Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
Expat life- Round 2 to London!
Back in 2013, I moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area to Singapore all within 4 months, so having almost 2 months to prepare for London seems like a lot of time, but there's so much to do.
Here's my to-do list, to share with you as much as it is for me to keep track:
Photo by Henning Witzel on Unsplash
Wrapping up life in Los Angeles
- Leaving current job- 7/27 Last day!
- I'm working up until the bitter end because I need $$$. Thankfully, I have a very supportive manager!
- Finding someone to take over my room- Done
- Craiglist is awesome! That's how I found my current apartment and how I found someone to take over the room.
- Transfer my car lease- In Progress
- Another shoutout to Craigslist!
- I didn't realize that breaking a car lease means that you have to pay the rest of the lease term. Thankfully, I was about to find someone to transfer the lease to. But, the process is taking longer than I expected since California's title change takes a long time.
- Also, need to cancel car insurance
- Packing up- In Progress
- I've donated SOOO many clothes and things. The goal is to be able to move there with 2 pieces of luggage and 1 carry-on...let's see how that goes.
- Book the flight- Done!
Photo by Luca Micheli on Unsplash
Prepping for life in London- Apply for UK Visa (T-4 Tier) In Progress
- After gathering all the required docs, I submitted my application online and scheduled a biometrics day. Then I mailed my application into the NY office. (submitted all within 1 week)
- Processing time: 15 days
- Expedite service is available.
- Con: The only way to track the progress is through a paid service
- Upon arriving, will need to:
- Pick up the biometric residence permit (BRP)
- Register with the police
- Register with NHW (Hospital close to you)
- Apply for European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
- Apply for National Insurance Number
- Find a place to live In Progress
- Check Facebook to see if there are groups available for where you're moving to. For me, there was an LBS page that I joined and am looking for a room with other LBS students.
- London specific:
- Typical to work with agents, which will include an administration fee on top of deposit & first-month rent. Often, references are also requested.
- There's something about local council tax, still looking into this.
- Open a bank account Researching
- Need a way to transfer $$$ internationally (with low cost)
- Revolut
- Monzo
- Transferwise
- Need a way to transfer $$$ internationally (with low cost)
- Cellphone Researching
- VodaPhone
- Three
- Giffgaff
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://joybeingjoy.com/?p=3911