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Intro and Advice Needed
Hi all,
DH and I are looking to move to England next year once his service in the Army is up. There are plenty of jobs near Molesworth so that is probably where we would end up. I most likely will SAH since I don't want to go through the process of applying for a work permit.
If anyone has any advice about moving from the US it would be greatly appreciated. I've been looking at different places online but am getting pretty overwhelmed with all the info there is.
We have a car (which we will probably get rid of), an SUV (which we're considering leaving here at my parent's), and a motorcycle. Is it reasonable to think we could just get a cheap car to drive while we are there? We also have 2 pups that will be coming with us.
Thanks, ladies!
Re: Intro and Advice Needed
Welcome to the board! I'm an American living in Spain with my Spanish DH -- been here 3 years now.
I have absolutely no advice for what the questions you're asking, but there are lots of ladies on here who I'm sure can be helpful. There are a lot of INs in London in particular. Hope to see more of you around here!
Hi! I'm an American living in South Africa with my Italian DH. We bought a used car here to save money but ended up having to get some repairs done right away. It's a toss up as to what you get. The UK ladies can tell you more about the market there.
I will definitely advise you, though, to get involved with something as soon as you get over there. I was a SAHW when we lived in Canada because of work permit issues and even though I'm a very content homebody, I still went a little stir crazy. Find some activities that interest you to meet people and stay active!
I hear ya! I think *crossing fingers* we will have base privileges so I will have access to stuff there as far as babysitting and what not and I definitely plan on exploring while DH is at work. No sense in going to a new country and sitting at home for a year!
Hi! My DH and I moved to England from the US almost exactly a year ago (tomorrow!) for his job. Several things to consider: It is very, very hard to get work visas. We moved because my DH's company relocated here, but still the company had to prove that DH was qualified more than anyone who lived in the EU. I don't want to discourage you, but it is very tough getting the work visa to move over here.
I SAH and its a love/hate relationship! Life here is very different and can be quite isolating. Thankfully we live in a great area and there is lots of mum/tot groups and we have become quite involved in our church. We don't have a lot of the comforts of back home - no dryer, no dishwasher, no car, so life is much more difficult in these aspects. Also stores close really early and there's not much to do after 6pm. We don't have a babysitter, so haven't gone on any dates since G arrived. Still, I wouldn't want to work. I love being at home with G (although I do get a bit crazy at times!).
You can find cars here for relatively cheap, but I think insurance is very high (because you have no driving history here). What DH and I do is rent through Street Car (or Zip Car). We pay around 6pounds an hour, and that covers insurance and gas up to 40 miles a day (or something like that). But we only drive once or twice a month, so this is the most reasonable option for us. We also live very close to London, so its easy to get around using bus and tube and train.
As far as the dogs, there is a 6 month incubation period. You'll have to look up the details, but it involves blood tests and lots of time. You can do the 6 months before you leave, but I have heard that the flights are very expensive for the pets. We ended up leaving our dog with my ILs and when we go back home in a couple years will be reunited ;-)
There's a lot of people here who live in England and I'm sure they will add in some other information. Good luck!
Hello and welcome! There are lots of us in the UK so fire away any question you have.
How is your husband getting a work permit? Will he still work for the service?
And yes you can definitely get a cheap car here... You can find something to get you around town for super cheap - like less than 1000GBP... I'm thinking about repatriating to the US and it seems like even clunkers there are so expensive!!
I can't into details about DH's job but he can easily get a position as a contractor over there and would most likely work on the base.
As far as pets I just read that they're changing requirements as of January 1, 2012 for PETS requirements so the dogs will only have to be chipped with a 15 digit compatible (which they already are) and have their rabies vaccine more than 21 days before coming over. Since the US is considered an EU approved country, if we have all paperwork in order there won't be a quarantine and they won't have to have a blood test.
I wish I had someone to keep them but my parents don't want dogs at their house and I don't trust DH's mom... her dog is outside 24/7 no matter what the weather.
Also, did you ladies bring your furniture with you or store it in the US and rent furnished?
ETA: We will probably budget in car and insurance so we can travel. And you're right about clunkers here... they are ridiculously expensive for what they are, especially in DC where we currently live.
Hi there. I've been living in London with my DH for the past 2.5 years.
If your H has a work permit/visa, you should be able to work with your dependents visa, unless the rules have changed. But that's what I currently have and there are no problems. So unless you would prefer to SAH, working should still be an option.
For the car, we also use zipcar which is great. Keep in mind though that if you plan on being here for more than a year, you will need to get a UK license. A foreign license is only valid for your first year in England, and unfortunately US licenses cannot just be exchanged for a UK. I have no idea how much it costs to buy a car, but I hear my coworkers complain about how expensive the insurance is, and it might be even more if you don't have a record in the UK.
I love living here though, and if you have the oppotuntity to move here even for a short period I would recommend it!
Cecilia arrived 12 October 2012
I'm active duty military stationed in the UK. My fiance is living over here (he's on a tourist visa until we get married in a few months), and he's finishing up school.
Your military connections will help you out A LOT here. USAA is licensed to provide car insurance in the UK, so if you are already a USAA customer, then you can just switch your insurance over to a UK policy (or get a new policy if you get a new car here). It's more expensive than it would be in the US, but it's less expensive and MUCH less hassle than getting UK car insurance with no driving history over here.
Also, if he works for a military contractor, then you MAY qualify for a base-issued UK driving permit under the US SOFA (status of forces agreement) -- that's what servicemembers get when they are stationed here. I don't know if you will qualify for that or not, but it's worth asking. Otherwise, yes, you'll have to get a UK driver's license.
As for furniture....I brought about 75% of what I own. Rooms here (especially bedrooms!) are much smaller, and even if the furniture will fit in a room it might not get through the door, up the stairs, or down the hallway. So if you have any "oversized" furniture that means a lot to you (like, that you would want to keep if you moved back to the states), then leave it behind. Otherwise, you can bring it over and see if it works, and if not you could sell it or donate it.
Living in the UK has been an amazing experience, and I'm loving every minute of it!
Thanks for this! DH will most likely be a military contractor.
We do everything through USAA so that is good to know. Do they have fees for using American debit and credit cards in the UK?
Good to know about furniture! That's probably just bedroom stuff that won't be coming. We just redid our living room with vintage midcentury pieces and a more modern looking couch so they are streamline and pretty small in comparison to most stuff.
Why wouldn't you get a UK bank account?
That aside, if you get/have a CapitalOne card, supposedly that's no transaction fees. Your American cards may work here, and the merchant won't charge you to use them, but your card issuer may charge a fee.
To consider: Some places get squemish when you hand them a 'swipe' card instead of a chip and pin card. That means also that you can't use your card at some types of automatic ticket machines--it won't have the 'right' format.
I suppose I should also introduce myself too, eh?
I'm in London with my American DH. We've been here since 2009. Pre-DH, I also lived in the UK for shorter periods in 2004 and 2003.
*waves hi*
USAA's debit card has no international fees, and you still get ATM fees refunded. Their CREDIT card (at least, the AmEx one) does have international transaction fees.
Another option for on-base banking is Community Bank, a subsidiary of Bank of America. They offer accounts in both pounds sterling and dollars. Most military members have a portion of their pay check deposited into their Pound account via allotment (although, they give a pretty bad exchange rate, usually 2-3 cents worse than everyone else). Also, the pound account has both a US Routing Number/Account number AND a UK Sort Code, so you can use it to pay your UK bills via Direct Debit. This way you can keep your dollar account with USAA, and get a pound account with Community Bank, and they talk to each other pretty easily. The convenience is awesome, but the exchange rate sucks....
The trouble with getting a "regular" bank account in the UK is that they usually require high initial deposits, and have minimum balances which are REALLY difficult for most military members to maintain on what we make. But there are accounts you can set up in the US then transfer to the UK when you move here -- I've heard HSBC has a good international account that people like.
Good to know about USAA. We have a Mastercard CC but we never use it. If we were able to open a UK bank account we would... guess we will have to look into that.
DH wants all this info so we can make pro and con lists for deciding where to move (UK or Colorado) so thanks for indulging me!
I've never had this problem--the high initial deposits. It's not true of NatWest or HSBC on their basic bank accounts.
I keep seeing contradictions on this topic so glad to hear 1st hand experience. This is also going on my list for DH.
I didn't have a high initial deposit on my Lloyds TSB basic account either. RBS wanted an inital deposit of around ?100 and had a minimum balance. I don't remember how much it was.
The only thing you'll need to open an account at Lloyds is your passport and proof of your address (in your name). A utility bill worked for me.
Hi and welcome. H and I are Americans in London. I don't have any advice on the cars, we don't drive over here but I think the other ladies covered that.
We were able to open a Nat West account over here without any problems. I wouldn't really recommend them but I hear good things from HSBC from a few friends. We get paid in the US and transfer money to our UK account to pay bills over here, I'd recommend transfers through xe.com, it's free! We also have a Chase Sapphire card in the US that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees so I use that for shopping over here and traveling and pay it off every month. It's also nice because you can transfer the points into miles on different airlines, car rentals or hotels.