MrMuffin

It's brilliant to be able to post in this section! How I yearned to do this a few years ago and now it's here! We arrived Sunday 11th and we've been striking to-dos off the list since then. My daughter started school Weds 14th and my son starts daycare 3 days a week next week. My wife is off and running with her job (she transferred to the London group of her firm on an ICT Tier 2 visa) and once the kids are totally set and the schedules are tighter I'll pickup some part time work and then later look for something more full time.

The details have been fitting into place well, including updating driver's license, bank info, credit card, council tax, utilities, internet, mobile phone. No issues yet just a few small hiccups and hurdles but nothing major.

The food in restaurants/pubs has improved no end and the choice in the supermarkets is brilliant. Meat is definitely more expensive than where we were (Northeast USA) but veggies, bread, other items are less expensive. Just about everything else is noticeably less costly including council taxes, utilities etc. Mobile phones are much less although I brought my iPhone with me (contact had expired and when I cancelled with AT&T they unlocked the phone) so I have done an unlimited SIM only plan for just 15 UKP a month which is perfect for me.

Honestly there's not been any negatives as yet but I'm really not trying to put my rose coloured spectacles on either. Everyone has been super nice and pleasant and willing to help wherever they can. Haven't seen a poo tree yet

It's way colder in the USA Northeast but we're still cold here... the air is much wetter and that with the cold makes it seem very chilly at times. Plus we've had a lot of rain but we expected it and expect a lot more. Still better than snowstorms and hard is everywhere in my opinion.

My wife is dealing well with being away from family but we're already making plans to see them and they're all coming for Chrissy so that'll be great. We move into our house next weekend and can't wait. Living with Mum has been lovely but we need our own space... a lot!

Take care all. I'll check in again soon. xoxoxoxo

NiHao

Brilliant!!! Reading this put such a smile on my face. I'm so glad things are coming together for you. I love that you have a balanced view, nowhere is perfect but it is nice when we can enjoy the good and not be too bothered by the bad.

Hope to be following in your footsteps in the not too distant future so will be bombarding you with questions so please stick around with the updates they are so appreciated.

I'm sure there are things that must be much harder for your wife, it's good that she was able to transfer with in the same company so although the work environment is different it is not all totally new to her. Great that family are already planning a visit for Christmas that is something lovely to look forward to and by that time you will hopefully be feeling very settled and able to show them a wonderful British Christmas.

How is your daughter doing with school, is she enjoying it so far?

MrMuffin

Yes my daughter is loving school very much. She has made a lot of new friends very quickly and she comes home with all kinds of stories every day. Plus the best part is that because the kids all get school dinners (lunches) and eat together at the table, she has tried all kinds of new foods that she's not wanted to try before. Her friends are eating and enjoying it so she does too. Perfect! Thanks for asking and good luck with your own plans!! Cheers, M

Bnet36

Funny because as I saw that you had posted I thought how wonderful to be starting a thread on the 'back home' side. One day that will be me.

So good to hear that things are going well. Your update made me smile too.

Interesting that meat seems more expensive. Do you think the quality is better though? I try and buy organic here, everything is so fatty and huge... Chicken drumsticks for example. I'm planning on bringing my iPhone so that's also good to know.

Keep us posted, we are living vicariously through you right now

Sally Redux

Excellent! Best of luck with everything.

I have not seen a poo tree or a chav yet

Sally Redux

We are not big meat eaters but I don't find it as expensive as LA and the quality is much better. The food generally is a revelation.

Bnet36

I thought as much, Sally. I cannot wait for all the food. I am planning on joining some sort of gym because I plan on indulging

Sally Redux

MrMuffin

Just found a squash and tennis club on the next street over... brilliant. Squash was so hard to find in the USA in general.

Yes the meat quality is great and there are some lovely options. I agree with the responder above... some wonderful choices. For instance I love pate but have hardly had it since being over in the States just because I always seemed to have to buy a larger portion than I wanted and knew it would not all get eaten. There are not only little portions available here but low fat options too that are really yummy. And only 80 pence for a decent chunk. Fab!!

Bnet36

A much less painless way to exercise. Tennis or badminton would work for me.

I love pate too but have not even tried to buy it here. I should, but I don't want to be disappointed.... I'll just wait. I am on a 4 month count down.

morayeel

Happy for you and your family.. great post.

MrMuffin

Good news about car insurance. Used gocompare dot com to check on prices and then researched and then booked the low cost option. I made sure we could use our USA no claims and it ended up being a non-issue. We have to have our USA insurance firm submit proof of no claims via email which is no problem.

Picking up our car tomorrow morning! Yay!

NiHao

Great news on the insurance, I will keep a note of that website.

Sorry to be so nosy but are you paying cash for your car or taking out a loan/using a credit card? We will need to buy two cars and I think we might have to come up with the cash as we will have zero UK credit history!

MrMuffin

No problem. We actually ended up paying cash after talking it through with the bank manager. I had read that getting a car loan is a good way to establish a good credit history in the UK. We were going to buy a car that was about a year old with very low miles and we would have paid for 80% of it with cash and were looking to finance the rest to help establish credit. But the loan rates are pretty high for used cars and at the end of the day most dealers are looking for interest that equates to around 10 to 12% rates. We thought it was really high and considered going for a new car as several deals were around for 0% interest.

We chatted to the bank manager about it and he suggested that we not do financing for a used car and look to build credit in other ways... for instance getting a visa/mastercard and charging small amounts and paying them off the same day. He said building credit that way would be just as effective as doing a car loan, but without the ridiculously high interest. So we opted to get a 5 yr old car with reasonable mileage and pay for it outright. We figure that if we get a few trouble-free years out of it then we'll but something newer at that point.

I hope this helps. Cheers.

dunroving

FYI, I also just bought (this morning!) a "new" (i.e., not-as-old-as-my-current) car.

They (Arnold Clark) also tried to persuade me to finance it but not only would I be paying interest, there would be a lump sum final payment charge. So even with a low interest rate, just taking a loan with the dealer's finance department would have cost me (I think) £350!

Of course, the emphasis was on the size of the monthly payments, not the total cost ....