Montreal to Egham

I start a new job at Royal Holloway, University of London, beginning September 1, 2012.

The visa system doesn't seem too bad yet.  I'm more interested, for now, in finding a good place to live.

My contract is two years, working in Egham.  My fiance will be joining me after 6 months and we have no dependents.

I know I could live in London and commute to work, but for now I'd like something closer to RHUL. 

I'm hoping to be quite mobile, preferably close to transportation lines. 

Many more questions, but I'll save them for later...

Congrats on your new job.  Where to live will depend greatly on your budget.  Do you have a housing allowance?  If not, have you worked on a budget at all - do you know how much you can spend?  Are you looking for just a 1-bedroom flat or something larger?

The train station in Egham is about 15-20 minutes to the University (depending on where on campus you need to be) and has ok connections to both London and Reading. 

If I were you and if you can afford it, I'd choose to live in Sunninghill or Ascot rather than in Egham (unless you particularly enjoy the student crowd). I'd also really suggest learning to drive if this is at all possible as other than rail, the public transport isnt the best. Local travel would likely prove difficult.

Thanks!  Your advice is exactly the kind I'm looking for.  This will help to make some better informed decisions about where to live.   I will certainly have a look at Sunninghill and Ascot.  I do drive, but obviously there are some adjustments to be made, and possibly taking a driving exam.  How does that work?

I do drive, but obviously there are some adjustments to be made, and possibly taking a driving exam.  How does that work?

Do you have a Canadian driving licence? If so, all you need to do is exchange your Canadian licence for a UK licence. You don't need to take any driving tests.

You can drive in the UK on your current foreign licence for up to 12 months after moving to the UK, but if you want to continue driving after that you will need to exchange your licence.

If you had a US licence however, you would have to take and pass all the UK driving tests before the 12 months was up (this is because the UK does not have a reciprocal agreement with the US, but it does with Canada.

See: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022559

From that page:

Gibraltar and Designated Countries

GB has reciprocal exchange agreements with Gibraltar and 15 designated countries.

The designated countries are:

Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands*, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea*, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.

If you are a visitor in GB, and hold full ordinary entitlement, you can drive any category of vehicle, up to 3.5 tonnes and with up to eight passenger seats, shown on your licence for up to 12 months from the date you last entered GB, whether or not you brought the vehicle into GB. If you also hold full entitlement to drive large lorries or buses you are only allowed to drive large vehicles registered outside the GB that you have driven into the country.

If you are a resident in GB and provided your full licence remains valid, you can drive small vehicles for 12 months from the time you became resident. To ensure continuous driving entitlement, you must exchange your licence for a GB one before the 12 months end.

If you do not do this you must stop driving although you may apply to exchange your licence at any time within five years of becoming resident.

Bienvenue, mon ami!

MLG