Adjusting to dating and emotions after moving to London for studies

ShanayaHyue

I moved to London from Singapore last year for my studies and honestly, adjusting to life here has been a much bigger experience than I expected.

One thing I still feel nervous about is dating. Back home, I was more focused on studies and family life but London feels very different socially. People seem more open and confident when it comes to relationships and sometimes I feel unsure how to fit into that culture.

At the same time, I have noticed that my feelings and attraction toward people feel stronger lately, maybe because everything around me is new and emotionally intense. It’s a strange mix of curiosity, excitement and anxiety, and sometimes I do not really know how to process it properly.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced something similar after moving to a new city or country at a young age. Did you find dating culture difficult to understand at first? And how did you balance emotions, attraction, studies and personal boundaries in a completely new environment?

I would genuinely appreciate hearing different experiences or advice.

Tabitha31

hey,

I have been living in London all of life and still finding it hard for dating too

anatoli17

hi @

anatoli17

Hi @ShanayaHyue ,

I definitely get how you feel. I moved to London six years ago from a small town abroad, and for me it was a huge change! I can't even describe the level of anxiety I went through until I adjusted to this huge city.

From cultural differences to everyday life, I completely get how it must feel, and I can definitely tell you that it will be okay. You don't have to process everything at once. Give yourself the time and space to adjust at your own pace.

What honestly helped me the most was just being honest with people about how I was feeling. Whenever I opened up, it always helped with my anxiety and kind of let me let go of that feeling. It also made me realize that people respect you and most definitely won't eat you alive haha.

Take your time, and most importantly stay true to yourself. If you ever have a feeling that something isn't right for you, make sure you respect that feeling and listen to yourself.

As for dating, people in London are so diverse and come from so many different backgrounds. It's honestly like joining a group chat with people from all around the world, but that's okay. Most people are respectful of each other. Of course there are exceptions, but I think it should feel more exciting to see how different the world is rather than stressing about things that other people might not even think about.

Also, London is kind of depressing sometimes because of the lifestyle and how people experience life, so that doesn't really help either. But over time I found it interesting that you can actually choose how you want to see life and how you decide to live it.

Be yourself and give it some time. I'm pretty sure that if things worked out for me, they'll definitely work out for you too!

Tabitha31

yes I know it is so hard to date in London

ChrisR777

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1136227#Comment_1136227

Why is London harder than any other town. I would have thought there was a greater chance in a large city?

Rosie_Scope

I think both towns and cities have different challenges. In the city there is definitely a bigger dating pool but that can bring it's own difficulties. And it'll all be made harder by other factors like personal circumstances too.

Maybe the uniting feature is that dating is just hard in general!

ChrisR777

I met my now ex wife within 2 weeks of moving to London, trust me to grab the first woman who came along. 🙄

If I think about it now, it makes me laugh. All those women to choose from, and I found the one with the sole intention of moving to the Scottish city I'd just left! You couldn't make it up.