What I wish I knew before applying and moving to Oxford from the US (opens in new tab)

The first time I ever visited the UK was when I moved to Oxford for my PhD (or DPhil in Oxford speak). I was nervous, excited, and thought I could assimilate easily after growing up watching Sherlock, Midsomer Murders, and Doc Martin. After all, my native language is English, how different really is the UK? Oh, how wrong I was.