The landslide Labour victory in 1997 gave the country a boost that reverberated around the world. It’s official! Britain is once again a happening place – and now is an exciting time to live and work there.

Britain is a place of pleasant surprises, friendly people and the promise of happy times. It has a great heritage as a stronghold of invention, literature, naval and imperial might, and individualism. This is a land that openly welcomes and embraces all cultures, whether it is workers, immigrants, travellers, tourists or students every year.
To the surprise of many Britain remains one of the most beautiful islands in the world. All the words, paintings and pictures that have been produced are not just romantic, patriotic exaggerations.

In terms of area, Britain is small, but the more you see the bigger it seems to become. The United Kingdom comprises Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
So what makes Britain such a popular place to live? For a start British people are a creative, energetic, humorous and friendly bunch. They’re also a diverse bunch, as one would expect given the variety of peoples who have made this island their home – from the original inhabitants to the Celts, Romans, Angles, Jutes, Saxons, Vikings, Normans, Huguenots and Jews, to the relatively recent Asian, African and Middle East arrivals.

In relative terms the climate is mild (London can go through winter without snowfall), but even in midsummer you can go for days without seeing the sun and showers should be expected. To enjoy England you have to convince yourself that you like the rain – after all, that’s what makes it so incredibly green! The average July temperature is 17.6 Celsius (64F), and the average January temperature is 4 Celsius (39F).

Britain is famous for it’s variety and number of pubs. Pub culture is a big thing in Britain and a warm welcome is always guaranteed. Pubs are much more than just places in which to drink. They are enclaves of laughter and gossip, arenas for playing games and competing, havens of sympathy in time of trouble, refuges and boltholes. A good pub has its own distinctive atmosphere and its own resident local characters.

For many Brits, the local (pub) is still the main focus for a good night out. But if you are looking for something just a little different, the country offers some of the world’s best drama, dance and music. A visit to a London theatre is a real must. If something more up beat is your scene than Britain has no shortage of late-night disco bars, nightclubs and wine bars. The plentiful supply of social hot spots and establishments, along with the friendliness of the natives, ensures good times for all.

British cuisine used to crop up more often in comedy sketches than on the restaurant review pages, but fortunately those days are now long gone. Nowadays you don’t have to try hard to find a decent restaurant even in some of the most out-of-the-way places. Indeed, the rash of restaurant openings, especially in London, played a big part in the creation of the Cool Britannia image.

In the main towns and cities a cosmopolitan range of cuisines is available. Particularly if you like pizza, pasta and curry, you should be able to get a reasonable meal for under £10.00 pretty well anywhere.

The greatest artistic contributions of the British have been in theatre, literature and architecture.
For anyone who has studied ‘English’ literature, travelling in the footsteps of the great English, Scottish and Welsh writers – and their characters – can be one of the highlights of your stay. Hundreds of famous books capture specific moments in time, favourite landscapes, or particular groups of people. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen and Wordsworth, just to name a few

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REGIONS IN BRIEF
London, once the capital of the greatest empire the world has ever known, is definitely worth a visit! It is still Europe’s largest city and is embedded in the culture, vocabulary and dreams of English speakers worldwide. At times it will be more grand, evocative, beautiful and stimulating than you could have imagined. London has 26 million visitors a year and there are one million and one things to do and see, from: St Paul’s Cathedral, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, to just name a few.

South-East England- at times, the counties of Kent, Surrey, Hampshire and East & West Sussex seem like a rural extension of London. Whatever images you have of England, you can find them in this region; picturesque villages and towns with welcoming old pubs, spectacular coastline, impressive castles, gardens, great cathedrals and finally, the kitsch and vibrant seaside resort of Brighton.

South-West England- the counties of Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall include some of the most beautiful countryside and spectacular coastline in Britain. It is densely packed with things to see, and the countryside, though varied, is a classic English patchwork of hedgerows, thatched cottages, stone churches, great estates and emerald-green fields. The weather is milder in the southwest all year round and there are beaches with golden sand and surfable surf.

Midlands- the Midlands are a mix of suburban sprawl (Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire) to the popular image of English countryside, known as The Cotswolds. There are moments when you will be transfixed by the beauty of the landscape. The combination of golden stone, flower-draped cottages, church spires, towering chestnuts and oaks, rolling hills and green, stone-walled fields can be too extraordinarily picturesque to seem quite real.
East England – Known as East Anglia, Cambridge, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire, make up this region. More than any other part of England, East Anglia has close links with northern Europe

North-East England – is quite different from the rest of the country, although it’s misleading to think of it as a single entity. The major sections are Yorkshire to the south, and Durham and Northumberland in the north, with the latter area bordering Scotland. As a rule, the countryside is more rugged than in the south and it’s as if the history reflects this, because every inch has been fought over. The countryside is a grand backdrop, containing three of England’s best national parks and some spectacular coastline. The Yorkshire Dales are the best known and arguably the most beautiful of the parks.

North-West England – The southern part of this region is often dismissed as England’s industrial back yard. The dense network of motorways you see on maps gives forewarning of both the level of development and the continuing economic importance of the region, despite the decline of some traditional industries. On the other hand, there are still some beautiful corners, and the larger cities are important cultural centres with a legacy of brilliant Victorian architecture. In a very real sense this is England’s working-class heartland.

The Lake District is the most beautiful corner of England- and also one of the most popular.
Scotland – Despite its official union with England in 1707, it maintains an independent national identity that extends considerably further than the occasional kilt and bagpipes. There are similarities and close links, but there are also considerable differences.

With few exceptions the country is beautiful and the Highlands are exceptional. You could hardly call it a secret, but for a region that has some of the world’s most dramatic scenery, it’s curiously underrated. Few English realise what an extraordinary neighbour they have.

Scottish urban culture is also quite different. Edinburgh is one of the world’s most beautiful cities; energetic Glasgow has reinvented itself after the collapse of its traditional industries; St Andrews is a beautiful coastal university town; and prosperous Aberdeen surveys the North Sea with a proprietorial interest.

Wales – There’s a remarkably upbeat feeling in Wales today. In 1997, the people of Wales voted to be governed by a Welsh Assembly rather than from the House of Commons in London. It has given them a sense of independence from England.
Wales is a wonderfully beautiful country and much of the most attractive countryside in now protected by national parks. It also has an unsurpassed legacy of magnificent medieval castles.
The population is concentrated in the southeast along the coast between Cardiff and Swansea. Cardiff is the capital.So now more than ever is a great time to live and work in Great Britain.

GEOGRAPHIC DETAILS
Britain has an area of 240,000 sq km, about the same size as New Zealand or half the size of France. It is less than 600 miles from South to North and under 300 miles at its widest point.
There are no great mountains in terms of height, but this does not prevent a number of ranges from being spectacular. The mountains of Snowdonia in northwest Wales, the Cumbrian mountains in northwest England, and the Glenkens in southwest Scotland all reach around 1000m.
The seas surrounding the British Isles are shallow, and relatively warm because of the influence of the warm North Atlantic Current, also known as the Gulf Stream. This creates a temperate, changeable, maritime climate with few extremes of temperature but few cloudless sunny days!

Britain is easily accessible from Europe with airports in all major cities and also in some regional areas. There are international air links with London, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. London is one of the most important transport hubs in the world.
The channel Tunnel gives Britain a land link with Europe (albeit rail only), but even without using the tunnel, you can still get to Europe by bus or train. The ferries/hovercrafts carry cars and motorcycles.

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
As yet the United Kingdom doesn’t have a written constitution. Instead it operates under a mixture of parliamentary statutes, common law (a body of legal principles based on precedents that go back to Anglo-Saxon customs) and convention.
The monarch is the head of state, but real power has been whittled away to the point where the current Queen is a figurehead who acts almost entirely on the advice of ‘her’ ministers and Parliament.

Parliament has three separate elements – the Queen, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In practice, the supreme body is the House of Commons, which is directly elected every five years. Voting is not compulsory, and candidates are elected if they win a simple majority in their constituencies. There are 650 constituencies (seats) – 523 for England, 38 for Wales, 72 for Scotland and 17 for Northern Ireland.
In the 1997 elections, Tony Blair led the Labour Party to a landslide victory and he has been in power since.

CURRENCY
No Euros here … yet! The currency is the pound sterling (£) and there are 100 pence (p) in a pound.
The exchange rates against the Pound (£), as of 1st July 2002 are as follows:
Country-
Australia 1.00AUD =0.36GBP
Canada 1.00CAD =0.42GBP
India 1.00INR =0.0134504GBP
Philippines 1.00PHP =0.0129252GBP
South Africa 1.00ZAR =0.0646063GBP

ECONOMY
Today free enterprise rules the roost, and although manufacturing continues to play an important role (particularly in the midlands), service industries like banking and finance have grown rapidly (particularly in London and the south-east). Most of the traditional mining, engineering and cotton industries have disappeared.
The last 20 years have seen a battle against unemployment and inflation. By 1998 the economy had emerged from the doldrums and inflation has shrunk to around 3%.

LANGUAGE
English may be one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, but the language as it’s spoken in some parts of Britain is some-times incomprehensible to overseas visitors/workers – even to those who think they’ve spoken it all their lives.

RELIGION
The majority of the population is Church of England and today about one in 10 Britons considers themselves Catholic.
Recent estimates suggest there are now over one million Muslims and significant numbers of Sikhs and Hindus in Britain. But although attendances at Sunday church services continue to fall, the majority of the British population probably still regard themselves as Christians.

HEALTH AND WELFARE
There are no major health hazards in Britain. International Certificates of Vaccination are not required.
Reciprocal arrangements with the UK allow Australians, New Zealanders, EU citizens and a number of other nationalities to receive free emergency medical treatment and subsidised (but still quite costly) dental care. All others visitors/workers would have to pay. Make sure you’re insured.

BANKING
Bank hours vary, but you’ll be safe if you visit between 9.30 am and 4.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Some banks are open on Saturday, generally from 9.30 am till noon.
It’s difficult to open a bank account, although if you will be working, it may be essential. Building societies tend to be more welcoming and often have better interest rates. You’ll need a (semi) permanent address, and you’ll smooth the way considerably if you have a reference or introductory letter from your bank manager at home, plus bank statements for the previous year.
Look for a bank or building society current account that pays interest, gives you a chequebook and guarantee card, and has access to automatic teller machines (ATMs).

TRANSPORTATION
Public transport is generally of a high standard and you can get almost anywhere, so a car is not a necessity.
Buses are nearly always the cheapest way to get around; unfortunately, they’re also the slowest. With discount passes and tickets (especially Apex), trains can be competitive; they’re quicker and often take you through beautiful countryside still relatively unspoilt by the 20th century.
London has a fantastic, quick and efficient transport service called the London Underground (part of London Regional Transport), called for short – ‘the tube’. This is by far the best way to get from A to B in London and Greater London.
Taxis are available and inexpensive. Vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road and most vehicles have manual gear change.

WORK PERMITS
EU nationals don’t need a work permit, but all other nationalities must have one to work legally. If the main purpose of your visit is to work, you basically have to be sponsored by a British company or employer.

TAXATION
VAT is a 17.5% sales tax levied on virtually all goods and services, but not on food and books. Restaurant menu prices must by law include VAT.
British taxation levels are quite high and every individual is obliged to pay income tax.

MISCELLANEOUS
*Offices are open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Shops may be open for longer hours, and all shops are open on Saturday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Some shops also open on Sunday, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. In country towns, particularly in Scotland and Wales, there may be an early closing day for shops – usually Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. Late-night shopping is usually possible on Thursday and Friday.
*Post office hours can vary, but most are open from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday, and 9.00 am to noon on Saturday.
*The standard voltage throughout the country is 240V, 50Hz. Plugs have three pins.
*Wherever you are in the world, the time on your watch is measured in relation to the time in London’s Greenwich – Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Just to give you an idea, New York is five hours behind GMT, San Francisco is eight hours behind and Sydney is 10 hours ahead of GMT.
*In theory Britain has made the switch to metric weights and measures, although non-metric equivalents are likely to be used by much of the population for some time to come. Distances continue to be given in miles and yards.