What did you do when you first moved to the UK?

Meaning, how did you spend your time the first week or so?

My situation: We're getting married here in the US end of August.  After the Hawaii Honeymoon he flies back to the UK on September 8th.  I'm *hoping* to have my spouse interview on the 9th and fly out the 10th so i can have the weekend with him before he returns to work. 

I'm sure i'll spend time walking around our town and getting acclimated to things.....but i'm just curious how people spent the beginning of their time there!

Lord knows the job hunt will start soon after arrival!   

Sept. 10, that's my birthday    I haven't officially 'moved' over, just spent some time there.. so not sure this applies to me.  But my trips there.. the first week is always spent either sleeping 18 hours a day and waking up exhausted, or 3 hours a day and waking up at 3am raring to go.  I tend to sit around the house the first 2 days and then finally venture into town by the 3rd day.  I know my way around, so there's none of that to have to readjust to anymore.  I guess mainly I unpack a few things, get a bit settled, sleep, and then finally start to leave the house

What gets me, is that EVERY time I go there.. I experience culture shock.  I mean, I know what to expect, but it still sets in.  That also happens returning home to America.  You would think the initial shock of everything would've worn off by now, but nope.. I always spend the first few days with sensory overload.  So many different sights and smells.. different sounds and languages, accents.. My head is left reeling from it all.

I'm sure you've mentioned this before, but I have a horrible memory.. have you been to the UK before?   Have you had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time there before your upcoming move?

When I first got here, hubby did a great job of acting as a tour guide He showed me all his favorite places in the part of the country we live in, and it was so easy to fall in love with the area seeing it for the first time thru his eyes.  I think he took me to places he had not been to since he was a kid.  I was so nervous the first year I was here tho, and didn't really venture out alone for about a year.

I'm sure you've mentioned this before, but I have a horrible memory.. have you been to the UK before?   Have you had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time there before your upcoming move?

Yeah!  I'm there every other month for the past 18 months.......so i'm familar with the getting over jetlag stuff.  i'm just trying to get a feel of what people did or are doing when they move for good! (or for 2-3 years in my situation).

Plus i bet he wants me in driving lessons ASAP......YIKES! 

I arrived this past Sept 3 and that very night my boyfriend took me to the finest Indian restaurant in town. It was wonderful! A few days later I went to the towns football club game at night and they won! I spent a solid week just snuggeling with my boyfriend  He had to go back to work though after the first week I was there so I spent my days wandering the High Street by myself; it was great! I miss it there VERY much. 

I know what my plan is...I'm moving over there to work for at least two years and hopefully more.
I will arrive in the a.m. in late July, hopefully get picked up from the airport by someone from work & deposited at the B&B where I'll be staying.  During that first day I'll go to my bank to introduce myself, put in some money, etc.  I'll probably take a nap at some point.  I'll get a one week pass to the tube so that I can explore the city.  The following day I'm meeting up with a group of people I've met in the past who are all coming to the city for that weekend.  Then I will hopefully go on appointments in the afternoons and evenings to check out roommate possibilities, studio apartments, etc.  I want to get a place set within that week if it is at all possible.  I'll visit my job-site, do some sight-seeing and just try to get my barings.  Then begins the work - setting up a place, figuring out how things work & where things are in my new neighborhood.  I don't start work until mid-August but I'll probably stop by my work a few times just to start getting my office set-up.

That's the plan...but who knows how it will work!  I know I'll definitely be trying my best to get on a good sleeping schedule as soon as I can and doing some relaxing in the beginning so I don't get too overwhelmed.

Good luck with your move!

Are you excited to be moving over?  Driving test huh?  There are a few horror stories on this site about that very thing.  Luckily that's not something I'll have to worry about as I'm not able to drive.. not in the UK or US.  It does have its benefits

terinth i can't WAIT!  I fell in love with london years before i fell in love with my fiancee.....it jsut worked out so well he was english. 

I think i've got the best wonderful english hubby to be that wants to travel and have fun before it's baby time.  He's happy about making the States our permanent home and is excited to start a family (he's 32, i'm 26) but he's also happy to stay in England and have fun now that i'll be there with him. 

And i just love Chiswick where we're going to live.  I want to be there now!

That's awesome.. that's sort of how I feel now.  While I'm still young and without many responsibilites, I want to get to travel and have fun  

I've never been to Chiswick, whereabouts is that?  What's the town like?  I love hearing about different towns/cities around England

it's in west london (and a little north) and just LOVELY.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  The high road is wonderful with all these shops.......*sigh* i want to be there now!

Check this out for pictures.

A few pics of chiswick...lots by the river which would be about 15 min walk from where we want to live.  if you click on panarama and then on high road, that's a view of part of the shopping area.  it's a little more urban than the pictures may show, but it gives you a little idea.

http://www.virtual-chiswick.ukonline.co.uk

Hmm... I wonder if we could have a board or file in the photo gallery set up just for websites of photos of different areas??  Cos I would LOVE to see all of the places where people live.  Just to get a feel of the different parts of the country and where we're all coming from

Hmm... I wonder if we could have a board or file in the photo gallery set up just for websites of photos of different areas??  Cos I would LOVE to see all of the places where people live.  Just to get a feel of the different parts of the country and where we're all coming from

We do it's called UKY Postcards! 

Most of my friends were at work every day.  I used to sleep till very late, and then in the afternoon, go to the casino and kill time playing roulette until my friends got off work!

 

Hmm... I wonder if we could have a board or file in the photo gallery set up just for websites of photos of different areas??  Cos I would LOVE to see all of the places where people live.  Just to get a feel of the different parts of the country and where we're all coming from

That's a great idea Terinth!

**ears perk up**

Casino?? What casino???