I haven't written anything on this blog in months, but people have been posting comments so I guess this is information that people need to know.
I'm self employed and to keep everything legal, I'm supposed to register as self-employed with the HM Revenue and Customs office. I thought I needed to get a National Insurance Number (NINO) first so I called the Jobcentre Plus office to get that and they told me that I couldn't get a NINO until I was registered as self employed. So, I called Revenue and Customs and they said they'd register me. I was supposed to receive my registration number in the mail in four to six weeks. After four to six weeks of patiently waiting, I received a letter from Revenue and Customs saying that I couldn't register as self employed without a NINO. Craziness!
When I called Jobcentre Plus again, the woman on the phone said, "We just changed the way we issue National Insurance Numbers this week."
She took all my information over the phone. There was no interview like I was told they'd be. Four weeks later my NINO arrived in the mail. I'm still waiting to receive the actually NINO card.
I haven't gotten a UK driver's license. You can drive on a US license for up to one year after entering the country. I'm still using my passport as ID.
Jobcentre Plus Website
telephone #: 0845 641 5025
Newly Self-Employed Website
telephone #: 08459 15 45 15
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Proof of Address
Everything you do here requires proof of address. Whether you want to get a library card, register with a doctors office, or rent a flat.
"How can I give you proof of address when I just told you I don't have an address," I asked the estate agent when he said he needed to see proof of address before we could sign our new lease.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just bring what you have."
Luckily, we'd opened a bank account few weeks earlier and the bank had sent the first statement to us at our friend's address.
That bank statement has really come in handy because when we signed up for our broadband service and our phone service they needed to see proof of our previous address. It had to be a UK address. They wouldn't accept anything from the States.
My advice is that even before you have a permanent place to live get something official looking sent to you at the place you're bunking at for the time being.
"How can I give you proof of address when I just told you I don't have an address," I asked the estate agent when he said he needed to see proof of address before we could sign our new lease.
He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Just bring what you have."
Luckily, we'd opened a bank account few weeks earlier and the bank had sent the first statement to us at our friend's address.
That bank statement has really come in handy because when we signed up for our broadband service and our phone service they needed to see proof of our previous address. It had to be a UK address. They wouldn't accept anything from the States.
My advice is that even before you have a permanent place to live get something official looking sent to you at the place you're bunking at for the time being.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Utilities
The other day I was cooking and I heard a beeping noise coming from the cabinet where the electricity meter is. I had no idea why the electricity meter would be beeping so I called my landlord. She told me that it was beeping because the meter was running out of money.
Apparently, I have some kind of pay as you go electricity here. I have to take a key out of the meter, take the key to the shop and put money on it. I'd never heard of such a thing before. They must not trust people to pay there bills.
I also got a fright when the water bill arrived the other day and it was more than two hundred pounds. After reading it closely, I realized that the two hundred pounds was for the whole year and I could chose to pay the bill in monthly payments if I wanted.
I haven't gotten my first gas bill yet. I don't know how that's going to work out.
Apparently, I have some kind of pay as you go electricity here. I have to take a key out of the meter, take the key to the shop and put money on it. I'd never heard of such a thing before. They must not trust people to pay there bills.
I also got a fright when the water bill arrived the other day and it was more than two hundred pounds. After reading it closely, I realized that the two hundred pounds was for the whole year and I could chose to pay the bill in monthly payments if I wanted.
I haven't gotten my first gas bill yet. I don't know how that's going to work out.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Renting a Flat in the UK
Most people who move to the UK start out living in a flatshare. Sharing a flat is the quickest and easiest way to find a place to live.
If you're like us, that isn't an option for you. We're a family of three so a flatshare wouldn't work out for us. We looked at lots of flats online and tried to figure the average price for what we wanted. Then we saved the money we'd need for two months rent and a deposit. Unfortunately, when we arrived here and started looking in person we found out that that wasn't enough.
When you apply to rent a flat they do a thorough credit check. They check your bank information, past addresses, tax records, and references. The problem is that they only accept UK records. If you can't pass this intense scrutiny because you have no UK records, they require six months rent up-front. That's a lot of money. After weeks of getting rejected, we borrowed money from family to pay six months rent up-front.
If you can rent from the landlord directly and not go through an estate agent, you might be able to rent without paying that much up-front. It depends on the landlord. Check Gumtree and Loot for ads from landlords. Most of the ads on these sites were estate agents when I was looking, but there were some landlord's listings on there. There isn't really a way to tell. You just need to call and ask. You might also consider going to the area you want to live in and checking shop windows for rental fliers that individuals have put up.
Before you come to the UK get some reference letters from past employers, your past landlord and anyone else you can think of. This will help a lot when you're trying to find a flat to rent.
If you are looking at flats with an estate agent be sure to explain your situation to them so no one's time gets wasted.
If you're like us, that isn't an option for you. We're a family of three so a flatshare wouldn't work out for us. We looked at lots of flats online and tried to figure the average price for what we wanted. Then we saved the money we'd need for two months rent and a deposit. Unfortunately, when we arrived here and started looking in person we found out that that wasn't enough.
When you apply to rent a flat they do a thorough credit check. They check your bank information, past addresses, tax records, and references. The problem is that they only accept UK records. If you can't pass this intense scrutiny because you have no UK records, they require six months rent up-front. That's a lot of money. After weeks of getting rejected, we borrowed money from family to pay six months rent up-front.
If you can rent from the landlord directly and not go through an estate agent, you might be able to rent without paying that much up-front. It depends on the landlord. Check Gumtree and Loot for ads from landlords. Most of the ads on these sites were estate agents when I was looking, but there were some landlord's listings on there. There isn't really a way to tell. You just need to call and ask. You might also consider going to the area you want to live in and checking shop windows for rental fliers that individuals have put up.
Before you come to the UK get some reference letters from past employers, your past landlord and anyone else you can think of. This will help a lot when you're trying to find a flat to rent.
If you are looking at flats with an estate agent be sure to explain your situation to them so no one's time gets wasted.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
What You Should Do About Banking in the UK
When I decided to move to the UK I did some research about what to do my bank account. Bank of America is affiliated with Barclays and I thought that it would be a good idea to get an account with them. This way I could withdraw money through Barclays ATM's with no fee and the exchange rate is usually much better that way.
We got a Bank of America account and at first everything was fine. We could withdrawal the money we needed from the UK ATM's and when we checked our account online the exchange rate was good.
When we tried to rent a flat our bank account became a problem. Because we didn't have a UK bank account people were reluctant to rent to us. So we had to get a UK bank account quickly.
HSBC has a Passport Account that is ideal for people who are trying to establish themselves in the UK. We were not required to show proof of address to set up the account. We only needed our passports and one other ID. Our American driver's licenses were fine. When opening the account you can opt to pay an upfront sixty pound fee or pay six pound every month. If you decide to pay six pounds every month you must keep the account open for a year.
Opening this account helped us to be considered more legitimate when we tried to rent a flat. If you are going to rent a flat when you move to the UK, I recommend that you open a HSBC Passport Account. If you can, you should set up your UK bank account three months before leaving for the UK. This will give you a banking history that will look better to landlords. It will make things easier for you.
We got a Bank of America account and at first everything was fine. We could withdrawal the money we needed from the UK ATM's and when we checked our account online the exchange rate was good.
When we tried to rent a flat our bank account became a problem. Because we didn't have a UK bank account people were reluctant to rent to us. So we had to get a UK bank account quickly.
HSBC has a Passport Account that is ideal for people who are trying to establish themselves in the UK. We were not required to show proof of address to set up the account. We only needed our passports and one other ID. Our American driver's licenses were fine. When opening the account you can opt to pay an upfront sixty pound fee or pay six pound every month. If you decide to pay six pounds every month you must keep the account open for a year.
Opening this account helped us to be considered more legitimate when we tried to rent a flat. If you are going to rent a flat when you move to the UK, I recommend that you open a HSBC Passport Account. If you can, you should set up your UK bank account three months before leaving for the UK. This will give you a banking history that will look better to landlords. It will make things easier for you.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Shipping Your Stuff Overseas
Since the USPS no longer ships things overseas via surface mail, it's difficult to find a cheap way to move your belongings overseas.
I looked into using an international moving company but they all wanted to charge us at least $1200 to send our stuff to the UK. We aren't shipping any furniture. We just have some clothes, books and my husband's recording equipment.
I decided to go the freight forwarding route after reading about it on some other sites. I looked into a few companies. Safeco Exports seemed like a good company to me. They were helpful and easy to reach. The actual cost for shipping our goods was reasonable but the addition cost to send our good to the port was too much. If you live in a port city and can drop your stuff off to be shipped yourself, I'd recommend them.
We ended up using IQ Global Logistics because their cost for transporting our goods to the port was less. We didn't have them pick it up at our house. We took our things to a warehouse to be shipped.
In order to use these companies the things you ship must be boxed. That might rule out taking furniture.
The shipping process should take about thirty days. We'll have to pick them up from a warehouse. We haven't gotten our stuff yet. I'll let you know how that works out. We'll see how banged up things get.
I looked into using an international moving company but they all wanted to charge us at least $1200 to send our stuff to the UK. We aren't shipping any furniture. We just have some clothes, books and my husband's recording equipment.
I decided to go the freight forwarding route after reading about it on some other sites. I looked into a few companies. Safeco Exports seemed like a good company to me. They were helpful and easy to reach. The actual cost for shipping our goods was reasonable but the addition cost to send our good to the port was too much. If you live in a port city and can drop your stuff off to be shipped yourself, I'd recommend them.
We ended up using IQ Global Logistics because their cost for transporting our goods to the port was less. We didn't have them pick it up at our house. We took our things to a warehouse to be shipped.
In order to use these companies the things you ship must be boxed. That might rule out taking furniture.
The shipping process should take about thirty days. We'll have to pick them up from a warehouse. We haven't gotten our stuff yet. I'll let you know how that works out. We'll see how banged up things get.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Never Fly with Three Airlines at Once
No matter how cheap the tickets are and how tempting it may seem don't fly with more than two carriers at a time. We had a really cheap flight to London but it was booked through three airlines with two layovers. The problem was that delays kept causing up to miss our connections. What should have been smooth trip to London started on Thursday morning and we didn't get to London until Saturday morning. During that time we got to know the Tampa Airport very well.
Whenever delays were announced and we tried to get help because we had to make a connecting flight we were told that we couldn't get help because we were flying with to many different carriers. We finally got here but our luggage didn't.
Whenever delays were announced and we tried to get help because we had to make a connecting flight we were told that we couldn't get help because we were flying with to many different carriers. We finally got here but our luggage didn't.
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