What to bring (financial)

Anyone wanting to act as a tourist for the day, go to the Black Country Museum in Dudley, West Midlands. Click here for more details. Great day out ... as long as the weather is dry .... and you will see some day-to-back housing there, as well as lots of other history.

What's a "back-to-back property"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-to-back_houses
That explains what they are.

These are the properties .... click here .... which were mentioned on the BBC TV news programme yesterday. They are very close to the Hippodrome theatre in central Birmingham.

I'm moving to Manchester next month,and the real estate agent I'm dealing with won't lease to me without work unless I'm prepared to pay for a 6 month lease upfront,which I will be doing.
Another thing,it's quite difficult to open up a UK account just by walking into a bank branch. I'm an HSBC client,and I opened up a UK HSBC account from my home country.The transaction cost $200 for whatever reason,but my account is open with funds in it and that's peace of mind and one less thing I have to do once in the UK.The catch 22 is that most landlords/agencies won't rent to you without a UK account,but you need a UK residential address in order to open a UK bank account.

My advice to you is,open a UK account BEFORE coming over,I'd strongly advise AGAINST trying to do it after moving.

From my experience, I had no problem opening an account with Lloyds TSB over the phone once I arrived here.  As long as you have an address here, it's enough for them.
Also, I found my flat on rightmove.co.uk with a private landlord and he allowed us to pay the deposit and first month in cash (yes, I have a receipt).

Right,my advice is for anyone who does not have a UK address.I don't as yet,and it was in my best interest to have my account setup before I arrive next month.