Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Jun 3rd 2008, 4:45 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 34
Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Well I've moved over from London to San Francisco and have been here for just over a month. My stuff has arrived and has been unpacked, my net has been hooked up so I guess I'm officially settled!
Before I left I posted a thread asking for some tips and advice and had some helpful feedback which was reassuring.
I thought I would post my experiences here to help others too so here goes:
Pre-move:
Visa: One of the more stressful aspects as I was worried about getting every little detail right. Just remember they aren't trying to catch you out with any of the questions to point at you and go "fraud!". If the forms seem ambiguous or confusing goggle the form name with 'example' and there are plenty of sites telling you what is expected.
When going for the interview at the (London) embassy bring a book!
They had two queues outside which they let in at alternating half hour blocks.
I had a 10.30 appointment and got there at 10 which meant I was at the front of the 10.30 queue. If I was there at 10.30 I would not have got inside till closer to 11.
Once inside you take a ticket and more waiting.....
The interview itself was very quick, a few inane questions about why I decided to move and about my company which I can't even remember now so its really nothing to worry about. I was out by 12.
Canceling and changing address of services:
Eg: ISP, Water, Electricity, Gas, Land Line, Mobile Phone, Postal DVD rentals, Sky, Banks, credit cards, council tax, ISAs and investments.
Remember to take a final reading before you go. If you can provide a forwarding address or do it via internet so they can give you a final bill.
You should think about doing this about two months before hand. This is because some institutions require you to close accounts or change address in writing. It also gives you time to stop the account at the end of a billing cycle. Some banks will let you change your address to one in the US. HSBC did for me.
Student loan: You need to fill in and return the overseas assessment forms which can be found here:
http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html
Movers: I heard many nightmare stories about movers which made this an apprehensive experience. I was told literally they are all crooks and to keep an eye on them at all times and to make sure to get a detailed itinery for everything going into each box and dont let them seal anything before you've had a look. Well the person who told me this has had bad experiences. Well you can choose to do that but my wife and I arent like that. But come the day there were three of them, they swooped in and started boxing things up quickly and efficiently. Had we wanted to do a detailed itinery it would have taken a lot longer. Be nice to your movers. During the day (and it does take at least a day) it was clear (some) movers think things going 'missing' is a victimless crime as everything can be claimed on insurance. By being nice you can hope they like you and dont take anything or worse still being bossy or difficult could see accidental damage happening to your stuff!
I guess the best advice I would give is if there is anything really important to you keep it with you to take personally.
Friends and family: Start saying goodbyes early. I'd arranged a two weeks off work prior to flying out and am glad I did. I found a lot of my time running around doing the above. This also leaves your evening free to see your friends and family to say your farewells. One great thing is you can fit a lot more people into your house after everything has been moved out! We had a huge house party that probably had more people there than our wedding.
Book a car: In most of America a car is a handy thing to have. If you are living and working in San Francisco itself this is not so important (but sill nice to be able to get out sometimes). Anyway it will be a while before you can get a car of your own so try to book a good deal online for car rental for a month or two. Having your own means of transport is one less worry.
Note though it is cheaper not to get a car from the airport. They have several surcharges (airport access fee). Quite a few hotels have a free shuttle service from the airport check if yours does and hire your car locally instead. A GPS addon rental is also handy as its quite easy to get lost and here it could mean a very long detour over a toll bridge!
Flying out:
Have your destination address at hand: Even if its just the hotel address.
Landing card: You will have to fill in a white landing card for immigration control - Fill it out from the bottom up as its rather poorly laid out and it tricks many people into putting details in the wrong boxes.
Have all your immigration paperwork with you (including offer of employment): they will want to see it at immigration control.
Once you're here:
Social Security - Go and apply for your Social Security card as top priority: Try to go to an out of town office as they are quieter and quicker. It was a 15 minute wait and then a 5 minute process. Bring all your immigration paper work and offer of employment with you. Infact take it everywhere you are applying for anything for the first few weeks. It took me about 4 weeks to get it issued and I couldnt get paid on the US payroll until I had one.
- House hunting: Its a personal preference thing. Check on craigslist and drive around to have a look. Most places will want to do a credit check but (in SF at least) are also understanding that you might not have one. We found most were willing to take the offer of employment letter with stated salary.
- Car buying:
This is the order I did things:
Got temporary drivers license. Found car. Looked for quotes for insurance. Bought car and insurance. Booked test to get full drivers license. Booked appointment at DMV to register car.
To get the temporary drivers license you will need to go to the DMV. You can book appointments but they will still be a certain amount of queuing and waiting. You will have to take a multiple choice written test based on the drivers hand book which you can download from the DMV website. In california its 36 questions and you can get 6 wrong. I havent taken the full test yet as I'm still in the process of buying my own car.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ has some good tips and links.
- Banking:
I went with HSBC as I thought it would be easier as I have a UK account. I suspect that it didnt make that much of a difference at all. They are a relatively new bank out here and I have found all the banks that I've been to have been a lot more personal than the ones in the UK.
They are in the process of trying to get me a credit card by doing a credit transfer from my UK one so we'll see how that goes.
A few differences in American banking that I've noticed.
Direct debit doesnt seem to exist. I've had to pay most bills by check. They do have a direct pay which is similar but is basically the bank writing and sending checks out for you each month....
There are a lot more smaller local banks and all the banks dont really interact with each other in the same way as the UK (something to do with making sure that if one crashes it doesnt take them all down!). As such bank to bank transfers are also rare. There is also a charge to get money out of an ATM that isnt your banks. Charles Schwab bank however will refund you all these charges which might be a consideration when opening your account.
Ummmm
I seem to have gone overboard and written far too much and in far too much detail.
There is much more I can bang on about but I should really get back to work.
Moving country is a big thing and it can seem daunting. But it doesnt need to be and all the people here seem happy to give good advice. So if you have any concerns ask and I'll be happy to share my experience on it (hopefully in a shorter form!)
Above all enjoy the ride !!
KK
Before I left I posted a thread asking for some tips and advice and had some helpful feedback which was reassuring.
I thought I would post my experiences here to help others too so here goes:
Pre-move:
Visa: One of the more stressful aspects as I was worried about getting every little detail right. Just remember they aren't trying to catch you out with any of the questions to point at you and go "fraud!". If the forms seem ambiguous or confusing goggle the form name with 'example' and there are plenty of sites telling you what is expected.
When going for the interview at the (London) embassy bring a book!
They had two queues outside which they let in at alternating half hour blocks.
I had a 10.30 appointment and got there at 10 which meant I was at the front of the 10.30 queue. If I was there at 10.30 I would not have got inside till closer to 11.
Once inside you take a ticket and more waiting.....
The interview itself was very quick, a few inane questions about why I decided to move and about my company which I can't even remember now so its really nothing to worry about. I was out by 12.
Canceling and changing address of services:
Eg: ISP, Water, Electricity, Gas, Land Line, Mobile Phone, Postal DVD rentals, Sky, Banks, credit cards, council tax, ISAs and investments.
Remember to take a final reading before you go. If you can provide a forwarding address or do it via internet so they can give you a final bill.
You should think about doing this about two months before hand. This is because some institutions require you to close accounts or change address in writing. It also gives you time to stop the account at the end of a billing cycle. Some banks will let you change your address to one in the US. HSBC did for me.
Student loan: You need to fill in and return the overseas assessment forms which can be found here:
http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html
Movers: I heard many nightmare stories about movers which made this an apprehensive experience. I was told literally they are all crooks and to keep an eye on them at all times and to make sure to get a detailed itinery for everything going into each box and dont let them seal anything before you've had a look. Well the person who told me this has had bad experiences. Well you can choose to do that but my wife and I arent like that. But come the day there were three of them, they swooped in and started boxing things up quickly and efficiently. Had we wanted to do a detailed itinery it would have taken a lot longer. Be nice to your movers. During the day (and it does take at least a day) it was clear (some) movers think things going 'missing' is a victimless crime as everything can be claimed on insurance. By being nice you can hope they like you and dont take anything or worse still being bossy or difficult could see accidental damage happening to your stuff!
I guess the best advice I would give is if there is anything really important to you keep it with you to take personally.
Friends and family: Start saying goodbyes early. I'd arranged a two weeks off work prior to flying out and am glad I did. I found a lot of my time running around doing the above. This also leaves your evening free to see your friends and family to say your farewells. One great thing is you can fit a lot more people into your house after everything has been moved out! We had a huge house party that probably had more people there than our wedding.
Book a car: In most of America a car is a handy thing to have. If you are living and working in San Francisco itself this is not so important (but sill nice to be able to get out sometimes). Anyway it will be a while before you can get a car of your own so try to book a good deal online for car rental for a month or two. Having your own means of transport is one less worry.
Note though it is cheaper not to get a car from the airport. They have several surcharges (airport access fee). Quite a few hotels have a free shuttle service from the airport check if yours does and hire your car locally instead. A GPS addon rental is also handy as its quite easy to get lost and here it could mean a very long detour over a toll bridge!
Flying out:
Have your destination address at hand: Even if its just the hotel address.
Landing card: You will have to fill in a white landing card for immigration control - Fill it out from the bottom up as its rather poorly laid out and it tricks many people into putting details in the wrong boxes.
Have all your immigration paperwork with you (including offer of employment): they will want to see it at immigration control.
Once you're here:
Social Security - Go and apply for your Social Security card as top priority: Try to go to an out of town office as they are quieter and quicker. It was a 15 minute wait and then a 5 minute process. Bring all your immigration paper work and offer of employment with you. Infact take it everywhere you are applying for anything for the first few weeks. It took me about 4 weeks to get it issued and I couldnt get paid on the US payroll until I had one.
- House hunting: Its a personal preference thing. Check on craigslist and drive around to have a look. Most places will want to do a credit check but (in SF at least) are also understanding that you might not have one. We found most were willing to take the offer of employment letter with stated salary.
- Car buying:
This is the order I did things:
Got temporary drivers license. Found car. Looked for quotes for insurance. Bought car and insurance. Booked test to get full drivers license. Booked appointment at DMV to register car.
To get the temporary drivers license you will need to go to the DMV. You can book appointments but they will still be a certain amount of queuing and waiting. You will have to take a multiple choice written test based on the drivers hand book which you can download from the DMV website. In california its 36 questions and you can get 6 wrong. I havent taken the full test yet as I'm still in the process of buying my own car.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ has some good tips and links.
- Banking:
I went with HSBC as I thought it would be easier as I have a UK account. I suspect that it didnt make that much of a difference at all. They are a relatively new bank out here and I have found all the banks that I've been to have been a lot more personal than the ones in the UK.
They are in the process of trying to get me a credit card by doing a credit transfer from my UK one so we'll see how that goes.
A few differences in American banking that I've noticed.
Direct debit doesnt seem to exist. I've had to pay most bills by check. They do have a direct pay which is similar but is basically the bank writing and sending checks out for you each month....
There are a lot more smaller local banks and all the banks dont really interact with each other in the same way as the UK (something to do with making sure that if one crashes it doesnt take them all down!). As such bank to bank transfers are also rare. There is also a charge to get money out of an ATM that isnt your banks. Charles Schwab bank however will refund you all these charges which might be a consideration when opening your account.
Ummmm
I seem to have gone overboard and written far too much and in far too much detail.
There is much more I can bang on about but I should really get back to work.
Moving country is a big thing and it can seem daunting. But it doesnt need to be and all the people here seem happy to give good advice. So if you have any concerns ask and I'll be happy to share my experience on it (hopefully in a shorter form!)
Above all enjoy the ride !!
KK
Jun 3rd 2008, 7:56 pm
#2
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
glad you made it...possibly worth sticking some of that in the wiki if it ain't already there.
Student loans was a waste of time though, they're a bunch of numpties and that form doesn't work
Student loans was a waste of time though, they're a bunch of numpties and that form doesn't work
Jun 3rd 2008, 7:57 pm
#3
L2, GC, Surrey, OH, TX!
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey to Dallas (via Ohio)!
Posts: 6,363
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Good advice - only thing I would add is leave going to the social security office until you have been in the country 10-14 days. It takes that long for the computers to be updated and for you to show as being in the country. IF you go beforehand you might not be in the database and the application could sit on the side waiting for someone to remember to try it again a few days later. if you wait the 10-14 days then you should be already on there and the form should be processed whilst you are there at the office (although you wont get the number at that point). If you are desparate you can try going back to the office the next day and asking if they can give you a copy of the number - they will print it off if they can and stamp the paper. its not the proper card which will come in the mail but it at least gives you the number.
Jun 3rd 2008, 8:01 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 34
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Good advice - only thing I would add is leave going to the social security office until you have been in the country 10-14 days. It takes that long for the computers to be updated and for you to show as being in the country. IF you go beforehand you might not be in the database and the application could sit on the side waiting for someone to remember to try it again a few days later. if you wait the 10-14 days then you should be already on there and the form should be processed whilst you are there at the office (although you wont get the number at that point). If you are desparate you can try going back to the office the next day and asking if they can give you a copy of the number - they will print it off if they can and stamp the paper. its not the proper card which will come in the mail but it at least gives you the number.
Oh also one of the more difficult things when we got here was not knowing how much to budget for. We haven't had all our bills yet but these are our numbers:
Costs:
Rent: $2300/m 2 bedroom 2 bath. Peninsular Foster City
This is actually quite high for the area because it has a really nice view over a lagoon in an aparment complex with amenities such as a pool, tennis courts and gym.
Food: $500 for two people/m.
This is a mixture of eating out once or twice a week and cooking at home. This I think is also a little high as we keep shopping at Whole Foods which is quite pricey. In general our shopping excursions have been roughtly the same in USD as GBP when going to safeway and Whole Foods.
Car: I was traveling about 50 miles round trip per day to work and this was costing me about $40 per week.
Insurance with Geico is $460/year - $38/month
Cable, internet and phone: Package from comcast at $33 for each service so $99/month. I would highly remcommend talking to someone rather than ordering online. I managed to haggle HBO and some other extra channels for free and get the isntallation fee waived.
Health Insurance: was a figure we didnt take into account before moving. Depends on what your company is offering but at the moment every two weeks for both me and my wife its $69 for Bluecross ppo and $7.50 for dental.
Haven't had any utility bills yet but we are budgeting:
electricity $130.00
sewer/trash $60.00
water $100.00
It was hard figuring out a budget before our first paycheck as we didnt kknow how much we would be getting but these two sites were accurate to within $100 for my salary:
http://us.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php
http://www.paycheckcity.com/netpayca...calculator.asp
Jun 3rd 2008, 8:22 pm
#5
Democracy advocate
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,460
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
[QUOTE= Car: I was traveling about 50 miles round trip per day to work and this was costing me about $40 per week.
[B]Insurance with Geico is $460/year - $38/month[/B]
QUOTE]
Are you sure that is not per 6 months rather than per year - what car do you have?
What is Foster City like? I've only ever driven past and it looked like the usual shopping malls and IT offices.
[B]Insurance with Geico is $460/year - $38/month[/B]
QUOTE]
Are you sure that is not per 6 months rather than per year - what car do you have?
What is Foster City like? I've only ever driven past and it looked like the usual shopping malls and IT offices.
Last edited by Cape Blue; Jun 3rd 2008 at 8:25 pm.
Jun 3rd 2008, 8:29 pm
#6
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 34
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
[QUOTE=Cape Blue;6431456]
Heh. Its a '94 accura with loads of milage. Got it off a friend at work for cheap. Should probably have mentioned that!
Our plan is to get a cheap run around (cost 3K) till we build up enough credit rating to pick up a new one.
Foster city is really nice. Is as it looks with the a few stip malls. But its 2 mins from work. We have a nice view of a lagoon which we can go rowing on. The library is round the corner. So we're very happy here!
KK
Originally Posted by Car: I was traveling about 50 miles round trip per day to work and this was costing me about $40 per week.
[B
[B
Insurance with Geico is $460/year - $38/month[/B]
QUOTE]
Are you sure that is not per 6 months rather than per year - what car do you have?
What is Foster City like? I've only ever driven past and it looked like the usual shopping malls and IT offices.
QUOTE]
Are you sure that is not per 6 months rather than per year - what car do you have?
What is Foster City like? I've only ever driven past and it looked like the usual shopping malls and IT offices.
Our plan is to get a cheap run around (cost 3K) till we build up enough credit rating to pick up a new one.
Foster city is really nice. Is as it looks with the a few stip malls. But its 2 mins from work. We have a nice view of a lagoon which we can go rowing on. The library is round the corner. So we're very happy here!
KK
Jun 3rd 2008, 8:51 pm
#7
Just Joined
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 23
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Hi,
Thanks for taking the time for posting that - I am doing the exact same thing in July (to SF) and there are some useful tips there!
Have been looking at cheap cars as well - something jeep-ish I reckon for the time being.
Am looking to live in SOMA where the rent is pretty pricey for 2 bed - going to have to think hard about if its really worth the cost.
The cable / heath insurance is a little pricey as well - I'd not budgeted for those yet...
mr C
Thanks for taking the time for posting that - I am doing the exact same thing in July (to SF) and there are some useful tips there!
Have been looking at cheap cars as well - something jeep-ish I reckon for the time being.
Am looking to live in SOMA where the rent is pretty pricey for 2 bed - going to have to think hard about if its really worth the cost.
The cable / heath insurance is a little pricey as well - I'd not budgeted for those yet...
mr C
Jun 3rd 2008, 10:53 pm
#8
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,966
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
That insurance is really cheap! Mine is around $970 for 6 months - no US driving history!! My car was only around $9K.
Jun 3rd 2008, 11:01 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 34
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Hi,
Thanks for taking the time for posting that - I am doing the exact same thing in July (to SF) and there are some useful tips there!
Have been looking at cheap cars as well - something jeep-ish I reckon for the time being.
Am looking to live in SOMA where the rent is pretty pricey for 2 bed - going to have to think hard about if its really worth the cost.
The cable / heath insurance is a little pricey as well - I'd not budgeted for those yet...
mr C
Thanks for taking the time for posting that - I am doing the exact same thing in July (to SF) and there are some useful tips there!
Have been looking at cheap cars as well - something jeep-ish I reckon for the time being.
Am looking to live in SOMA where the rent is pretty pricey for 2 bed - going to have to think hard about if its really worth the cost.
The cable / heath insurance is a little pricey as well - I'd not budgeted for those yet...
mr C
Cable and net I got from comcast which again isnt the cheapest by any stretch. Looking back I would advise not to take up the phone as well. Its basically over voip so you're better off (money wise) using someone like voipstunt or skype from your pc.
I'm not entirely sure why that insurance is so cheap so I wouldn't see its typical!
Jun 3rd 2008, 11:20 pm
#10
L2, GC, Surrey, OH, TX!
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey to Dallas (via Ohio)!
Posts: 6,363
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
only thing i would add re utilities - its often a lot more expensive in the winter so bills can vary a lot through the year. They seem to actually read the meter a lot more often over here and bill monthly not quarterly for gas and elec etc. so if your first couple of bills are lower (and in the summer) leave some contingency in the kitty for the winter months if it gets cold in that area as you couldn see the monthly bill go right up. we were paying about $200 each for gas and elec each month for a 4 bed house through the winter. although we have aircon in the summer we dont expect it to be that high.
oh yes- and whole foods although fab - its one of the most expensive.
oh yes- and whole foods although fab - its one of the most expensive.
Jun 4th 2008, 12:13 am
#11
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Yeah, health insurance was a suprise to me too, but it was the most expensive option. Kaiser was available for free but lots of people advised against it. Its also more expensive because I'm covering my wife. We're hoping that when she finds a job she can get it cheaper from there.
As for the cheap car insurance, depends on the level of liability cover at a guess.
Jun 4th 2008, 3:26 am
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Cornwall >>> Marin, CA >>> Cornwall!
Posts: 740
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Welcome to the Bay area and good luck for the future.
I'm often in FCity area working and the lagoon frontages do look nice.
Shame couldn't warn you about the comcast deals. They're pretty sucky but all we could get in our condo. As soon as we move I'll be moving to Dish or similar because they have the 6 Nations and other sport more readily.
I'm often in FCity area working and the lagoon frontages do look nice.
Shame couldn't warn you about the comcast deals. They're pretty sucky but all we could get in our condo. As soon as we move I'll be moving to Dish or similar because they have the 6 Nations and other sport more readily.
Jun 4th 2008, 6:11 am
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Posts: 4,913
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Foster City is pretty much all landfill reclaimed from the bay - has a significant chance of being several feet under water after the next major earthquake.
Jun 4th 2008, 11:43 am
#14
Unmitigated Gall
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: it's still too dark to tell
Posts: 16,162
Jun 4th 2008, 11:48 am
#15
Just Joined
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 23
Re: Moved UK->US: Some tips!
Well I've moved over from London to San Francisco and have been here for just over a month. My stuff has arrived and has been unpacked, my net has been hooked up so I guess I'm officially settled!
Before I left I posted a thread asking for some tips and advice and had some helpful feedback which was reassuring.
I thought I would post my experiences here to help others too so here goes:
Pre-move:
Visa: One of the more stressful aspects as I was worried about getting every little detail right. Just remember they aren't trying to catch you out with any of the questions to point at you and go "fraud!". If the forms seem ambiguous or confusing goggle the form name with 'example' and there are plenty of sites telling you what is expected.
When going for the interview at the (London) embassy bring a book!
They had two queues outside which they let in at alternating half hour blocks.
I had a 10.30 appointment and got there at 10 which meant I was at the front of the 10.30 queue. If I was there at 10.30 I would not have got inside till closer to 11.
Once inside you take a ticket and more waiting.....
The interview itself was very quick, a few inane questions about why I decided to move and about my company which I can't even remember now so its really nothing to worry about. I was out by 12.
Canceling and changing address of services:
Eg: ISP, Water, Electricity, Gas, Land Line, Mobile Phone, Postal DVD rentals, Sky, Banks, credit cards, council tax, ISAs and investments.
Remember to take a final reading before you go. If you can provide a forwarding address or do it via internet so they can give you a final bill.
You should think about doing this about two months before hand. This is because some institutions require you to close accounts or change address in writing. It also gives you time to stop the account at the end of a billing cycle. Some banks will let you change your address to one in the US. HSBC did for me.
Student loan: You need to fill in and return the overseas assessment forms which can be found here:
http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html
Movers: I heard many nightmare stories about movers which made this an apprehensive experience. I was told literally they are all crooks and to keep an eye on them at all times and to make sure to get a detailed itinery for everything going into each box and dont let them seal anything before you've had a look. Well the person who told me this has had bad experiences. Well you can choose to do that but my wife and I arent like that. But come the day there were three of them, they swooped in and started boxing things up quickly and efficiently. Had we wanted to do a detailed itinery it would have taken a lot longer. Be nice to your movers. During the day (and it does take at least a day) it was clear (some) movers think things going 'missing' is a victimless crime as everything can be claimed on insurance. By being nice you can hope they like you and dont take anything or worse still being bossy or difficult could see accidental damage happening to your stuff!
I guess the best advice I would give is if there is anything really important to you keep it with you to take personally.
Friends and family: Start saying goodbyes early. I'd arranged a two weeks off work prior to flying out and am glad I did. I found a lot of my time running around doing the above. This also leaves your evening free to see your friends and family to say your farewells. One great thing is you can fit a lot more people into your house after everything has been moved out! We had a huge house party that probably had more people there than our wedding.
Book a car: In most of America a car is a handy thing to have. If you are living and working in San Francisco itself this is not so important (but sill nice to be able to get out sometimes). Anyway it will be a while before you can get a car of your own so try to book a good deal online for car rental for a month or two. Having your own means of transport is one less worry.
Note though it is cheaper not to get a car from the airport. They have several surcharges (airport access fee). Quite a few hotels have a free shuttle service from the airport check if yours does and hire your car locally instead. A GPS addon rental is also handy as its quite easy to get lost and here it could mean a very long detour over a toll bridge!
Flying out:
Have your destination address at hand: Even if its just the hotel address.
Landing card: You will have to fill in a white landing card for immigration control - Fill it out from the bottom up as its rather poorly laid out and it tricks many people into putting details in the wrong boxes.
Have all your immigration paperwork with you (including offer of employment): they will want to see it at immigration control.
Once you're here:
Social Security - Go and apply for your Social Security card as top priority: Try to go to an out of town office as they are quieter and quicker. It was a 15 minute wait and then a 5 minute process. Bring all your immigration paper work and offer of employment with you. Infact take it everywhere you are applying for anything for the first few weeks. It took me about 4 weeks to get it issued and I couldnt get paid on the US payroll until I had one.
- House hunting: Its a personal preference thing. Check on craigslist and drive around to have a look. Most places will want to do a credit check but (in SF at least) are also understanding that you might not have one. We found most were willing to take the offer of employment letter with stated salary.
- Car buying:
This is the order I did things:
Got temporary drivers license. Found car. Looked for quotes for insurance. Bought car and insurance. Booked test to get full drivers license. Booked appointment at DMV to register car.
To get the temporary drivers license you will need to go to the DMV. You can book appointments but they will still be a certain amount of queuing and waiting. You will have to take a multiple choice written test based on the drivers hand book which you can download from the DMV website. In california its 36 questions and you can get 6 wrong. I havent taken the full test yet as I'm still in the process of buying my own car.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ has some good tips and links.
- Banking:
I went with HSBC as I thought it would be easier as I have a UK account. I suspect that it didnt make that much of a difference at all. They are a relatively new bank out here and I have found all the banks that I've been to have been a lot more personal than the ones in the UK.
They are in the process of trying to get me a credit card by doing a credit transfer from my UK one so we'll see how that goes.
A few differences in American banking that I've noticed.
Direct debit doesnt seem to exist. I've had to pay most bills by check. They do have a direct pay which is similar but is basically the bank writing and sending checks out for you each month....
There are a lot more smaller local banks and all the banks dont really interact with each other in the same way as the UK (something to do with making sure that if one crashes it doesnt take them all down!). As such bank to bank transfers are also rare. There is also a charge to get money out of an ATM that isnt your banks. Charles Schwab bank however will refund you all these charges which might be a consideration when opening your account.
Ummmm
I seem to have gone overboard and written far too much and in far too much detail.
There is much more I can bang on about but I should really get back to work.
Moving country is a big thing and it can seem daunting. But it doesnt need to be and all the people here seem happy to give good advice. So if you have any concerns ask and I'll be happy to share my experience on it (hopefully in a shorter form!)
Above all enjoy the ride !!
KK
Before I left I posted a thread asking for some tips and advice and had some helpful feedback which was reassuring.
I thought I would post my experiences here to help others too so here goes:
Pre-move:
Visa: One of the more stressful aspects as I was worried about getting every little detail right. Just remember they aren't trying to catch you out with any of the questions to point at you and go "fraud!". If the forms seem ambiguous or confusing goggle the form name with 'example' and there are plenty of sites telling you what is expected.
When going for the interview at the (London) embassy bring a book!
They had two queues outside which they let in at alternating half hour blocks.
I had a 10.30 appointment and got there at 10 which meant I was at the front of the 10.30 queue. If I was there at 10.30 I would not have got inside till closer to 11.
Once inside you take a ticket and more waiting.....
The interview itself was very quick, a few inane questions about why I decided to move and about my company which I can't even remember now so its really nothing to worry about. I was out by 12.
Canceling and changing address of services:
Eg: ISP, Water, Electricity, Gas, Land Line, Mobile Phone, Postal DVD rentals, Sky, Banks, credit cards, council tax, ISAs and investments.
Remember to take a final reading before you go. If you can provide a forwarding address or do it via internet so they can give you a final bill.
You should think about doing this about two months before hand. This is because some institutions require you to close accounts or change address in writing. It also gives you time to stop the account at the end of a billing cycle. Some banks will let you change your address to one in the US. HSBC did for me.
Student loan: You need to fill in and return the overseas assessment forms which can be found here:
http://www.slc.co.uk/thresholds/index.html
Movers: I heard many nightmare stories about movers which made this an apprehensive experience. I was told literally they are all crooks and to keep an eye on them at all times and to make sure to get a detailed itinery for everything going into each box and dont let them seal anything before you've had a look. Well the person who told me this has had bad experiences. Well you can choose to do that but my wife and I arent like that. But come the day there were three of them, they swooped in and started boxing things up quickly and efficiently. Had we wanted to do a detailed itinery it would have taken a lot longer. Be nice to your movers. During the day (and it does take at least a day) it was clear (some) movers think things going 'missing' is a victimless crime as everything can be claimed on insurance. By being nice you can hope they like you and dont take anything or worse still being bossy or difficult could see accidental damage happening to your stuff!
I guess the best advice I would give is if there is anything really important to you keep it with you to take personally.
Friends and family: Start saying goodbyes early. I'd arranged a two weeks off work prior to flying out and am glad I did. I found a lot of my time running around doing the above. This also leaves your evening free to see your friends and family to say your farewells. One great thing is you can fit a lot more people into your house after everything has been moved out! We had a huge house party that probably had more people there than our wedding.
Book a car: In most of America a car is a handy thing to have. If you are living and working in San Francisco itself this is not so important (but sill nice to be able to get out sometimes). Anyway it will be a while before you can get a car of your own so try to book a good deal online for car rental for a month or two. Having your own means of transport is one less worry.
Note though it is cheaper not to get a car from the airport. They have several surcharges (airport access fee). Quite a few hotels have a free shuttle service from the airport check if yours does and hire your car locally instead. A GPS addon rental is also handy as its quite easy to get lost and here it could mean a very long detour over a toll bridge!
Flying out:
Have your destination address at hand: Even if its just the hotel address.
Landing card: You will have to fill in a white landing card for immigration control - Fill it out from the bottom up as its rather poorly laid out and it tricks many people into putting details in the wrong boxes.
Have all your immigration paperwork with you (including offer of employment): they will want to see it at immigration control.
Once you're here:
Social Security - Go and apply for your Social Security card as top priority: Try to go to an out of town office as they are quieter and quicker. It was a 15 minute wait and then a 5 minute process. Bring all your immigration paper work and offer of employment with you. Infact take it everywhere you are applying for anything for the first few weeks. It took me about 4 weeks to get it issued and I couldnt get paid on the US payroll until I had one.
- House hunting: Its a personal preference thing. Check on craigslist and drive around to have a look. Most places will want to do a credit check but (in SF at least) are also understanding that you might not have one. We found most were willing to take the offer of employment letter with stated salary.
- Car buying:
This is the order I did things:
Got temporary drivers license. Found car. Looked for quotes for insurance. Bought car and insurance. Booked test to get full drivers license. Booked appointment at DMV to register car.
To get the temporary drivers license you will need to go to the DMV. You can book appointments but they will still be a certain amount of queuing and waiting. You will have to take a multiple choice written test based on the drivers hand book which you can download from the DMV website. In california its 36 questions and you can get 6 wrong. I havent taken the full test yet as I'm still in the process of buying my own car.
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ has some good tips and links.
- Banking:
I went with HSBC as I thought it would be easier as I have a UK account. I suspect that it didnt make that much of a difference at all. They are a relatively new bank out here and I have found all the banks that I've been to have been a lot more personal than the ones in the UK.
They are in the process of trying to get me a credit card by doing a credit transfer from my UK one so we'll see how that goes.
A few differences in American banking that I've noticed.
Direct debit doesnt seem to exist. I've had to pay most bills by check. They do have a direct pay which is similar but is basically the bank writing and sending checks out for you each month....
There are a lot more smaller local banks and all the banks dont really interact with each other in the same way as the UK (something to do with making sure that if one crashes it doesnt take them all down!). As such bank to bank transfers are also rare. There is also a charge to get money out of an ATM that isnt your banks. Charles Schwab bank however will refund you all these charges which might be a consideration when opening your account.
Ummmm
I seem to have gone overboard and written far too much and in far too much detail.
There is much more I can bang on about but I should really get back to work.
Moving country is a big thing and it can seem daunting. But it doesnt need to be and all the people here seem happy to give good advice. So if you have any concerns ask and I'll be happy to share my experience on it (hopefully in a shorter form!)
Above all enjoy the ride !!
KK