Hey all,
I may be moving to Oxford, England in 6 to 9 months time, but I'd like to be able to make an informed decision about whether or not we're going to go. My wife and I are both Canadians (she is from Vancouver, BC, my family is in Toronto, ON), but we are currently living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I've got a bunch of questions for anyone who may've lived in or near Oxford, or anyone else who is currently living in England who might be able to answer these questions for me.
What are our options for internet, television, home phone lines, and cellular service? I am thinking about getting a Vonage phone with a local phone number in either Vancouver or Toronto, but that'll be mostly for calling friends and family back in North America, not for making local calls.
Are there any good car sharing coops available? Since we will only be moving there for two years, I don't really want to buy a car- but we will want access to a car, and a car sharing coop seems like a good idea- although I suppose we could try to buy a used vehicle.
Along those lines, where do I go to find out getting drivers licenses in order to find out what we will need to do to get our licenses in England? What about car insurance?
How much should I expect to pay for a weeks worth of groceries for two adults, and perhaps one baby? We usually eat some meat with dinner each day, but don't usually eat any meat the rest of the day.
How much can I expect my heat and hydro bills to be? We're interested in renting a small house / townhouse- two or three bedrooms, 1000-1200 square feet.
What is the job market like there for licensed teachers? If we do this, I'll be starting a job at the University of Oxford, but my wife may want to work. How does she go about getting licensed? She's currently licensed for British Columbia, and the state of Minnesota. Along a similar line of questions, is it reasonable to be able to support two adults and one child on a salary of approximately 55,000-65,000 pounds? My understanding is that one pound has about equivalent buying power as a dollar in their own markets, so I think it should be very doable, but I thought I'd ask.
Thanks a lot,
Brad
I may be moving to Oxford, England in 6 to 9 months time, but I'd like to be able to make an informed decision about whether or not we're going to go. My wife and I are both Canadians (she is from Vancouver, BC, my family is in Toronto, ON), but we are currently living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I've got a bunch of questions for anyone who may've lived in or near Oxford, or anyone else who is currently living in England who might be able to answer these questions for me.
What are our options for internet, television, home phone lines, and cellular service? I am thinking about getting a Vonage phone with a local phone number in either Vancouver or Toronto, but that'll be mostly for calling friends and family back in North America, not for making local calls.
Are there any good car sharing coops available? Since we will only be moving there for two years, I don't really want to buy a car- but we will want access to a car, and a car sharing coop seems like a good idea- although I suppose we could try to buy a used vehicle.
Along those lines, where do I go to find out getting drivers licenses in order to find out what we will need to do to get our licenses in England? What about car insurance?
How much should I expect to pay for a weeks worth of groceries for two adults, and perhaps one baby? We usually eat some meat with dinner each day, but don't usually eat any meat the rest of the day.
How much can I expect my heat and hydro bills to be? We're interested in renting a small house / townhouse- two or three bedrooms, 1000-1200 square feet.
What is the job market like there for licensed teachers? If we do this, I'll be starting a job at the University of Oxford, but my wife may want to work. How does she go about getting licensed? She's currently licensed for British Columbia, and the state of Minnesota. Along a similar line of questions, is it reasonable to be able to support two adults and one child on a salary of approximately 55,000-65,000 pounds? My understanding is that one pound has about equivalent buying power as a dollar in their own markets, so I think it should be very doable, but I thought I'd ask.
Thanks a lot,
Brad
)
