[purple_kitten]

Hi all,

Another annoying question from me I'm afraid. Have recently moved to Oxford as a grad student with my partner (non-student) and was just wondering about the social scene for couples. In particular, my course will be very intensive and I'm concerned that my partner might be isolated as obviously it's not going to be so easy for them to meet people - has anyone been in this situation before/is anyone currently in this situation, and what would you recommend? Are partners usually welcome at college socials (I'm at St Cross if it helps)? I know there's the university newcomers' club but it seems a bit formal with coffee mornings and organised trips - does anyone have any experience of this and would you recommend it?

Thanks!

x

[probably not]

i've had friends with partners who've come along to social events and stuff (including at st cross) - general college socials, departmental stuff we've organised off our own initiative, and so on. it's difficult to come up with anything particularly instructive, but someone of about student age turning up at student events isn't going to be a problem.

[Athena]

We had two husbands accompany their wives to trampolining Varsity this year, and one of the husbands came on a crew date with us... Obviously it will influence your social life, but most colleges will let you bring guests to a lot of events (formal hall, bops, formal swaps), so it's up to you, I guess, how much you integrate your partner into your university social life

[purple_kitten]

Originally Posted by Athena

We had two husbands accompany their wives to trampolining Varsity this year, and one of the husbands came on a crew date with us... Obviously it will influence your social life, but most colleges will let you bring guests to a lot of events (formal hall, bops, formal swaps), so it's up to you, I guess, how much you integrate your partner into your university social life

Thanks guys - that's really quite reassuring. Seems that the situation will probably be quite different from my Cambridge undergrad college then - we were both students there but I know some people with non-student partners who found things a bit difficult...