Emigrating to the UK: settling down

Emigrating to the UK: settling down

Now it has been 3 months since I landed the UK, and most of the necessary things to do have already been done, including renting a house, opening a bank account, registering for GP, etc.

I have joined a masters swim club and a triathlon club and started training. Also, I am ramping up my swimming to prepare for my Channel attempt in September.

I have also started venturing out of the town I live. In these two months, I have been to Salisbury, Bristol, Swanage, Southampton, etc. In the near future, I will probably have a trip to London and Dover.

I have met a diving buddy, Karen, and we went for a dive a few days ago.

We are now in the middle of the summer, the sea here has warmed from 11°C when I came in May, to 21°C now already that I can swim as long as I want. I did my Channel qualifier at the beginning of June when the sea temperature was 14°C.

We have reached the final stage of lifting COVID restrictions. We no longer have any legal limit of gathering and social distancing. Although the number of COVID cases in England is now at a new high, the hospital admission figure remains low because the vaccine has protected us from getting seriously ill. I have already got my first jab in June and waiting for the second at the end of August.

Unfortunately, there are still border restrictions around Europe that international travel is still not practical yet. The border of France is still shut to travellers which have not fully vaccinated (2 doses + 14 days) yet, while Guernsey requires isolation until test result on the 13th day. The barrier of entering Jersey is lower, with isolation until test result on the 0th day. In my original plan, I should be in Poland to race in the World Trail Orienteering Championship at the moment, but the race has been postponed to next year. Therefore, all my travel plans have been written off already and now I have nothing else to do apart training for my Channel swim.

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