The conference is over, and after 3 days of spending 10 hours a day with my group I’ve had about all I can handle of sociability. People went out together to continue socializing, but even though I adore them all, I headed in the opposite direction looking for a nice quiet Lebanese deli to celebrate the end of the conference alone.
On the way to the deli, I saw the following beautiful building:
I really miss my husband, and this building made that feeling even more poignant.
And can anything get any more typically British than this view:
This is what I was looking for and did not find in London back in 2012.
This area of Oxford does not scream “wannabe New York” either:
I love it that there is so much space to walk. Oxford is beautiful but I’ve got to say, British people, I have no idea how you manage to afford living in this country. Everything is so very expensive. And don’t think I stick to the touristy part of the town. I’ve been quite far out and made a point of entering a Tesco and a Sainsbury’s to see how much people were paying for groceries and was kind of freaked out.
Clarissa's Blog 
The UK was expensive when we went there ten years ago. I can’t even imagine what it must be now. Thing is, we were grad students back then and lived very simply — didn’t even go for fancy food. But we still couldn’t believe how expensive basic things were.
LikeLike
When I was there, people were fond of telling me that Oxford was one of the most expensive places to live in the UK. By a lot… Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
LikeLike
I’m also very glad you’ve enjoyed Oxford, it’s one of my favourite cities, lovely and very expensive. And it’s quite true that most people here in the UK couldn’t afford to live there any more than we could afford to live in London, sadly.
Luckily plenty of the other towns and cities in the UK also have beautiful buildings, which sometimes we can afford to live in! And there are cheaper places to shop than Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
LikeLike
It’s good to know this is an exception rather than a rule!
LikeLike
I really miss my husband, and this building made that feeling even more poignant.
LikeLike
This is very beautiful, thank you. And the lady in the picture even looks like a thin version of me. 🙂
LikeLike
I made fun of your photography skills a few months ago, but damn, I need to revise your opinion. The pictures you post these days are very nice, and very obviously taken by a person with a keen eye for beauty.
Clarissa bringing her A-game!
LikeLike
Thank you! Those photos were, indeed, terrible but I now have a new device and it’s made things easier.
LikeLike
The UK is very expensive indeed, and the south (and Oxford) particularly so. You can get things more cheaply if you put in the effort, but not to such a huge extent. Our food prices are ridiculous and, in the south, housing is extortionate for what it is. I used to live in the north and it was definitely cheaper there than in the southwest, where I currently live, so location matters. Honestly, you get used to it and there are many ways in which I think living in the UK is overall much cheaper. For instance, healthcare is (at least for now) free and even the parts that you pay for (dentistry, eye care, some prescriptions) are subsidised so that the actual cost is very, very low. Energy prices aren’t terrible if you get a good bundle. Internet, phone, etc., is all very cheap. In most cities, you can either use public transportation or cycle, so no need for car payments or insurance. I would say that, overall, I can live more cheaply in the UK than I could in America, but of course I only ever lived in the northeast and California Bay Area growing up, so my comparisons are probably not entirely accurate.
Glad you enjoyed Oxford! I spend a lot of time there for work and it is a lovely place. It’s funny you are mentioning the cold, since most of us here have been moaning about how hot it’s been this summer!
LikeLike