14 Aug The End is Just the Beginning | London

As my month at my London internship comes to an end I’ve realised a few things about myself:

1) The “real world” isn’t as scary as you’d think.
2) I never ever in a million years want to become a market researcher – working in a creative environment at Nucco Brain has made me realise I’m too creative (and impatient) for statistics.
3) The world is your oyster (can alternatively be substituted for any other appropriate cheesy saying).

You’ve heard it before; in order to be successful in whatever you do experience is a must. So why intern abroad? What’s the fuss about London? What has London got that Perth doesn’t (well it’s got Big Ben and a cool palace and amazing shops just to name a few) But in all seriousness sometimes you need to travel outside of what you know and who you know, get out of your comfort zone and that snug University bubble. Experience something completely different and throw yourself into the deep end because at the end of the day as all intelligent people say; you only live once (YOLO). To demonstrate the true amazingness of interning abroad I’ve put London and Perth head to head to the ultimate battle.

LONDON V S PERTH

Vibe 10/10 – London
Depending on how busy the tube is, this rating can fluctuate according to your level of people patience and personal space needs. But generally if you love a city that has a buzz and always has something hip-hop-a-happenin, then you and London are a match made in heaven.

Vibe 6/10 – Perth
Okay Perth isn’t too bad. I feel like it is unrateable in terms of vibe because it constantly swings between kind of dead and boring and then really cool and hip. Variable according to season, time of year and events.

Getting Around 8/10 – London
There are so many ways you can get around London and when you have the very convenient “City Mappers” mobile app getting from here to there is an absolute breeze (given 3 mobile isn’t having an off day and randomly cuts out your ability to use the internet… hmmmm!). Giving you pretty accurate time estimates City Mappers gives you a number of routes to your desired destination – whether that be walking (predicts how many calories you will burn, even going so far as to inform you of how many ‘Full English Breakfasts’ you’d burn off) taking the super hip red double decker busses (they even have a 24 hour service?!) the tube, taxi or a combination of everything and each service is pretty frequent so if you miss one the next won’t be too far off. The only downside – squishiness and potential to have someone else’s sweat all over you as a result of peak hour/the gazillion million billion people around.

Getting Around 5/10 – Perth
In terms of usability, ease and comfort, then Perth scores a perfect 10/10 (mainly because there aren’t too many people around). However, in terms of advancement and service options then it isn’t a touch on London! If you miss a train in Perth you’ll be waiting 15/20 mins for the next one. More like half an hour off-peak time. Thus lateness to gatherings is a regular occurrence of mine…

Food 8/10 – London
SO MANY OPTIONS. Sometimes too many. Downside – relatively expensive compared to what I’m used to. A pizza from ‘Pizza East’ in Shoreditch cost me 13 pounds… yep that’s around $26…

Food 7/10 – Perth
Cheaper than London, but less choice.

CV Impressiveness 10/10 – London
Think about all the people in your lecture, then think about all the people at other Universities doing exactly the same course as you and then think about all the people in the last few years that have graduated with your degree. Scary isn’t it. The competition is stronger than ever. So you need to be on top of your game. How many people can say they’ve worked in London – arguably one of the busiest and most notable cities in the world! London internship experience is sure to knock the socks off any serious future employer.

CV Impressiveness 7/10- Perth
As I said before any experience is good experience, especially in an industry like marketing and advertising where competition is fierce and internship placements are hard to come by. Depending on what company and what work you do, Perth internship impressiveness can vary. But with a London Internship  you seem more global, cultured, adventurous and eager – adding more to your character.

Fun Times 10/10 – London
It’s London…  enough said.

Fun Times 5/10 – Perth
Okay I’m biased because I live in Perth and often complain about how boring it is, but you are the maker of your own fun so you can have fun in most places if you put your mind to it. London just has more to do!

So there you have it folks, London wins. If you’re still umming and awwwing about interning abroad put it this way – you’re helping your career as you explore, party and have an amazing time in a new and different city, it’s still an exciting enough adventure. You can’t put ‘completed a Contiki tour July/August 2014’ on your resume. As Nike says “Just Do It” – what have you got to lose? The end of my internship is just the beginning; it was an introduction to the electrifying world of advertising that lies ahead…