Moved into my flat (2 weeks)

I have sucessfully moved to the UK. I arrived a little over two weeks ago. I have started work, have a bank account and as of yesterday permenant accomadations. My second day in the UK I found a flat I liked and put in an application for it. Two weeks later they let me move in. I spent those two weeks living in a short-stay type place. It was a 1 bedroom flat with all utilities. It was a lot cheaper than a hotel, but still more expensive then renting. I think if I was more organized, I could have moved in a little sooner. Overall, in planning a move, I would give yourself at least 2 weeks to find a place and get moved in.

Congrats on your move and your new flat! Good advice, too. Thank you!

Congratulations on your successful move to the UK! Hope everything continues to run smooth for you! 

What company did you use for your short term place? 

Thank you for giving this sense of the timeline!  This makes me feel a bit more confident about my plan.  Congratulations on getting everything settled!

If I may ask, how did you get your bank account before moving into permanent apartment?  Also, when you say you could have been "a bit more organized", how do you mean?  I'm looking to learn from your mistakes as well as your glories!

Yeah, congrats, seems things are running smooth for you (for the most part)!

In answer to the questions asked.

I am in Nottingham and there are a couple of places that I found on the web that do the short term stay. The gumtree website also had some stuff listed. I think the Uk term is a serviced flat.

I paid HSBC $200 to open my UK account. There have been other discussions on cheaper ways to do this. I am getting reimbursed for my moving expenses so time is more valuable then money to me.

If I had been able to spend a couple of hours a day or two before I left looking at flats on line, I could have made appointments beforehand. I would hae focused my hunt on a place that was already to be moved into. If I had made appointments in advance, I could have seen more places that were better tailored to my needs in the same amount of time.

I think I also could have put in paperwork for the credit check prior to coming over.

I had letter from my employer stating my salary. The letter was not my contract. This has been really important for everything.

That is immensely useful!  Thank you!

If you dont mind  me asking, how much are  you paying for your flat? Is  it all inclusive or do you have to pay separately for utilities? What would you say you pay in totality for rent and  utilities?

If you dont mind  me asking, how much are  you paying for your flat? Is  it all inclusive or do you have to pay separately for utilities? What would you say you pay in totality for rent and  utilities?

I am not sure why how much I am paying matters. I think the estate agent had a formula that I could qualify for a place if my annual salary was 2.5 (or maybe 3.5) times the annual rent. I am well over that ratio. More practicially speaking, there seem to be a number of two bedroom places available from 500 to 1500 gbp pcm.

I have to pay utilities separate. I have not gotten any bills yet, so I do not know how much many of them (e.g., electric, gas, water) but there are a number of other threads that give estamites. Internet and phone depends on the plan.