Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

...I'm moving to Orlando, Florida, USA in a couple of months from the UK. I'm organising and planning the move and want to make sure i'm not missing anything off my list of 'tasks to complete in the UK before I leave'.

Just wondering about those people who have already done an international move...is there anything you wish you'd done BEFORE you left the UK that you wish you had ?

Just for example..somebody who had moved abroad said he'd wished he'd applied for his International Driving Licence while he was still in the UK. Another said they'd wished they'd done more shopping for clothes in the UK because US fashion is so different...

So do you have a list of things that one shouldn't forget to do before leaving the UK ?

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Get a visa. Other than that pretty much anything else is pretty straight forward and can be overcome very easily if needed.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Bugger you beat me to it :lol:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

The question that eveyone wants to know is, what visa are you coming over on? It it a company transfer? That might influence the answers to your question.

Other than that, here's a couple of things of the top of my head

1. Keep your UK bank accounts open, you can change your address to the US one once you move.

2. Stock up on teabags, percy pigs, digestives and the like. And eat lots of bacon and sausage because you won't find any decent equivalents here.

3. Douse yourself in water and then stand in front of a hot oven with the door open and a pair of mouse ears on, that should help you get acclimatised to Orlando.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

DONT get an international driving license if your current license is in English.

Print out address labels with your new address and leave them in the UK house that you are vacating - makes forwarding any post much easier. (Occasionally items slip through the Royal Mail forwarding service)

Get the international phone number and email addresses for UK utility providers, banks and other organisations. (My bargain-basement US phone service doesn't let me call 0845 etc numbers.)

Keep your bank accounts open. Change as much as possible to be managed online (all credit cards, bank accounts, utilities).

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

This is a very usefull website for alternative phone numbers.

http://www.saynoto0870.com/

Use the search facility in the top left.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I always hit the John before any long trip.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Tell the people you love that you love them face to face and give them a big hug.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I've picked up some great pre-move tips - I should be moving over to the US by the end of this year but this last one made me cry! Over-emotional or what??

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Mental heath check up? :rolleyes:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Plan plan plan. Outline things you need to do (i.e. visa, passport, banking, credit cards, canceling the utilities, etc) and put them on a list. Outline the things you want to pack and how to get them organized. Also plan a yard sale to get rid of some of the junk, and maybe ebay the more valuable bits you won't bring over.

If you have kids, get them the proper vaccinations for schools as the UK set is not the same as the ones that will be required in the US (and the US is a bit more strict on getting your jabs). Also get their transcripts together so you have something to show the teachers when you arrive at the new school.

Make the plan so everything is done 48 hours before you actually get on the plane. Trust me, your plans will slip and there is always a last minute to do. I would also plan a farewell party about a week or so before you leave so you don't have to "drop in" to this that and the other persons house while you are in the middle of a move. Instead have them come to you. (In fact, some professional expats tell folks they are leaving a day earlier then they actually are so they can have one last day of peace).

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

An International Driver's license does not give you the right to drive in the US. Your UK license does that and once you are a resident, you need to apply for a state driver's license.

The ID license is only really to translate a foreign langage DL to an English language DL.

As for clothing, if you don't like the clothing in the US perhaps you might want to revisit the reasons for living there.

The food staples are also different. Perhaps you might want to see if you can bring a case or two of your favorite food products.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

:eek:.....:lol::lol:



(Thought that would be for moving to Houston)

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Nah, Houston is heaven on earth :devil_smile::scaredhair:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Madam, that has not been supported by scientific method. Don't make me call tonrob in here!

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Oh God.

It's NOT that bad.....really. :thumbup:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Go get him, I'm not scared :blink:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

:rofl: you are Welsh, are you really qualified:confused:

just kidding boyo :lol:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I suggest not shopping for more clothes in the UK... unless, of course, you actually want to look like a foreigner with no sense of taste in clothes.

Ian

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Coming from one from over the border, I suggest I am more qualified than you :rofl:

It's not called 'Gods Country' for nothing. :thumbup:

kidding too butt!

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

worth doing if you only have the old paper license without the photo though.

Anyway, this question has been asked loads, so quite a lot of past threads worth searching out, even some info in the wiki.

And recommendations will depend on personal situation, have kids or not? company transfer or not etc.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

eat bacon or sausage sandwiches for EVERY meal between now and then - so you are truely sick of the sight of them by the time you leave - then you will not miss them so much when your over here!

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Ha ha. My little 6 year old American nephew asked me the other day "Why do you wear such funny clothes?'
I guess he means because i don't wear a sports team t-shirt, blue jeans, white trainers/tennis shoes every single day like his dad.
I did buy a bunch of clothes before I left and I usually buy stuff when i go back to visit. I don't care what all the 6 year olds say, I'm sticking with it.

Some good advice here. I'll add - Try and get your loved ones that you are leaving behind set up with Skype or something else before you leave. Giving instructions to my parents to get it all set up by phone/email from acrosss the Atlantic was a very long and frustrating experience (that might just be my parents though?) But when they finally did it has made such a difference in being able to stay in touch.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

One word - VONAGE

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Of course you are ;):thumbup:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Good word :thumbup:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I would be wary of UK vaccinations: I had my son vaccinated in the UK only to find when I got here (Ohio) that those shots weren't 'acceptable' and I had to get some of them re-done. If I were you I would wait until I got here and go to my local county health dept and get them done for $5.00 each. That's the cost round here, anyway and you just walk in. Then you know they're OK.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Also, put your address book on mailing labels. Then just click and print for change of address and Christmas. This has saved me hours of time over the years.

Remember to add 'UK'.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Its not looking good the OP has not returned :unsure:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Can you explain why they weren't acceptable? I've never come across that before. Was it the records of them rather than the shots themselves that they didn't like?

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I noticed that too, but it's only been 24 hrs. She hasn't yet developed her BE addiction ;)

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Or the visa situation might be a set back :sneaky:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

probably more to do with the type of vaccine used; some countries use live vaccines and others do not.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Are you thinking Salk v Sabin for polio? Both are acceptable.

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

lol, I was actually thinking of my cat and her rabies vaccine:o

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

Prior to our move to the US last year, I spoke to the nurse at our dr's surgery about the hep b vaccine for my son and she advised us to wait until we got to the US as we didn't have enough time to complete the course of 3 before we left.

She said that in some places, it's advised that the whole course is from the same vaccine manufacturer - maybe if we had started the course, we wouldn't have been able to continue, but would have had to start from scratch?

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

oooooo OK :)

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

They probably "weren't acceptable" because that wouldn't make them any money.

The ones they were trying to charge money for were "acceptable" to them.

:thumbdown:

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I'm in Ohio where they are very difficult about everything. It was the polio and the hepatitus that caused problems. Honestly, my experience has been that if it's not done in the US (qualifications, vaccinations, legal forms) then there's going to be a problem somewhere down the line...

Re: Things you should do before you emigrate ?
 

I wish I'd traveled around Europe a bit, it's a hell of a long flight back there now and I'd have to visit friends and relatives whilst I was there so wouldn't really get as much stuff done as I'd like.