About pallega

Status:

Expatriate  

Currently Lives:

London, United Kingdom

Citizen Of:

United States

About pallega

We have worked in over 80 countries in the world.

Advice for New Expats

PREPARATION Do your research before asking questions. If you don't know where to research, ask that question. JUST ARRIVED Don't hide out. Join things. Reach out to existing expat communities. Reach out to the local community as well - quick integration makes a better experience.

I would love to live in...

On a beach

Education:

University of Phoenix
  1996 to 1998

Universiry of California
  1998 to 2000

Favorite Websites:

http://www.tripadvisor.com

Favorite Assignment:

London

Favorite Cuisine:

Italian

Favorite Museum:

Smithsonian

Favorite Book:

Black Swan by Nassim Taleb

Favorite Sports Team:

Chelsea

Some Forum Posts:

United Kingdom: what happens if schools oversubscribed?:

The allocation happened last year, so you may have to wait and do some home schooling for awhile until they find a place for you.

United Kingdom: Moving to London as family of 4:

All these areas are great. Try commutefrom.com to understand commute times to Bank. We live in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and can tell you that, although many of the State schools are good, the primary schools are over-subscribed. You should start school hunting right now. Using the goodschoolsguide (google it and buy a subscription) to short list, you should then call the schools and talk about their school. You should also ask about how to get in. You'll have to call the local councils and check their websites for how long it takes to get into school. Because you won't be there for the start of the reception year (ages 4-5), you may have already missed the registration deadline of last January and will be coming in mid-year. This will make it challenging as most of the places will already be full. But, if you're saying that your little one will still be 5 by July 2016 then you'll want to get registered for the 2015-16 class by the end of December. This means that you'll need a local address by then. Again, check with the local council on that. Blackheath sits on the Lewisham/Greenwich council border; so, some properties come under one jurisdiction and others under the other one. Both Blackheath and Greenwich are gorgeous and we're all over those places every weekend. Real estate operates differrently here. There is no MLS and estate agents can't take you to see properties not on their roster. They also won't be too keen to take you to see properties when you won't be renting for 6 more months. The property market moves fast here and you should be shopping no more than 2 months before you need to rent as it WILL take time to verify your ability to pay, employment, etc. If you want to see properties on this trip, tell them that you're looking to move in within 2 months or the estate agents will be less likely to help. Estate agents may be knowledgeable about local schools, but most likely they won't. Hopefully, you're getting a relocation specialist who can advise you. Saunders 1865 was the firm we used years ago. Good luck!

United Kingdom: Need Furniture for Your Move? I Can Help!:

Do you have a gumtree listing of your items for sale that I can point others to, and have a look myself?

United Kingdom: UK visa advisor recommendation:

When your visa expires, you need another one to stay or you need ILR and/or citizenship. There are no other options.

United Kingdom: Visiting with children:

Only 4 weeks or so? Try gumtree or airbnb or vrbo or homeaway.co.uk. If he has to be in Oxford, he could search online for Oxford. He'll also need childcare if he's going to be working as it's against the law to let an 8 and 11 year old just take care of themselves in house alone. Sitters.co.uk could provide assistance, but it will run around £70 a day. If he's doing this through work, then work should be helping him out with temporary relocation or corporate housing or a hotel?

United Kingdom: Moving to the UK with spouse:

When it comes to UKBA, there's little that's OTT. If you read all the details of what they want and tick every box for the evidence required, and go a little OTT, it can only help. Good luck!

United Kingdom: 1 week rental:

You may want to post this in a forum related to Bulgaria, rather than the UK forum. Try AirBnB?

United Kingdom: Estate Agent Fees:

The last flat we rented from 2012-13 came with no fees, other than the cleaning deposit. We do know of some estate agents who have been asking for 6 months upfront, but you really need to verify that DIRECTLY with the landlord as, most of the time, it's BS. We've never been charged to check our details. You have no credit here, so you'll have to provide your work visa and employment contract as well as a bank contact. It can take a few weeks to get it sorted. It's not a check and you get the keys sort of thing. Sounds like NYC is taking piss. But, that's in line with taxes and tips in NYC too.

United Kingdom: pretty basic visa question:

You can't go in and out on a general tourist visa. The UKBA looks for such things. They'll refuse you entry if they think that you're gaming the system. BUT, you can go for a general visitor visa - allowing you to stay for 6 months at a time (but you have to leave for some time) over a 5-10 year period (e.g., multiple 6 month visits, but not back to back). More info on applying here: https://www.gov.uk/general-visit-visa You may also wish to look at other European countries who are more favorable to Americans looking to retire. Italy is one. The Italian elective residency visa is the type of visa generally used by foreigners who are retired and can collect income from a retirement or pension plan. To obtain an elective residency visa, you must apply in person to the specific Italian consulate that covers your jurisdiction before leaving home. Of course, you'll need to buy private medical insurance, but the medical care in Italy is fantastic (if you pick the right region) and the living is nice (again, in the right region - not Rome). You can also look up immigration lawyers in the UK and seek and alternative answer. The UK's immigration policy is VERY strict right now and will be stricter in 2016. The government is seeking to greatly reduce the number of immigrants to the UK. You should also look for an ancestry connection - perhaps you have a European passport in your ancestry and didn't know it (e.g., for example, Spain and Italy do it jure sanguinus). Good luck!

United Kingdom: long term stay 101:

On 27 November 2008 the retired persons of independent means immigration category was closed to new entrants. That put an end to retiring and moving to the UK. The UK government further restricted visa options recently (more can be found on such options here: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/long-visit-visas). If you're not working, studying, or investing in a business in the UK, then you'd have to find an ancestor is any European country (not past grandparent, and in some cases parents only) and sometimes that can take years (depending upon your situation). A friend of mine pulled out Spanish citizenship within 6 months, because his Mother was Spanish and he had been born on a US base in Spain. You may also want to hunt around the rest of the EU and look for a "retired person of independent means" type of visa option there, too. Good luck on your next adventure!

Date Joined:

1/20/2004

Total Posts:

537

Posts/Day:

0.11