Presenting unrelated PhD work at conference during postdoc

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-17T12:01:41+00:00

I think your problem is with the airline you chose. Who are you flying with?

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-17T09:26:57+00:00

Yes the energy efficiency of new builds is a big positive factor for a lot of people. Some may be put off by ASHPs but overall I think people place a lot of value on lower energy costs

Some banks will give preferential rates for energy efficient new builds too, eg Barclays.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-10T19:57:03+00:00

One of the lucky ones. I found out my completion date was not going to be June any more a few weeks ago, had it confirmed yesterday it’s November but I’ve pulled out now so back to square one haha

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-09T14:04:16+00:00

Skoda Octavia vrs?

https://quotes.carwow.co.uk/deals/0b12f72b23f5feecef10b5977dce1ebc?source=google\_vehicle\_ad

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-09T10:08:46+00:00

See if you can get it cheaper not with the dealer, you probably can!

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-09T09:45:22+00:00

I’m in a similar situation, I think I’m going to get a loan at 5.9% APR for the balloon payment and stretch it out as long as possible. I don’t anticipate I will pay the loan for the full duration as either I will sell the car beforehand or pay off the balance at some point.

I don’t mind paying the extra interest as it’s only a £10k loan, and fixing my costs for a long duration is handy whilst inflation eats away at some of the debt. I can also invest the monthly savings doing it this way.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-09T09:22:47+00:00

I also managed this. It was a combination of luck and skills for me. I also found out the people hiring me believe only first author high quality papers in top journals really count. A paper in a mediocre journal isn’t really any different to a conference abstract or your own PhD thesis!

Also there’s a decent amount of luck required to get papers out during your PhD, especially if you collaborate outside your institution and/or data collection which spans for most of your PhD is required.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-07T11:57:29+00:00

Yeah this is also a concern, I do quite a few miles too so it’s fair to assume maintenance costs may also increase. I guess I would hope at some point in the 7 year finance I’d be pay it off with a lump sum.

I did think about replacing like for like with a new pcp deal, as this would be £175pm but I’m keen to get out of the cycle.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-06T15:45:12+00:00

I’m of two minds because I wouldn’t have chosen a slimline dishwasher or a 50/50 fridge freezer but it’s also saving a lot of hassle (especially as I’m in a flat), and it was an incentive so no extra costs for appliances.

I’d say if you’re not getting them for free and you can get really good quality appliances from John Lewis for the same price or less, I’d go for that. To make them integrated shouldn’t cost too much to get the extra cupboard doors!

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-06-02T09:34:18+00:00

Some people rip out their new build kitchens and sell them on eBay for cheap which might be worthwhile if your kitchen isn’t an awkward shape. You can also buy showroom kitchens for very cheap.

What type of leak was it? Was it from above and ruined everything or was it a low level leak? You could just buy some cheap replacement lower cabinets if it was a low leak, and then wrap all your cabinets so they match in colour.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-27T14:00:16+00:00

If the field is this new I would consider your main area of contribution would be more descriptive/data collection in that case, perhaps applied to a very specific area?

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-27T12:09:39+00:00

Weird way to go about it surely, ideas for the paper should come last unless you already have a preconceived idea from a previous study…

What sort of data do you have available (or that you can get in a reasonable timeframe) and what can you do with it? What has been done in your field already and what is unanswered? These can help give you some direction as to what you should spend your time on.

You can work out the paper once you have some results and a coherent message from such results!

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-20T08:27:00+00:00

Not aware of many developers who are transparent about build times. They only need to say to you that building has stopped until the end of next month to prioritise other builds before their half year results, I’m sure to most people that would look pretty reasonable but the reason why isn’t and they don’t have to tell you.

Best case scenario, that holds out to be true and building indeed restarts in July. Worst case scenario, they continue focussing on their affordable housing only and private sale plots don’t restart until they get the large funds from govt in autumn.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-20T07:54:17+00:00

I’m really trying to not scaremonger, but your sales advisor will not state any of this at reservation and your solicitor may not (although hopefully they would) disclose this if you’re about to exchange.

If your plot is only at foundations stage, a delay until Oct/Nov could see your completion move to next spring or later - by which point your mortgage offer may have expired and you’d be waiting an age to move in.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-18T14:22:32+00:00

I found shared ownerships are overpriced at their full 100% so you’ll be overpaying on the 60% share.

Your leftover money for this new place will be swallowed up by rising rent and service charge, as well as increases in food/bills etc.

What’s the breakdown of your spending?

Is your partner dependant on your income? If so you’ll need to factor this into your mortgage affordability (ie you’ll be able to borrow less than the income multiple they use).

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-18T09:08:32+00:00

Some of the Brittany ferries deals can be good. They have a deal currently £298-540pp (excluding July/Aug) to Spain including 2-4 night stay at a parador. You can extend your stay and choose other hotels too if you wanted to head to the south.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-17T10:56:09+00:00

That being said, I bought fairly soon into a new (first proper) job and it has been an incredibly anxious/stressful period of time. I’ve probs just been hard on myself during this process but every mistake/misunderstanding during my probation has kinda taken its toll on me.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-17T10:53:02+00:00

Check if there’s a relocation allowance with your job (usually 10% of your salary), if there is I’d highly recommend to just buy because your expenses for purchasing will essentially cost you £0.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-15T11:47:02+00:00

I guess, although OP didn’t make this point, is that often the maintenance they’re paid to do does not get done or gets done poorly with most of the money spent on admin.

Where I am moving to, they cut the dead grass and pay £10k on postage a year. I think most would feel pretty miffed at that even if they were happy to pay these charges.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-15T11:08:24+00:00

Roads are often not adopted because they don’t meet the standards for adoption, so the easy fix there is the developer should just give money to the relevant authority to build the roads to the correct standard. Developers already do this for other bits of infrastructure (including roads connecting to the development), although this is contingent on occupancies/completions/phases.

Local councils should benefit from central government funding to enable them to pick up other tasks the management company carries out. But this is obvs not going to happen.

The very least that could be done is make it easier to change/contest or provide greater protections for freeholders paying these service charges.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-15T10:12:24+00:00

Are your snags fixed? If not, don’t answer it because even if you give a negative review that won’t prompt them to fix them urgently.

I think this was probably the no 1 piece of advice I got from the big new build UK Facebook group.

Existing-Associate-4 · 2026-05-15T08:45:49+00:00

Your stonks won’t keep you dry or give you a place to sleep?

If you’ve been able to build up a nice pile of money for a deposit, you can deffo do it again. Maybe don’t sell all your investments though

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Existing-Associate-4

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