Establishing your life in the UK

After spending the better part of the last 3 months deconstructing my life here in the US, its hit me like a ton of bricks that I now need to REconstruct this life/a life in the UK. Duh. 
Problem seems to be that I dont know what needs to be done and my husband rattled off a list of things and said he would take care of them, but I'd like to have a list of my own too since I am sure there are things he cannot do for me.
If there is another post detailing this, please point me in that direction as I couldnt find it.

The plan is to get all this boring stuff done ASAP (maybe week 1?) and then move on with actually LIVING (something I feel I havent dont much of whilst in this moving limbo) So heres my list so far:
1. Register with GP
2. Register with Job Centre for NI number
3. The hubs says to register with a dentist while our area one is accepting NHS patients which happens to be now.
4. Open bank account
5. Get mobile phone
6. Something about the Electoral Roll??

What am I missing?

Does your hub own the home?  Should you be on a deed or lease?  Jointly on bills?  Looking ahead, maybe you need to do something about wills?  Insurance?

Hubs does own his/our home.  I dont mind not being on the deed, but I will ask him.  We have already added my name to two bills so I have some proof of residence if needed.
We also then will need to alert the council that more than one person now resides in the house, right?

Oy will and insurance... I'll put that on week 2's list

6. Something about the Electoral Roll??

You can't be added to the electoral roll until you are a citizen. You do need to let the council know you have moved in, however, so the council tax can be updated.

ETA: cross-posted with your last post. Yes, assuming your husband is claiming the single person discount, this will need to be updated when you move in.

As far as the Electoral Roll goes, I believe that is just registering to vote, which you can't do since you aren't a citizen. Unless I am wrong... hopefully not, since I'm not on the Electoral Roll! (oops, x-posted with kate_mate)

As far as mobile phones, you may need hubby to do this for you. I have been here for more than a year and signed jointly to DH's bank account - I tried to get a phone the other day and he ended up having to do it because they said I had insufficient credit. I don't know about getting a bank account, but some people have had an easier time with this than others. We added me to DH's checking and savings accounts straight away and sent off for my debit card.

You will probably want to get your DH to add you to things like council tax and utility bills so you can save those statements for your ILR visa.

I'd say the first priorities are registering with GP and dentist, then scheduling NI appointment. For that appointment, you only need proof of looking for employment, like a letter or email inviting you to an interview, rejection letter, registration with an agency, or even an email that just says "Thanks for submitting your application." As long as they can see you are looking for work, you can get an NI number.

Really, that is about all you need to get started in your life here, so I think you will be fine and shouldn't worry too much. As long as you get those things done within the first few weeks, then you are on the right track. 

If you want a mobile for communication and not to establish credit, you can get a pay as you go SIM for free. You'll need to buy a phone though.

If you want a mobile for communication and not to establish credit, you can get a pay as you go SIM for free. You'll need to buy a phone though.

Good point!  Why didn't I think to mention that? 

After spending the better part of the last 3 months deconstructing my life here in the US, its hit me like a ton of bricks that I now need to REconstruct this life/a life in the UK. Duh.  
Problem seems to be that I dont know what needs to be done and my husband rattled off a list of things and said he would take care of them, but I'd like to have a list of my own too since I am sure there are things he cannot do for me.
If there is another post detailing this, please point me in that direction as I couldnt find it.

The plan is to get all this boring stuff done ASAP (maybe week 1?) and then move on with actually LIVING (something I feel I havent dont much of whilst in this moving limbo) So heres my list so far:
1. Register with GP
2. Register with Job Centre for NI number
3. The hubs says to register with a dentist while our area one is accepting NHS patients which happens to be now.
4. Open bank account
5. Get mobile phone
6. Something about the Electoral Roll??

What am I missing?

Driving?

I don't know if you plan to drive or get your UK licence at some point, but if you do, best to start sometime within your first year here, while your US licence is still valid for UK driving for one year from the day you arrive to settle.

That way, you have the option of extra practicing by yourself, or even just being able to run errands by yourself (or drive in an emergency if hubby can't), while still taking your lessons/applying for your test, etc.

If you wait to do the driving thing after your 1 year US licence grace period, you will be restricted to the status of a complete novice learner, bound by law to be accompanied by a UK licenced driver and unable to get in a car alone until your full UK licence is obtained.

Depending on the area you live, there can be a backlog and quite a few weeks wait-time for a test appointment, another thing to keep in mind during your first year here regarding being able to drive.  

Driving freaks me out more than anything else right now, although I know I have to suck it up and learn. I love to drive in the US and am a good driver, but all that changes on the other side, of course!  I deffo will not wait for a year, but think I will master the bus system before getting behind the wheel (for everyone's sake!)
But that does bring up a good point:  Insurance.  I have heard from a few people that their spouses current insurance wouldnt allow them to add a US licensed driver to their policy.  Is this a common occurance?

Re: phones - Hubs seems to think it will be easy to add a line to his O2 account, so I hope he is right about that.

Are there any other governement offices I need to register or check in with?

A useful thread -- I was thinking the same thing just last night. I had this sudden image of myself dismantling my life here, and wondering how on earth I was going to put it all together at the other end. I'll read this discussion with interest...

You'll probably need to get put on the council tax (not electoral roll) before you apply for a bank account, as the bank will require a proof of address and they accept utility bills

You'll probably need to get put on the council tax (not electoral roll) before you apply for a bank account, as the bank will require a proof of address and they accept utility bills

That's probably an excellent idea even if it ends up that you don't need to specifically to open an account. When I first tried to open an account when I got here, one of the bank workers told me I needed a council tax bill so I had to wait for that. WHen I finally got it, another bank worker said I didn't need it. So ask ten different people, get ten different answers.

And umm..this might sound obvious, but get a copy of the keys cut for yourself. One of those "duh, obviously!" things that we neglected to do until after a hubby took a day trip and I was left at home without toilet paper. 

And umm..this might sound obvious, but get a copy of the keys cut for yourself. One of those "duh, obviously!" things that we neglected to do until after a hubby took a day trip and I was left at home without toilet paper. 

Shiza! DH gave me the key to our house as soon as we drove up.  He did have to show me how to lock and unlock the doors, since I had never had to lift the handle first before locking. 

Insurance.  I have heard from a few people that their spouses current insurance wouldnt allow them to add a US licensed driver to their policy.  Is this a common occurance?

You'll have to do some investigation on this when the time comes.  My husband's insurance company would have added me, but it was going to cost a fortune.  We did end up finding a reasonably priced policy for me with a separate company.  My dh stayed on his...

Are there any other governement offices I need to register or check in with?

You may want to register your UK address with the US Embassy in London:
https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/

I'm terrified of driving too. We're actually about to go look at a car today because R's car is a two-seater (and not at all interested in giving it up), and I picked a school for my daughter that's a good ways out of town and am not particularly interested in spending two hours a day on the bus. It's scary as hell, though - I still can't remember which way to expect traffic when I'm crossing the street.

Mobile phones: R just added me to his plan today. I didn't try it on my own, so I don't know about issues with insufficient credit; we added me to his plan because he got a significant discount if I did, and after shopping around I wanted to go with Vodafone, which he already had.

Haven't registered with GP or dentist yet...    Am sure there are more things I'm forgetting.