Lorna at Vicenza

You're welcome. I just happened to see it and decided to reply ...... and then I had one of those "did I just say the right thing?" moments

Pulaski

You have 120 minutes after posting to go back and edit the post - for 120 minutes there is an <Edit> button in the bottom right corner of the post next to the <Quote> button.

rpjs

Public transport, where it exists, is a lot cheaper: Metro-North from Zone 5 (Philpse Manor on the Hudson line in my case) is $300 a month for a journey of about 40 mins at the peak. No annual seasons to drive it down further sadly). Subway is $2.75 flat fare per ride, $110 for a monthly.

Groceries are cheaper, but not as good quality as in the UK. Electrical goods / electronics are quite a bit cheaper - be aware that sales tax is never included in the sticker price like VAT is in the UK, but it's usually somewhat less than 10%. Sales tax is less in Westchester than in NYC so try to buy big ticket items locally.

Whilst housing in the NYC area is very expensive by anyone's standards you do get more space for your money here. I'd say that's the single most important aspect of our standard of living that's improved moving from the UK to the US.

n lon to ny

Thanks Roy - yes, I am definitelty going to be in a bigger house that in north London (not least a spare bedroom and a finished walk out basement with Bathroom to accommodate the amount of people my wife and kids are banking on having over! appreciate the help - i know these are all things you would have heard before.

I had a quick question re driving licence ( do i keep UK one or get grandfathered in to a US one)?

Pulaski

Neither, you need to obtain a US license, and fairly quickly - IIRC you only have 30 days after taking up residence in NY ..... but you have five hours of mandatory classroom training, and a road test to look forward to! (BTW you do "keep" your UK licence, you just can't use it in the US, and you don't need to use it visiting the UK either - the nice thing is, the UK can't put points on your US license when you're visiting the UK!

Please note if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, "residence" for driving license purposes is different from "residence" for visa/immigration and other purposes. If you're here for three years, you are definitely required to obtain a local DL.

n lon to ny

OH LOVELY - so an actual Full driving test..... brilliant, My missus is going to flip!

Pulaski

The test is an utter joke, about ten minutes and so long as you stop at the Stop signs, and don't actually kill someone, you get a license. You can take the test in an automatic, I took mine in a rented SUV.

You will almost certainly find that it will take longer than 30 days to do your road test, so be sure to carry evidence that you have applied for a test and are using your best efforts to get an NY license ASAP in the unlikely event that you are stopped and a police officer questions why you have a British license (many cops seem oblivious to their own state's DL laws).

SultanOfSwing

I wouldn't worry about it, even though every state is different, but everyone on here almost always agrees that US driving tests are a piece of piss.

n lon to ny

thanks - just dont need the additional ballache! but thanks for the reassurance.

any other gems? i know my kids are going to be immunised up to the eyes when they get there before being allowed in to school, but are there any other common oversights?

tht

where do you get your subway card, mine is $116.50 for 30 days. is it cheaper as an add on to a Metro North ticket?

n lon to ny

ill work on Park Ave nr GC station - will be ad hoc subway trips. cheers

rpjs

No, I'm sure you're right - I just have an EZ Pay for occasional use.

rpjs

I can recommend a superb driving instructor who offers the 5-hour course in Mt Kisco. He also does a package where he'll do you a one-hour lesson to prep you for the test, then drive you to the test area (which you can't do yourself on a learner's permit). The actual test is a doddle. Takes no more than 10-15 minutes and the only maneuvers you have to demonstrate are a parallel park *without* a car behind the space and a three-point turn in a road wide enough to do multiple U-turns on.

Adrian's Driving School Inc - 5 Hour Course - Westchester Driving School

Pulaski

Probably helps for an apprehensive driver, but I did my road test with no test prep at all. For a competent and attentive driver I would generally consider preparatory coaching unnecessary.

rpjs

Agreed, but it might be of value to OP in terms of pointing out the stuff the examiners look for like the whole look over your shoulder thing which they're much more keen on than in the UK.