Dis-Establishing your life in the US

We have a really good thread with lots of advice on what to do when you GET to the UK, but what kinds of things should people do before they leave the US?  (other than packing/moving). 

All my suggestions are around moving!  Selling, storing or binning your things.  Turning off utilities.  Selling house or car. 

I would never suggest giving up bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license, voters registration, etc.  If you moved to another state, you might switch those things, but if you move to the UK, my advice would be to leave as is.

Truly, other than packing/moving, I wouldn't suggest much regarding the US aspect. 

ETA:  I did get a haircut right before I moved, in case I couldn't find one right away.  I did stock up on certain things that I knew would be hard to come back in the UK -- certain clothes and makeup mainly.

What about tax stuff? Is there anything I need to do now in order to make things easier come April 2010?

I would never suggest giving up bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license, voters registration, etc.  If you moved to another state, you might switch those things, but if you move to the UK, my advice would be to leave as is.

The only thing I can think of in terms of credit cards and bank accounts would be to give your change of address and make sure they will send the bills/statements to you in the UK and figure out the options for paying your bill...and figure out what the fees are for using your card in the UK. 

Good point. I still class that as part of "moving" like you would going to any new location.

One thing I would add, is to think about student loans.  The whole transferring money think can be awkward.

What about tax stuff? Is there anything I need to do now in order to make things easier come April 2010?

This is actually a great point.  Streamlining your investments or being smart about what investments you have is so important.  You really should be aware of the US and UK tax implications and do what you can to sort things out in the US before you become a UK tax resident.

I cannot tell you how many of my US connections got my new address right, all except the "UK" part. My pension information is addressed to Iceland!

I made it harder on myself by using the "long form" of my UK address -- my little town, near the big town, plus the county. You don't have to do that, and I advise that you don't.

Also -- it may just be the cheap rate phone service we use -- but I can almost never get US 800 numbers to work. You have no idea how many US companies don't give any contact information except an 800 number until you can't use one. Oh, the times I punched in my 12-digit account number, walked through the voice gate and sat on hold only to have the carrier silently drop me partway through.

Do a bill roundup.  Not so much regular bills, but one offs like medical bills that might get overlooked and not forwarded, subsequently ending up in collections. 

Also, if you're keeping a car in the US, make sure you know what you need to do for registration renewal. 

Those were my stumbling blocks.

One thing I did was renew my driver's license. That way I'm sure it'll be good for a few years in case I want to rent a car.

Pull your credit report in the US. If there any any nasty surprises you want to make sure and take care of it before you leave.

The only thing I can think of in terms of credit cards and bank accounts would be to give your change of address and make sure they will send the bills/statements to you in the UK and figure out the options for paying your bill...and figure out what the fees are for using your card in the UK. 

Make sure to ask your credit card company(ies) if they will send renewal cards to an overseas address. When I moved over 5 years ago I changed the address on my Citibank and Capital One cards and neither of them would mail me my renewal cards. I haven't had to worry about it yet as neither of them have expired but I'm hoping they've changed their policy when the time comes.

Get a hard copy of your birth certificate, and/or ones for the kids, and your social security cards. Good to have hard copied on hand to save the hassle of getting them from overseas should you need them for anything.

Make sure to ask your credit card company(ies) if they will send renewal cards to an overseas address. When I moved over 5 years ago I changed the address on my Citibank and Capital One cards and neither of them would mail me my renewal cards. I haven't had to worry about it yet as neither of them have expired but I'm hoping they've changed their policy when the time comes.

Citibank won't -- at least wouldn't to me. So as far as they know, I still live in the US and my parents get my mail.

I pay my bills with online banking -- it's really invaluable in this situation.