Pistolpete2

If you are over 60, you are eligible for a senior rail card (costs 28 pounds a year):

http://www.senior-railcard.co.uk/

which gives you a third off on off-peak rail travel, such that:

Eastbourne London (1hr 30mins) return for the day incl London underground or buses - 22 pounds.

A National Express bus ticket with over 60s card (11.50 pounds incl postage for a year) costs around 9 pounds return from Eastbourne to London Victoria and you would need to add the underground fare of approx 6 pounds* - direct service takes 2hr 45mins to 3 hrs 15mins for the approx 75 mile journey.

*4 pounds if you have an over 60s rail card, as above.

Eastbourne is about 22 miles from Brighton and the (with rail card) day return by rail is 6.60 pounds and the trip takes about 33mins each way.

rebeccajo

I believe sile would be wise to start thinking in pound sterling, rather than US dollars.

By my calculations, the rents sile states she can pay are anywhere between £600 to £820 per month.

Pistolpete2

Well indeed, but one probably has to consider sile's source of income and if that is US dollars it can make better sense, for her, to think in USD. Of course the way Sterling is sinking, and is likely to sink further on Monday as it has just been downgraded, it is an endlessly moving target, getting easier to hit by the day for us USD earners.

Dividing any USD figure by 1.5 seems to be fair right now. A month ago it was more than 1.6.

Furthermore, rents between 600 and 820 pounds a month seem to offer a great deal of flexibility in an area such as Eastbourne which is outside London's commuter belt, in spite of its popularity with retirees.

rebeccajo

Depending on the source of her US income, sile needs a plan to allow for fluctations. She can't count on the continued decline of sterling especially if her dollars are fixed.

http://www.moneyweek.com/investments...e-dollar-62430

Perth

Pete, do you know how the rail pass will work with the new pension dates? For example: I will not be of pensionable age until 66 (and I am now 55). Therefore, unless I move to Wales or Scotland, I would not qualify for a free bus pass until then. However, would I similarly not be eligible for the rail card? Can't seem to find that anywhere.

Perth

And to that she must add council tax, which is also variable...

Pistolpete2

Of course not, but there is a lot of water under the bridge since this article was published only three weeks ago in relation to currency wars and the UK's economic malaise and the US's economic indicators which are slowly turning more favourable.

Of course also Sterling is not functioning in isolation and the dollar and the US have issues of their own to deal with which could cause the USD to take hits but Sterling does not have the luxury of being the reserve currency of the world, in spite of being in favour when the Euro has been going through its travails.

So, we are now at or close to GBP equals 1.50USD and if the sums add up at that exchange rate that should be fine for planning for the time-being.

Pistolpete2

Rail Card is at age 60 so is not tied to any pension age and is presumably agreed upon by a collective of the rail franchises (Network Rail) from time to time as is the annual charge. In due course they might suddenly say that there are too many over 60s as a proportion of the whole so they would want to raise the age but I would not expect to see that planned anywhere right now.

Note that there are loads of different types of rail cards and saver schemes, such as GroupSave, to reduce the cost of rail travel.

The free bus pass and discounts is a government initiative so that is being tied to pension age.

Perth

Oh I see, didn't know it was not a gov initiative. So that explains it. Will have to wade through the rail card choices then. Just one would have been sufficient....I have enough to do, thank you

Pistolpete2

Indeed! As per sile's post #152, it would be well for her to be very clear as to what her household budget would be in terms of, but not limited to, RENT and tenant's obligations, council tax, heat & light, water, contents insurance, licences (dog, tv etc.), health (personal care prescriptions/dental scheme), food & dog food and care, books periodicals & leisure & admissions, domestic supplies, garden upkeep, transport, clothing, communications (sky tv?? etc, internet, phone).

I don't recall seeing an itemised budget on here along these lines.

I see this from dunroving and cheers which partly covers things:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...&postcount=331

Pistolpete2

O..........K, I'll do it for you.

Many of them depend upon where you live, such as:

PEMBROKE, HIGHLAND, DALES, CHILTERN etc. and these are usually open to anyone, for a fee.
TWO TOGETHER no longer applies
GROUPSAVE3 is for you and your two ace-girls traveling together, or you and your hubby plus ONE. GROUPSAVE4, likewise........

FYI, though the National Express bus service seems to typically take an awful lot longer to get to somewhere like London due to the congestion at London's perimeters, there are routes where there is precious little time difference between the bus and the train and the bus can be much cheaper if you are selective on the timing of your trip and have that senior's card or you don't.

Of course, if you use websites such as thetrainline.com to pick your train journeys there are huge savings on certain trip timings, particularly if planned well ahead of time. A trip that I recently took, for example, was the run from London to Portsmouth. By taking the 12.02 from Victoria, instead of the 12.09 from Waterloo, which takes nine minutes longer, one saves almost 26 pounds on a single fare (fare is 7.50 instead of 33.10)

Perth

Pete, wasn't chewing you out about the choices...just the bus companies! But more than appreciate the advice

Pistolpete2

Certainly didn't consider myself chewed. Anyway, that little bit of extra research inures to the benefit of me as much as those who read the posts.

BTW, for those that are unfamiliar, traveling longer distances in the UK should either be done by air or by bus as rail fares on the London to Edinburgh/Glasgow runs are rather expensive and from places such as Penzance to Aberdeen are laughable.

Be careful to check that your bags and even check-in and payment method are covered in the base airfare as these can be add-ons. In this regard, British Airways (BA) is a good deal for domestic travel if planning well ahead as bags et al are covered in the fare you first see and BA operates as a low cost carrier domestically in order to compete with the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet.

lf1

Funny you should mention the expense of train fares. I have just been pricing a trip from the Scottish Borders to Tenby and the train costs are nuts. Think we will fly. SIL thinks we should drive, but I just hate the thought of such a long drive on a road that I don't know. Plus me and OH will be at loggerheads before we get across the border.

WEBlue

Sile, I wouldn't say it's a usual thing, but some bus drivers do allow quiet well-behaved dogs on the buses with no problems. I have seen a big dog refused, but I've also from time to time seen a quiet dog sitting at its owner's feet on the floor of a bus. I think the rule is they're never allowed up on the seats, but must stay on the floor.

And apparently it completely depends on the individual bus driver's discretion, so if you get a driver who doesn't like dogs or if the bus is very crowded, the dog may be refused.

Here's a complaint page about this topic, and the comments at the bottom show that the situation is variable & you never know if your dog will be let on a bus or not.
http://www.weeklygripe.co.uk/a491.asp

The free bus pass is a wonderful thing. My husband qualified for one before we moved to the States, even though he was not pension age. But yes, now it seems the gov't has raised the qualifying age for new applicants to pension age....