Exploratory Trip

Hello all!  I've been dropping by and reading some of the postings -- having previously posted once in the "Introduce Yourself" forum -- and now that my move to the UK is going from a far away remote possibility to a more of an impending thing, I have a question.

I have been offered the opportunity to move to the UK (Guildford area) for a period of two years.  Next week, I will be going over to the area, to spend 10 days.  My future boss has offered me this trip with the main goal of "seeing whether [ I ] will be happy there".

I have spent a good deal of time in the US and Brazil.  I have traveled before to the continent, but never to the UK.  So, my question is, drawing from what you knew then and know now, what should I focus on trying to do while I am in the UK, to decide whether I will be happy living there?  What sorts of things should I try to get myself into to see whether I could pull off a two year stint?  (For example, I already plan to rent a car, go grocery shopping, ...)

Thanks for your insight!

Hello cebolamonica and welcome to the site. Great Question. You did'nt mention whether housing will be arrainged for you if you accept the job or whether it'll be your responsibility to find someplace. If its the latter then I'd say where youre going to live for those two years would be a major key to your happiness. You may want to explore neighborhoods within close proximity to where youre going to be working and take a few daily excursions around to get a feel for places. Check with some real estate/letting agents, tell them what youre interested in and let them help you. I'm not familiar with the Guildford area myself but there may be some people on this site that can give you some insight. Check the night-life out in the area, the transportation and the shopping to see what best suits your needs. Thats a great way to look at it........an exploratory trip. Good luck and don't be a stranger!

Hi Monica, I'd have to say Celtic gave you some great advice.  Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and are working on the practical too.  Not sure I could add anything but to look out for shopping centers not just for groceries, movie theatres etc if those would appeal to you in the areas near where you would work.  Walk around and talk to the people in shops.  The smaller the better.  More time to talk to you.  I guess thats pretty general.  But hopefully it fits with what you are already thinking about.  Personally I'd say you've thought alot of it out.  Good for you.

Get local newspapers as well and glance through them!
And let us know how the trip goes, how exciting!!!

Take public transport, including buses and trains.  Take a cab somewhere.  You might not be driving (it's likely you won't for a time at least) so make sure you're at least not miserable with the forms of transport available.

Also, check neighborhoods in or near where you would be working, looking specifically for convenience in walking to shops.  You don't want to find yourself facing  a half-hour walk to the town center, or a longer wait for the bus, if you can help it.  (The area where my dh grew up, and the nearby town where his Mum now lives, is about a 10-15 minute walk from the town center-actually, she lives closer now.  A bus or train is necessary to visit the big shopping centers in the town nearby, but she can get her groceries and sundries in the town center with little trouble.)

I'd probably wait to rent the car... maybe try transport for a few days.  My father came to visit and just KNEW he was going to rent a car to get around.  After the trip from the airport to the house he decided he NEVER wanted to drive here. *laugh*  It's not that it's tough, you just need someone to give you a hand to begin with... explain how things work and whatnot.  Other than that, I think everyone has given you great advice.  I'd even suggest going down to a few local pubs and just chit chatting with people... see how friendly they are in the area.  

Good luck!!

I agree about not renting the car. You'll get frustrated with just trying to find a parking place! Guildford has good public transportation, so you needn't worry about not being able to get around without a car.

When I visit a different country, I try to blend in the the locals, do what they do. If you want to know what daily life would be like, go places you would only normally go to if you lived here. Visit a grocery store. A library. A hardware store. See what's available to buy. See what products are in homes. If you have a particular faith, attend a church service.

On my first visit ever here, I went on a canal boat and thought it was the most glorious way to see the "backside" of the UK. Not even many locals get to do something like that.

On my first visit ever here, I went on a canal boat and thought it was the most glorious way to see the "backside" of the UK. Not even many locals get to do something like that.[end quote]

Ya didn't come down the Basingstoke Canal, I hope? lol.....if you did, then you saw my backside!   I absolutely adore living beside the canal, seeing the long boats, feeding the ducks/swans, and for my stepson, the joy of catching a 12 lb. carp out the back gate!

There's lots of good here  

Sherry

Thanks for your suggestions!  I will work all of these things into my trip.  My agenda is fairly loose for now, which should allow me to do all these things.

And, perhaps, I will see some of you next Sunday at the gathering!

Hi -

I've made a couple of posts looking for relocation package information.  It sounds like you might have some experience with that.  My employer hasn't relocated someone before and I'm trying to get an idea of a typical package.  A few specific questions include whether there is a salary adjustment and whether there are any allowances (e.g., a housing allowance).  I'm sure HR will hire a consultant at some point, but for now I'm trying to gather enough info for my boss to move forward.  

If you have a chance, I'd like to hear what you thought of your trip.  I've been to the UK several times and hope my move works out.  But, it is a little scary now that it is moving along.

Sorry for the delay in replying to your post -- I've been traveling (or "travelling" as the British write).

I had a difficult time finding contract information as well.  

As far as my contract went, there was a basic conversion from my USD pay to a GBP amount using a fixed date for the conversion factor.  Then, in addition to that base salary, I was given a housing allowance, car allowance, moving allowance, and tax help allowance.

You may want to take a look at this site, http://www.us-expatriate-handbook.com/contents.htm -- the guidebook is a good read. They advocate negotiating some additional items, such as trip to the US in case of family death, etc, but I didn't broach that.

In addition to the "normal" contract items (salary, vacation, work hours, etc), you may want to have clauses in the contract that will address:

• what will happen when you are done with your employement here -- will they pay for your return trip, will you continue working for the company, etc?
  
• what happens if they decide to change direction in the company and decide they don't want to have you as an employee anymore?  Will they pay for your return trip, and moving costs?
  
• will they pay for at least one non-business trip to the US per year?
  
• during a trial period (ie: first three months), will they allow you to cancel out of the contract and return to the US, in case you are miserable here?
  
• will they contribute to your pension here?
  
• ... then there are a lot of other things to consider if you are married/moving with children
  

I hope this helps you start thinking about it.  Please let me know if you need any additional info -- I will reply quicker than this time.

Cheers!