Living in the UK for a year............................where to start and what to do???

[mymama]

We are planning on moving to the uk late 2007 for a year (for the experience and to meet some of his relatives). My dh's parents are from uk so that entitles him and the children to uk ancestry passports and me a spousal visa. The relatives are in Manchester and we have a very good uk friend (returning to uk next week) who lives in Milton Keynes. Which areas are nicer/easier for dh to work? (he is in I.T. field) I would really appreciate tips and advice on renting, buying furniture, buying a car, public transport, schools for the children etc. Thanks in advance.

lol Chandra

(and the tights)

excuse me? [raised eyebrow emoticon]

she needs to bring woolly tights...it's cold...as I said earlier...(puzzled and slightly askance emoticon backacha!)

I think I only used woolly tights a few times in my first winter here, but probably is a good idea to bring them as I understand from friends asking me to bring them from London's Peter Jones, that the ones sold in this area are not good enough

And found that many things we brought were useless in this country

Mymama, DH and I moved to UK from Sydney 5 years ago. Planned to stay for 2, but loved it so much we have settled.

One of the hardest things we found was setting up a bank account - you can't do it without a permanent address (and proof of your address). If your company can write you a letter saying that you are permanently employed, that can help.

Renting a furnished property is great when you first arrived - our first flat had everything including cutlery!
The bond for renting is held by the landlord, not by the bond board like in Australia, so it is a lot easier for landlords to withold bond money at the end of the lease. Make sure you have a copy of the inventory and the condition that the house and any furniture is in. The landlord/agent should provide you with a booklet on tennant's rights.
The big supermarkets like Tesco and Asda have homewares similar to KMart/BigW/Best&Less etc so you can kit yourself out with all the basics (linen, cookware etc) very cheaply if you aren't shipping everything over for a year.

DH is in IT too. Contracting market has picked up lately, so finding a job should not be too difficult.

Make sure you register for a GP as soon as you arrive too. There is a reciprical arrangement with Medicare so you'll be covered for free, but you must register. For GPs in your area, check out NHS Direct Website
That's all I can think of for now.

What lovely replies!! We won't be shipping anything - just bringing ourselves and clothes. WE would definitely not stay with the rellies as I have never met them before in my life. I don't think they could accommodate a family of five anyway.

mogwai - if you are in the Brisbane area during your stay it would be fun to meet up.

Chandra - I haven't even thought of the allergy thing yet but I assume the uk won't be an issue there re: food labelling etc. ds2 has an ongoing yearly appt so I would hopefully see my allergist here before leaving and when we get back.

ooh can hardly wait another whole year. ONly reason for waiting is so that ds1 can do his first year of school here where we know the system etc.

The beauty of being in Britain is that food is labeled almost to perfection, but allergy services in the north of England are very limited, hence my suggestion of bringing a letter from your allergician. Having such letter from a doctor specialised in the subject saves you the heartache to convince a non very knowledgeable GP that you need a referal for rutine testing or that severe allergies should be included in the child file and adequate medication prescribed if needs be.

I just googled the manchester Tram system

stick to zones F/G for accomodation - that would be a good start.

Lots of other great places, of course, but they are the best ones on the tram system.

(yeah Cat64 but Manchester is sooo cool )

mogwai I think it is great that you obviously love where you live. Having said that, I love where I live too and I imagine the uk would have to be extra special to entice us to stay permanently. I think the plan will be for dh to try and get a contract before we leave oz and we will try the Manchester area and the Milton Keynes area first as that is where we know people.

Chandra will definitely bring a copy of his letters etc from the allergist. ds2 is doing so amazingly well with his allergies that other than seeing allergist once a year and keeping epipen up to date we don't have to see gp very much.

Mogwai is there a particular reason you are coming to Australia???

Hi Mymama,

I did the opposite & moved from London to Sydney. I'm an It contractor too (but specialising in telecomms).

What field is your DP in? The other advice is good, M4 & M3 Corridor for IT work, plus Milton Keynes. Don't know much about Manchester, but certainly there will be work there (although not as much as London).

You can check out pleny of IT recruitment sites on the web - www.jobserve.co.uk and planetrecruit.co.uk are just two of hundreds. This will help you look at contract rates (MUCH higher than Australia, so don't let your DP sell himself short when negotiating).

You can also look at property on www.findaproperty.com and www.upmystreet.co.uk for info on areas.

You'll find the best (most) and rates in London of course, but it is more expensive to live and work there, like any capital. I was going to try to sell London to you by pointing out that you can get 45 flights to France, Holland and Belgium from the London airports, and also the train to Paris & Brussels, but Manchester is also a great transport hub, and closer to Dublin .

Oh! Have just noticed you are in Brisbane. You are going to freeze. Pack jumpers!!

When I was last living in the UK my nanny was from the Gold Coast. She spent her couple of years in London velcroed to our radiators and never left the house without scarves, hats, coats, jumpers, tights. We laughed about it until we visited her house on the Gold Coast and realised how hot it was there. Poor thing.

that's exactly what I meant when I said to bring tights. I worked with a girl from Melbourne last year and she spent the first month or so wearing woolly tights under her jeans and shivering next to a radiator. Brisbane is much warmer to - tights it is!

Mymama, my dh is hoping to work at one of the hospitals in Sydney for 12 months. Pretty similar situation to you, I suppose. Bloody love Australia but am firmly British so don't think we'll stay forever. And I'm sure you'll love your 12 months but be more than ready to head home at the end of it!