Isismum, how long have you been in Alberta?

My husband would stay here if I gave him the choice. Not that he likes Alberta, but he does like his job and he'd go on doing it into his 70s. But I only agreed to stay in Canada until we were 60, then extended it to 62. I'm not prepared to stay any longer.

11 years, Im tired, I am so confused, sometimes I want him gone other times I think heck I dont want to be alone, but then I never used to be so clingy, I feel I am lost somewhere, like I dont even know who I am or what I like as I am a mirror of him, I just want to sleep forever.

Isismom - just posted on your query. Don't give up - I felt overwhelmed before I started all this but I'm taking each step at a time and things are slowly coming together.

Has anyone got any info on the best UK cell phone companies to go with ? When I get back to the UK I want to get a pay as you go cell phone quite quickly as I want a contact number to give to employers for jobs.
Any suggestions (and prices) appreciated - I want something very basic.

Also, my Canadian bank have told me that while I can withdraw money in a bankers draft to pay into a UK bank account, that sometimes banks can put a hold of up to a month on the money! Is this true?! Has anyone encountered this? I was somewhat disbelieving but thought I best check. Having to wait 4 weeks to access money would be challenging.

Also, does anyone know what UK bank machines use the Interact system? I've been told I can withdraw money from my Canadian account in the UK using my Canadian debit card providing the UK machine is in the Interact system ...

Go the the car phone warehouse or Tesco websites, look at the different mobile providers, check each site for coverage, although most are pretty good now. Even with pay as you go, there are different options to choose from. Then just go and pick one up

You'd be much better off using a broker to transfer money, better rates, lower fees and much quicker. I've heard of people using xe.com. Holding times are up to the receiving bank. Some might even let you deposit a personal cheque, again not a good rate, but at least you wouldn't pay for a draft, although the receiving bank may charge for either.

I've never had a problem with any cash machine in the uk, but again, this is an expensive way to get to your money.

You can get a cheap PAYG phone from lots of shops in the UK eg. dedicated mobile phone shops such as The Carphone Warehouse, electrical stores eg. Currys and even Tesco and Asda supermarkets sell them, also Argos stores and I think I've seen them in the larger WH Smith stores

I haven't moved back to the UK (yet) but a few years ago I was visiting family in England and went into a mobile phone shop and got their cheapest, most basic phone (not even a camera on it) for calls and texts. It cost hardly anything (maybe 15 pounds) and it included the first 10 pounds worth of credit! My SIM card is on the Orange network (now called EE) - you can usually choose which network you want to be on, I didn't have a preference at the time.

I just top it up on trips to the UK at my bank's ATM (Lloyds) or buy a top up at Tescos or the local newsagents. I've used this very same phone when I've lived in Singapore and Switzerland by getting local SIM cards (but I now have an iPhone on a contract here in Switzerland and keep the PAYG for visitors and I still use it when I'm visiting England.

You may need to provide ID (eg. your passport) when you buy a mobile due to anti-terrorism laws - I've had to do this in Singapore and Switzerland when I bought new SIM cards.

Here is some info on what to look for. The best rates on the SIM cards seem to be with a provider called GiffGaff, but I'm not familiar with them (but it operates on the O2 network):

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/pho...ting#paygdeals

http://www.giffgaff.com

http://giffgaff.com/compare-pay-as-you-go-tariffs


These are the kind of prices for PAYG phones in the UK right now, just a guideline for various phones, depending on the kind of bells and whistles you want:

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/pay-as-you-go

http://phone-shop.tesco.com/pay-as-you-go-phones/

On money transfers, the thing to do is shop around. Ask your bank how much they charge for a transfer. You'll also need to check how much, if anything, will be charged at the other end by your UK bank. If you haven't got a UK bank yet, your choice of bank may be determined by how much they charge for the bank transfer service.

My UK bank -- First Direct, don't charge anything for foreign currency transfers in. They also give a good rate of exchange, so if I transfer from Canada I do it in CAD and the exchange is done by Firstdirect.

There are also companies such as XE.com. XE seems to be the favourite. Compare costs with your bank, but do look at the exchange rate offered as well as the fees.

I've always found my bank cheaper than XE, but that may be because I've usually been transferring relatively large sums. For regular smaller amounts, XE may be better.

Your Canadian credit card is going to work everywhere in the UK, but it is an expensive way of getting money. Only use it for as long as it takes to get UK banking services.

Oh, and bank transfers usually appear in your account in the UK immediately. For some reason Canadian banks usually say 48 hours or 36 hours or something, but my bank in the UK told me that they only delay payments from dodgy countries where they don't trust the banking system!

I use Nationwide Building Society and they told me that it would take 6 weeks for a dollar draft to clear, because they are not a bank and they need to send the draft to a clearing house or similar. I recently used TSB and they cleared a small amount in 1 week, but charged me £8 for the service. So it varies.

I have a tiny mobile phone from O2 which cost only £10, on the PAYG scheme. I now have a contract with EE (used to be T Mobile) so I no longer need the little PAYG one. You can really get them from everywhere now as another previous poster said.

Re the ATM card system - have a look a this site which explains that you use any ATM which uses the PLUS symbol, and that is just about all the banking machines here in the UK:
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products...plus-atms.html

The Interac symbol is for use within Canada.

Thanks Editha. The TD Bank person told me it would cost me $30 to wire $10,000 or less to the UK. The tip about First Direct is great because I don't have a UK bank account yet and my spousal support is going to continue to be paid into a TD account (in Canada) and I'm likely to be wiring those payments over to the UK - altho' if I can get away with living off my savings for a bit without doing upteen wires that will be good.

To be honest, the TD person I spoke to didn't seem that well informed and I really wasn't sure what I was being told was correct.

BTW I don't intend using my CDN credit card much in the UK - I was wondering about my debit card? I was told by the TD person that they will charge $5 there end for each cash withdrawal but I can only withdraw from Interact cash machines.

I think what I'm going to do is get a bankers draft for a lump sum of money from my TD account and pay it into a First Direct account - Editha do you know anything about how First Direct deal with bankers drafts? Also, for large sums, do you know how much one can legally take out of Canada at one time and deposit in the UK?

First Direct are an internet bank I believe, with ties to HSBC. You could likely find out how to pay in a draft on their website?

I did mention about ATM withdrawals before. It's expensive. As you say, TD will charge you, the bank who owns the machine will also charge you, and the rate will likely not be as good as either a direct transfer or using a broker.

I've been using XE and have to say it is much better than any bank for transfers. You can set up authorization so that the transfer is an ACH/direct transfer from your bank to a foreign bank account. The maximum you can transfer this way is 10k but you don't pay any fees at all. You can also set it up to watch the rates so that you can make the transfer when the exchange rate is higher. Only took about 7 days for a transfer from a US to UK account.

Thanks that's helpful.

Re: packing - can anyone who's gone through moving back to the UK advise on things to pack and things to let go of?

I know this is a very individual thing but, just wondered, with hindsight whether people have packed things they found they didn't need and let go of things that they should have packed?

I'm still packing (sigh) and have been back through my boxes several times removing stuff to reduce my belongings further (and may yet do this several times over again) but I haven't started yet on my kitchen stuff or bedroom stuff - so could do with some advice. I plan on packing saucepans but leaving plates and cutlery. And packing bedding but letting go of my lovely bed (another sigh!).

I have been ruthless with books and reduced them to about 60 I think. I've also thrown out all my degree notes but not my coursework! I've also thrown out a lot of photos which felt strange at first but isn't so bad now.

My ex, on viewing my boxes (around 10 at the moment), thought I should get rid of more stuff and I have wondered about that but then I wonder whether I'll be running around trying to acquire basic stuff I need when I get back to the UK. Plus some personal stuff I really don't want to let go of. And then there are the Canadian tax return files which I have to keep 7 years of and would love to ditch!

Any thoughts on this appreciated.

You probably know that it isn't worth taking electrical stuff because it won't work in the UK, the exception being dual voltage appliances which includes computers.

You are right not to take the bed. Beds are different sizes in the UK, so when time came to buy a new mattress, you wouldn't be able to get one to fit.

You seem to be doing all the right things.