Living in England
Introduction
In July 2022 I decided to accept a job offer and go live in England. It was something I had been looking for for a couple of years, you can imagine the joy I felt when I realized that I was finally the one selected for the position :D. Well, this post is something like my first impressions after almost 6 months living in this beautiful country. Maybe I’ll write another post later to tell you a little about my process to obtain the vacancy, incidentally, it was quite a struggle and it didn’t work out the first time (or the second, or the third).
Why England
England has always been one of those countries that I dreamed of one day being able to visit and London one of the cities in which I always imagined walking, seeing Big Ben while a double-decker bus passed in front of me. You know, the typical mental images that one makes at night when they are about to sleep. The cultural value of the United Kingdom is very varied, it has musicians, writers, actors, painters, etc. What I’m getting at is that I feel identified with their culture. Although I am not a fan of The Beatles I like Queen, I have not read Agatha Christie but I have read J.K. Rowling and, speaking from the computer science side, Alan Turing was born here who, I believe, needs no introduction.
Big Ben. Source: Own image
Furthermore, I wanted to put into practice what I had learned during almost a year and a half of intensive English study. This did not exactly put England as the only option, there were also the other countries of the United Kingdom (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and to a lesser extent by preference, Canada and the United States.
Below are some very own opinions about what I liked the most and what I still don’t like about living in England.
The good
The cosmopolitan
After almost 6 months, what I liked most about living in England (especially in Cambridge, which is where I am) is how cosmopolitan the city is, when you are in the center you can hear people speaking many different languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin. In short, Cambridge is a multicultural destination due in large part to its famous university, where students from many parts of the world go to pursue their degrees.
The architecture
I believe that throughout Europe they are aware of the historical and cultural value of their buildings (churches, universities, town halls), and seek to preserve it. But speaking specifically of England, I have come across houses and pubs from the Victorian era that have left me pleasantly surprised, not to mention the houses from the Tudor era, the typical English thatched roof house. In addition, something typical of Cambridge are all the university colleges located throughout the city, each of them with their own design that reminds you of castles and palaces. My favorites, King’s College and St John’s College.
King’s College. Source: Own image
St John’s College. Source: Own image
A Tudor style house. Source: Own image
The rows
It seems that the English are fans of queuing for everything and I love it (they told me they were the ones who invented the queue, but I’m not sure). They organize themselves one after the other to buy something at a restaurant or to get on the bus. They are respectful and do not cut in line, something that happens very often in my country.
Road culture
Pedestrians are respected here, cars stop if they see you standing at the beginning of the pedestrian zebra. You don’t hear the horn of the car behind stressing the car in front to move forward, there are streets specially designed for bicycles and in Cambridge more so, since the bicycle is the main means of transportation in the city.
The story
The history of England is very rich, I would have to write a whole series of posts talking about it, but speaking only of Cambridge, personalities such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Srinivasa Ramanujan and Niels Bohr to name a few, studied at the University of Cambridge. So it’s great to live in the same city where they studied, perhaps for other people it is an unimportant detail but for me it is incredible to think, every time I pass by Trinity College, that perhaps I am stepping on a platform or a street that Newton also walked on.
Cambridge streets. Source: Own image
The landscapes
I had never seen the change of seasons, and in these 6 months I have been able to witness summer, autumn and winter. I was really surprised at how the city looks when the season changes, and I realized that fall is my favorite season. Most of the trees and vegetation are painted orange, red and yellow; the ground covered in dry leaves, the sun illuminating the entire city and the air of nostalgia because these are the last rays of sun you will see. In winter, you’re lucky if you get to see the sun.
Autumn in Cambridge. Source: Own image
The River Cam with the swans, ducks and people rowing on small rafts, the parks with large green areas where people have picnics or play table tennis. The small alleys, some with stone floors. And not to mention the Cambridge University Botanical Garden, it is simply beautiful.
Cam River. Source: Own image
River Cam, a duck and King’s College. Source: Own image
Cambridge University Botanical Garden. Source: Own image
The not so good
The weather
England and the United Kingdom in general are not very famous for having a pleasant climate. The winters are very cold, with temperatures down to -9° which for someone like me, who comes from a tropical country in Latin America, is too cold. In summer, temperatures exceed 36°. But I think that in most countries in Europe, summer is like that, hot, mainly due to global warming. This is another reason why my favorite season is autumn, the temperatures are mild, neither too cold nor too hot.
Furthermore, in winter (the season I am in right now, when I write this post), the days are very short, at 4:30 PM it seems like 7:30 PM. Something that I still haven’t gotten used to, you feel like the day is going by very quickly, and that your work isn’t paying off. Let’s see if as time goes by I get familiar with this.
Winter in Cambridge. Source: Own image
The food
6 months have passed and I have not been able to discover typical English cuisine, that magical touch of some herb or spice, any dish that has real British flavor (if something like that exists). The most British food I have ever tried has been the famous Fish and Chips. Dish that I can eat in England, or in Spain or in Mexico. It’s breaded fish and potatoes, nothing really elaborate or with a culinary ritual. I also tried the Sunday Roast accompanied by Gravy sauce, this dish a little more elaborate, but tasteless. Special mention to the Full English Breakfast, which was the best dish I have eaten in England, and it is a breakfast.
Sunday Roast. Source: Own image
Tyrrels potatoes, the first thing I ate when I arrived in England. Source: Own image
But looking at the positive side, at least in Cambridge and London you can get Latin, Italian, Spanish, or Asian food, which for my taste is a thousand times better :D.
Drive on the left
The English drive on the left: car, motorcycle, bicycle or skateboard. You should always keep your left. An aspect that can be somewhat strange and annoying at first if you come from… almost any other country in the world. But it’s a matter of getting used to it and being careful the first few weeks you go out on the street (as a pedestrian or driver).
Conclusion
After 6 months living in England, I can say that so far it has met my expectations. I hope to continue learning a lot about this new culture and my new role in my new job. Thank you for making it to the end and if you have any comments, I encourage you to write them below.
Translated using GPT 5.3 Codex