I’ve been in Edinburgh for about a month and a half now, so I’ve had plenty of time to realize some of the things I might have done differently in the first few weeks. While I was reflecting over some of my more humorous mistakes, at least for my flatmates, I thought I’d put together a preliminary list of advice tidbits for any of my fellow Texans thinking of making the trek over to Alba (Scotland in Gaelic):

1. Rain.

Never, EVER, leave your flat without an umbrella. Sure, it may be gorgeous and cloudless now, but that’s not to say that as soon as you’re a mile away from your cozy flat the sky won’t turn over on you, releasing gallons and gallons of frigid water from the North Sea.

2. Wind.

There is no point in worrying about your hair or general appearance. No matter how much time you spend fixing your hair until it’s just so, it won’t stay. The moment you leave the warm safety of your flat, the Edinburgh wind of doom will blow your hair from Scotland to Chicago and back again in about three seconds.

3. Cold.

Don’t be fooled by the sunlight—it’s not warm. Trust me. You’re going to want to bring that coat of yours anyway. The Scottish sun is not nearly as powerful as the blazing orb we’re used to in the Lone Star State.

4. Local Slang.

It might be important for you to pick up the difference in what items are called in Texas and the UK. Here’s an important example: pants. To Texans, these are the long pieces of fabric that cover our legs. Not so for the friendly Brits—what we call pants are called trousers over here and what they call pants are…well, what we call underwear. As you might imagine, this can cause a certain degree of misunderstanding! Just think about every time you use the word pants in your day to day conversation and imagine how the British version of this word would change your meaning. Yeah, I’ve been made fun of quite a bit for that little trinket so far.

5. Wardrobe Choices

Here’s the deal: Don’t pack a lot of clothes before you leave the good ol’ South. You will—let me repeat this—you WILL lose a good ten pounds in the first month of your being in Edinburgh. When you move from an area where you drive EVERYWHERE to a place where walking is your only form of transport, things will change. I stressed so much about packing a good variety of clothes, and now half of them don’t fit me anymore.

6. The Importance of Socks

SOCKS. Bring as many pairs of socks as you can. I didn’t, and it was a huge mistake. In Texas, I didn’t wear a lot of socks in my daily life, except for athletic socks while working out. Here, I wear them every day and night and need more constantly, especially big warm socks. Half of my pairs of socks have holes in them already! Also, bring layers and layers and warm trousers. It gets really, really cold at night.

7. Grocery Shopping

Now, I know that in Texas, we have huge supermarkets with express lanes and massive shopping carts. Don’t expect this when you cross the pond. In Edinburgh, going grocery shopping is a completely different experience. First of all, you have to carry everything you buy back to your flat, which can often be quite a long walk, limiting your Texas-sized spending habits. Secondly, express lanes are a thing of the past—everybody waits. Finding the perfect amount of goods, between enough to last you a while and little enough that you can carry it home without killing yourself, takes some time.

8. Crosswalks

I’m sure all of you are perfectly aware that the Brits drive on the other side of the road here—but did you know that their methods of pedestrian crossings are also different? Instead of one direction getting the green light to walk at a time, the crosswalks are blocked from all pedestrians at once, and then all the cars are blocked at once. This means that in Edinburgh, you can actually walk diagonally across the intersections—it took me a while to figure this out!

9. Dogs

If you see a random large dog running at you in the park, please, do not be alarmed. This is merely the way of Edinburgh dogs and their owners. I kept thinking I had found all these lost dogs running around the Meadows, until I realized that Edinburgh dog walkers have somehow trained their pets better than any I’ve seen in the States. The dogs here walk themselves, no question. I actually have seen several dogs walking behind their owners with their leash IN their mouths.

10. Daylight

If you get sad during the Texas winter, stop your plans to move to Scotland right now. Seriously. It’s the last half of October, and it gets dark—really dark—by 6:00 pm, and getting earlier every day. My flatmates tell me that by December, it will be completely dark by 4:30 or 4:00, and the sun won’t come up until well into mid-morning. We are so far north that in the winter, people who work 9-5 jobs never see the sun; they go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. If you are affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, seriously, Scottish winters are not for you. As for me, I love the nighttime, so it’s approaching vacation time for me!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now, but I figure a 10 point list is a good as any starting point. Back with more later, kiddos, and have a great week!

Peace,
Erika