First Things to Do Upon Arrival

Hey everyone! I'm prepping for my November 10th move and I'm just trying to get ahead of the game.  I know there is a LOT to do upon moving abroad so I'm looking for some input as to what you did/didn't do when you first made it to England. My list so far is to take care of the following first.
-Register with NHS
-Apply for a NI#
-set up a bank account
-find a cell phone.

Any input is appreciated!

Advice for those who have just arrived on a spousal visa   

I did the phone thing first. Go straight to your nearest phone provider, preferably one that is not affiliated with any one particular provider and ask the guy for his cheapest phone and sim combo. It has been a life saver for flat hunting etc. As soon as we have an address we are getting our iPhones jail broken and our giffgaff sims mailed to us.

Actually, there is some advice for you. If you have a great phone that you love you can get it unlocked here if it is GSM enabled. Be about £20 or so. Much cheaper than a new smart phone.

Also, make friends with Martin of moneysavingexpert.com.

I found that for me it made things much easier to get both my husband's and my name on the council bill and ulitlities right away.  This made setting other things up easier like the bank account and nhs.  Often you need to provide something with your name and address on so having that stuff coming right away was helpful.

Thanks guys that's very helpful!  I think I've got my name on the council bills already.  Right now I've got a Blackberry Storm through Verizon in the states.  I'm itching to get rid of it.  I was wondering if maybe you or anyone know about getting a new smartphone on ebay for cheap and then activating it with a pay as you go plan?  I'm sure I can live without a smart phone for a while, but I'll get bored easily without it!

You can find a lot of dodgy type phone stores that sell unlocked refurbished phones so you can at least see what one you would want to get before committing to eBay.

Thanks guys that's very helpful!  I think I've got my name on the council bills already.  Right now I've got a Blackberry Storm through Verizon in the states.  I'm itching to get rid of it.  I was wondering if maybe you or anyone know about getting a new smartphone on ebay for cheap and then activating it with a pay as you go plan?  I'm sure I can live without a smart phone for a while, but I'll get bored easily without it!

I personally have bought my iphone on ebay and it cost like 1/2 the price it would in shops. I've had no issues with it.

GibbyGab-How did you go about getting minutes etc. for it?

You can buy a simcard at most stores/airports for a pound and then top it up over the phone. I personally use giffgaff because for £10/month you can get unlimited internet data, unlimited texts, and like 250 mins. Best deal I found so far!

Also, you can order a free sim from any company you choose to go with. If you want to have a contract phone, you'll probably have to pay a deposit first to get it.

moneysavingexpert.com has a run down of the best sim only PAYG sims for iphones. I bet they will have the same for other makes of phones as well.

What phone company have all the expats had luck with? You know as far as not having UK credit etc..? I would be bringing my Droid 3 (which has global compatibility) and just getting it unlocked there