London 2014
6 Month Independent Study as a Tourist in London

The Backstory
2013 in Boston - Why spend time in London?

For the year of 2013 I lived at Carlton Castle in Somerville. Sharing a big apartment with professional minded, fun loving, house mates was a huge gain for me. I studied for the spring semester at community college. Yearlong I had breakfasts 5 days a week with the housemates where we chatted about young entrepreneur and business topics, and 3 days a week we would go to the gym together at 7am.


2013 was a very full year living at Carlton Castle in Boston. I started Spicy Tangerines Productions, LLC. and I realized that I would love to live as a tourist in Europe for a while to gain the perspective of a different environment on my goals in life, academics and business. 

The Plan
The intention and goals for the adventure

In March I decided to come to England for 6 months to research, network, and explore music and indie-film production here. After spending three months in Barcelona my "Schengen Zone Visa" was up, (90 days in 180 day period,) and as an American I was able to come to the UK and receive a Visa of "Leave to Enter for 6 Months" upon arrival at the airport. (Technically I run a web-based video business in Massachusetts, and I'm traveling currently)

The plan is to create some long-term connections with creative professionals here in the UK. In the next 5 years my goals include music and feature film production, so the more collaborative contacts, the better. 

I'm also pondering continuing my under-graduate education, and researching the academic and professional environment here is helping me to get closer to a decision. 

The Experience
What did I spend my time doing?

So far, so good. Moving from Barcelona to London was easy. I used www.CouchSurfing.org to find a flat-share with an available room, and moved in with no deposit, just first month up front.  

Within the first two weeks I had settled into the area. Victoria Park, an amazingly lively part of London, surrounded by canals, saturated with house-boats, the area was quite inspiring. 

I went on a few walks each week to scout out projects and creative enterprises. Going out mid-day and exploring the busy main roads and side streets to find start-ups, studios, and galleries. 

Being a twenty minute walk from Shoreditch, I found myself wandering around Brick Lane and the Shoreditch High Street areas and finding lots of amazing hotspots for young creative professionals. 

*Other interesting notes about London*

-Many museums are free
-There is a lot of live music
-Busses are everywhere

The Results
What are the outcomes from this endeavor?

My walks resulted in a few video projects and many great new friendships and connections with productive people.  

Being here 3 months now I'm finding that my path forward is becoming increasingly more clear. Meeting people who are ahead of me on the various production paths has helped to charter my coming adventures. 

While also studying web based marketing and online income generation, it's become increasingly clear that applying for study and/or work visas to remain in UK or to return to Barcelona, (my favorite city) is an ideal path forward. Decisions to be made soon. 
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I must also credit many different life coaches whose videos online have helped fuel my determination to develop my production company and traveling lifestyle. 

-Project Life Mastery - Stefan Pylarinos
-Tony Robbins
-Brian Tracy