Moving to the UK soon - I have no idea what I'm doing! HELP!

Okay so a few years back I entered this sort of business venture.  It paid off pretty big.  The product was a success and I now have a decent amount of money.

So the company I freelanced for is trying to get me and some coworkers over there.  We're pretty far in the visa process and it's expected to clear early to mid April.  However there's one problem...

I have NO idea what I'm doing.

I'm 28 but until I move to the UK from California I'll have lived with my parents my whole life.  It took me a while to find some good success but it happened.
I've got zero experience with this stuff.  I've never even paid rent.

Now, I the company's support in the move is limited and it seems to think it's easier to make the move than I think it is.

We're getting close to the date but I still don't have a sure date.  I'm expected to make the move basically as soon as the visa comes in.  I have no idea what I'm going to do about setting up a bank, where to live, taxes, or really much of anything.  I've never even looked for another place in the US much less the UK.  How does one find a place to live...  while out of the country?  Can I set up a UK bank account from here?  Am I destined to Hotel it up somewhere while I set everything up?

I get the feeling I'm massively unprepared.  Money isn't an issue (to a degree, again I'm not RICH) but this is just something I'm not sure how to deal with.


Any advice?  Tell me everything!  lol I'm afraid I'll have to spend a LOT of $$$ on Hotels while I set up...  I went there once before to meet my coworkers and it's freakin' expensive.

Any advice on finding a place?  All the places by the office (in E14, London) seem to be over what I want to spend.  How do I find a place...  without being there?

Also what kind of tax stuff can I expect?  It's hard to say how much money I'll be making since I'm getting close to the minimum allowed for a visa + a profit share (which can go way up or way down).





EDIT: And I the only American who hates being called a Yankee?  I'm not a Yankee.  Those are in New York or something ;p.  I'm just American.  I really am irked by the term.  Guess I'm going to have to get used to it...

Others will likely be able to chime in about other aspects, but I have a few tips potentially!

Welcome to the London housing market.  Renters have far fewer rights here than the US, and especially California.  As you are new to the UK and renting overall, I would highly suggest finding a flat share situation.  A flat share will likely have a lot of things set up already - like a tv, cooking utensils, furniture, etc.  It can also help you along with getting to know the city and meeting new people by living with others who already know the area.  There are some fantastic flat shares about in great houses - check spareroom.co.uk to see what is available.

Also - learn about public transport.  If you don't want to live in E14, you don't have to.  Figure out how much you want to spent per month on rent and how long you want to commute and go from there.  The East End is only now up and coming, there are better places to live more central in the city or in the inner suburbs if you want more space and trees etc.  If you hit the housing thing hard you could maybe avoid staying in a hotel for longer than two weeks.  Alternatively, try airbnb.com for cheaper stays in people's apartments.

For banking - good luck.  This is a major hassle for expats.  Get documentation from your company that you are employed by them.  You can try to take that with you to a bank, along with your passport and visa, and see what type of an account you can get.  IF one bank turns you down, try another.  Yes, its lame and archaic, but that is how it goes here.  Alternatively, I have seen a company that offers to set these things up- I think its 1stcontactkickstart.com.  I haven't used them, but have read of others who have and thought it was decent value for money to skip the banking stupidity.  If you feel this overwhelmed, you may want to give that a shot.

When you get here, make sure to get an Oyster card for transport.  You can buy these at plenty of newsagents that have the sign in the window.  You can also order them ahead of time to be delivered to your US address if that is easier.

Taxes I have no clue - lol.  You may need to find specialist advice for that issue.

Your company needs to be providing you support to get started.  Things you should reasonably require:

 - A serviced apartment for 30 days while you find permanent housing
 - assistance in signing for a flat.  As Bernice said you are not going to be able to set up a bank account until you have a lease....  And you won't be able to get a lease without a bank account.  You will need your company to guarantee your deposits and possibly lay them out for you (and then you pay your company).  It is not unheard of for new US arrivals with no credit history in the UK to need to pay six months rent in advance plus a deposit.
 - your company should provide you with tax support.  Will you be paid in GBP or USD?  You will have to file taxes in both the US  and UK and everything over about $99k will be subject to tax in both countries.  You'll want professional assistance to help reduce your tax obligations and your company should ensure you are "whole" or compensated for this.

They should also be helping you ship some belongings and providing a trip or two home each year, etc.

Look at rightmove.co.uk for an idea of properties.  Often these are out of date listings by agents to get you to call and then they'll show you something else entirely but it will give you an idea of what your budget will get you.  They are usually priced weekly, so to figure out your rent, multiply by 52 and divide by 12.

I don't think there are plans to really provide anything simply because this company is new and doesn't seem to think it's necessary and I'm pretty sure we're all underestimating how difficult it will be for the 3 Americans that are going to move there .  I'll try to talk to them about this.


Is there not a way I can set up a UK bank account from here in the states?  Like with Citibank or another bank that's in both places?


How bad are the taxes past 99k?  Since I'm on profit share it could very well go beyond that.  For 2013 it went beyond that and for 2014 so far it's gone beyond that (though I'm still in the US and they can't touch this money, but it can keep going beyond that when I move there)?  What kind of % could I expect to pay if I went over 99k?  Like I get paid less as the salary but still get a % which if the product continues doing well could bring me way above 99k (that's an assumption).
Are the taxes the difference between countries?  Or some horrible nightmare scenario where it stacks?

Is it as bad as like double taxation?  Sounds like double taxation .  Again since the company is brand new and small I'm doubting they're going to provide tax support (being paid in GBP when I get there but maybe USD too if I continue using my US Banks here).


I'm not sure I can rely on the company to help out too much.  I don't know if I'm being paranoid about the difficulty of the move.  I'm imagining suddenly becoming a London Hobo and dying in the cold.  
The boss seems convinced it's "easy" and quotes some American ExPat friends.


EDIT: I'm looking at a Barclays Account that I can supposedly set up BEFORE I go to the UK.  How easy is this?  Will it be just fine for getting a lease?

Perhaps you should point your boss to this website? You should have help, the first and foremost being the services of an experienced tax professional when you file US taxes.

My husband and I have relocated to 2 countries with very little help, other than with tax, and it's not easy. In fact I did all the relocation "work" for no pay while he went to the office, it's very time consuming, so make sure your company realizes you will need time during the working week to find a flat, get your National Insurance number, register with a doctor, get a bank account set up.

I can appreciate the small business/shoestring thing, but anything international is difficult.  We recently moved here with no jobs/nothing and STILL don't have bank accounts after two months, with EU permits/passports.  Short of having friends and family in three countries supporting us in this endeavour, I can't even imagine what it would have cost had we done this on our own otherwise.  There is just too much red tape/time for everything to happen.

Your boss seriously needs to sit down and get a realistic grip on what the needs are of these three employees moving over.  Do you have a viable timeline as to when your visa will be issued?  Who applied for those?  Does he understand that when you and your compatriots get here you cannot just be thrown to the wolves and expected to pay out of pocket for re-establishing your lives in another country?  Between housing, banking, NI interviews, setting up utilities and phone accounts, and everything else inbetween, its going to take time and support.  Are you expected to pay for your own flight over as well?

IF its a small company I wouldn't expect you to be getting the full expat package that the big corps give out, but I would expect SOMETHING.  At the very least housing assistance for 30 days, a flight over, and taxation assistance.  Taxation is going to be huge for you, and you need a qualified tax professional who has experience in these matters.

I am sure your bosses 'expat friends' likely had smooth transitions due to the backing of big companies or other special circumstances.  Its not.

Is there a reason why you need to be in the UK to do this job?  Sounds like staying in the US would be the better move right now if the support is not in place.

For overseas bank accounts you could try some of the international accounts that allow multi-currency benefits, though they usually require a certain (high) level of savings in the account.

Sorry to get ranty, but this past month I have been helping out my friend in HR with her company (with £10M turnover annually) trying to move three people to the US.  They even have lawyers and Paychex in the US doing the heavy lifting, but the differences in tax and employment terms has been difficult for them to grasp as well.  That company also thought it was as easy as just setting up an office and hiring some Americans and sending over a Brit for a few months.  They too were blindsided by the difficulty.

EDIT: And I the only American who hates being called a Yankee?  I'm not a Yankee.  Those are in New York or something ;p.  I'm just American.  I really am irked by the term.  Guess I'm going to have to get used to it...

No you are not.  I'm a native Midwesterner, and dislike the term Yankee.  When I had an English boyfriend, I got him to quit using the term (at least in relation to me).

Has your company appointed someone in the UK to deal with the legal side: registering the company, setting up company bank accounts, company tax and national insurance? There are companies who provide this service for a fee, sounds like your boss needs some help. There is a lot to do to ensure that your company complies with UK law!

Here is a link to a company recently launched in at the Consulate General in NY by UKTI (Britain's Trade and Investment organization) to assist companies relocating to the UK: http://www.consideritdonelondon.com

How very exciting! 

First and foremost, getting the visa sorted is a big priority- which sounds like the company is helping with this? (Hopefully they're using qualified solicitors for this, because they'll need to do all the legal requirements for visa sponsorship and all that)

We (UKY) can help you on this site to try and find areas to live and how to set up bank accounts and getting registered with a GP (NHS), how to get a national insurance number, how to get a driving license, how to find whatever food you're missing.... 

You may need to live in a hotel/B&B for a bit -it's hard to get a place to live without a bank account, hard to get a bank account without a place to live!  You may want to start saving up to be able to pay up to 6 months rent upfront - (A flatshare may be your best bet at first, like someone else posted).

Have a browse through our boards- lots of good information on good places to live in London, etc.

Good luck! 
 

Is it as bad as like double taxation?  Sounds like double taxation .  Again since the company is brand new and small I'm doubting they're going to provide tax support (being paid in GBP when I get there but maybe USD too if I continue using my US Banks here).

Yes, it is as bad as double taxation.  You are only exempt from US tax on the first $99k-ish.  You will need to hire a professional who understands UK and US tax code to be able to minimize your exposure.  This is something your company should be paying for, as a good professional will set you back a couple of £k.

Yes, it is as bad as double taxation.  You are only exempt from US tax on the first $99k-ish.  You will need to hire a professional who understands UK and US tax code to be able to minimize your exposure.  This is something your company should be paying for, as a good professional will set you back a couple of £k.

Actually, unless it's an unusual source of income that falls through the cracks of the US tax code, even above that you'd be able to take a foreign tax credit for the income tax you pay to the UK government. Except for those rare cases you wouldn't be "double taxed" - the most you'd have to pay would be the larger of the two amounts (which given the tax rates in the two countries would in most cases be the UK amount; it's typically USCs that live in low- or no-income-tax countries that are hit with the bite of owing money to the US government).

Unusual source of income?

Is a profit share an unusual source of income?  Software products sold worldwide.  Get a % of the profits from those sales. 

Is that unusual?  It's on top of the salary.

Unusual source of income?

Is a profit share an unusual source of income?  Software products sold worldwide.  Get a % of the profits from those sales.  

Is that unusual?  It's on top of the salary.

No, I think that income is eligible for the FTC. What I mean of "unusual" is from one of the few sources that you can't take a credit on (one of which I know about is income from countries like Cuba or North Korea that the US doesn't like). The only reason I even bothered saying that is because someone might come on here and say that not all income is creditable, but I think for your purpose you don't have to worry.

Have the Business Development department at your company get in touch with UKTI at the British Consulate General in LA. Their inward investment section assists companies setting up in the UK. Unless things have changed in the last 5 or so years their services are free, and they can advise on finding premises in the UK, putting you in touch with legal bods who can advise on company structure and compliance, visas etc. There's a lot to know, and you can't just turn up and start working without the correct paperwork. (I used to work for UKTI, and you wouldn't believe the number of companies who got in touch after the fact and wished they'd taken free help before making the move).

If all else fails.....stay in a hostel until you find a flat.