Oxford, UK

[hippyscientist]

Thought I'd post here and say although I never went to uni at Oxford (minus a science residential) I did grow up there so know the town and surrounding area very well. You've got great links to London via train and bus, it's super easy to walk around, the parks are pretty and there's fun places to visit not so far away if you get some free time. 

 

What I experienced of Keble was amazing, if I hadn't grown up there I would have gone to Oxford. Large rooms (in comparison to other UK universities), a hugely strong sense of community and a good mix of "work hard, play hard". 

 

If anyone's got any questions about the general area, feel free to ask away. I also know a lot about local schools for those of you with kids - I went through my schooling there  

[jillcicle]

This thread is very, very dead - anyone else around who is interested in reviving it? I am accepting at Oxford, no form of university housing was available through college or DGS, I live in California now, and I've never been on an airplane before. If anyone has any information I am so beyond interested. Basic wardrobe items I need to acquire to not die? Essentials that people moving from the states need? Tips on finding housing when I am 5,000 miles away (timeline, everything says not to enter in contract without viewing, etc)? Also, does anyone know of a contact point for grad students from the US who will be attending Oxford?

[hippyscientist]

1 hour ago, jillcicle said:

This thread is very, very dead - anyone else around who is interested in reviving it? I am accepting at Oxford, no form of university housing was available through college or DGS, I live in California now, and I've never been on an airplane before. If anyone has any information I am so beyond interested. Basic wardrobe items I need to acquire to not die? Essentials that people moving from the states need? Tips on finding housing when I am 5,000 miles away (timeline, everything says not to enter in contract without viewing, etc)? Also, does anyone know of a contact point for grad students from the US who will be attending Oxford?

Okay so housing - Oxford might have an off-site housing website, but Spareroom.co.uk is great for finding housemates/a room in a house. A lot of students live Iffley Road/Cowley area (but that might be more Oxford Brookes students). Avoid Blackbird Leys at all costs. Tips - talk to people, use skype, get them to show you around the place, or at least take time-dated photos. When I was in San Diego I managed to sign a house in the UK with Spareroom this way.

Clothes: it's going to be colder than SoCal and NorCal. It's not going to be 6ft snow-drifts cold though. Be prepared for rain. And wind. But the UK doesn't really have temperature extremes. In summer it will hit highs of ~ 25C, with an average of 15-20C, nights ~10C and winter averages about 5C with nights down at freezing. General wear: jeans, t-shirts, jumpers/sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, (waterproof jackets), trousers, thick dresses. Basically layers are your friends. You're not going to need anything too drastic - just make sure you have cardigans/jumpers and a coat to go over the top. 

Moving from the US: Voltage is different. That means things like your hair dryer may not work properly over here. Other than big-price items, it's more effective to buy electronics over here. Cell phone (mobile) networks are also run differently, so you won't be able to buy a UK sim card and put into a US phone. In Oxford, Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE all have good signal (these are mobile companies). Oxford colleges are gorgeous but the town itself isn't amazing. You do get musicians come play in local venues though which is pretty cool. Lots of hidden pubs (check out the Jericho Tavern - it's a local favourite). Remember to put "u" in words! Let's see. Although our countries share the same language, there's a lot of differences - if you're open to these and happy to laugh off Americanism's and adopt a few English phrases that's cool (I would expect the same of any Brit going to America). Cockney rhyming slang reallly isn't that much of a deal but sometimes we forget that we use it in daily phrases (e.g. I'm having a butchers = I'm having a look) but people might ham it up a bit initially. Also, we use Centigrade not Fahrenheit. We use miles on the road. We use kg or stones and lbs (only for body weight though) for weight. We're not very consistent. Be prepared to have strong opinions over all sorts of trivial things (which brand of tea bag for example). 

Sorry I can't help for the more specific university things and contact points for incoming students, but if you have any more questions about Oxford the place, living in the UK, doing a transcontinental move ask away  Finally, congratulations! 

[dani8023]

Congrats on your offer, jillcicle! I moved from the US to Oxford to start my master's last year, and I have loved every minute of it. The university is such a great place (although the town itself really wasn't what I expected!) I second everything hippyscientist has said.

This website has a lot of really helpful information for international students in the UK generally about life, moving, etc. There are a lot of international students at the University, so you will be in good company and have a lot of help once you get here to get everything figured out. I found that my MCR had a lot of resources for me, so hopefully your college will as well. It might be worth getting in touch with someone from your college admin team as well to see if they have any suggestions. People generally seem to try to be very helpful.  

That is very unfortunate that you didn't receive college housing. That does make life considerably more difficult. I was able to secure college housing in the city center so I don't have any experience with your particular situation, but I understand that the large rental search engines (gumtree, etc) tend to work fairly well for finding accommodation. I think the University Accommodations Office also publishes some sort of alternate housing guide. As far as renting sight unseen... again, talk to someone from your college and see if they have any recommendations. If they have already notified you that you want receive housing, then they must have very limited facilities, and should (presumably) by very used to assisting students find housing elsewhere. 

I did find that - compared at least with my area of the US - everything is very very expensive here, housing included. 

Bring lots of pictures and things from home for the inevitable home-sickness (your third or fourth week in a new country is usually the most difficult, and things tend to improve after that). Most food things are accessible somewhere, but it might be worth thinking about what snacks and things you really love that they might not have over here. It can really make a difference when you're under a lot of stress. 

A month or so before I went over my MCR started a Graduate Freshers facebook page so that everyone could communicate and ask questions. Again, this will depend on your college. Things can vary quite widely depending on which college you are at.

Over here, we are actually only juuuust about to start our third term (Trinity) so everything is geared primarily towards finishing out the year. In July, after term has ended, people should become much more available to answer questions, help you figure things out, get ready for new students, etc. 

Let me know if you have any more specific questions, I'm happy to help! Good luck!

[jillcicle]

On 4/20/2016 at 2:35 PM, hippyscientist said:

Okay so housing - Oxford might have an off-site housing website, but Spareroom.co.uk is great for finding housemates/a room in a house. A lot of students live Iffley Road/Cowley area (but that might be more Oxford Brookes students). Avoid Blackbird Leys at all costs. Tips - talk to people, use skype, get them to show you around the place, or at least take time-dated photos. When I was in San Diego I managed to sign a house in the UK with Spareroom this way.

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Sorry I can't help for the more specific university things and contact points for incoming students, but if you have any more questions about Oxford the place, living in the UK, doing a transcontinental move ask away  Finally, congratulations! 

Thanks for all the fantastic info! Someone else mentioned looking at the Summertown and Jericho neighborhoods for proximity to my college (Lady Margaret Hall). Could you tell me a little bit more about the rental timeline? For example, I know in my undergrad town here in the States you had to have your lease tied up by February to be able to move in in September. (Hopefully that's not the case or I'd have already missed the window.) How soon should I aim to be signing a place? What's the usual lease term? Month to month, year long, something in-between? Also, I noticed a lot of listings show the weekly cost not monthly cost - is rent still paid monthly? (Sorry if that's stupid.)