We're going to grad school! UK edition.

[antecedent]

So I know there are a couple of us here that are moving to the United Kingdom in the fall - let's celebrate!

Also, we can worry about what books to leave behind, how to open a bank account, and whether or not skype-ing with SOs will make up for the distance

I'll start: Edinburgh, Scotland! Castles, wind, and historical linguistics. Where are you guys going?

[pelevinfan]

I have no excuse to be on this thread, other than that I am SO TOTALLY jealous of you! A friend of mine is going to an MA program at UCL, and I had had my eye on that program for the past two years. I keep wishing I could trade places with her! Wish I could just pick up and move like that...guess I lack the spontaneity, that certain je ne sais quoi required to be brave enough to make the leap across the pond

Anyway, congratulations on an awesome decision, and I wish you best of luck!

[castlebound]

When you open a bank account - Bank of Scotland not RBS!! I went with RBS when I first moved to Scotland and it was a nightmare. It took more than 3 weeks to get a debit card, and that was with UK citizenship not a visa.

Actually though, every other part of my move to Scotland was pretty seamless ... and it is great here! Friendly people, wonderful historical cities. Also a lot of phone companies such as TalkTalk have it set up that you can pay £5 for unlimited calls to the US for up to 60 minutes per call. If you call often, it works out cheaper than Skype.

[antecedent]

Haha that's good to hear, pelevinfan, because I'm totally jealous of YOU! A fully funded PhD at Yale is so far beyond my dreams...It looks like you'll be packing up and moving several states away though, that's not a small move.

I am very happy to be going to Edinburgh. It's only a few spots below Yale on the 2011 QS linguistics rankings and I've heard the city is amazing. The faculty is also rad...and the libraries! *swoon*

Thanks, and all the best to you too

[antecedent]

When you open a bank account - Bank of Scotland not RBS!! I went with RBS when I first moved to Scotland and it was a nightmare. It took more than 3 weeks to get a debit card, and that was with UK citizenship not a visa.

Actually though, every other part of my move to Scotland was pretty seamless ... and it is great here! Friendly people, wonderful historical cities. Also a lot of phone companies such as TalkTalk have it set up that you can pay £5 for unlimited calls to the US for up to 60 minutes per call. If you call often, it works out cheaper than Skype.

Are you doing your PhD in Edinburgh? I may PM you with some questions (both about British postgraduate study and random living abroad questions).