Moving to Leamington Spa from Seattle... how fast can I get things done?

Hello all!

I've been reading thru a lot of threads and am so thankful for all the advice on this site!

My husband has accepted a job in Leamington Spa.  We are looking at arriving there for him to begin work around the end of June.  June 2015!!! 

We have 3 kids and a dog.  So, this should go smoothly I'm sure! 

Is there anyone on this board from that area?  We've got some help thru his job and have suggestions on areas to live.  Been in touch with the schools although can't enroll until we have an address. 

He was over there a few weeks ago and really liked it so I'm looking forward to getting there.... just freaking out about the moving process.  Especially so quickly.

Anyway, nice to "meet" you all!

Holly

Hi and welcome

Make sure you follow the DEFRA requirements when bringing over your pet. Make sure your USA Vet is clued up on all the requirements and timelines.

Good luck with your move!

Hi, I am from near Seattle too.  I just want to ask if you already found an address.
We had the same problem moving here and finding a school for our sons.  As soon as you find an address, make sure you contact the County School Allocations and ensure you explain your circumstances.  They are very strict with school applications being late here espescially if you want your children to attend an oversubscribed school.  I wish you the best of luck!

You'll need to get going on the dog right away

UK requirements here:

https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad

US requires a vet inspection no sooner than 10 days prior to departure by a USDA licensed vet, and then the documents must be sent to the nearest USDA facility to be stamped.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/sa_landing_page/sa_spotlights/ct_animal_and_animal_product_export_information/!ut/p/a1/jVDLboMwEPyWfkDljUtDOEIeYAJJpKot9cValcSxBLYFblT16-Og9hIpKXvZ18zuaAgnFeEaT0qiU0Zjc-n5VOTbjE4SoCx9iZbANm-rclaET9ss8IAPD5incRaEBQAEMwpskWSLMCoB2HQcH25EDP_x8xEPaFfOS0m4RXd8VPpgSNWjaFDXSkthUe6HQW-Na5Q8up5Un06gVi02PtV_pe1M_eU3-29rOicul7p2cIq8E34lJF0mXsiq2IXrnML6-Rdwz6kBcMcK275WP0USMRU_nAEg3RVB/?1dmy&urile=wcm%3apath%3a%2Faphis_content_library%2Fsa_our_focus%2Fsa_import_export%2Fsa_animals%2Fsa_pet_travel

In our state hardly any vets are USDA licensed so start calling around now.   Also start researching airlines to see who will carry your pet and what the costs will be (make sure you're sitting down when you get the quote).

Regarding the kids: school places are allocated by local authorities in the UK, not towns.  Leamington Spa looks to be in Warwick county council.  School admission info here.

http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20094/schools_and_colleges/90/school_admissions

Kids are not automatically enrolled in school: you have to apply for a place, and in many areas schools will not accept your child if they're full so you have to specify 2nd, 3rd choices : it would be good to start researching that now. 

You could ask on mumsnet or google "ofsted inspection reports" to start to get an idea of state (non-private) schools.

good luck !

Wow!  Thanks for the advice everyone.  Things haven't exactly gone as we'd planned!

First, we made the difficult decision to leave our dog here in the US with my husband's parents.  He is an 11 yr old pug and we were very worried about him making it thru the long flight in cargo.  Especially when we return in 3 years and he'll be 14.  He loves my in-laws and at least we'll be able to Skype with him :-)

The certificate of sponsorship took much longer than the company had planned and we didn't even get it until the 2nd week in June.  We just got all our visa applications in to the NY consulate (confirmation they arrived yesterday) so now we just wait with our fingers crossed that we got everything right and get approved.

We haven't been able to make any travel plans since we didn't want to do it until we officially have the visas.  Now we're freaking out about where to stay - no place will rent to us with us not being there, not having UK bank account etc.  And I'm seeing that since it's summer all the hotels are really booked up as well.  Got our eye on one short term rental and hoping we can pounce on it and secure it as soon as we hear about our visas.

Rebecca119.... we have been in touch with a school in Leamington and at least when we talked to them around the beginning of May they said they had room for all 3 of my boys.  I'm thinking as soon as we arrive we will contact the school and see if we can somehow enroll them with our temporary address. 

I'm really looking forward to getting this whole process completed!

Holly