When writing from or about Australia, “g’day” is an easy and uniquely Aussie way to greet a reader. From England, it’s not so simple. In fact, after two months in Bristol the typical greeting here still catches me off guard. “You alright?” is how I’m often greeted at cafes and by my basketball teammates. I’m still at the point where I hesitate slightly too long before responding to this greeting, but hopefully given more time my social interactions with Bristolians won’t begin so awkwardly. Because I don’t want to subject you to similar discomfort, I’ll greet you in a familiar way: hello from Bristol!
Linnea and I arrived in Bristol two months ago. After a couple of weeks in temporary housing, we signed a lease and moved into a long-term place just a 20 minute walk from the centre of Bristol. We’re in a neighbourhood called Totterdown, which is known for streets of colourful row houses that look charmingly British. It is full of young professionals, young families, and, as you’d expect in England, pubs. I’m not exaggerating when I say that there are 3 pubs within a 60 second walk of my front door. And while these establishments are of course great if you want a cask ale, the nearest pub recently came in handy in a surprising way. I got home from work last week to a notification that I had missed a delivery. In England, it is common for a delivery person to leave a parcel with a neighbour when you’re not at home. This time that neighbour was the pub on the corner. I walked to The Shakespeare after getting home from work not for happy hour but to collect a parcel. That experience felt uniquely British and made me feel like a local.
Feeling at home in a new city takes time, and my schedule soon after arriving in Bristol didn’t do me any favours in terms of getting settled. A few days after arriving I spent a long weekend in Scotland followed by a work week in London. A few weeks later I was in Helsinki for work for 8 nights (Linnea was there longer). Surrounding these trips were many coordinated Gumtree (the UK’s Craigslist) deliveries and several Ikea runs, which are much more complicated without a car. Now that the Ikea items are built and we are able to host friends for board game night, we can spend our free time enjoying Bristol. Bristol is a lovely city full of independent cafes, shops, and bars. The public transit isn’t great, but the city is small enough that you can walk just about anywhere. Bristol’s airport flies to dozens of destinations in Europe, and the train to London takes only 1 hour 40 minutes. All in all, I think I will enjoy using Bristol as a home base for exploring Europe over the next few years.