because my school (Univ of Texas) sends most students to London but a few of us went to Spain instead. If you´re looking to get out of California and into a law program, the one here is pretty organized. You can take Spanish classes both before classes on an intensive level and during classes. Having just taken the finals, I could even recommend professors that are easy As. January and Feb will be cold and wet, but so will London, and Spring should be awesome.

Here´s why SS is better than London for you from what I´ve read: the beach(es)! This is a surfer´s paradise, and every morning and evening from my window I can look out onto the beach in Gros (a part of town with its own beach) and see the surfers having a go at it, even in cold weather. Seeing someone dripping wet in a body suit with no shoes on and lugging a board around is not uncommon.

If you´re not into partying, that´d be fine because the place is small and only has a few dance clubs. (The ones that are here are pretty cool though.) Huge number of tapas bars. It´s in Basque country, which is very unique (though some of us didn´t find it very appealing culture-wise).

Personally, I chose SS over London because Spain in my mind will always be more interesting than London, but that´s just a personal preference. I don´t like London too much and find it a little stuffy. Incidentally, I met a bunch of Californian undergrads studying here.

If beach is important and you still want to study law, you really should consider SS. There´s not much going on in town, at least not until the weather gets better, but its very pretty and in Spring will be awesome.

School: universidad de pais vasco. http://www.sc.ehu.es/Web_Campus/index.htm

Office of Int´l Relations: http://www.ehu.es/rrii/

Facultad de Derecho (Department of Law): Teresa Colera is the contact who works with students.

I´d be happy to answer any more questions.

"There´s not much going on in town, at least not until the weather gets better"

Something that could never, ever be said about London

OK...why would you go all the way to Europe to meet a bunch of other people from the US????

Hi V,

Have you asked your faculty advisor how a semester in London might affect your career?

That might be more important than whether you can go surfing.

'Have you asked your faculty advisor how a semester in London might affect your career?'

As far as I'm aware he doesn't have a career at this stage of his life. If 3 months in London is going to make or break a career at say 22, then its a pretty sad state of affairs.

Just go and enjoy yourself, we've just had a conversation amongst my colleagues about how quick life is going, people on this board already want you to map out your career before you've even qualified in anything.

Geordie

Go go go. If you don't someday later in life you will regret it. GO!

Geordie - you took the words right out of my mouth.

If future employers in the US look upon the nous to get out there and explore the world outside as a BAD THING - then what does that say about them?

valleyboy - it some ways it doesn't matter where you go. It will be different and it will be up to you what you make of it.

All the best.

Dear G and FL.

The OP is finishing law school. He is not an undergraduate.

Law school is expensive.

Legal careers are very competitive.

He can always go to London after he makes partner.

'The OP is finishing law school. He is not an undergraduate',

He's still not qualified to do anything!!

'Law school is expensive'
And your point is...

'Legal careers are very competitive'

All the more reason to go to London

'He can always go to London after he makes partner'.

Ah so partners get 3 month sabbaticals these days, I'll have to tell my friends.


Ira,you just don't get it, do you!

You HAVE to go before you get that bill from your Law School student loans, and have to start paying for those instead of trips to London.

I think it's the law.

Jules

Great point Jules. I know I´m viewing my trip abroad now as the last time I´ll have that chance for a long while, especially considering the debt payoffs.

Whoever criticized my comment about seeing Americans, the point was not to see Americans, but to show that there are already programs in place