First, a note. This posting is being made to the web site more than a year after I returned to the United States. I actually wrote most of it while in my first few months in Oxford when things were fresh in my mind. But other matters got in the way and, until a recent email from a reader, I just hadn't revisited the entry I wrote. So I finished it up and polished a few of the rusty knobs. I hope you'll find this guide useful. As I re-read it, I was taken back to those exciting and stressful days before our move to Oxford. I can honestly say it was as fun and exciting as I hoped it would be and it was worth all the effort we put into planning our move. I only wish we could have stayed a few more years to enjoy England and the Continent. On with the entry.
**Note - the Oxford Outsider's Guide is written by an American living in Oxford whose husband is a post-graduate student. This guide is intended for entertainment value and, if you want, a little information. It should not be used as a basis for selecting a college or for a decision about applying to Oxford. The guide is written by an Oxford newcomer and meant simply to convey things as I see them.**
So you're about to make a big move across the ole pond, eh? Great! What you want is one, central place where there is just a nice, big fat, "TO DO" list, right? Well, unfortunately there is no such thing. And yet there are dozens of "tips" sites that give you part of the picture. I'll do my best to synthesize the information I have from my own experience and give you as much "real" advice as I can. I will write this from the point of view of an Oxford student and spouse, of course, so just keep that in mind if you're in a different situation.
THE TIMEFRAME
When you go online or look in books for info, they almost all say "start early," but few give you an exact timetable. For us, it was a process of years, but for you it may be condensable. We visited (see next section) about two years ahead of time, but you might not need to do so that far in advance. Our real preparations began in April when Andrew was accepted to Oxford. We moved in Septemer. That gave us a total of about 5 months during which we planned and executed all the details of our move. It seems like a lot of time and probably is, but, no matter how well you plan, the last month and a half or more will be almost unbelievably hectic. There are just a lot of little things you have to do last-minute. So my advice is to start serious planning about 6 months before you plan to move and speed things up as you go. Don't plan to work full time for at LEAST a month before you go if you can help it. If you have a spouse or partner, at least one of you should take a minimum of a month off.
SECTION I - WHEN YOU ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONSIDERATION
Step 1 - Visit and investigate
(if you don't have a passport, apply for one at least a month before you do step 1 - see step 3 for info on getting a passport)
It probably sounds obvious, but do visit the exact town and area you are interested in living in before you decide to move there. If you're a student on a budget, see if you can get a cheap student rate (STA travel is a wonderful blessing for students) and come over for just a week or two with someone whose opinion you value. Visit as many universities and colleges you can AND other local sites you might frequent (bars, pubs, restaurants, libraries, supermarkets, etc.).
Ask lots of questions and write things down about everything you can think of, especially different areas of town you like/don't like. We did this in the summer of 2000 when we came over for 9 days and visited about 5 different universities. It wasn't cheap (I think we paid in the neighborhood of $3000-5000 for the whole visit), but we were glad we did it because we wound up completely re-working our list of choices based on our visit. We had considered Glasgow and London much further toward the top until we visited and found we didn't care much for the cities. This moved York much higher on our list. So, visit, make notes, and ask lots of questions of people who work, live and study where you are interested in being. Ask about how much rent and food are, what the weather is really like, what areas of town are good/bad/trendy, and how the locals feel about Americans.
Then take all those observations (and hopefully pictures) back to the states with you to stew. I really suggest to write down notes and impressions of each place as you visit. Things can fade quickly when you're jaunting around a new continent, and its easy to forget what you saw where or what your true impressions were. If you just can't afford to visit first, go online and look around for both official and unofficial web sites of the city, county, schools, and local businesses. Also look for blogs and other personal sites.
Another helpful thing Andrew did was to email lots of people both before our visit (to arrange meetings with professors, students and administrators; a surprising number of well-respected professors took over an hour out of their day to discuss grad school with an American tourist who hadn't even applied to their school yet). He also emailed and called people after our visit. Some were for follow-ups after he'd met with them. Others were new contacts he looked up to get more info. Information is your friend in this game. ASK QUESTIONS!
Step 2 - Apply
Once you know where you want to go, get out your resume or applications. If you are a student, you'll probably find that the UK colleges have much later deadlines than stateside schools. This is very unfortunate because the big grants and scholarships in the USA have deadlines which are much earlier. Therefore, in most cases, you can't put on the scholarship application that you have been accepted because you can't even turn in your application yet. This can be a big problem for students who can't fund their own studies. Unfortunately, you just have to go for it and hope you win the grants. If not, you will end up needing to apply for student loans, which is what we have had to do this year.
Do apply to your university program as soon as you can and be prepared to be very patient in waiting for a response. Andrew kept in contact with the university and others via email while he was waiting. Be patient and don't hound them, especially the universities.
If you are coming here to work, there are lots of web sites with UK jobs. Over here nobody has a resume, it's a CV (curriculum vitae) whether you are in academia or a blue collar job. Anyway, send your CV all over and see what you hear. Your field and where you want to move will determine how long this will take. As the spouse of a full time student, you can legally work full time in the UK with a simple stamp on your passport. Other situations don't allow you to work in the UK, so be sure to investigate the necessary paperwork before you try to work
While you are waiting for acceptance to a university or job, go ahead and start making some basic preparations (see below), There are certain things that don't cost much and won't commit you to an overseas move if something should go wrong. Get these things out of the way early so you don't have to worry about them when you're knee deep in moving overseas.
Step 3 - Prepare some basics
The first thing to do once you think you're probably moving overseas is to get your passport if you don't have one already. Actually, you need to do so before you go for your visit. Be warned that passports are not an overnight thing. Get the paperwork, get your photos taken. Yes, you have to get special photos taken for a passport. AAA has good prices for members; Kinko's does them and so do a ton of other places. Get the pictures and get your application sent in. I recommend you apply for a passport at least a month or two before you'll need it. Note that passports aren't free and you will have to do some running around to get the necessary "stuff" for your application. So get the info early and get it in. Rush passports are much more costly than standard processing.
Another thing you should start doing early is looking into cheap airfares. If you are a student, check with the student travel agency. I highly recommend Virgin Atlantic if you can find good fares with them (we have always been able to). They have very nice amenities and the best service of any international airline. You don't need to book your flights just yet, but get an idea of the prices for your desired move time. Summer prices are considerably higher than other times of the year, so if you can wait until a bit later in the year to move (UK colleges generally start later than American ones anyway), I suggest you do so.
This is also a good time to start getting your immigration paperwork together. When you come through customs, you will be asked how long you are staying and the purpose of your visit. If you're staying for a particularly long time, you'll need documentation to prove you can support yourself. That means a bank statement, loan information, grant information, or proof of employment in the UK. You'll need a letter of acceptance if you are to be studying in the UK. You'll also need proof of immunizations. If a spouse is going with you, you'll need a copy of your marriage license. There are lots of different things you may need depending on your situation, so go ahead and start requesting copies of things like immunization records, school transcripts, birth certificates, etc. Basically you have to prove to them you are who you say you are, you have a legitimate and proven reason to enter the country, and you can afford to live there for the appointed amount of time. They will not let you in without this proof!
If you live with animals, seriously consider whether you want to try to move them with you, leave them with loved ones, or have someone adopt them. PLEASE do not leave this decision until the last minute! Every your thousands of animals are abandoned when their "owners" move and can't find homes. More are sent to animal shelters where more than half are euthanized because homes can't be found. DON'T BE THAT PERSON! Be responsible for your animals as you would your children. If you want to leave them state-side, find a reliable loved one to adopt or care for them. If they are caring for them and you want your animal(s) back upon your return, have a detailed contract written up and discuss it with your caretakers thoroughly (feel free to email me for an example of the one I wrote). If you wish to take animals with you to the UK, read all the information on the PETS scheme carefully, talk to your veterinarian AT LEAST 9 MONTHS BEFORE YOU MOVE to determine that your animal is healthy enough to travel via cargo to the UK, to undergo the required shots, and to have a microchip implanted. And start looking for animal-friendly lodging EARLY. Be warned that to take your animal along is very expensive, requires them to take a long flight in the cargo hold, and will cause you to have to pay much more for rent if you are going to live in a flat (that's IF you can find a flat that allows animals). You need to KNOW early, or you could end up sending your animal to an overcrowded shelter or to live with somebody who doesn't really want to care for him/her.
Contact your doctor about moving overseas. Make sure you have an up to date product information sheet for any medicines you take. A lot of medications, especially prescription drugs, have different names in the UK. If you have the little package insert which tells exactly what drugs and how much are in the medicine, they can often look it up and find a UK equivalent.
I will re-iterate to make a point here, too. While you're waiting for news, continue scouring the internet for information on where you'll be living, what the people are like, webcams, blogs, traditions, customs, weather, etc. Start reading the BBC and other English news sources to get up on what people here are talking about. See if your local PBS or other channel plays the nightly BBC World news broadcast and watch it if you can. Pay attention to international news. Check out atlases and maps and learn the counties in England and the cities in the area where you'll be living. If you're moving to London, study the maps of the London Underground. Figure out which areas contain things you are interested in visiting.
I also suggest picking up a copy of Lonely Planet's British Phrasebook to peruse. It's a fun way to get to know some of the slang they use in England. While you'll be able to get by, you'd be surprised how many British phrases you never hear in the United States and how many you do hear that the English never really use. Do you know what a busman's holiday is? Can you properly use "sorry" and "cheers"? Do you know how to respond when someone says "Alright"? The book will help you with these quandaries.
SECTION II - WHEN YOU'RE PRETTY SURE YOU'RE GOING TO BE MOVING
For us, moving to England kind of happened in stages. For over a year we thought it was "very likely," but couldn't be sure because Andrew hadn't actually been accepted to Oxford yet. So we could only do preliminary things. Then he got his acceptance letter. This changed us from "likely" to "pretty sure." Even though he had been accepted, it was premature to say we were "definitely" moving because there was way too much still to be determined. Still, once you have an offer of a job or school, you have a real starting place. For one thing, it should give you a ballpark idea of how soon you'll be moving. If you have the choice, give yourself at least 3 or 4 months from the time you're "pretty sure" until you step on the plane and wave goodbye to American football.
When you're at this stage, things really pick up speed. The more you do early, the less stressed you will be as your move approaches. Believe me, there is enough to stress about when you are about to move overseas, you don't need a bunch of last minute things to add to the drama.
Step 4 - Simplify your life
As soon as you know you're going (earlier if you can commit to it), begin seriously evaluating every item you own. Did you just snicker? I am serious! Ask yourself if you really need it any more. Could you live without it until you move? Could you get rid of it now and replace it with a similar item in England. Remember, the UK uses a different electrical system and adapters aren't the safest or best way to go. Plus, electronic equipment takes up valuable luggage space that you are gonna need. So seriously ask yourself if you can live without that hair crimper and Epilady.
Start going through clothes, kitchen items, and personal items and sell or give away anything you are willing to part with as early as you are willing to do so. As you get closer and closer, I suggest things like getting rid of your dishes and using paper or plastic instead, so before you get there, how about chucking that bread machine you never use or the Scooby sheets that don't fit on your bed? Could a charity make better use of that old TV or couch than you can? If so, get rid of it. Also remember that some things will take a while to sell, so if you are willing to sit on the floor or eat at the kitchen counter, get rid of some of the big furniture.
While you won't be able to part with everything at this point, you will probably find a certain satisfaction in simplifying. This is the point where the moving stuff is still kind of fun. Embrace that and go with it. You'll be glad you did. Every few days go through some things and get rid of some. Once you've gone through everything and weeded things out, start over at the beginning and go through those things again. I guarantee you'll decide there are a few more things you can part with. These things work in stages.
For items you want to sell, start taking pictures and get them on ebay, in your local paper, or on flyers/email around work and home. Do this EARLY. At least two months before moving. Keep in mind that you have to put the item up for bid, wait for the auction to end, wait for successful contact between you and the buyer, wait for payment to clear, ship the item to the buyer, and leave feedback. This is a lot of work. A LOT! If you wait until close to your move, you will want to kill someone. Believe me! Sell your collections, CDs and used books and posters EARLY. You don't need them and they will be a big thorn in your side later.
Step 5 - start cleaning and organizing
Once you've really started to simplify, you'll find that it's a lot easier to organize what you have left. Start labeling items or make a list someplace of what you want to keep in the US (stored in a storage facility or with friends/family), what you want to take to the UK (remember that you are only allowed two checked bags on the plane and there are strict size and weight limits), what you want to ship to the UK (this can be VERY expensive and you can end up having to pay import tariffs on it, so think carefully. Could it be cheaper in the long run to just replace the item with a new or used English version?), and what you want to get rid of but can't until the last minute (microwave, car, etc.). This will help you keep it all straight. At this point in the game our apartment became a strange sort of warehouse with lots of piles and open space. If you haven't taken down all of your decorative items and every picture off the wall, do it now. Plan to take only a few key photos/photo albums with you and set those aside. Box the rest up to be stored.
For those items you must wait until the last minute to sell (bed, car, other essential items you won't be taking with you), look into selling them. Decide how much you want for them and how you want to sell them. Get posters, ads, etc. made up and ready to go. Budget the money to advertise them if necessary. Make sure you know how to go about selling your car and transferring the title and have the paperwork ready. If you really need your car right up until you leave the country, consider having a friend or family member complete the sale for you. To do this, you'll need to give them power of attorney, so go ahead and look into that and get things ready if you can.
In addition, while you are going through things, start cleaning out closets, drawers, and file cabinets as much as you can. Shred old receipts and bills that you don't need for tax purposes or important records. Remember you can always request new copies of bank and credit card statements if you need them. Think of ways you can consolidate. Throw away or donate clothes that are out of season and you can't take with you. Remember that you'll really need to fit all the clothes you want to take into your luggage. It's not very cost-effective to ship them unless you do so with a very slow shipping method (m-bag).
While you're at this stage and going through things, PULL OUT EVERY HOTEL SOAP, SHAMPOO AND LOTION IN YOUR HOME AND START USING THEM. It sounds silly, but you may be surprised at how much extra soap and shampoo you own. Don't bother buying a bunch of new toiletries when you have all those leftovers lying around. Use the hotel soap first. Then, if you really run completely out of something before you move, buy a smaller bottle so it fits better into your luggage.
SECTION III - WHEN YOU'RE SURE YOU ARE GOING
Step 6 - Decide on a moving date and arrange to quit your job
Now that things are starting to gel, it's time to begin scheduling things carefully. You'll need to start with the end - your move date. This is also the point when you should let your job know you're leaving (if they don't already) and make arrangements to quit or (if you are transferring to a branch in the UK) take a few weeks off for moving. This is another place where long-term planning can help. If you know at least 6 months in advance that you are leaving, you can hopefully save up the money necessary to take time off.
Step 7 - Start making lists
These lists will need to be many and varied. I suggest you at least make lists of the following: things to do, people to contact, what to pack, what to ship, what to store, what to sell, paperwork to fill out. See Appendix 1 for a list of what to bring and Appendix 2 for what to leave home.
Step 8 - Find a place to live in England
If you are coming here to study and are a single person, this may be an easy task. Otherwise, it will take some serious time and thought. If a student, I suggest strongly that you plan to live in university- or college-owned housing. This is MUCH cheaper than "living out" and often nicer accommodation. If you can get a college-owned flat or house, take it. It's guaranteed to be at least acceptable for living in, and at a far, far better price than private housing. Once you have the lay of the land you can always move out.
If you have children or aren't attending school here, you'll want to check out some of the web sites for renters in the area you'll be living in. In Oxford, those include Finders Keepers and QB Management. Expect to pay a premium to live near the center of town, but keep in mind this usually means you won't have to deal with the expenses of car ownership (and it IS expensive here!). An alternative is bus passes. In Oxford they aren't too expensive (roughly £1 per day) and most busses run every 10 - 30 minutes from about 6 am until about midnight. However, there are days when busses don't run at all (Dec. 25, 26 and January 1st to name a few).
Again, if you plan or hope to transport your kitty or puppy dog to England, contact as many "estate agents" as you can find and tell them what you're looking for. It may be more difficult than you think, or you may have to compromise other desires to get Fido into a home (higher rent, living farther out of the city centre, and additional deposits are among the possible problems you might face).
Step 9 - Schedule important appointments and some time for yourself
You'll have a lot of little things to do before you go, so start scheduling them as soon as you can. You'll probably want to have a full check-up with your doctor, get a dental cleaning, have extra passport photos taken, get your car serviced and cleaned to sell it, have a hair cut, and maybe fit in a few side-trips to spend time with friends or family before you leave. Before things get so busy you can hardly think, put those things on a calendar and get them all arranged. Lots of unscheduled problems and chores will come up, but if you schedule what you can, it helps.
Step 10 - Arrange for banking and credit cards in the US and overseas
If you have any loans, you'll want to arrange to have them deferred (if possible) while you are adjusting here. If you're coming here to study, you'll have to fill out different paperwork to have any previous student loans deferred. Take care of this at least two months before you leave or you may end up having to pay your loans once you've already moved. If you aren't a student, make sure to let the loan companies know your new information and arrange a time to resume payments.
Banking is another story and is quite a pain to take care of, but if you do it one step at a time it is possible.
First, deal with your domestic bank. You will no doubt have some bills to pay, deposit reimbursements coming back, etc. once you have left. It will take a least a couple of weeks to arrange for a bank account and credit cards in the UK, so for that time you may also have to rely on domestic banking. How do you do this? First of all, call and let your bank and credit cards know about the move. Now, credit cards won't just switch you over to a UK account and you MUST pay your US cards in US dollars, so it's a very good idea to cancel all but one or two credit cards but KEEP YOUR US CHECKING ACCOUNT OPEN FOR AT LEAST A MONTH AFTER YOUR MOVE. Make sure your account has online access so you can check on its status and pay bills online. Meanwhile, arrange to have your bills and final paycheck, etc. sent to a close friend or relative you trust OR to your accountant or lawyer who will be taking care of your bills for a few months. In our case, we changed our official billing and banking address to a close relative, added that person's name to our bank account, and had them email us when they got a check or bill. He/she does our deposits and lets us know when a bill comes. Most of the time, I pay the bill online, but occasionally I do have them cut a check to somebody on our behalf. It's very helpful to have somebody stateside on the account. This way they can make necessary phone calls, clear up questions, and pay any bills you can't do online.
UK banks will probably require a letter of reference from your current bank and some sort of proof of your UK address, so before you move out of the USA, go to your bank and ask them to send a letter to your future address. It sounds a bit odd, but it's SOP for UK banks. This will greatly expedite the process. Once you have opened your UK account, arrange for some, but not all, of your US money to be wire transferred to your new account. Don't ask them to send you a check. Current laws put a cap on how large of a foreign check you can deposit. Also, make sure you get a UK account that allows you to deposit American checks without a surcharge for the transaction. If you have a job, it may be possible for you to get a UK credit card quickly. As a student, it may take a year or more, so you may still have to use your US card while you're here. Either way, it's a good idea to leave a bit of money in your US account to cover those final bills and such you get in the US. They won't accept checks in British pounds and it will take a while for a check to get overseas, so that's, again, where that friend in the States with account access comes in handy.
If you're not moving to the UK permanently, you might want to just continue using your US credit cards and paying them online with your US bank account. This, of course, requires you to have money in your US account. Our credit card companies, however, did not charge an extra fee for UK transactions. They just used the daily exchange rate to convert the transactions to dollars.
Once you have a UK account, your US credit cards are paid off, you have a UK credit card, and no more regular stateside bills (ie. internet access, storage facility bills, etc.) are being paid via your US credit card, it's probably okay to close your US account. I wouldn't do it within my first six months of residency in the UK, though. You never know what will come up.
Step 11 - Begin packing for shipping and storing
You should have already gotten rid of the "easy" stuff - the fondue pot you never used, the garage sale dollhouse you forgot you still had - and now the hard stuff starts. You'll probably be surprised at how much stuff you still have. As you continue going through stuff you'll no doubt continue to get rid of stuff. Now is also the time to start packing things up to ship or store them. I suggest you ship and store as little as possible, but I do understand that there are certain things you just can't part with. So be conservative but realistic. Don't ship yourself 8 boxes of old love letters if you're just going to England for two years, but don't sell your grandma's wedding album, either. Set aside what you can live without until you return, what you can live without until you arrive in England (or shortly thereafter), what you can live without period, and what you need every day and therefore must put in your luggage. There may be personal items that would do better with a family member or friend than in storage. For instance, I have a large and beautiful cedar wedding chest which I didn't want to be in storage (it's very large and valuable), but I obviously couldn't bring with me. So I arranged for it to stay with my mom until I return. Additionally, my in-laws agreed to keep our books for us and therefore also a large bookshelf. It didn't eliminate our need for a storage unit, but it made the one we needed smaller.
Step 12 - find a storage facility
Shop around in your area for a well-priced, very reliable storage facility. It might seem tempting to go with the absolute cheapest one, but it's also stuff you might not be able to check on regularly. So take several days to drive around and look. Shop carefully and pay attention to the security of the facility as well as the price. Find out if you can pay up front (remember you'll probably change credit cards, so you may not want to do an automatic monthly debit). Find out if you can arrange for family or friends to access your unit on your behalf while you are gone. Find out how they will contact you if your unit is broken into, damaged, or they go out of business. Once you find a place you are comfortable with, verify with them the size of unit you will need and go ahead and book it. Start moving stuff in as early as you can to get it out of your way.
Step 13 - Arrange for animal companions to come or stay
Actually, with the current laws as they are, this is something you'll need to start SIX MONTHS BEFORE YOU MOVE. The UK now allows American cats and dogs to come with their people. Many airlines allow the animals to fly with you, but they must fly in the cargo hold, which I just could not handle. In addition to the charges involved with flying with your animal, there are veterinary and bureaucratic hoops to jump through. Read the UK animal scheme web site carefully before you begin.
Step 14 - Change addresses
Make a list of your regular bills, magazines, and other mail and memberships. You'll need to do your address changing mostly over the phone because the online forms usually don't allow for overseas addresses. Call early and explain why you're changing addresses and when it will change. Surprisingly, several of our magazine subscriptions didn't charge us extra for the remaining issues to be sent overseas. They'll arrive quite late in the UK, but it's still fun to enjoy a bit of home when they arrive. As for bills, I'd suggest going to online billing or changing your address to that trusted friend or relative. The bills will take too long to arrive in the UK for you to get them paid on time. Most financial institutions insist on a US mailing address anyway. Also contact your local voter registration office to arrange absentee ballots for your new home. This can be quite an adventure since you're not in the military. Keep at it and someone there will know what to do.
Step 15 - Double check all arrangements for arrival
Make sure your paperwork and passport are in a central location and then in your carry-on luggage. If you haven't done so already, purchase your airline tickets and arrange for ground transportation (or you can just take the airport coach if you're going to Oxford, which requires no advance arrangement). Get some UK cash (but don't convert all your cash - you may need to tip US baggage handlers or buy a snack in the airport, especially if your flight is delayed). Ensure that you have everything in order. You might want to go ahead and pack some of your important or easy to pack items now.
Step 16 - Finalize your living arrangements for your move and the last few days before you move.
Whether you live in an apartment or house, you'll need to get every stick of furniture out of there and get the place cleaned before you leave. Don't do this while you're also trying to leave the country. Spread things out at least a few days! Allow yourself time to empty and clean out your former home and take your luggage to a friend or family member's home (or, if necessary, even a hotel room) for at least the last few days (I suggest a week or two) before you move. Therefore, at least a month before your move day (really longer since apartments usually require a 30- or 60-day notice), figure out where you'll be for those final days and get it arranged. If in a hotel, get reservations. If with a friend, make those arrangements. Be sure to find out how you're getting to the airport and, if necessary, where you'll be storing your car or who will be selling it for you.
Step 17 - Sell or donate anything you're willing to part with
Now it's crunch time. You should have basically everything you own and don't use on a daily basis packed up. Your storage facility should be organized but full, your unwanted items should be in the process of being donated or sold. Pack up even useful items like dishes, towels and pots and pans. Go out to eat or use paper plates and plastic silverware. Keep just one towel per person to use. Wear only items you can take with you. Get rid of other clothing and shoes. Also consider what you will do with items you hoped to sell but which did not get a reasonable offer. Do you want to donate those or save them for your return?
Step 18 - Arrange for anything that hasn't sold to be gotten rid of or stored
If an item doesn't sell, I suggest you donate it to charity or a friend. After all, you were willing to part with it when you thought it would net a profit, so you don't need it. Save the aggravation later and donate it to a worthy cause. If there are items you will continue to try to sell after you leave, set a date by which it should be stored or given to charity and arrange with a friend or family member to take care of this for you.
Step 19 - Spend time packing, making phone calls, making final arrangements, and visiting friends
Every time you think it's too early to pack something, think again. Other than clothes and a toothbrush, there isn't much we can't live without for a few days or even a few weeks, so go ahead an pack it up, especially if it isn't going with you. Live out of your suitcases. During this time things will come up. Take care of them quickly, one at at time. Make sure things are in place and finalized. Spend time with loved ones and indulge yourself a bit by going to your favorite American places - restaurants, parks, beaches and theme parks will be missed when you're away, so enjoy them now.
Step 20 - Make sure you have several contacts in the States to help clear up matters that are not finalized
Even with terrific planning there will be a few things that fall through the cracks or don't work out. Make sure you have a few good friends or family members who can help you out in taking care of those things. It may be picking something up from the storage facility and shipping it go you or going to your bank to help arrange a wire transfer. Call in your favors. Let your friends know you might need their help and find out if it's okay to call on them.
Step 21 - Move out and clean up your old place
This will be a bittersweet day. Get every last thing out of your old place. At this point, everything you aren't taking should be sold or stored. You should have your must-have things ready to ship if you haven't already done so, and your bags of clothing and other essentials should be packed just as if you were going to England from there. Of course, things are never that simple, which is why you do this moving out a week or more before your move date.
Step 22 - Rehearse packing and weigh your luggage
A good time to rehearse packing is when you move out of your home. Weigh your luggage and make sure it doesn't exceed baggage limits. If it does, you will have to pay fines at the airport or your bags may even be refused. If one bag is too heavy, move things around. If they're still too heavy, consider shipping more items or getting rid of more things. Once you've rehearsed packing, unpack your bags so your clothes can stay fresher.
Step 23 - Ship items to your new address
If you haven't done so already, ship boxes of very important items that won't fit in your luggage. I suggest sending them a week or two before you leave, depending on the method of shipping. Make sure they won't arrive before you do, however. The cheapest, but slowest and roughest, way to ship is something called "M-Bag". You can find out about this from the post office. If you have heavy things that aren't fragile, it's a good way to go. Remember that some things are very likely to be damaged in shipping, so don't send anything that will ruin your life if it breaks.
Step 25 - Pack for real and weigh your luggage
A day or two before you leave, do your laundry, set aside a few outfits to wear for your remaining time and pack your stuff. Remember, this should be mostly clothing in your checked baggage and a few very important and/or sentimental items in your carry ons. Also remember to put your important papers in a carry on along with both US and UK money. Bring a book or something for the long airport waits. Bring medications in your carry ons in case your bags are delayed or lost. If there is room, bring a change of clothes in your carry ons, too.
Re-weigh your luggage, including carry ons, to make sure it all fits. The good thing about doing this ahead of time is that your clothes will settle over time and you'll actually have a little bit more room to fit your toiletries and remaining clothes the day you leave.
Step 26 - Relax for a few days before you leave
You're in for a fun but stressful time as you move to the UK, so as much as possible relax for the last few days. Verify your ride to the airport and leave with plenty of time to spare. You'll need to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight departs.
Appendix 1
A LIST OF WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU TO ENGLAND
1. Personal toiletry items such as toothbrushes, shampoo, and soap; but I recommend you use up what you have (including samples and hotel soaps) before buying a small-ish bottle to take along. Remember that many of your brands won't be available overseas, so try to have at least a week's supply of your toiletry needs before you go. It'll take you at least that long to figure out the best place to buy new toiletries. English drug stores include Boots and Superdrug. Check out their web sites and see if they carry your brand before you move. If not, consider switching to a brand they do carry so you can get used to it before arriving here. Estee Lauder, L'Oreal, Body Shop (store brands), Maybelline and others are very popular here, so you should be able to find your brand or something similar.
2. Any medicines you might need, including prescription and over the counter; don't bring big bottles, but do have a few pain killers, a few allergy/sinus pills, and at least two months worth of prescriptions before you go. Again, a lot of medicines have different names over here, so until you know and understand what you're buying, I suggest you stick with what you brought along. It's just safer that way.
3. The package inserts for any medicines, especially prescription. To get a prescription re-issued over here, you'll need to get on the National Health Service plan (if you qualify) and go to your GP (doctor). The doctor will need to know exactly what the medication is and may have to find you a UK equivalent, so have as much information as you can on what you are taking. The good news is that, with NHS, the doctor visit is free and the medication is either free or about £6, depending on who you are and what it's for.
4. Clothes are a tricky one. In our preparations, I kept reading that you shouldn't take many clothes with you at all. Just the essentials - warm clothes, a few jeans, a couple of nice outfits. Everything, or so I read, should fit comfortably in the luggage allotted by the airlines. I read that everything you want to take period should fit in luggage and you should not ship ANYTHING. My experience tells me this isn't quite the case. It's a bit of a numbers game, really. The reason they say not to ship clothing is because you may end up spending more to ship it than the clothes are worth. In addition, the clothing may not be practical or fashionable here and you may not have much room for clothes storage in your new home (especially in student accommodation). However, I recommend that you take at least 2 pair of jeans, 2 nice pair of trousers, 2 suits (if you're a man), 3 dresses (if you're a woman), and at least two outfits appropriate for a formal outing. In addition, you'll of course need plenty of underwear, socks, hankies, undershirts (it gets cold enough to need them here), pajamas, a warm robe (I recommend terry or velour, or satin with fleece or terry lining), warm slippers or slipper-socks, a jacket and a coat. You'll need at least 4 or 5 warm sweaters and an equal number of long and short sleeved shirts. And that's just the basics. Clothing is very expensive in the UK, so if you plan to replace items here, make sure you know how much you'll be paying here. Check UK web sites to find out prices in advance (make sure to convert them to US dollars). Popular clothing chains here include Marks & Spencer (also a grocery store - don't ask), Allders, Topshop, Monsoon (on the pricey side), Laura Ashley, Debenhams, and BHS. I suggest you pack what fits (the clothing you'll need right away) and ship a box or two via m-bag rates. It's a very slow way to ship things, but fairly cheap and probably a better deal than replacing a lot of items here. I don't suggest you ship more than one or two boxes of clothes, though. Then you're probably getting into trouble with having too much stuff. Clothes that layer well will help minimize packing needs and allow you to be comfortable during the sometimes fickle English weather. It's also important that clothes wash easily and can be air dried. Finally, dark colors are much more popular here than light, pastel ones.
5. A wind-up alarm clock or travel alarm You'll be glad to have it until you can buy yourself a clock radio.
6. If you have a snack food that is fairly lightweight and you aren't sure you can get it in England, I suggest you take an unopened package of it with you. In those first few weeks of nasty homesickness, something like that can really comfort you. Do be careful of the import laws and, if you favorite snack is fruit or meat, pick something else to take with you. But if you like Oreos or Cheetos, bring some along.
7. A camera, preferably digital
8. SOFT SOLED SHOES! This was the one thing I didn't know about that would have saved me a lot of pain and grief in my first weeks in England. The pavements here, especially in historic towns like Oxford, are often cobblestone and very uneven. Hard- or even medium-soled shoes are very impractical for everyday use. Same goes for high-heels. If you wear the wrong shoes, you will wind up tripping and possibly falling on your butt. Plus you'll be doing a lot of walking and you will want comfortable shoes. Bring at least one pair of comfortable tennis shoes and a few pair of casual, soft-soled shoes. Make sure at least one pair is water resistant. You'll be glad you did!
9. Rain clothes. If you already have a good jacket/coat for rain, a hooded sweatshirt, and/or an anorak, pack them. Any rain gear is helpful if you can fit it in your luggage. I don't, however, recommend you pack a big golf umbrella. Instead, just pack a small one and get a bigger one once you're here if you need it. You should know that very often an umbrella doesn't help much with the rain here because the wind is so strong that you get quite wet with or without it.
10. Personal photos are good to comfort you when you're homesick, but I suggest you just bring a small album with your favorite pictures, and not a bunch of framed portraits.
11. At least one towel and wash cloth - You'll be tired and jet-lagged when you arrive at your new home. The first thing you'll want to do is either sleep or shower. Even if you live in a furnished flat, chances are you'll need to provide your own towels, so pack one in your luggage so you can freshen up when you arrive. You won't want to go do anything until after you've showered, and you certainly don't want to be stopping to buy linens on your way in from the airport.
Appendix 2
A LIST OF WHAT NOT TO TAKE WITH YOU TO ENGLAND
1. Most electrical appliances should not be brought with you. If it plugs in, don't take it to England. Things like electric shavers, hair dryers, curling irons, irons, etc. take up too much space and weight in your luggage and can't be used in the UK. We are on different electrical systems and while you COULD use adapters, this is neither the safest nor the most convenient solution. It's much better to simply donate those items to a local women's shelter and buy new, properly corded ones here. Same goes for your clock radio. Leave it in the States and pick one up here. For battery-operated items, it's okay to bring those. The UK uses the same battery sizes as the US.
2 Really heavy books that can be easily and cheaply replaced in England. For example, a hard-back dictionary or set of encyclopedias. Do take your favorite novel and any books that you just love, especially those which are uniquely "American." However, keep in mind they do have plenty of bookstores in the UK.
3. Furniture. Just don't take it. Unless it's a hugely valuable family heirloom and you're planning to move to England for the rest of your life, don't spend the time, energy, and money moving it. Find a place where you can store it stateside - either with friends, family or a professional storage facility.
4. American DVDs and videocassettes - Unless you have a computer that plays them, leave your American DVDs at home. The UK players and TVs are set up for a different format, so you'll have to buy a dual-region player to watch them here. It's possible to do, but you should think about it before you go shipping your whole collection over. If you only have a few movies you really like, you might consider just buying the UK versions. Similarly, American videocassettes are a different format from European ones. Your video tapes won't play in the VCRs here and may damage your tapes or the machine. You may be tempted to ship your VCR and DVD player here so you can watch your favorites, but remember that the AC adapter won't be the right kind to plug into the wall here and it also won't hook up properly to a UK television. It's best to just get rid of or store your cassettes. Again, with DVDs many laptops will play them, so if you are taking your American computer, you might consider taking DVDs also. Otherwise, leave those home, too.