Do I need a car?

Just wondering if I should rely on public transportation or should get a car and license. I'm used to having my own car and I think I'd desire that once I move, so I'm thinking I should get one.

They're not all standard are they? I can (sort of) drive a stick shift, but prefer automatic. Do they have used cars dealers in England?

Also if I did decide to get a car, what sort of things would I need to do to get a license? Where can I find information on rules and road signs or what information should I study and where can I find it?

Just wondering if I should rely on public transportation or should get a car and license. I'm used to having my own car and I think I'd desire that once I move, so I'm thinking I should get one.

They're not all standard are they? I can (sort of) drive a stick shift, but prefer automatic. Do they have used cars dealers in England?

Also if I did decide to get a car, what sort of things would I need to do to get a license? Where can I find information on rules and road signs or what information should I study and where can I find it?

For the first point, it depends on where abouts in England you're going to live, I suppose. Some areas are better than others in terms of public transportation, but for some people it's a cheaper alternative than having to pay insurance, MOT, road tax, etc for their car.

I think there's slight differences in driving a stick shift in the US and the UK, but one thing to remember when you get your license in the UK is if you pass the test in a stick shift car, you become licensed to drive *both* stick shifts and automatics. On the inverse, if you pass your test with an automatic, you can only drive the automatic. I haven't driven here in the US, and was only a passenger in the UK, but I think there are subtle differences in driving between the two countries--my fiance is of two minds about possibly trying his hand at driving in the US I don't think he'll have the patience to go 35 mph in some zones, not when he does 70 on country roads out of Daventry.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/index.htm is the infamous Highway Code, which my fiance says is important. I know there's other manuals and such to read, but my google-fu is failing at the moment, I had the Highway Code bookmarked 

Your US license will be good for up to a year in the UK I believe, after that you have to take the test for the UK one. I'm going to be a right mess when I go through that, I really can't wait *turns off sarcasm*

Edit: I also remember being told by my dear fiance that if you want to learn how to master the roundabout, go to Milton Keynes--there's a roundabout every five feet at times. He says his dad took him out there when he first learned to drive way back in '88 till he got really comfortable with them

Well the area Lynsey lives in is Cambridgeshire. I really do think I'd prefer to have my own car though. I dont really mind not being able to drive a stick as I dont really like it anyway .

I suppose I'll need to wait until I move to see where I need to go to pay all those fees and take the test?

Thanks for the link and response!

Found the DVLA website, it might explain a few of the details especially pertaining to what sort of fees you have to pay, and how to go about getting everything sorted

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/

But I do know off the top of my head the MOT is done every year, had a few guild members of mine in WoW complain about having to go do their MOT just the other day

Again thanks for your help! I'm putting my own guide together and those links will certainly be put in it.

You play WoW too?!?! That's awesome. What server are you on? I'm on Tanarais-Alliance- name is Syrinx-lvl 72 draenei pally. I'm a miner/blacksmith and I'm actually hoping to mine a ton of ore and sell it in the AH. I want to accumulate a bunch of gold and then sell it for real money to assist my move. ^_^

*derails the thread*

I was on US servers for a while, Alleria Alliance side, but then was convinced to move to the EU servers to play with my fiance and his mates I might restart my US account once I get the disposable income, I had a lvl 68 human mage that was *almost* there to 70 with BC. Now I have a lvl 80 blood elf mage, but right now I'm in the US so I don't normally get to play with a ton of people because of the time difference  I'm trying to save up for my epic flying, but gold burns a hole in my robes, methinks >.>

Haha that's funny about the gold thing. I had a mage up to lvl 70- a hordie on kargath. I rerolled pally though and I absolutely love it- I'm playing him as a shockadin which you should look up if you havn't already- it's a ton of fun to play!

As my mage, I never had gold either because I was always respeccing! Costly at 50g a pop lol. I'd like to see if Lynsey would start playing the game some day, but I don't know if she would get into it or not. I think she might like some of it because of the fantasy aspects, but I'm not sure about the part where you have to kill things because she's a Buddhist- not sure if that applies to video games or not though? lol

Yes the thread did get side tracked lol, but you answered my questions anyway, again ty. I don't have my epic flying yet either, but I'm making very good money as a miner- I'm actually buying ore in the AH and turning it into bars for free profit- absolutely no work involved other than smelting. Cobalt ore goes for 30g a stack of 20 and it converts into bars by 1 ore= 1 bar. I can then sell a stack of 20 bars for 45g!! that's a 50% profit for no work lol. I can't wait until I get into the titan ore and really start making some money. If I make enough I'm looking into playing it as a second job for making money to prepare for my move.

Anyway, I'm at work and need to get busy! Take care!

Haha that's funny about the gold thing. I had a mage up to lvl 70- a hordie on kargath. I rerolled pally though and I absolutely love it- I'm playing him as a shockadin which you should look up if you havn't already- it's a ton of fun to play!

As my mage, I never had gold either because I was always respeccing! Costly at 50g a pop lol. I'd like to see if Lynsey would start playing the game some day, but I don't know if she would get into it or not. I think she might like some of it because of the fantasy aspects, but I'm not sure about the part where you have to kill things because she's a Buddhist- not sure if that applies to video games or not though? lol

Yes the thread did get side tracked lol, but you answered my questions anyway, again ty. I don't have my epic flying yet either, but I'm making very good money as a miner- I'm actually buying ore in the AH and turning it into bars for free profit- absolutely no work involved other than smelting. Cobalt ore goes for 30g a stack of 20 and it converts into bars by 1 ore= 1 bar. I can then sell a stack of 20 bars for 45g!! that's a 50% profit for no work lol. I can't wait until I get into the titan ore and really start making some money. If I make enough I'm looking into playing it as a second job for making money to prepare for my move.

Anyway, I'm at work and need to get busy! Take care!

Hehe, thankfully they're putting in dual spec with the next patch, granted it's 1000g to unlock, but yeah I sometimes tinker with my fiance's paladin since he doesn't have the patience to level it at times, and it's fun once I get into a rhythm with it.

I'm not sure what the ore EU side is running at the moment but I love gathering professions--I got 600g on a druid just by doing herbalism/skinning. Granted, it was right before WOTLK when they put Inscription in, but it wasn't bad since I was starting off on a new server by myself (alliance nonetheless, everyone else I know plays horde). Even as a tailor sometimes I'm tempted to just buy cloth off the AH even if it's a bit overpriced because I get burnt out grinding the stuff 

Back on topic, no worries, it can be a little overwhelming to figure out all the nitty gritty details of things in the UK. I know I'll look like a big dork when I finally settle in the UK and ask my fiance quite obvious questions, but I think our SO's can be quite forgiving of us

In that area, I would say no unless you have kids to ferry about or work shifts.

They are not cheap to run.

I'd worry about all the other stuff you need to get through to get here and worry about finding employment and then worry about the car.

We live in a rural area where you really do need a car, but in a lot of places it can be more of a nuisance.

I have been without a car here since September (when my brother moved away from Bristol and took the only car I'm insured on with him ) and I have been managing fine getting the bus to work and into the shops (there is a bus I can get every 5-10 minutes). However, I got a call on the weekend to inform me that my brother had bought a new car, so I could have his (yay). I have had it back since Sunday though and I'm loving it as it makes things much easier (it cuts an hour off my work day because I can drive to work in 20 minutes, instead of leaving an hour early to get the bus and taking an hour to get back home after work).

Well the area Lynsey lives in is Cambridgeshire. I really do think I'd prefer to have my own car though. I dont really mind not being able to drive a stick as I dont really like it anyway .

I think the main thing you'd have to think about when deciding between being able to drive a stick or just an automatic is that because automatic cars are less common in the UK, it may be harder to find one and possibly more expensive to buy one, compared to a stick shift car.

I suppose I'll need to wait until I move to see where I need to go to pay all those fees and take the test?!

You will need to wait . Although you can drive on a US licence for up to 12 months after you arrive in the UK, it is advisable to try to pass the tests as soon as you can, as the UK driving test is notoriously difficult to pass. You will probably need to take a few lessons in order to unlearn any bad US driving habits and to learn the specific things you need to do to pass the UK test. You will also need to apply for a UK provisional licence, study for an pass the theory and hazard perception tests and then pass the practical driving test - not many people will pass the practical test the first time they take it (it took me a very long 15 months and 3 attempts at the practical test to pass when I was a teenager - although most people don't take that long to pass ... my youngest brother did it within 6 months, passing the practical test first time around - but both of us were learning from scratch at age 17).

Do they have used cars dealers in England?

Yes, and they have electricity and phones and TV and running water too! But no mixer taps. They are illegal.

 

Yes, and they have electricity and phones and TV and running water too! But no mixer taps. They are illegal.

 

Lol. Amazing!

It definately sounds like there's pro's and con's about driving and owning your own car. It may be that there are more con's than pro's but I'm going to have a hard time giving up my ability to just pick up and go wherever I want whenever I want.

Cambridgeshire is a big old county.  Is your partner in a city or a rural part?  She is probably the best person to ask if you need one or not.

Vicky

Lol. Amazing!

It definately sounds like there's pro's and con's about driving and owning your own car. It may be that there are more con's than pro's but I'm going to have a hard time giving up my ability to just pick up and go wherever I want whenever I want.

Maybe the road congestion, price of fuel and insurance and car tax will help you decide that.

Yeah the next time I get to chat with her, I'll ask her what she thinks. I know she takes taxi's, so maybe I wont really need one.

Good point Contrex.