Here are some thoughts that my wife pulled together on moving to the UK from the US…
- The biggest thing I was told by others that were already over here and what has become evident for us…bring a lot less clothes than you think you should and bring more personal things that will make your place feel like home. It truly is amazing what hanging a few pictures will do for your place and get you realizing that this is your home for the next 3+ years. People here just aren’t as concerned with the whole clothing issue…you just don’t need an expansive wardrobe.
- Now that I say that…the next thing will be about clothing. An excellent waterproof coat that has a hood is a must. I still don’t have one and that is one thing I wish nearly every other day that I had…it’s on my Christmas list. Also, really good shoes are important as most of us Americans walk absolutely everywhere we go.
- You’ll want to bring a few US to UK plug adapters for any electronics you have. We found that they are much cheaper in the States. It’s probably easiest to buy UK version of anything that does not have an internal voltage converter (e.g., most computers and monitors have internal voltage converters). We bought a 110 to 220 voltage converter, and it’s gathering dust in a wardrobe now. One qualification: if you have something that runs on 12V or less, you can buy voltage adapters here for about £10.
- Electronics are really expensive here…about double. We chose to ship our computer and monitor, which ended up being less expensive (and less hassle) than buying a new one here.
- We found that there are no queen size beds here. We brought 2 sets of queen sized linens with us that we fit onto our double bed here – works pretty well. It was nice that we had those linens and a set of towels already to get us started.
- There is a Tesco Extra (as close to Super-Walmart and/or Target that you get here) and Argos in Durham (both in Gilesgate Moor), and an IKEA (and other shopping) in Newcastle.
- We ended up renting a car for the first week we were here to be able to make runs to these stores fairly easily to get things set up. It made for a very smooth transition.
- If you are at all considering renting a house off campus, it helps to have copies of bank/financial statements and your University acceptance letter.
On the US side of things…our timeline went about like this:
February – Decided to attend Durham
March – Passport apps. for our children (a friend recommends epassportphoto as a cheap alternative to photos for passports and stuff–come over with a few extra because you’ll probably want them for student train passes and the like.
April – a big clean-out followed by a garage sale
May – Put our condo on the market
June – Visa apps.
July – Closed on our house, sold our car, and did a final garage sale ***We probably sold ~ 85-90% of what we owned. My parents are keeping some of our stuff for us while we are here.
August 1st. – Moved here. ***We chose August since we wanted to be here and settled before our son started school (first week in September). Many students don’t arrive until late September. I would recommend coming at least a week, if not two, before term starts so you can settle in–setting up banking, mobiles, etc. and just getting over jet lag before doing work.
SHIPPING: Through the post office we shipped 1) our desktop computer (~$175), 2) my books in M-bags (~$45/bag, which was a little more than the amount of books that would fit in a box for copying paper) and 3) a couple of boxes of odds and ends (~$100/box). The post office told my dad that the books couldn’t stay in a box within the M-bags, so they were just loosely placed in a large canvas bag for each load. Obviously the books were worse for wear over the trip. Nothing ruined but I wouldn’t recommended it. I talked to another student here, and they let him leave them in the boxes. If the Post Office tries to tell you that you can’t use boxes, just tell them you’ll take your chances with the VAT, which never get assessed unless it’s high tech stuff. Oh, and one of the 7 bags was lost, so consider insurance.
Look up form C3 on the UK Revenue and Customs web site, and turn it in before you ship things, so they’ll know this is your personal belongings as a student. This will keep your stuff from getting stuck in customs, and you having to pay VAT. If it does get stuck, just pay the VAT and send a letter with the C form and they’ll reimburse you. I had that happen.
Friday, 22 December 2006 at 8:35 am
Oh yes…one other tip I forgot for the wives out there. If you are a cook, it is a good idea to bring measuring cups and spoons with you. It would be difficult to make any of your American recipes without those as everything here is measured in grams and mls.
Saturday, 30 December 2006 at 9:24 pm
I’m curious to know whether or not your wife works, and if so … what is the process for getting a Visa etc ….
Thanks!
Monday, 1 January 2007 at 9:22 am
She doesn’t have a job yet because she hasn’t found one that fits around the boys’ school schedule. However, most spouses here work. Unlike the US, spouse-dependents are automatically allowed to work with a UK student visa. Here’s the site to apply online: http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/
Sunday, 4 February 2007 at 7:11 pm
Ben,
My husband and I have found the info on your website to be invaluable! Thanks so much! He has been accepted to Durham, and although has not made his final decision, there is a very good chance we will end up there in the fall. Do you have an estimate of how much it cost you to settle in, including plane tickets over etc … Did you buy one-way tickets? They don’t really seem to be all that much cheaper than round-trip … (We are also a family of 4). Any info would be great!
Thanks
Sunday, 4 February 2007 at 11:51 pm
For some reason, my reply doesn’t seem to be coming up, so I just added another page under the Moving to the UK page.
Saturday, 5 May 2007 at 9:18 pm
Hi Ben,
We have decided on Durham and should be moving in late August. I was wondering if your wife could email me - I have some more specific questions for her about the move etc and it would probably be easier via direct email than a gazillion comments through your blog.
thanks!
Friday, 15 June 2007 at 4:06 am
When we fly out in August we will likely be taking a connecting flight from Dublin to either Newcastle or Durham Valley Tees airports. Both Newcastle and Durham airports appear to be of equal distance from Durham city. Do you have any thoughts concerning which would be better to fly into and make it easier to get to Durham city?
Saturday, 16 June 2007 at 7:13 am
Newcastle (as well as Manchester and London) is definitely the favorite spot for people to fly in/out of. In fact, I don’t guess I remember anyone mentioning that they’ve flown into Tees. With NCL there is the Metro (subway) that takes you to the central railstaition, then you just take a train down to Durham. It costs about £8/person for the trip. Also, if you are with Ustinov, I think they may pick you up at the airport if you ask. That can be nice with all the luggage you have when moving.
Monday, 25 June 2007 at 2:21 am
Wow…we aren’t even coming to Durham and this info is so helpful and informative. I wish we had something like this when we were doing Xavier’s greencard stuff. Like you, it’s good that we’ve been through that experience so we can hopefully help others in the same situation.
Monday, 9 July 2007 at 3:07 pm
Ben-your blog has been an incredibly rich resource as my wife and I prepare to move to Edinburgh to do the whole PhD thing. I curious to know your thoughts on which and how many books to bring? Obviously the temptation is to bring far more than is needed or worth it, but what criteria should one use?
Blessings,
Derek
Tuesday, 10 July 2007 at 10:57 pm
Derek, Good question. I’ll give a few thoughts and may return with more after I talk with others.
I shipped 7 boxes over, and I think that I’d bring less over than I did. I brought my Pauline NT commentaries, a few other general NT works (Aland’s synopsis, etc.), and then also a few other general theology and OT stuff.
First off, try to get electronic copies of stuff, but that’s probably obvious. My main criteria are 1) almost all should be your subject area, 2) only bring books you’ll reference more than once. (so that means directly related to thesis research) 3) Bring what you can’t easily get at your school’s library. 4) Is is worth the expense of shipping both ways? Not only do you have to pay to ship them here, but also to ship them home later. From a friend who just moved back to the states, it’s apparently much more expensive going back. 5) Is it worth the space? Generally, living quarters are smaller here, and space may be an issue. Fortunately, I haven’t hit that issue yet.
I’ve found that commentaries are the major thing that I’ve used more than once, while some others are just collecting dust, at least now.
In the end I’d say do your list up and then pare it back by a box or two. Then have that 2nd tier set aside so if family/friends are coming over then you can have them bring volumes from there that you might need later. Then if you don’t need them, you don’t have to worry about them.
Godspeed on your move!
Saturday, 18 August 2007 at 12:44 am
Ben,
Just a couple of last minute packing questions:
Should I bring my graduate degree cap, gown, & hood? I’ve heard that college functions sometimes require academic dress.
Other than using M-bags, which are no longer used for overseas shipping as of May 14 (so says the USPS), do you know of another cheap way to ship books overseas? A 47 pound box of books I was about to ship will cost $175!
Even though it rains there almost year round, about what month does everyone begin to use heavy rain jackets? Christin and I just want to know if we should bring our rain coats now, or have our parents bring them out on a later visit.
Thanks!
John
Monday, 20 August 2007 at 10:10 am
On regalia, I’ve only been to one dinner that had robes as optional. Other than that, I’ve not had a need. Plus, robes here are not the thin, polyester type that are most often used in the US–they are thicker fabric ones.
On shipping books, I thought I saw an airmail version of M-bags on the USPS site, but I assume that will still be pretty expensive. There is also DHL, UPS, and FedEx that have surface options, though probably not a weight discount for books. Since you live near the coast you could look into actual shipping companies and have it delivered to Newcastle. It seems this is more often used when shipping furniture, and I think I remember that cost is more based on volume/size than weight.
On the rain, it doesn’t rain heavily here that often, so it’s more a question of temperature than rain, or of wind. I can’t remember exactly but come October most people are transitioning into regular winter clothes.
Monday, 31 December 2007 at 12:09 am
This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. I just got a job teaching in Kent for 7 months and I was completely lost as to what to bring. Thank you very much!!
Thursday, 8 May 2008 at 3:19 pm
Hi Ben,
Great site! This is a big help to my wife and I, who are planning to move to Durham this autumn for an MA/PhD program in the Department of Archaeology. I have a couple questions on the Visa process:
Concerning funding: What type of hard evidence do they require for demonstrating that you can fund your studies and living expenses?
Do you need to have all the cash in hand, or can some of it be anticipated income?
Will they allow you to say that you’re partially funding yourself with spouses anticipated income from work?
In general, what advice do you have for people who are applying for the Visa in terms of financial matters? In my case, we will need the student Visa for me, and dependent Visas for my wife and three children.
Thanks again.
Monday, 12 May 2008 at 7:25 pm
I know you don’t have to have cash in hand, though that would make your application a sure deal. I believe you have to show some type of loan availability or a source of income (such as a letter from someone vouching for their regular giving). Since I had some scholarship money, I’m not as up on what level of proof you need. I’ll ask around and get back.
Ben
Tuesday, 13 May 2008 at 3:33 pm
Thanks Ben. Since leaving the comment, I have found some more details in other comments around your site, but anything more you can find out would be appreciated. I’m really eager to arrive in Durham, but don’t want to have to leave them behind…even for a short while.