Student Hurdle: I own a pet.

Hi all.

I am 23 and have been on my own for about 7years now.  I've got a full time job, an apartment, bills and, most importantly, a cat.

I want to go to university in Scotland, and have come into an issue I need some advice on:  The cat.

There is a mountain of advice on how to go to the UK for school, and there is another mountain of advice on how to bring your pet into the UK.  But, there is no information I can find where the two really intersect.  I don't have any family or friends I can leave him with (due to allergies and other pets), and can't even stomach the idea of giving him up to a shelter or foster.  (BTW, I do know about PETS Scheme, and also that bringing him will relegate me to the wonderful world of private renting.)

Has anyone here had the experience of not only moving abroad for school, but doing so simultaneously with their pet?

Any advice or suggestions of things to consider are 100% welcome.

Thanks,
Amanda

If I recall correctly, Bmore_2_UK did this last year with her cat when she moved over as a student- Hopefully she'll see this and respond!

Hello! Yes, I did just that! My parents were willing to keep the cats (I have two), but I couldn't really stand the idea of not knowing when I would have them with me again. If I had only been coming here for 6 months as an exchange student or something, I never would have brought them, but since it was for at least a full year and probably more with the International Graduate Scheme, I felt it was worth it. However, as you know the PETS Scheme was very expensive and finding a flat that allows pets isn't easy (at least in Bath). 

As I said, my parents were willing to keep them for me and because of timing, the cats weren't cleared on the PETS Scheme until October, so I moved to England in September, went home for Christmas, and brought the cats back with me after Christmas in January. I'm really glad I had this option as it gave me a chance to get settled before I had to worry about them. I found a housemate on that easyroommate site who knew I was just looking for something short term as I would then be looking for a flat that allowed pets. As I said, this WASN'T easy, but I do think that's the area here. Letting agents claim that the historic buildings in town don't allow pets, and finding a furnished place that did allow them was impossible. I managed to find something, but it was unfurnished, so I did have to go to the expense of buying furniture and everything. I'm not sure what the rental market is like in Scotland and depending on where you're going to be, it could be a lot easier. I found that renting a flat in England was much more difficult than renting one in the US. Being a student with no income (other than loans) I had to have a guarantor in the UK willing to co-sign my lease. Fortunately, I have friends here who were willing to do that for me. I probably wouldn't have gotten the flat without that.

In the end it all worked out for me and I would do it again if I had to. The hardest part, to be honest, is finding a place to live. I'm really glad I had that time to find something once I got here because finding a place while I was still in the US was impossible. I'm sure there are B&Bs or hotels that allow you to bring pets which could be an option for when you first get here.

My cats are both on special diets, so I made sure they sold their brand of food before I came here. And I'm sure you're aware of the crappy exchange rate. A $30 bag of food in the US costs 30 pounds here. I wasn't too happy about that one!

I would suggest checking out the rental market in the area where you're going to live. Check the many roommate sites and even post a profile on there to see if anyone would be interested in a roommate with a pet. Look at letting agents to see what their listings say about pets. If you can't go back and get your cat later, perhaps someone would be willing to look after him for a couple of months until they could get him to the airport and he could fly unaccompanied and meet you on the other side.

Good luck with everything and feel free to ask me any questions!

Kim

I just moved over here for grad school and brought my dog with me. I ended up having to put her in quarantine, which was tough but manageable. Now she's home with me.

I was lucky to find an apartment that was ok with pets. I think that comes down to where you're living and what the market is like.

It's not that hard to do, but I suppose it also needs to come down to how long you anticipate being over here.

jen

I found that renting a flat in England was much more difficult than renting one in the US. Being a student with no income (other than loans) I had to have a guarantor in the UK willing to co-sign my lease. Fortunately, I have friends here who were willing to do that for me. I probably wouldn't have gotten the flat without that.

Speaking of that, that's another thing I was having trouble wrapping my head around.  The whole no income thing (excluding any minimal part time work) is hard to grasp since I have consistently worked to make my ends meet since I was 17.  One of the two universities I am looking at attending is willing to be a co-signer on a private lease for international students, and I'm not sure about the other.

If I wasn't able to have the university co-sign, where might I go then?  I don't actually know anyone there.

Yeah, I'm not too sure about that. I was fortunate that I had a close friend here, so it wasn't a problem. If you find a place to rent privately (i.e. no letting agent), you might have better luck getting a place without a co-signer. A good website for that is www.gumtree.com.

You might be able to rent based on your student funding. Just as you have to show that you have the money you need to cover your stay in order to get a visa, you can also use this to prove that you can pay rent.

I was renting with a UK resident, but for my part of the application, I just gave them a copy of the stuff I had for school and that seemed to be sufficient.