Life in the UK

Shopping

Supermarkets, depending on their size, stock a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, plus ready cooked meals (to be heated in a microwave oven), tinned foods, rice, pasta, noodles, plus a wide selection of condiments and spices.

You can also expect to see bakery items such as bread, flatbreads, crumpets and bagels. Supermarkets also sell toiletries, cleaning items, toilet roll and personal hygiene items. Larger superstores also sell kitchen items, bedding, towels and clothing. Prices for these items are generally cheaper in supermarkets than in the city centre.

There are several international supermarkets in Liverpool, that cater for specific foods such as okra and plantain, which are harder to find in UK supermarkets. You can find the following in South and central Liverpool:

Smithdown Road - ASDA
26 Smithdown Road – Freshmart Superstore
Kensington - L7 Village market
51 Bold Street - Mattas International food
London Road – Melo’s
Lodge Lane – various independent shops and fresh fruit stalls

UK Food & Eating Out

British cuisine typically features hearty and warming dishes, often comprised of a combination of meat, potatoes, and vegetables in traditional recipes. In contrast to some other culinary traditions, British food generally leans towards mild flavours, with a tendency not to be overly spicy. Despite this, people in the UK have a strong affinity for international cuisine, incorporating European, Indian, and Asian dishes into their regular diet.

The food scene in Liverpool reflects this with a range of cuisine’s available in the various cafes and restaurants across the city. We would recommend taking a visit to Bold Street in the city centre, this street is full of independent cafes, bars and restaurants to satisfy whatever food cravings you might have! A little closer to campus and Aigburth Park is Lark Lane, a bustling street with shops, bars and restaurants where you can come for a day or night out. Smithdown Road on the other side of Sefton Park also boasts a number of student-friendly pubs and eateries.

Laundry

Washing clothes and bedding can be done at your accommodation if you have a washing machine, or in a public 'launderette', where there will be washing machines and dryers available for a fee.

The cost is usually about £4 per wash and £2 to dry a full load. Each Liverpool Hope campus has a launderette, plus there are public launderettes in the local community, usually near to other shops.

UK Beds

Beds are 90cm wide (a single) or 135cm wide (a double). Beds are always elevated from the ground on short legs, or a bed base and topped with a thick mattress. The mattress should be covered with a fitted or flat sheet before use - it is unhealthy to sleep on a bare mattress.

For warmth, we use either a top sheet and blankets, or more commonly, a padded duvet with a fitted cover, plus pillows with fitted covers.

Finding Part-time Work

Student Route Visa holders are restricted to a maximum of 20 hours per week, except in the holiday periods when they can work full time. Failure to keep to these rules means you are in breach of your Visa conditions and can mean termination of your residence in the UK.

Employers will ask for proof of how many hours you can work – the Global Centre can provide you with a letter confirming this.

The summer holiday period (June to September) is considered by the Home Office to be part of the full-time study weeks for Master’s students, so working hours are restricted to 20 per week.

In order to receive payment from an employer, you need a National Insurance Number – you can apply for jobs without one, but employers usually want to have your number before they employ you.

You can apply for a National Insurance number if all of the following are true:

you live in England, Scotland or Wales
you entered the UK on a visa that’s still valid (and has not been extended in the UK)
you have the right to work in the UK.

For further information about finding a job or advice about writing your CV, My Careers Centre in My Hope is an excellent place to find help and advice. For further information, go the Careers webpage.

For work on campus, register with Hope Works.

Opening a UK Bank Account

To open a high street bank account, you will need to have an interview at your chosen branch – some banks allow you to complete a form online in advance of the interview, so the interview itself is shorter.

The interview is about one hour long and credit checks will be carried out before you are offered an account. You will need to take several documents to the interview:

A Status Letter - this can be obtained from the main desk on the ground floor of the Gateway Building at Hope Park or by emailing gateway@hope.ac.uk. The status letter shows the home address and term-time address from your student record. Check that these are correct in My Hope before requesting a Status Letter
Proof of your address, for example, a Tenancy Agreement or Accommodation Contract
Your passport
Your BRP card if you are a Visa holder.

Once you have a UK bank account, all shops will take payments by debit card – UK debit cards automatically have a contactless option whereby you can pay for items up to the value of £100 without using your PIN.

Some online banks do not require as much documentation and can be opened from overseas. The Online banks that are most well-known are:

Monzo (bank)
Starling (bank)
Revolut (a financial technology company)
Wise (online bank and currency transfer) - Wise is an online banking and transfer service. You can open an account easily online and the fees for exchanging currencies are much lower than high-street banks. There is also an option for a virtual card so you don’t have to wait for your debit card to arrive.