What’s is like to Live and Work in Oxford?

Living and Working in Oxford

It’s given us Stephen Hawking, Hugh Laurie, Radiohead and the world’s most famous university, but what else keeps Oxford’s 158,000 citizens sticking around? Let’s find out…

What types of industry are prominent in Oxford?

Understandably given the combined presence of Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, plus 32,000 students, the education sector is perhaps the crucial industry associated with the city. In fact, Oxford’s government notes that 67% of Oxford jobs are centred exclusively around knowledge-intensive industries. That said, there are many other key sectors, including health, publishing (specifically academic), tourism, hospitality, car-manufacturingand, notably, a world-renowned research sector.

What’s it like to live and work in Oxford?

Oxford University: The Radcliffe Camera

Which top companies are situated in Oxford?

According to Oxford’s official government statistics, Oxford is home to around 4,600 businesses providing 114,000 jobs. Just some of the top companies situated in the city include Oxford Council, the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, NHS Oxfordshire, BMW, Midcounties Co-op, the Science & Technologies Facilities Council and BT. Additionally, Oxford is also a base to many companies including manufacturing, logistics and consulting experts Unipart Group and world-renowned charity Oxfam, who both have their headquarters there. It’s also worth mentioning Oxford’s ever-growing tech cluster that is defining itself by software and gaming development thanks to companies like Natural Motion, Brainomix and Onfido.

What’s commuting in Oxford like?

The ozone layer must love Oxford: commutes by bicycle, foot and bus have all increased lately, while car commutes have stayed roughly at the same level – that’s 68% of journeys within the city being made up from sustainable methods of travel. That’s also good news for congestion considering that, according to Oxford’s government, some 46,000 workers living elsewhere have to commute in by car, train and other means.

What’s it like to live and work in Oxford?

Image: iStock

What are the salaries like?

In the recent Best Places in the UK to Make a Living survey by Total Money (via the Independent), Oxford charted impressively – coming in at number 19 out of 64.

In terms of employment statistics, it does incredibly well with just a 3.7% unemployment rate and job growth standing at 7% – indeed, one of the unique things to bear in mind is that there are actually more jobs in Oxford than residents (it has a job density ratio of 1.08). The downside is that Oxford’s also the least affordable city in the UK with average house prices 16.2 times the average earnings. For example: Oxford’s median monthly take-home salary of £1,991 is balanced by an average monthly mortgage repayment of £1,423, compared to number 1-placed Blackburn’s £1,646 median monthly take-home salary against a £354 mortgage repayment.

How about Oxford’s nightlife?

Oxford is blessed with great pubs with real history. TV fans can head over to the Turf Tavern (as featured on the Morse TV series), or literature fans can head to the Eagle & Child (a local to JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, once upon a time). For a louder evening, music fans can visit the 02 Academy Oxford for a chance to see everyone from Public Image Ltd to Nelly this year.

Anything else?

Oxford doesn’t attract 7 million visitors per year for no reason. One of the most enjoyable things you can do – weather permitting – is go punting along the river Cherwell. Should the rain strike, however, get into the academic spirit of Oxford and visit the historic Bodleian Library – which was opened in 1602!

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Living in Oxford

Making the Most of Living in Oxford

Living in Oxford
Living in Oxford – City of Dreaming Spires

Enjoying the City

Oxford is a youthful and cosmopolitan city with plenty to see and do. There are dozens of historic and iconic buildings, including the Bodleian Libraries, Ashmolean Museum, Sheldonian Theatre, the cathedral and the colleges. In the city centre you will find lots of shops, cafés, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, pubs and clubs. There are plenty of green spaces too: riverside walks, England’s oldest botanic garden, the University Parks and college gardens. Outside the city, the countryside is lovely with many stunning villages and other sights to visit.

An Ancient City

19th-century view of the High Street in Oxford
19th-century view of the High Street in Oxford

Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was initially known as “Oxenaforda“, meaning “Ford of the Oxen”; fords were more common than bridges at that time. It began with the establishment of a river crossing for oxen around AD 900. In the 10th century, the city became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes.

Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford.

Oxford University Seal
Oxford University Seal

The University rose to dominate the town entirely, and by the middle of the 14th century the history of the town was effectively no more than a footnote to the history of the university. A heavily ecclesiastical town, the city was greatly affected by the changes of the English Reformation, emerging as the seat of a bishopric and a full-fledged city. During the English Civil War, the city housed the court of Charles I in 1642, after the king was expelled from London.

The city began to grow industrially during the 19th century, and had an industrial boom in the early 20th century, with major printing and car-manufacturing industries. These declined, along with other British heavy industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, leaving behind a city which had developed far beyond the university town of the past

The “Youngest City”

Oxford is rated as the youngest city in England and Wales and has two universities: Oxford University and Oxford Brookes. 35% of people who live here are aged 15-29 and 27% (40,000 of a total population of 150,000) are university students.   With a population of 159,994 it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, and one of the fastest growing and most ethnically diverse.

City of Beauty and History

Oxford is a beautiful city, with a compact centre, crammed with fine, old buildings, and some interesting urban villages, such as Jericho. As a major university town, it boasts lively nightlife, some great museums, plenty of good performing arts and a wealth of reasonably priced restaurants.

How to get Here

Oxford is about 60 miles from London, and slightly more than that from Birmingham. Both cities are accessible within an hour, traffic permitting, on the M40. Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon are also about an hour away by car. Trains from Oxford to Paddington take just under an hour. Buses are slower, but cheaper. They run all through the night – perfect for those boozy nights on the tiles in London. Another plus is frequent direct bus services to Heathrow and Gatwick.

Getting Away

If you ever feel like a change of scene, the bus to London takes around 90 mins and runs 24 hours a day and when Oxford Parkway station opens this autumn, Oxford will have not one but two railway stations.

The city is within commuting distance of London, just, but also close to the more rustic delights of the Cotswolds.

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