Living in Oxford...
- Thread starter NicktheNorse
- Start date
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,364
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
It isn't going to be easy work, the head of the Aero department said that I should expect 55 hrs/week during the busiest of times (December - February testing) and 42 hrs/week for more "normal" periods. It is certainly the kind of work where you have to be uber dedicated, but I think i'll be able to survive.KaHn said:Dude that depends on how much your gettin paid
Hope its a lot as its going to be awful hours mate.
It is also not the best of paid jobs, at least not to begin with. As a "junior" aero engineer Ill be taking in about £1430 /month after tax, NI and student loan repayment....
edit: my earlier monthly pay estimate was a bit off
Last edited:
In compasrrison with the majority of Oxford, I would say Wheatley was one of the better places to live. Nowhere NEAR as nice as Horspath or Garsington though, which are neighbour villages. I love the way you make Wheatley sound like a dump when it isn't at all. Hell, I went to school there!Xpander said:
Unless you count 15 teenages that occationally gather somewhere a 'chav' army. They are very tame chavs compared to the likes of Barton! Nothing that would make me want to not live there. There are some lovely parts.
Soldato
- Joined
- 19 Jan 2005
- Posts
- 2,729
- Location
- Oxford/Bristol
fatiain said:
mmmm, the smell of bread always makes me hungry.
Ah. Fatiain. I see it all now.
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,364
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
sorry to bring back such an old topic
I've spent the last 3 days driving around the oxford area and looking at flats.
Kidlington is in the perfect location but hardly anything to rent. Wasn't too impressed with the housing to be honest, a little council estate-ish, at least what I saw.
Woodstock is cool, though there are few to no places to rent and very expensive.
After experiencing the traffic I know for sure I can't live inside the ring road as i need to go 10 miles up the A34 to get to work. Plus, nothing much available in Summertown/Botley/whatever now anyway.
My favourite place, and although not specifically Oxford, was Witney. Lots of brand new flats at great prices and still only a 20 min drive to the Renault factory. Seemed like a reasonably lively town as well, though it is a fair distance away from Oxford (10 miles) so it will be hard to get back to after a night out in town.
Need to phone around some more tomorrow and sort out some more viewings. Didnt realize how tiring all this crap was, and then theres the drive from Surrey to Oxford i keep having to do!
I've spent the last 3 days driving around the oxford area and looking at flats.
Kidlington is in the perfect location but hardly anything to rent. Wasn't too impressed with the housing to be honest, a little council estate-ish, at least what I saw.
Woodstock is cool, though there are few to no places to rent and very expensive.
After experiencing the traffic I know for sure I can't live inside the ring road as i need to go 10 miles up the A34 to get to work. Plus, nothing much available in Summertown/Botley/whatever now anyway.
My favourite place, and although not specifically Oxford, was Witney. Lots of brand new flats at great prices and still only a 20 min drive to the Renault factory. Seemed like a reasonably lively town as well, though it is a fair distance away from Oxford (10 miles) so it will be hard to get back to after a night out in town.
Need to phone around some more tomorrow and sort out some more viewings. Didnt realize how tiring all this crap was, and then theres the drive from Surrey to Oxford i keep having to do!
I live in Witney and work in Oxford mate. Commute is an absolute nightmare. 12 miles for me. Bus or car takes 1hr 1hr 15 in term time. I have a motorbike now and go by push bike some days which is still faster than driving or the bus. The A40 is completely horrendous due to being a main route for London commuters and heavily congested by people driving their kids to school in North Oxford.
Just re-read and remembered you will work in Enstone. If that's the case Witney is ideal. Getting in and out of Oxford in the evening is really easy. The 100 bus service runs up to every 10 mins at busy times and runs until about 4am IIRC.
Just re-read and remembered you will work in Enstone. If that's the case Witney is ideal. Getting in and out of Oxford in the evening is really easy. The 100 bus service runs up to every 10 mins at busy times and runs until about 4am IIRC.
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,364
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
OllyM said:Yeah, Witney isn't too bad...
Be warned though, at morning and evening rush hour, the A34 is an absolute nightmare, there are often accidents which cause huge jams
oops, i meant the A44, not the 34.
cheers for the advice guys, really helps a lot!
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,364
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
Bat said:
boom! just checked the bus schedules and you are right, the N100 goes from oxford to witney up until 3:15am. good stuff
Associate
- Joined
- 21 Jan 2004
- Posts
- 1,486
Yeah Witney's not too bad. I live in Sutton Courtenay down near Abingdon at the moment but the g/f is driving me nuts (It's her house) so I'll probably be looking to rent another place soon...
Bloody women!
Bloody women!
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 4,364
- Location
- Oslo, Norway
right, well im back into Witney tomorrow to look at another 5 flats. All brand new and pretty swanky, hopefully i'll find the right place for me Unfortunately the appointments are all such that I'll hit the M25 traffic on the way home
Unfortunately the appointments are all such that I'll hit the M25 traffic on the way home I have lived in Oxford for a total of about 9 years while at school and college, lived in several different places...
Eynsham may be a good option for you, halfway between Oxford and Witney - great village with good connections. I went to secondary school there.
If you want something more rural, perhaps try Stanton Harcourt or somwhere around there, again, good connections but it is small and I expect house prices are huge now...
I lived in Witney for a good few years too and I would say it does sound ideal for you, plenty of housing options and good town in its own right. There are bad areas but you could do worse. Carterton could be an option too, little further out that Witney but lots of cheap houses as its close to an RAF base.
Also lived in Headington, Headington is a great place, very close to the city. However it suffers from 2 main problems, first being house prices and the second is crime that it draws from the areas around it such as Wood Farm, Barton, Blackbird Leyes etc.
If I did not have so many ties in Cambridge I would return to Oxford in a second... I miss it!
Good luck and less us know how you get on.
Eynsham may be a good option for you, halfway between Oxford and Witney - great village with good connections. I went to secondary school there.
If you want something more rural, perhaps try Stanton Harcourt or somwhere around there, again, good connections but it is small and I expect house prices are huge now...
I lived in Witney for a good few years too and I would say it does sound ideal for you, plenty of housing options and good town in its own right. There are bad areas but you could do worse. Carterton could be an option too, little further out that Witney but lots of cheap houses as its close to an RAF base.
Also lived in Headington, Headington is a great place, very close to the city. However it suffers from 2 main problems, first being house prices and the second is crime that it draws from the areas around it such as Wood Farm, Barton, Blackbird Leyes etc.
If I did not have so many ties in Cambridge I would return to Oxford in a second... I miss it!
Good luck and less us know how you get on.
OllyM said:The bus route that's once hourly if you're lucky, from about 8am to 6pm.
As a child I was thought that all public transport in Oxford ran 5 minutes late ?
Isn't there a saying "Oxford Time" - 5 mintes behind Grenwich?