Still remember your post months ago asking for advice for moving. I'm happy it worked out for you and your family squid! Hope you guys can settle down soon (I'm sure there's tons of paper work and other bullshit) and relax!
Wow, 1st class, I didn't realize out of context comics paid so well! :)
I'm really impressed with how quickly you've made such a huge life change, that takes some serious courage for you and your family. I would love to follow along behind you, but have no path for it, so I'll have to stick things out and hope for the best (or not worst) here.
Hey, congrats for taking that big leap, even if it is to the UK (having lived in a couple of places in Europe including over a decade in the UK, my opinion of the UK is pretty low).
It takes a lot of guts to take yourself out of the environment you know (with all it's implicit expectations of "this is how people behave") and move into a different environment were people don't value the same things, expect the same or behave the same.
Welcome to the UK! Not sure on your final destination, but I'm based in South West England. Please feel free to reach out if you need any help or guidance, especially if you're heading down this way 🙂.
Ah congrats on the move, squid. We left the US for the EU in December (planned since the summer) and I can't imagine a better choice already. I know you've got a million things going on, and of course job, housing, etc are all top priority, but I have some lighter advice on getting used to a new place.
To meet some people and make some friends, there are lots of volunteer opportunities. It's a fun, helpful, community building way to give a little back.
London has a TON of ex-pats/immigrants. Not that the point is to meet a bunch of Americans or anything, but any you do have left for a reason, so they're more likely to be like minded.
Say "yes" to any bids for connection you can. Even if getting invited to an activity that isn't your jam, if you get an invite, go! It can be lonely at first, and feel like drinking is the only way to meet anyone. But social circles can spread quickly once you get them a little off the ground.
I'm both glad you made it out and jealous I don't have a similar history with another country to move to. You're a great parent for everything you do for your daughter. Hope the last bit of the trip went smoothly and you find a job quickly.
Hey, you made it Squid. Congratulations and welcome to the UK. As I previously said when we’ve been in the same thread, anything you need that I might be able to help with just reach out.
Welcome to our little grey rock. It has been a warm winter, but if it gets cold enough to snow in your area then your cultural induction to our society is to endure half of the country shutting down in a panic
I hope y'all can relax soon. I don't regret having left the US years ago; the only hard parts are not being able to see some family much (though Skype and the like help) and certain foods that just don't exist here (less of an issue in the UK than Japan), but copycat recipes can get things close.
I seriously think airlines are a sham after riding a bunch of trains.
On a train:
Seats are massive. First class wasn't like 5x the ticket price. No charge for luggage. No wack-ass TSA giving you conflicting rules about if you should keep your shoes/belts on or not. You want to rent a room so you can sleep, do it. You wanna jog from one end to another? Sure.
Unfortunately in America, trains don't fully connect to most places. And because of the price, attracts some real skeevos who leave the place a mess. In most other countries, my god. It's beautiful.