Expat Community > England

Srkrause90
Joined 2014
Posts: 1

New to Oxford

10 years ago

Hello,

My name is Sarah. I just joined Expat Exchange. I just moved from the US to Oxford with my husband, who is attending Oxford for his PhD in mathematics (studying mathematical biology).

I'm loving it here so far, but I am still having some trouble adjusting. I fall into homesickness often, but I am trying to get out and keep busy. I want to make my time here meaningful, but I'm not quite sure how to do that. I am currently trying to find a job, but that is proving difficult, and a lot around here is unfamiliar to me, so I'm intimidated by my surroundings.

People seem more reserved here, and so that is one thing that intimidates me. Back in the US, people on the street would just strike up a conversation with you, but here small talk amongst strangers does not seem like the norm. That's not a bad thing, just something I'm adjusting to.

There are also small things that are just different enough here that they are making me uncomfortable. I've been trying to figure out how to send mail here, how to use the public transportation, and how to get by without a phone (we are trying not to get one in order to save money).

Any advice from other expats in England on your experiences and how you adjusted is welcome.

I just wanted to introduce myself and post here about how it's going for me so far. I'm also keeping a blog of my experiences at http://expatkrause.wordpress.com which is mostly for me to keep track of my experiences and for people to stay updated.

-Sarah

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