Establishing your life in the UK

Hell, I was born here so I must have been way overdue getting mine! 

Aww you mean you didn't get your license at 11 months 29 days and 23 hours old? What's wrong with you?? 

Thank God.

Now the problem is convincing the insurance company of this.  Not everyone insures foreign drivers, and they (Churchill) gave me a really good rate.

He did say re-entry was the primary reason that the year doesn't re-set, that some people abused the system in the past and never bother getting a UK license because they could simply leave and have a fresh year to drive when they got back.

That was exactly what I was advised to do by the BSM instructor I had!  Mind you, that was eons ago.

If that were true I would have had to of gotten a UK license in 2005 from the 5 days I spent here as a visitor on vacation- a full 3 years before I moved here in 2008  

LOL, I'd have had to have gotten my UK license in 1998 if this was the case! 

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.

Sorry being so damn, but what means GP?

GP = General Practitioner...aka family doctor.

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

This is a great thread, thanks for posting! I have been here in the UK a few weeks, in Southampton, and had no idea about the council tax thingie!

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...

My DH added me to his car insurance when I was here on a 6-month visit before we were married. He just had to do a lot of haggling. I arrived in September and he waited until December when it was time to negotiate a new year of insurance. He ended up being able to add me for an extra 10 pound/month, which I think is pretty good. Car insurance companies are very competitive so you have to be ruthless

Which reminds me, now that I have my spousal visa and live here, I might need to change that insurance policy, ugh!

What am I missing?

I thought of something, your U.S. credit card companies/banks might start wondering why you are using the cards in the U.K. if you have them and plan to use them. I wouldn't suggest alerting them per se unless of course you want to, but be prepared if you try to rent a car or do some shopping, there are new (not so new) fraud protections that might stop you from being able to use the card(s).

It is not really a big deal, it's just good to think about and be aware of. I got caught in a French rental car office trying to phone the U.S. to find out why my card wasn't working. Turned out they just wanted a courtesy call to let them know I was travelling and it was indeed me using the card and it hadn't been stolen. So it's a good thing that they do this but with the time difference I had a hard time getting through and I was in a hurry to get to a wedding.

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.

I hadn't thought about establishing credit in the U.K. I have credit history in the U.S. Do you think there's a difference?

My DH added a phone plan to his Virgin plan and got a new phone and I got his old phone. I think it was an extra 10 pound/month and I actually get more minutes than he does 

I hadn't thought about establishing credit in the U.K. I have credit history in the U.S. Do you think there's a difference?

Um, yes.  One is in the US and one is in the UK.  Would you expect your US credit history to transfer if you moved to Japan?  You have to establish credit in each country separately.

Um, yes.  One is in the US and one is in the UK.  Would you expect your US credit history to transfer if you moved to Japan?  You have to establish credit in each country separately.

Just to further what historyenne has already said, there is an EXTENSIVE topic already on this subject: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=54880.0.

Um, yes.  One is in the US and one is in the UK.  Would you expect your US credit history to transfer if you moved to Japan?  You have to establish credit in each country separately.

I just never thought about it. The thread that is pointed to is very helpful. Thanks.

It's scary as hell, though - I still can't remember which way to expect traffic when I'm crossing the street.

It's helpfully painted on the road at many crosswalks which way you should look before crossing.  At least in most of the cities I've been to in the UK.  Or you could do what I do and look both ways-repeadtedly-before crossing. 

It's helpfully painted on the road at many crosswalks which way you should look before crossing.  At least in most of the cities I've been to in the UK.  Or you could do what I do and look both ways-repeadtedly-before crossing. 

Yes, that is very helpful.  But it is that instinct that throws you as you hover on a kerb.  Makes you feel very uneasy for a split second before your rational brain kicks in and tells you to look both ways (which you should do anyway!)