Moving 101. What are the basics????

I've read lots of information on here.  And not really sure what pertains to me and what doesn't.  Since my situation is fairly normal (I'm American, marrying a Brit and moving to England this November)  I was wondering what basics people can advise?  I don't plan on shipping much (maybe 15 boxes of stuff). 

-Can anyone recommend a shipping method?  I can get my stuff to a terminal for drop off if that's cheaper?

-What about US taxes?  I still have to file.  Since I'm married will he have to get a taxpayer ID #?

-What about National Health Insurance?  How do I get a # for that?

-Approx how much should I have saved?  Luckily my fiance is buying us a house (yeah, I lucked out) so I don't have to worry about initial home expenses, just monthly mortgage payments, utilities and taxes.  But I would love to see a breakdown of what other people had saved for moving expenses.


Basically, let's just assume that I know nothing about moving (because I really don't).  I greatly appreciate any information anyone has to give. 

Thanks!!!
Jessica

all the stuff you've asked about is general information that pertains to pretty much everyone moving to the UK, really!  There are recent threads on all those subjects in different areas of the boards, you should be able to get most (if not all) of the information you need from those unless you have some other really specific questions.   

There's an entire section about filing taxes on the board: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=11.0

And and entire section on Healthcare and Insurance: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=9.0

You can find information about fiances by checking the visa board or searching for budgets.  The general guidance states that a couple needs to have approximately £100 leftover per week after bills are paid.


But like Springhaze said, check out the other areas of the board and use the search feature if you can't find what you're looking for right away.

Thanks for all the info.  Except I'm lost, I don't see a search function.  Just the field for Google search....

Just the field for Google search....

That's the one.  Though, personally, I prefer trawling through the old posts. 

I'll give you a bit of info to start with.  One of the most-used shipping companies is upakweship.  You can either drop your stuff off at their place in South Carolina, or you can ship it to SC and they will ship it to a terminal in the UK and you can either pick up there or they can further ship to your house. http://www.upakweship.com/.

I'll give you a bit of info to start with.  One of the most-used shipping companies is upakweship.  You can either drop your stuff off at their place in South Carolina, or you can ship it to SC and they will ship it to a terminal in the UK and you can either pick up there or they can further ship to your house. http://www.upakweship.com/.

They also have a terminal in NJ

Awesome. Thanks!   I'm going to go home tonight and count my boxes (still have it all packed from the last move- knew there was no reason to unpack) and get a quote from upakweship.  

Awesome. Thanks!   I'm going to go home tonight and count my boxes (still have it all packed from the last move- knew there was no reason to unpack) and get a quote from upakweship.  

also measure the cubic space of the boxes. UPackWeShip offers 2 kinds of shipping - a per box fee or x amount of cubic feet in a container. Depending on what you have, cubic space might be cheaper.

You don't have to always directly ship first to the Upak terminal. Upakweship also use drop off terminals in whatever region you are in, by subcontracting to a local warehouse. Don't be alarmed at the idea of that even though there are warnings about anything "sub contracting."

I was in Austin TX and the Upak lady simply informed me of the local Austin company AND the Houston port-side company they regularly use for drop offs in my region, and I took my stuff to the Austin place. It didn't carry the Upak name -- it was the "Blah Blah Warehouse Ltd" or whatever, but Upak trusted them to be their regular dropoff outlet and they certainly were professional and experienced and got my stuff all set up for the journey.