The Contradictory Feelings Thread

[bradrn]

(c) you're giving me an impression that this supervisor will definitely be good to work with, and this isn't an easy thing to find.

Indeed, this is probably the biggest factor for me. There is one opportunity I’ve found in Australia but the supervisor doesn’t seem nearly as good to work with.

(I have talked to a former student of his already; she had nothing but positive things to say about him.)

Great sign! Probably the clearest of all. Though you may also want to ask what life is like in Glasgow.

Yes, I did. (On that note I’ve also been talking to alice via PM, as well as one other Glaswegian I know elsewhere.)

(a) if you do want to move for studies/research, now's a perfect-ish time

Hmm, why?

Mobility as an earlier stage researcher is always much easier than at later career stages. Less of a need to move a family is a big thing, plus also you have a lot more flexibility in terms of going into new topics and fields.

Oh, I thought you meant it in a different way. I have considered moving to an adjacent field (especially CS), but in the end I decided to stick more or less in the same area — though I talked again to the supervisor and it sounds like there should be options for exploring some different areas during the PhD.

Another small thing to be aware of is that the visa for study in the UK is very expensive: £490, plus a healthcare fee of £776/year. That shouldn't be the deciding factor, but just bear that in mind (and see if/how the university can support you if the need arises). Though if you have a claim to British/Irish nationality, on the other hand...

Ah, OK. I don’t think that should be a huge impediment, but good to keep in mind.

(In Australia we have public healthcare and I’ve heard we have some sort of mutual agreement with the UK in that regard; that might affect the healthcare fee but I’ll need to look into it.)

[MacAnDàil]

Glasgow is close to my hometown, Edinburgh, which is also a major city in Scotland. One of the most negative aspects of own current PhD is the sometimes somewhat erratic supervising so, if you have good news about the supervisor, that is important. The June and July temperatures are similar between Glasgow and Sydney as is the total precipitation. The climatic differences are the December-January temperatures and the rainy days.

Indeed, my own contradictory feeling (a free first world problem) is about a potential trip to Scotland: my wife has suggested we go to my home country on holiday. On the massive negative side, we would have to go by plane from Réunion and so use up tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Also, it would cost money. And I am not sure whether I shall have to continue working on my thesis at that point. On the plus side, I get to meet family, the few friends over here I kept in contact with, get to visit and buy things llike libraries, bookshops, restaurants, museums, gardens. Also, for my wife, it would be her first ever holiday outwith the island. And, if our childbearing plans go well, we shall not necessarily have the opportunity to go at another time.

[bradrn]

The June and July temperatures are similar between Glasgow and Sydney as is the total precipitation.

This is quite ambiguous… do you mean June–July temperatures in Glasgow are similar to June–July in Sydney? If so that’s actually quite a difference, because that’s winter here but summer there.

The climatic differences are the December-January temperatures and the rainy days.

Yes, this is what I’m more worried about, though I’m sure I’ll cope. Of course it’s hard to know until I actually experience it for myself…

her first ever holiday outwith the island

Unrelatedly, I still find ‘outwith’ endlessly amusing. It’s not a preposition I ever heard before I started talking to someone elsewhere from Glasgow.

[MacAnDàil]

The June and July temperatures are similar between Glasgow and Sydney as is the total precipitation.

This is quite ambiguous… do you mean June–July temperatures in Glasgow are similar to June–July in Sydney? If so that’s actually quite a difference, because that’s winter here but summer there.

Yes, a bit like the difference between here in Réunion and Edinburgh.

[doctor shark]

Indeed, my own contradictory feeling (a free first world problem) is about a potential trip to Scotland: my wife has suggested we go to my home country on holiday. On the massive negative side, we would have to go by plane from Réunion and so use up tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Also, it would cost money. And I am not sure whether I shall have to continue working on my thesis at that point. On the plus side, I get to meet family, the few friends over here I kept in contact with, get to visit and buy things llike libraries, bookshops, restaurants, museums, gardens. Also, for my wife, it would be her first ever holiday outwith the island. And, if our childbearing plans go well, we shall not necessarily have the opportunity to go at another time.

Very understandable negatives, indeed. (The cost and my dislike of flying are among the reasons why I normally don't go to the US but once per year.) That said, if you haven't been in many years (and, indeed, if you don't get the chance otherwise), a one-off visit, especially if you'd be travelling for three to four weeks, might be "worth it", or more compensatable elsewhere. And the main source of the cost/greenhouse gas emissions would probably be the long domestic flight from La Réunion to Paris. Funnily enough, once you're in Paris, you could go by train onwards quite easily: Interrail passes do cover the Eurostar between Paris and London without too much pain (just a bit of planning needed); Paris to Edinburgh is about 7-8 hours by train, so not super bad, plus you can then add in some visits in France and the surroundings; and having an Interrail pass can be quite useful in the UK given how expensive the trains are there.

Plus, thesis writing can be manageable while on vacation (that's what long train rides were for).

Yes, this is what I’m more worried about, though I’m sure I’ll cope. Of course it’s hard to know until I actually experience it for myself…

I've moved between a lot of climactic zones, and I actually like the not-extremely-hot summers in Europe, especially when compared to the summers in most of the US; the winters are also quite a bit milder. (Winters can get cold, but not US-level cold; if you were in Paris around wintertime, think something like that, maybe a bit cooler and wetter.) That said, though, to my father's wife (who's barely been outside of Tex-ass), where I am right now would probably feel like the North Pole to her.

[bradrn]

Yes, this is what I’m more worried about, though I’m sure I’ll cope. Of course it’s hard to know until I actually experience it for myself…

I've moved between a lot of climactic zones, and I actually like the not-extremely-hot summers in Europe, especially when compared to the summers in most of the US; the winters are also quite a bit milder. (Winters can get cold, but not US-level cold; if you were in Paris around wintertime, think something like that, maybe a bit cooler and wetter.) That said, though, to my father's wife (who's barely been outside of Tex-ass), where I am right now would probably feel like the North Pole to her.

Yeah, you’d be used to the winters, coming from the US. But I come from Australia.

(Well, really I was born in Vancouver… except I have no memory of it at all, since we moved to Sydney when I was four years old.)