An American MBA in London

In terms of travels, I've managed to pay three visits to Barcelona, experience Amsterdam with all its bells and whistles, savor days in Stockholm when the sun never sets, and get bitten by a nasty spider while on assignment in Poland. By now you may be asking yourself: "Where in the world did he find the time to both work and travel as extensively as he did?" Well, that's part of the exceptional lifestyle you engage in while studying at my school.

Let's switch to the pros and cons of lifestyle choices for a moment. I want to say for the record that these opinions have not been derived entirely from an American's point of view. What I share is based on a global perspective as experienced by a nomad -- a universal theme unlimited by cultural origin.

LHR-LGW-CTY-STD-LTN
Unlike my favorite columnist, Tyler Brûlé, who writes Fast Lane for the Weekend Financial Times, I promised myself not to make much use of the airport codes -- but in this case, I just couldn't help myself. Let me explain. Few other cities in the world are surrounded by as many airports as London, and for a good reason. The weather here can get really depressing, so quick rejuvenation has been made easy and it's impossible not to give in to the temptation. In just under two hours one can be whisked away to the beaches of Sitges or the sub-zero Ice Hotel in Sweden.

National Healthcare System (NHS)
The NHS is free to all EU nationals and students and although the resemblance to its Swedish counterpart may seem only an illusion, it can also save you an arm and a leg, especially if your current worth has been tarnished by exorbitant student loans.

London, A Healthy Lifestyle
Living in London may seem quite stressful, especially at first since everything here takes almost twice as long (from waiting for a menu in a restaurant to queuing to buy a train ticket), but you'll need to go out of your way to find non-organic food. There are also plenty of gyms to go around and certainly lots of green space, such as Regent's Park, adjacent to the school. I'm not trying to say that London is the healthiest town on the planet, but when compared to other cities, it certainly is one of the leaders in quality of life. And if that's not enough, see "LHR-LGW-CTY-STD-LTN" above.

"3" Mobile Network
Living here provides a good introduction to mobile telephony in Britain, but after realizing that a third of the time you can't dial out because of "service unavailability" and handset havoc (I've gone through 3 LG cell phones in one year), you start remembering all the sins for which this must surely be a punishment. Want a way out? No problem, except … you've just been reminded by a call-center operator in a distant land that you're stuck in a 12- to-18-month agreement. …And the vicious circle continues.

Beware thy Landlord
This point deserves emphasis because not a month passes without someone publishing a message on the school's Web portal expressing his or her ire with a local landlord. I too have had the Dickensian freeholder of the property switch utilities off just because of his nasty nature, and yet another -- and no less pesky -- landlord who had my security deposit withheld over a "wear & tear" dispute. Here are a few words of advice: 1) Don't rent from a private landlord. Use a trustworthy letting agency or, better yet, an estate agent managing properties on behalf of large property owners. 2) Thoroughly inspect the property before moving in and sign the "inventory check list." 3) Don't be afraid to take the case to small claims court, which will welcome you with open arms and ready assistance.

London 2012
And we've got the Olympics!

London's calling, so I'll close this chapter with these thoughts: From amazing first-year projects to living a truly Continental lifestyle, I am finding London Business School to be even more inspiring than I had imagined it could be. And I haven't even mentioned the bookshops and pub crawls! More soon. That's a promise!

Cheers,Marty

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