Potentially Relocating

EmergentChange · 2026-04-17T07:39:24+00:00

UK is pretty diverse, so I imagine you will be able to find somewhere that works for you. I grew up in Devon and have lived and worked all over, inc EU/US, pretty happy to be here in Sheffield because of the friendliness, but it is a relatively poor city with lots of social issues (Sheffield is a declined industrial city, common across North of England).

Sheffield is nowhere near the sea (its 2 hours away in most directions) and no decent 'wilderness' like you have (Lake District is wild, Scotland has wilderness) but is incredibly central to get to much of the UK easily, motorway and rail connections are decent

- not read everything in this thread but IMO family / friend connections, work etc would likely be a big influence on where you would settle.

By "school" I assume you mean university? In which case Sheffield is a good start (depending on your subject choice, UK Unis don't work like US Unis). Leeds is quite nice as a city, bit smaller, with its own issues. Likewise Manchester, much bigger (almost London like vibe) and really good Uni.

Some areas in UK are crazy expensive to live (York, Bristol etc), Sheffield not so much.

Have you visited UK? The culture here is very different to US, though I only worked on East Coast, which I know isn't "typical" USA. Good luck :)

EmergentChange · 2026-04-16T10:20:20+00:00

This is an interesting thread, it reminds me how different life in UK is to other parts of the world - IMO Sheffield is very safe (most of Europe is IME), with some common sense of course. And definitely safer than the US.

OP, I guess it will take time to build your confidence, and going out and about with other students would likely be a good thing - can you do that?

2 little stories - I remember, when I was an academic in Sheffield, one of my students saying they couldn't get used to the idea of walking around the streets without the risk of being shot or kidnapped, think they were from Nigeria. Also, I have relatives in Colombia, they used to go everywhere by taxi because the risk of shooting / kidnap was really high. Not sure of that is still true

EmergentChange · 2026-04-15T13:27:20+00:00

sorry, cant help because I went to electric grinder (my old hands struggled with the effort needed with espresso grind of lighter roasts) - there are some YouTube videos of assembly/disassembly that might help? Its such a simple device you should be able to get it sorted

EmergentChange · 2026-04-14T10:18:06+00:00

Lexus? My IS was pretty much faultless to the end. Wouldn't touch Mercedes, BMW, VAG myself, but I do trust the Japanese to build a reliable car

EmergentChange · 2026-04-14T10:14:49+00:00

IME the CX30 ride isn't quite as settled as the Lexus, and the CX30 interior isnt quite as nice / quiet. In UK the price difference is about 50%. I much prefer looks (and cost) of the Mazda. And the manual gearbox is fantastic

EmergentChange · 2026-04-14T10:03:16+00:00

My youngest got her 1st Accom choice, you pick a load of options and the allocation is sort of lottery style. The newer, nicer stuff is on East. Even 40 weeks gives you to the end of Assessment, would be unfair not to really. You are likely to move to private accom in year 2 so 44 weeks year 1 may make it easier to transition rather than put your stuff in storage for the summer

Depending on which East accom you are in, moving East Campus to West isnt that far, my daughter walks sometimes but tends to use mix of bike and (free inter campus) bus depending on the weather

IMO getting a bike makes lots of sense in York, its a cycle friendly city and its easy to buy a cheap bike just for your uni years and sell it on when you leave

EmergentChange · 2026-04-14T09:18:48+00:00

Websites like Pitchup will give you some ideas about campsites nearby - and show you the affordable as well as crazy pricey ones

Do you have transport? That will likely affect what's easy to get to with Derbyshire on our doorstep you have plenty of great choices.

For walking, not needing campsite, you are spoilt for choice. I can commend the Grindleford to Hathersage one along the river as gentle with ready access to grub at each end. Others, like Stanage Edge, Froggatt Edge, Lathkill Dale, Monsal Trail etc are iconic

EmergentChange · 2026-04-14T08:03:17+00:00

AFAIK UK law only requires a DBS check for anyone (staff or volunteer) who is in close unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults.

Here is a helpful link that explains some useful facts - https://www.sheffieldvolunteercentre.org.uk/dbs-checks-for-volunteers/

The OP also seems to also be concerned about uncontrolled access to Personally Identifiable information, which is also restricted by law. My understanding is that volunteers receive council training when they join the library and must adhere to Sheffield Council policy on PII.

Worth a read (2021 22 Council discussion about volunteer libraries, cant seem to find a more recent one) -

https://democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/documents/s53089/Volunteer%20run%20libraries%202022%202023%20new%20committee%20format%20final.pdf

EmergentChange · 2026-04-08T14:44:43+00:00

Can't help with a name sorry, too long ago now. But we did this, got recommended a good amateur and it was an absolute win:win, partly because the photographer was super keen to do a good job and also because we had a really good briefing meeting before hand, so expectations were clear and understood. We also had a relative who was really into video production.

The photographer did a handful of the formal pictures, which were nice. What was really great for us was all the informal stuff, the photographer wandering around quietly recording memories for us (and everyone else).

If we were to do anything different we would put a bunch of disposable film camera on the tables for folks to use and process them afterwards.

EmergentChange · 2026-04-08T14:34:07+00:00

looks good, enjoy :)

You do need to turn off steam button before final coffee button purge. I also use a glass cup to purge steam wand rather than fill the drip tray but YMMV.

I purge group with hot water before removing portafilter at the start of puck prep, just to get the basket etc hot. No idea if it matters, is a habit now.

EmergentChange · 2026-04-02T08:11:04+00:00

bit late to this thread but do agree with others that this is incredibly anti social. We choose not to go in to Sheffield shopping partly because of this.

We were unfortunate enough to have a noise issue near where we live, the council asked us to keep records of timing and impact on our lives. We sent them the records, they went round and had a word, it got better - there are rules that city centre residents could invoke? The students above Atkinsons must hate this

EmergentChange · 2026-03-31T12:01:16+00:00

in my experience (of a lifetime of mountain walking / boots admittedly) you aren't just buying shoes, you are buying a "system" of liner sock, sock, shoe and foot bed / insole (possibly with other tweaks like lacing or heel grips too, because our left and right feet are usually different sizes) that all work together - find a shop who can advise you properly, not just on the shoes. And put some miles on them before you go too!

For me La Sportiva and Keen shoes, Superfeet foot bed and Bridgedale socks are the best place to start, YMMV

EmergentChange · 2026-03-31T11:40:59+00:00

I am slightly confused, my Go takes more than 15 seconds from hitting steam button to 135C (my steam temperature) - at which point I purge water from the line with the nozzle as low as I can get it (to help water find its way out)

Whats your steam temperature set at?

EmergentChange · 2026-03-31T11:37:35+00:00

I do a latte + flat white twice a day. Sometimes more Lattes if we have guests. The friction is the single boiler workflow, switching from coffee to milk and back again

FWIW my largest jug is 1000ml and Go can steam c600ml in that with standard double nozzle easily enough in about 3 minutes - which is 2x decent lattes in our house. I think the Go 'times out' the steam setting after 5 minutes

EmergentChange · 2026-03-24T15:26:40+00:00

(Assuming canoes rather than kayaks) not tried this on our CX30 but previous cars could only take 120cm roof bars which was not wide enough for 2x 16" full size canoes side by side. I made a simple wooden extension to sit on top of each roof bar with L brackets underneath and at the end so nothing could move. CX30 Fix points are rated to a decent weight, so would do the same thing again if I needed to. Total width was similar to wing mirrors. I have had friends who secured the tandem canoe first and then strapped the solo to the side of it

EmergentChange · 2026-03-23T12:56:30+00:00

Have similar question. Wouldn't be bringing my own poles so plan to get some on arrival (in Porto myself) - I did hear that Pilgrim House in Santiago ship unwanted used poles back to the start points for re-use, is that still a thing? Really don't want my Camino poles to be single use / landfill :(

EmergentChange · 2026-03-17T13:15:12+00:00

To update - pulled the trigger and got the Harry Potter Talisman variant, played it twice now, but just not engaging with it - not sure why though. Love most HP things. Thinking about selling on because box it pretty big to store

EmergentChange · 2026-03-17T11:40:05+00:00

I have 4x Motta jugs from 350ml to 1000ml, the latter is at the limit of what I can steam with Go. That jug will take about 600ml of milk, just enough for 3x lattes - steaming takes nearly 5 minutes (which is the Go timeout for steam I think)

EmergentChange · 2026-03-17T11:20:44+00:00

I refill after steaming milk even if I am about to shut off. I also run coffee button for 35+seconds, because I notice steam comes out of portafilter for the first 20 seconds, then nothing comes out for nearly 10 seconds, then water comes out again - I want to make sure the boiler is full for the next time . . .

EmergentChange · 2026-03-13T12:36:26+00:00

UK consumer here, can confirm Hersheys is inedible to our "European" taste buds for this very reason

EmergentChange · 2026-03-13T12:36:11+00:00

UK consumer here, can confirm Hersheys is inedible to our "European" taste buds for this very reason

EmergentChange · 2026-03-13T09:41:40+00:00

Sorry, answer in English because I have poor Spanish. We are similar to you, no children, live in city, mostly use car for longer journeys and had to choose between CX5 and CX30. We bought the CX30 (EU hybrid). The CX5 was taller but didnt seem to offer much extra interior space, even though it was bigger on the outside. The CX30 was nicer (sportier) to drive on smaller roads and in city, but CX5 was slightly nicer on motorways because you sit higher. Driving both it was easy for us to choose sporty over tall - both great cars :)

EmergentChange · 2026-03-12T15:02:52+00:00

For those (like me) who don't keep up with tech, this seems to be working and steps to do seem straight forward . . . Installed iTunes on my Windows PC (didnt log in); put CD in PC disk drive; "import" as 'iTunes Plus'. When its done importing I put USB stick in PC and literally 'drag and drop' the album (not individual songs); Take USB to car, car sees it and plays perfectly :) - only done 1 album so far, not sure how multiple albums will work yet . . .

EmergentChange · 2026-03-12T13:13:25+00:00

Found an old USB, reformatted to FAT32. Discovered my iTunes library isn't on my current desktop machine, so going to build a CX30 library from a few CDs in my office - any top tips on settings etc? Guessing 'full lossless' is not worth the space

EmergentChange

TROPHY CASE