I recently moved to Northern England on a Global Talent Visa. The visa is granted to people recognized for exceptional work in their field—so being here as a Content Designer is incredibly exciting. It’s been a journey to get here, and I’m so grateful for all the mentors, coworkers, family and friends who helped me along the way.
It's the fifth country I’ve lived in in almost as many years (US, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine being the others) and, hopefully, a more long-term home for us. Autumn walks and Yorkshire puddings aside, I didn’t realize how freeing it would be to again live in a country where I’m a native speaker. It’s just easier. I don’t have to think.
Of course that doesn’t take into account accents and national/regional vocabulary. Even though I speak the language, there’s still a surprising gap. Some are well-known — biscuit vs cookie, trash vs rubbish, etc. Others are new to me: I saw a sign for fly tipping, and my American Midwest mind immediately went to cow tipping when, actually, it’s about illegally dumping waste. And I’m still not used to being called “love” by the cashier.
There’s a UX lesson in there, probably. Something about how we should be mindful of lingo, or of people’s backgrounds. Or maybe about the cognitive load of being in a new environment, or the benefits of using simpler terms.
But for now I’m just happy to start this new adventure.
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