Guide to a life in UK for Indians / Asians Part 1: basics

Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog. 

What's this post about?

This post is a guide to a life in UK for Indians/ Asians. If you are planning to live in the United Kingdom for sometime or interested in knowing about a life in UK then this post might help you understand the problems and learn the solutions for it, also this post will make you aware of things that will help your life gets easier. 

I will be writing a series of post under this topic. The cost of living, seasons and clothing, shops that will help you save more and offer times will be written in a different post. Also, the places to visit, taxis and tourism related tips will be written in the next post. 

This post will just cover the day today problems that you will face and its solutions. All the points will be written keeping in mind people who have least exposure to the life in uk just to make sure everyone is benefitted.

Toilets As you must be aware none of the toilets in United Kingdom as far as I have seen have the Indian system of closet. All of them are western ones. Another point you need to know is the toilets here are dry toilets. You won't have a toilet hand shower. As far as I have seen not a single place has this hand shower system for toilets. You are given just toilet papers.  I am mentioning this specifically for people who are planning to bring elders of your family here to keep them informed. Might sound silly to many other readers but if you are bringing elders along you will understand why I make a mention of it.

2. Bathrooms

Most houses have a bath tub installed in the bathroom. If you are not aware how to use a bathtub read this point else skip it and move on with the other pointers. Bathtubs will have a curtain holder along with it. You will have to put a bathtub curtain to it. These bathtub curtain can be go from any shop for 1 pound, even available in pound land. This curtain should be put inside the bathtub while you bath to prevent the bathroom floor getting wet. You will have to use the hand shower to take bath so water will spill on the curtain, that's why you use one. But if you put the floating edge outside the tub you are most likely to wet the entire bathroom. So, remember you should always put the floating edge inside. 

3. Damps- black spots on the ceiling

This is one problem that most indias face when they come to a cold country. Since uk is colder than most of our home towns we ten to keep the windows shut. We will also dry clothes inside the house. So we tend to let damps accumulate in the ceilings. Don't get scared if this happens to you. There are sprays available in the market for this. Just buy them, spray it and wipe. It gets wiped off without much effort, leaving no trace.

Above photo is before and while cleaning. Below photo is after two minutes of wiping. 

4. Drying clothes

If you are in an apartment which doesn't have a backyard or garden, you might wonder where to dry clothes. As there is no concept of terrace here. You will have to dry clothes inside home. You can either buy a cloth drying stand that's a stand alone one or the one that can be hung on the heaters. You can also dry the clothes on the heaters, I prefer doing this. You don't have to worry your clothes won't catch fire or something. Everyone I know dries their clothes on the heaters. 

5. Stains around burner

A uk has both gas burners and electric burners just like India or anywhere else. If you are using a induction top oven or electric burner you are more likely to get brown stains around the circle even if you are very careful in not dropping anything. This happens and you don't have to worry. The solution to this is to mix baking powder and vinegar both can be got at one pound each. You need to apply it on the stain, leave it for fifteen to twenty minutes and then scrub using a brush. It will be easy to get rid of the stains but it will take some effort. If you are given a chance to choose a house with a fire lit burner then you better choose that one though choosing a electric burner will not be of much trouble other than cleaning it. Also, electricity is a bit cheaper compared to gas here. 

The above photo was taken when the paste was applied. The below one is taken after twenty minutes of scrubbing. A little more effort will make it look fully clean.

6. Silence

This country is basically too silent unless you are in a very busy area with pubs and highways. Most other places are calm and nice. Also since there is no ceiling fans your house might be damn silent. This is usual and its nothing to worry unless you have a sleeping problem without the sound of a fan. 

You will get less amount of dust so cleaning the floor will be easier than in our country. There is no concept of broomstick here, you get a sweeper like the one in photo for one pound. Also mopping the wooden floors can be done once a month. You shouldn't pour. Water to mop it. Just drop some mopping liquid on the floor and use a mop to spread it. 

I think I am done with the house tips for the new comers from India and most of Asia. My next post will cover the much talked about cost of living, things and their costs for your reference if cost of living is what you are thinking about to shift to uk. 

Hope this post was helpful. Share your comments below if you have any other issues. I will try to answer them either in the comments or if it's a topic of discussion I will make a post about it. 

Next post can be read here.