durham_lad

Both places we rented had white goods installed (cooker, dishwasher, fridge/freezer), although the first one did not have a washing machine but we were very lucky to be able to borrow one from a friend. The washing machine in the 2nd place was old and noisy.

cityboys1911

Hi just read your comments and info on moving back to the UK, we are doing the same next year and was going to ask the same questions that you have asked but i also have a few more what about car rental and buying a car,storage we are not bringing furniture just personel belongings and we are retired but have money in the bank and several pensions that we live on.
any information would be greatly appreciated
David

durham_lad

When we moved back we rented a car for 2 weeks through the normal route. It was Enterprise for us that year, and within 10 days we had bought an 18 month old car from a dealer. We didn’t need storage as we had a rental house for when the furniture arrived.

Lion in Winter

I'm guessing, but don't know, that car insurance with no UK credit rating or driving record might be a tad high for a while.

Also, I have to pass the UK driving test after many years of US driving and doubtless many unacceptable habits I never held a full UK license, only a provisional for my moped.

spouse of scouse

The UK insurance company Aviva accepted scouse's no claim bonus/discount on his Aussie car insurance. The premium was a pleasant surprise, it was less than we paid for comparable comprehensive insurance for a vehicle worth a similar amount in Australia. I was also pleasantly surprised with the premiums for home and contents insurance, so hopefully you'll be the same (although I realise this will depend on how it stacks up against US premiums)

I was allowed to drive on my Oz license for a year and then just did a straight swap for a UK one, no test needed. I was just about to ask why you couldn't do the same and then remembered, you're used to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Lion in Winter

And to be fair, any idiot who can turn the key in the ignition and drive around the block at 25mph without actually hitting anything can get a license in the US. Also, you can get a full license on an automatic and never learn to drive a stick.

Good info on Aviva though. I drive a 2001 Volvo, so insurance is pretty low I carry insurance more to protect others than to pay for any cost related to the car itself.

spouse of scouse

Oh deffo Totalling your own car is one thing, swiping Mr Brown's car with Mrs Brown and all the little Browns also in it is something else entirely.

ps I'm pretty circumspect about recommending companies, but I've had such good experiences with Aviva, including a storm damage claim, that I'm always happy to give them a mention.

Lion in Winter

It's catching

spouse of scouse

Hopefully there'll be a vaccine for it shortly

durham_lad

Another vote for Aviva who accepted the letter from the US company Geico as proof of no claims.

ISD

I'm heading back to NI next month, and ended up renting a place through AirBnB for a month with option for longer if needed. My experiences with letting agents has been rather disappointing. Most will not ever respond to me. Granted I am still in Canada, so hopefully that changes when I get there. I'm renting a car for the first week as well and plan on buying a used car as soon as possible. I did live there back in 2002 and had a full NI drivers license, but moved to England and exchanged it for a UK license. Not sure if they will let me just renew my previous NI license.

MrCheeky

My wife and I will be moving (retiring) to the UK next year as well. I am quite organized and thought the same as you regarding contacting letting agents ahead of time and develop a relationship. The reality was that only two of the seven agencies I emailed bothered to respond. Practically speaking, there is not much a letting agency can do for you so far in advance. What I would suggest is look at RightMove (rentals) about 1-3 months before you intend to rent and see what is available. The agencies could perhaps provide some insight about where you are moving to as far as crime, commute, shopping, schools etc are concerned.

MrCheeky

I'm finding the big unknown is estimating when our belongings would arrive after being shipped from Canada (Metro Vancouver area). I have received an estimate of 3-4 months. This raises the issue of where to live during the twilight zone of being in a new country without the usual comforts of home. Regarding this, we are looking at the following:

- open WISE multi/borderless account. We now have a GBP account with associated Sort Code and Account/IBAN numbers. We have a CDN account as well and convert to GBP when appropriate.
- check rental options 1-3 months ahead and perhaps snag a rental
- the most likely scenario is that we will VRBO/AirBnB a place for 2 weeks to a month. This affords us the flexibility to move right into a place and not worry about when our belongings will arrive.
- ship our belongings to a local storage facility and unload/retrieve them as needed. This is due to the fact that 3-4 months out (shipping time) we will not yet have a rental/VRBO secured. I will look into the ability of changing the destination address with the shipping company if rental/VRBO accommodation is secured.
- BCDL is good in the UK and will swap with UK licence when convenient
- rent a car briefly before making a purchase. Nothing fancy to start out with. Just reliable transportation with MOT. Undecided whether to go with manual or automatic. While I have driven many miles in the UK previously on a manual, it was as a tourist rather than day-to-day stuff.
- enjoy our search for a permanent home. We likely won't buy in the first six months as we will be considered non-residents and subject to an extra 2% stamp duty. Having said that, if our dream house comes up...we're buying it.

tdrinker

"We likely won't buy in the first six months as we will be considered non-residents and subject to an extra 2% stamp duty. Having said that, if our dream house comes up...we're buying it."

The extra 2% stamp duty can be re-claimed (within 2 years of the purchase) once you've met the residency rule.