Oddly, there is a generous amount of heat in the long hallway in the student flat...but WHY??? is it meant to leak into the sleeping rooms? The hallway is so hot its like stepping into a sauna.

I will make a complaint to the student housing office on Monday and ask for heat.

But in the meantime, is there something I am missing on how to make the heating unit thing in the room work? Should I give up and get a space heater?

There is NO heating in my room in the student housing!!!! Its like living in an igloo. Actually an igloo is probably warmer. There is a heating unit thing on the wall and a thermostat, but having spun the dials, pressed on buttons, banged on them and cursed, to no avail, I have concluded that they are placebos designed to fool people into thinking that there is heating when there is none.

But the placebo effect does not work...

I don't know where you are at the moment, but I think that in general you would find that the US is much less expensive than the UK. Obvious exceptions are large coastal cities like New York and anything in California...did you indicate the offer was for Minnesota? I think it has a fairly reasonably cheap cost of living. You should be prepared to cope with long cold snowy winters, and you shold check out where you might live in proximity to the university. Public transportation in the US is not like it is in the UK or the rest of Europe--its OK in some large cities and non-existant in many others. I do not know what the situation would be in Minnesota, I would guess that their large cities have some kind of public transportation.

I would GUESS that a nice large one or two bed room flat would be available for $800 per month ( about £400), which may or may not include bills such as water, heating, cooling, electricity.

hahah, let me join the club. My excuse is jetlag and really really sore muscles in my wrists from lugging luggage.

I have managed to map out a strategy for work over the next few days, and have typed about 2 footnotes...but am current on the stock market, the news, my personal emails and film star trivia. I am trying to avoid Youtube!

Hi all and thanks for the great messages. I AM glad to be here, I had a great meeting with my supervisor yesterday, and am ready to get to work. This morning I met a flatmate, very nice woman who lent me her hairdryer! Turns out the one I brought works in Australia but not in the UK--so that was very nice.

I feel as if I have been on an intensive fitness course--every muscle aches. Even my toes hurt! In particular my typing muscles are sore, because those are the ones that got used in luggage wrestling!

And yes, there are some nice British chaps--when someone back home was asking how I would manage my bags, I said, well, you can nearly always count on some nice British chap emerging from the fog to help you with heavy bags in your dark moment of despair.

I am now tired, sore and malnourished, and must find McDonalds so I can eat something and go sleep...but at least I have bedding....

me checking into student housing--might I leave these bags in reception and take them one at a time to the room ( which was many yards and a long lift ride away, and by this time, my arms were numb and aching...person at reception--well I cannot be responsible for them...me, no, right, of course not, but it would be my dream to have them stolen!!! then I would not have to wrestle them across the courtyard and up the lift...)

so, luggage wrestling completed, I realize there is no bedding on my bed. Not even a pillow. Back to reception. Me--there is no bedding. Reception--oh. Me--well....can some arrangements be made? Reception--no. You can walk to the department store and buy some.

So off I trekked, raving from jet lag and no sleep in 24 hours, to the local department store, which, after a few false turns, I did in the end find, its name shining in the distance as a welcome beacon to me. Then, arms aching and shaking, I staggered back down the road with bedding and pillows.

So here I am in the UK, and I must say that my Oliver Twist fantasy took on some reality as I checked into my student accommodation, though Oliver Twist probably would have eaten the burnt toast in the hallway rather than leaving it as rubbish. So after many hours of a long journey, including wrestling heavy bags up and down the trolley-less train platforms of England ( me to man at help desk--do you have trolleys? Man at help desk--No, love, but the escalator is right there, so you do not need a trolley....me, looking dismally at escalator some 500 meters in the distance....oh. right. thanks. Here and there some helpful British chap would emerge from the fog and help me wrestle the bags in and out of trains, up and down steps, in and out of lifts--where they exist....

A most useful tool in managing the stages of writing ( of writing anything) is the Flowers Paradigm. Google it and see! It is a simple yet effective way to manage the steps of writing and editing.

I have never heard mention of "age" as a problem from my supervisor, the whole subject has just never come up, so the fact I am not a spring chicken does not seem to bother anyone, in fact, the years of actual relevant work experience seem like they might be regarded as value added!

I will treat my PhD studies as I have treated my work--I will show up every day at 8:00 or so and work through until 6 or so, taking a break for lunch and of course lots and lots and lots of coffee. I will plan to treat the PhD like it IS my job--because until its done, it IS, and give it the same level of serious commitment and concentration. It might sound daft, but I am not planning to slouch about the university in track pants and trainers--but wear sort of business casual stuff, because for me, if I am dressed to work like a professional, I am going to carry on like one.

I changed universities a year and a half into my PhD as my supervisor changed universities, and I thought it was important to continue to work with him ( I am in a non-science PhD however). So I made the switch, and was given "credit for time served" by the new university for the work done at the old university, but did have to alter my approach to the research to suit the requirements of the new university. In the long run it seems to have worked OK.

I think that age and maturity and life experience can lend a lot to doing the PhD--a certain work ethic you have, the ability to make yourself get up and get out of bed and go work, without regard to your mood or motivation--those are not even up for consideration, you just get up and get on with things. If you gave yourself lee way to not go to work on time or at all given mood or motivation you would have quickly had NO job whatsoever.

I feel some advantage with age and practical professional experience doing my PhD. My JD is on par with the degree that legal academics have in the US, and so I do not feel "less than" because I am not yet done with my PhD as to my particular area.

I have practiced law a good number of years, and my PhD is directly related to ( and my interest in doing it) came out of my legal practice experience. As a practicing lawyer, I have been drilled TO MEET DEADLINES NO MATTER WHAT, and I find that this is invaluable in completing tasks on the PhD. The areas of law that I am interested in did not even exist when I did my JD ( professional doctorate in law), and while I kick myself for not doing this sooner, the simple fact is that THIS area was not there to do, and my interest in it developed as a result of legal practice, not out of my JD courses ( I took ZERO famiy law in my JD--and my practice and area of PhD reseach are broadly family law). So go figure.

To join in this conversation...I am "old"--without giving away the complete age, let's say 40-ish!and I am ( touch wood) within 10-12 months of when I want to submit the PhD. I did the first two years via distance learning, and managing a full time professional career. Yikes. I think in my case age and life experience has everything to do with why I am pursuing the PhD.