What I wish I had known before going to the University of York

The UoY, or University of York, is one of the best universities in the United Kingdom, and although you might think, "that is just a ranking," or "maybe they aren't that good," I can tell you right now that they are indeed very good, and you notice it in every single class. 

They have curricula at the vanguard of the world's needs, and mind you, I don't just mean the UK's; they are preparing people to be ready to face the challenges that haven't even reached our countries yet, but when they do, we will be a few steps ahead. Now, you already know the university is very good, but what about the accommodation, the life, and the country?
 

Your home in York

The university is huge, and the truth is I didn't explore all of it, but I can tell you that the options for staying on campus are very diverse; whichever college you are assigned to, you are very lucky, as they all have their charm. I don't want to take away the merit of living on campus, because it is very convenient, both because you don't have to worry about paying for utilities, and because you can get to the classroom in 5 minutes. However, I think a better option would have been to live off-campus, because generally speaking it is cheaper, and you are closer to urban life. You can ask the government to exempt you from council tax payments because you are a foreign student, and that is a big help regardless. But what happens? At least in my experience, the time difference between when I got my visa and when I travelled to York was 10 days, 10 days! I wouldn't have had time to find accommodation in time; what I did was secure housing at the school well in advance, which takes a lot of pressure off you.
 

Making money

This is one of the things that I really wish I had known, especially because you think, "I won't have time," or "I want to focus 100% on my studies," and I can tell you that you will have more than enough time for everything: traveling, working, and studying. Now, in York there are many options for working, restaurants, bars, cafes, bakeries. It's just a matter of finding a place you like, since being a student city/town, there are many places that give you the flexibility to work, and that helps you a lot, because when you are a student that is vital, and even more so because you also want to travel. So, my advice is: work from month 1.

I know it sounds difficult, but that's just it, it sounds more difficult than it actually is. If you have already dared to go to a country you might not know well, working will help you not only to make money, but to gain experience so that later you can look for something more specialized in what you want, because let me tell you that it's something the English value a lot, that you already have experience working in their country, but It will also help you socialize, improve your use of idioms in the language, and distract you from school.
 

Grocery shopping is expensive?

Here I must say yes and no, because it will depend a lot on where you shop. I recommend certain stores like Lidl or Aldi, which are very good, cheap, and have sales very often, and as a student, you appreciate that. I think it depends on tastes and budgets here, but in general, I could tell you that it is not expensive; there are many products that are expensive in our countries, but there they are absurdly cheap, like bread, for example. It's not that it's expensive in Mexico, but I don't know why, they almost give it away to you over there.

There are also many student discounts in restaurants or cafeterias; take advantage of them, you can stock up on bread for several days there. Also, use apps like Too Good To Go; that app gives discounts to people who want to buy the leftover food at the end of the day at a restaurant. It's not bad, it's just that the restaurant offers fresh food daily and they won't offer that food the next day, and as they would say in my hometown, "better in my belly than in the trash."

There are many other things that, although I would have liked to know before going, I think it was also good that I discovered them along the way. I hope you can also discover them like I did because going to the UK was one of the things I will always recommend.

-Diego