OdysseusLite

Makes sense, thanks Pulaski.

Richard8655

Just curious. How did you find life in the wide open Canadian provinces? Lots of natural beauty and space. UK is very densely populated in contrast and must be quite a change. Do you miss it? (sorry if diverting this topic.)

nun

No, I just used 50% of median income as an illustration. If you are spending $60k in CA then you'd expect to spend 24k GBP in the UK. If you chose to live in London you'd be silly to use the UK median income and would use the one in London. The calculation has to be done for your particular spending level and location.

nun

It's not what you earn that matters it's what you spend. That level of spending expressed as a fraction of median income where you are currently living can be used to estimate what you might spend in another country to get a similar lifestyle if you know the median income there.

Irish Guinness

Hi Durham lad,You mentioned that after the age of 66 you get to travel free in the U.K. can you tell me does that apply to any British subject, or only ones that receive a pension.We would not get a British pension, but hoping that we might just be able to get free travel within Britain, both British subjects 68 70.Cheers Irish Guinness

Grayling

It is over 60 in some areas.

Irish Guinness

Thanks Graying,
So even though we can't claim a British pension,we would be able to get a free travel card or have I got this wrong
Cheers I G.

Grayling

I am not sure.

I think it depends on residency rather than receipt of a pension.

Do you have a N.I. Number?.....of so then you should be OK?

Probably best to check the 'Bus pass' website.

Irish Guinness

Thanks will check the Bus Pass. We left the U.K. In our teens so never worked there.

Editha

The Prairies are devoid of scenic interest. From Edmo it is a four hour drive to the Rockies, two hundred and fifty miles away; I only visited the Rockies twice in eight years.

The climate is foul. In the winter you risk freezing to death, in summer being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

The economy is based on dirty oil which should be left in the ground. Edmo is ugly, in places very smelly and full of accountants driving pickup trucks, wearing stetson hats and denying climate change.

Apart from that, I loved the place. But, I don't miss it at all.

robin1234

As Grayling mentions, you just need to be a British resident to get a bus pass (and be qualified by age.) I moved back to the UK last spring, and waited till I had my new British driving licence before I applied for the bus pass. The scheme is administered by county councils. You applied online or by mail, I chose to apply by mail since the Norfolk CC website couldn't seem to accept my attempts to upload my passport photo. Anyway, I filled in a simple form, just name and address really, and sent it in with a passport photo and photocopy of my passport and new driving licence. This constituted proof of identity, age and residence in Norfolk.

Age for qualifying was once sixty, and then rose progressively to sixty-five in line with the rise in women's pension age. I was a little younger than 65 when I got mine.

I save quite a bit of money, but also makes life easier. You just scan your card in when you get on the bus, so you don't have to state your destination! Makes life easier if you're in a place you don't really know, or haven't decided when you're getting off! Also, before having a pass, I once went on an errand and bought a return bus ticket. On the return, the first bus I tried refused me as he was a different company from my outward journey. Bus pass obviates all such complications.

Irish Guinness

Thank you Robin1234,
That's great news,it will help just having the bus pass thanks again for taking the time to post.
Cheers I.G.

Grayling

I believe it is still age 60 in London and Wales and maybe one or two other places.....but I may be wrong

Editha

In rural areas, you may find there are not many services to use your pass with. My village has no bus service at all. The nearest bus stop is a mile and a half away; there are 4 buses a day to Bideford and 5 to Bude. However, the Bude bus is not reliable and it is not recommended unless you have a way to get back from Bude if the bus breaks down.

Pulaski

Despite the perception that "built up areas" in the UK have good bus services, that is often far from true. I used to take my car to be serviced a few miles south of Heathrow airport, inside the M25. Although the main road between two railway stations (about 7 miles apart, on different lines) was mostly built up, and with housing estates off to the sides, the bus service was dire, no more often than once an hour, and service stopped in the early evening. I am not even certain that there was a service during the middle part of the day. If I just missed a bus when I went to collect or drop-off my car then I would walk, but it was a long walk in either direction from the service garage to the station.