The ball and chain is nearly off!
Apr 13th 2004, 2:15 pm
#16
Howling at the Moon
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Incline Village, NV
Posts: 3,742
Originally posted by Pulaski
Also the costs of building a cell phone network are a function of the area to be covered, and therefore it has obviously been massively more expensive to build the networks in the US than it was in the oh-so-compact UK.
Also the costs of building a cell phone network are a function of the area to be covered, and therefore it has obviously been massively more expensive to build the networks in the US than it was in the oh-so-compact UK.
Apr 13th 2004, 2:35 pm
#17
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
I have a Virgin Mobile in the UK and in the USA.
The cost for calls with the US one in nearly twice as much, as you pay for incoming as well as outgoing calls.
Can see the logic of going completely mobile, depnds on your call pattern.
Also the coverage is a bit limited, but then it is a big country.
The other weird thing is that they make it difficult to make International calls, you would have thought that they would wish to encourage it.
For some reason it is much cheaper to ring US than to ring UK, I have my parents set up so that they can ring me on my bill.
The cost for calls with the US one in nearly twice as much, as you pay for incoming as well as outgoing calls.
Can see the logic of going completely mobile, depnds on your call pattern.
Also the coverage is a bit limited, but then it is a big country.
The other weird thing is that they make it difficult to make International calls, you would have thought that they would wish to encourage it.
For some reason it is much cheaper to ring US than to ring UK, I have my parents set up so that they can ring me on my bill.
Apr 13th 2004, 2:42 pm
#18
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,594
Originally posted by Boiler .... For some reason it is much cheaper to ring US than to ring UK, I have my parents set up so that they can ring me on my bill.
.... It costs us less than 4¢ a minute to phone the UK using our Big Zoo account. .... And if we lived in a local calling area for a Big Zoo "node" it would be less than 3¢ a minute. 
Apr 13th 2004, 3:02 pm
#19
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Originally posted by Pulaski
Really? .... It costs us less than 4? a minute to phone the UK using our Big Zoo account. .... And if we lived in a local calling area for a Big Zoo "node" it would be less than 3? a minute.
Really?
.... It costs us less than 4? a minute to phone the UK using our Big Zoo account. .... And if we lived in a local calling area for a Big Zoo "node" it would be less than 3? a minute.
So 1.8 cents including tax?
Last edited by scrubbedexpat099; Apr 13th 2004 at 3:05 pm.
Apr 13th 2004, 3:04 pm
#20
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: East Seaxe
Posts: 73,223
Originally posted by Pulaski
Really? .... It costs us less than 4? a minute to phone the UK using our Big Zoo account. .... And if we lived in a local calling area for a Big Zoo "node" it would be less than 3? a minute.
Really?
.... It costs us less than 4? a minute to phone the UK using our Big Zoo account. .... And if we lived in a local calling area for a Big Zoo "node" it would be less than 3? a minute.
My sister in the UK uses one of those numbers you dial before the actual phone number, and she can then call the US (land or cell phone) and even Mexico, for 1p a minute. Now why can't we have that.
Apr 13th 2004, 10:39 pm
#21
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Dahn Sarf
Posts: 287
Re: The ball and chain is nearly off!
Originally posted by whatever
Finally, after weeks of house-selling torture with two different buyers and a chain as long as Patrick Moore's eyesight, we have just received a call from our solicitors to say we have exchanged!!!!!!! The relief is unbelievable. I was suprised to feel a twang of sadness that our house was not really ours anymore. Anyway, within a nano-second I was over that and glad that we are one HUGE step closer to getting on with the next chapter of our lives in the US of A! It's all becoming very real as we start to follow the path that so many of you Brits on here have already taken. Hairy Scarey at times but bloody exciting all the same.
Enough of my rambling - (no need to reply to this), just wanted to share
Finally, after weeks of house-selling torture with two different buyers and a chain as long as Patrick Moore's eyesight, we have just received a call from our solicitors to say we have exchanged!!!!!!! The relief is unbelievable. I was suprised to feel a twang of sadness that our house was not really ours anymore. Anyway, within a nano-second I was over that and glad that we are one HUGE step closer to getting on with the next chapter of our lives in the US of A! It's all becoming very real as we start to follow the path that so many of you Brits on here have already taken. Hairy Scarey at times but bloody exciting all the same.
Enough of my rambling - (no need to reply to this), just wanted to share
I know about hairy scarey though, I alternate between being paralyzed with excitement and abject bloody terror...
I finish work on Friday, we have two weeks to sell all our electrical goods and anything else that's not nailed down, and then that's it - me, wife, three small children, we're outta here...
At least you've exchanged, which makes the chances of your sale going through ok much much more likely. If something goes wrong and we can't exchange before we're out in the US, that's when things will start getting a bit tricky!!
Do you keep having the nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do something very important????
Apr 14th 2004, 1:13 am
#22
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Location: We're here!
Posts: 768
Re: The ball and chain is nearly off!
Originally posted by Big Vern
Tell me about it - we're heading off to NC on may 2nd, our buyers haven't even exchanged yet and I'm getting very very nervous.
I know about hairy scarey though, I alternate between being paralyzed with excitement and abject bloody terror...
I finish work on Friday, we have two weeks to sell all our electrical goods and anything else that's not nailed down, and then that's it - me, wife, three small children, we're outta here...
At least you've exchanged, which makes the chances of your sale going through ok much much more likely. If something goes wrong and we can't exchange before we're out in the US, that's when things will start getting a bit tricky!!
Do you keep having the nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do something very important????
Tell me about it - we're heading off to NC on may 2nd, our buyers haven't even exchanged yet and I'm getting very very nervous.
I know about hairy scarey though, I alternate between being paralyzed with excitement and abject bloody terror...
I finish work on Friday, we have two weeks to sell all our electrical goods and anything else that's not nailed down, and then that's it - me, wife, three small children, we're outta here...
At least you've exchanged, which makes the chances of your sale going through ok much much more likely. If something goes wrong and we can't exchange before we're out in the US, that's when things will start getting a bit tricky!!
Do you keep having the nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do something very important????
When do you expect to exchange by? Are you in a chain? I really hope it happens for you soon as it will take a huge weight off of your mind. I was slowly going insane waiting for exchange so I sympathise entirely. At least now IF the buyer backs out before completion we'll get a few £K for the trouble but then we'd have to leave the house empty and let the agent sell it... I wouldn't want to do that because people offer silly money on empty houses because they think you are desperate to offload it.
Let us know what happens and good luck
Apr 14th 2004, 4:16 am
#23
Arrogant ****
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 4,323
These things always work out in the end...
...but our experience was pretty hair-raising on the house sale thing.
We had a buyer for 3 months before we left the UK. His offer was good and he had completed surveys, mortgage application etc., but he was getting slower and slower about returning documents as we approached exchange of contracts. In the end we failed to exchange before my family and I left the UK for good.
Two weeks later - the day before the agreed exchange date - he pulled out of the deal... and exchanged contracts on the house next-door the next day!
Our house sat on the market for another 6 months. My parents did an amazing job of keeping the estate agents working trying to move it, but we had to sit out 6 long months before we found another buyer.
As you can imagine, the relief when that deal finally went through and the house was sold was quite amazing!
...but our experience was pretty hair-raising on the house sale thing.
We had a buyer for 3 months before we left the UK. His offer was good and he had completed surveys, mortgage application etc., but he was getting slower and slower about returning documents as we approached exchange of contracts. In the end we failed to exchange before my family and I left the UK for good.
Two weeks later - the day before the agreed exchange date - he pulled out of the deal... and exchanged contracts on the house next-door the next day!
Our house sat on the market for another 6 months. My parents did an amazing job of keeping the estate agents working trying to move it, but we had to sit out 6 long months before we found another buyer.
As you can imagine, the relief when that deal finally went through and the house was sold was quite amazing!
Apr 14th 2004, 4:32 am
#24
my arm aches
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: the warm waters of Florida
Posts: 2,289
Re: The ball and chain is nearly off!
Originally posted by whatever
At least now IF the buyer backs out before completion we'll get a few £K for the trouble but then we'd have to leave the house empty and let the agent sell it... I wouldn't want to do that because people offer silly money on empty houses because they think you are desperate to offload it.
Let us know what happens and good luck
At least now IF the buyer backs out before completion we'll get a few £K for the trouble but then we'd have to leave the house empty and let the agent sell it... I wouldn't want to do that because people offer silly money on empty houses because they think you are desperate to offload it.
Let us know what happens and good luck
