Has anyone use a relocation agent when moving to England? We don't know yet if husband's company provides ones --we'll find out this week. If not, we are going to look into hiring one ourselves. Are they helpful?
Our main concerns are finding a place to rent short-term, until we buy a house. Company is paying for up to 60 days stay in hotel or rental place while we look for a house to buy, or another place to rent. I assume the first place will be a residential hotel or a furnished apartment, as our stuff will take several weeks to get over.
Another concern is banking. From what I've read in books and on the web, setting up a bank account is a total Catch-22. You can't set up a bank account unless you have proof of residence, but no place will rent to you unless you have a bank account! Hopefully company can help with that aspect by vouching for us in some way.
I also have heard that buying property in the UK takes much longer than in the US. Right now we are thinking of staying up to 60 days in company subsidized furnished housing of some sort, then renting a place for 6 months while we look for a place to buy or rent long-term. We will probably be in the UK for at least 2-3 years, if not longer.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Stephanie