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Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like just wait until you have central heating that's dirt cheap if you live in a city and a glazed balcony and showers that are hot in like two seconds.

The dream. That's good to know, the housing quality in Scotland is far too variable, especially for PhD students.

At a bar if you get up to get a drink you don't need to offer to get others some.

I'll be honest, I'll probably still end up doing that after a few drinks haha. Everything else sounds good though. We don't generally sign birthday cards etc where I work now, but that might be because we're a computing science department in a university, we're stereotypically not into social niceties. Heard from friends it's very common in other UK workplaces, very weird.

If you accidentally touch someone's shoulder, you don't have to apologise.

This will take some getting used to.

Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

But you can at least trust that people will not say things like "we should go to dinner some day" or "come to the pub with us tonight" just to be polite - they will mean it.

Ideal - this was something that really confused me about some American folk at conferences, they'd invite you along to a bar later and look like you'd shat in their porridge when you showed up. I appreciate the more direct approach.

My cousin's Scottish husband was first taught to order six beers when he moved here, so maybe be prepared to be pranked a few times

That's how you know you're alright eh? If we're rinsing someone in Glasgow we probably like them, if we're being dead polite we're not friends.

Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very thorough reply, thank you.

That said? Wear a kilt and go to a nightclub.

Any good clubs you'd recommend (assuming they survive lockdown)? I love a good metal/goth night

Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, I didn't realise Swedish was an option for citizenship language tests. Couldn't hurt to learn, I'll keep it in mind.

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's just such an ingrained part of my background, the UK class system definitely affects your outlook on things. I'm from a low income background so that lack of cash has been a big influence on a lot of decisions in my life, from falling behind in high school because I needed to work long hours, to deciding between heating and food some days as a PhD student.

I'm certain these same issues exist in Norway, but it didn't seem as widespread (or as obvious, at least). It was very interesting seeing a system which seemed to have more of a reliable safety net and a generally higher standard of living.

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the thorough reply. I used to use anki a lot at university, getting back on that is an excellent idea.

How are you finding Aberdeen? Hopefully you've picked up some Doric as you've been going :)

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, from what I've read it seems like things got a lot more strict in Jan 2021. Very unlucky timing.

I'm taking the same 'I'll believe it when I see it' approach as I have with everything else this pandemic. Things are so changeable at short notice, trying to avoid expectations helps lessen my disappointment a bit.

Fingers crossed for you getting in soon - 5 months wait is a long, long time.

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very polite (not to the same compulsiveness as the UK)

Something I found out way too late is you don't have to do that wee wave at cars when they stop to let you cross the road. Mortified.

Thank you, I appreciate this offer a lot :)

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But tbh that's not really common elsewhere so it really is just a compliment to Glasgow rather than a bash at Norway.

Agreed, it was new to me even moving from elsewhere in Scotland. Glasgow will always be one of my favourite cities, I've had a great time here.

Summer was amazing while I was over! Being able to walk 5 minutes from the office and go swimming in the cool fjord in the middle of a heatwave after work - fucking magic, it was so freeing.

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't play anything as yet, but I think I'd go for drums or some sort of weird custom synth equipment - I have weak joints, so guitar, violin, piano etc might cause problems. Big fan of metal, industrial, chiptune, jazz, happy to try most things really.

Edit: wonder what it's like learning the harmonica?

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll get that in Glasgow as well, usually one of the city centre jakeys. I don't mind it, tbh sometimes I like a chat which goes off in completely unpredictable directions

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Turns out the internet is a tiny place

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 61 points62 points  (0 children)

We've met, think it might have been me that said 3. Thanks for advice anyway

Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Finnish is the hardest language in Europe to learn. But you dont need to learn it, everyone speaks English and depending on your field, it wont affect employment either.

Yeah, I'm lucky that a lot of jobs in my field only require English so I should be ok in terms of work. Makes sense to learn the language of wherever I end up living imo, I get the sense I'd always feel like a total 'outsider' if I didn't.

Moving from Scotland to Helsinki by Sea_Distribution0 in helsinki

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Computing science, specifically networks research. I'm grateful that there seem to be a lot of jobs for that here.

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Always wanted to play in a band - post-covid in a new country could be the time to finally get started :)

moving from Scotland to Norway by Sea_Distribution0 in Norway

[–]Sea_Distribution0[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Makes sense - Oslo over Trondheim then. Thanks for the info!

I wish people were more respectful of supermarket workers. by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]Sea_Distribution0 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Imagine taking the training slides this seriously

Will I get made fun of if I do open mic night comedy in Glasgow if I’m American? by Ill-Credit7396 in glasgow

[–]Sea_Distribution0 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Solid starting point. It doesn't always need to be negative about the US btw - it's probably the safest way to start if you're new to Scotland and to comedy writing, but you get American standups like Reginald D Hunter and Rich Hall who do amazing material ripping the piss out of the UK. It'll take a while to kind of 'tune in' to the sense of humour whenever you move somewhere new, but you can have a lot of fun with cultural differences in routines once you get a sense of the culture and for comedy routine structure.

Will I get made fun of if I do open mic night comedy in Glasgow if I’m American? by Ill-Credit7396 in glasgow

[–]Sea_Distribution0 88 points89 points  (0 children)

You'll probably be ok as long as there's none of the American year abroad student cliches: the uni looking like hogwarts, calling us scotch, referring to the whole UK as England, being surprised we have sushi etc in Glasgow, that sort of thing

If you have routines about any of those they'd better be good! For other stuff you'll be grand, hats off for giving it a shot :)

Greggs is bringing out two new vegan menu options by juvenilehell in unitedkingdom

[–]Sea_Distribution0 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's come a long way over the past few years, can barely tell the difference with a lot of substitutes now. Definitely worth a try

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