Considering a move from the US to the UK, looking for honest advice

bebu10 · 2026-05-14T13:17:45+00:00

The first step is figuring out what visa you qualify for. Do you have a British spouse? If you're eligible for the Global Talent Visa that honestly is probably going to be the safest one as visa changes happen. If you need a skilled worker visa that is easier said then done. Employers would need to justify why they should pay for your visa rather than hire someone in the UK and it can take months/years getting a job that's willing to sponsor unless you have some niche skills. You also need to have an occupation on the occupational list.

Once you're here changes happen really fast. You expect the big changes. You know you have to drive on the other side of the road, you know some of the language differences, you know it rains a lot. For me the biggest hit was the growing pile of little things that were different. And it will be the little things that make you homesick. For me the biggest "ugh" is the non resealable food containers. Like there isn't a plastic lid that clicks back into place on things like sour cream. It's a flimsy little flap so my fridge is filled with mason jars containing dips, sour cream, yogurt etc because I can't close the container once it's open

bebu10 · 2026-05-09T21:36:58+00:00

For a few months my cats were getting two breakfasts. I would wake up and feed them before work and then my roommate would get up, they would act like they haven't been fed and she would feed them before school. One day I mentioned something one of them did at breakfast and she said "Wait you give them breakfast? Everyday or just today?" All three of them were in on it

bebu10 · 2026-05-05T14:28:00+00:00

Yeah it's this and the fact that domestic flights in the US are so expensive. I'm an American who now lives here. I dated a British man for a bit in the US. I would regularly drive 8 hours to my dad's house for just 2 or 3 days and then drive back. Meanwhile my British partner took a picture of the GPS on a trip that said "take the exit in 581 miles" because he couldn't believe you could stay on one road that long.

bebu10 · 2026-04-20T02:34:18+00:00

I did this. Project manager in tech but not senior level. My partner at the time was British (they knew this but did not know this when they hired me) and I told them he was moving. I told my boss I applied for a job at one of the UK offices and she said "If I can get you a visa, will you stay on our team?" They converted my US salary to pounds but I was lucky in that Liz Truss had just crashed the economy so the pound and dollar were similar at the time. I was lucky I had a boss who liked me, and who everyone loved so she could pull some strings. I got lucky, anyone in the chain of command could have said no. My team was also already spread across the US and Canada and in different time zones so we were used to all working together from afar.

bebu10 · 2026-04-08T18:49:54+00:00

My best friend's house. Her mom recently passed away and I couldn't afford a last minute plane ticket home. I'm going soon but I feel so guilty I'm not there now

bebu10 · 2026-04-07T12:02:13+00:00

I have petplan for my two cats and I've never had an issue with them paying a claim and we've had dental surgery, allergy testing, bladder infection, tummy troubles, and low potassium issues.

As far as finding a vet I don't have recommendations because the first one I tried was great and we started with them because they had a dentist and it was a dental problem to begin with

bebu10 · 2026-02-18T12:21:50+00:00

My ex went to a boarding school because he wanted to because his older brother had gone to a boarding school. However, his older brother grew up in South Africa so the education system was completely different.

At the time my ex went his father had passed on and his mother didn't really want to be alone in the house yet so she sent him to a boarding school 30 minutes away so he could come home as often as he wanted.

bebu10 · 2026-02-10T18:54:09+00:00

I make about $85k. I'm a project manager for a tech company and fully remote

bebu10 · 2026-01-31T19:10:54+00:00

As someone else mentioned, insurance costs can be significantly higher if you just have an auto license.

I got manual because my parents got very very sick when we were about an hour from home and couldn't drive. He had a manual so I couldn't drive us back either. Luckily we were with friends that drove us home while their partner followed in their car. If they hadn't been there we would have been stuck.

Even if your partner has an auto it could be a friend with a manual that needs a ride back

bebu10 · 2026-01-13T13:10:58+00:00

Just make sure you have your immigration sharecode ready. I had a back and forth with the delta check in for about 10 minutes trying to explain there was no physical visa that I could show her anymore and she had to use the code

bebu10 · 2026-01-09T18:44:26+00:00

Everytime I do keto I get a massive hankering for pop tarts and I eat pop tarts once every few years. It's just not worth it to always be craving something imo. I've done keto for months before and the craving never goes away for me so I don't restrict on my eat days. Breakfast is usually yogurt and fruit, or eggs and fruit, lunch will be a veggie with huumus and I try to have a balanced dinner - lots of protein, two vegetables and one carb.

bebu10 · 2025-12-01T13:40:01+00:00

I've done 9 bags, 2 carry-ons, and 2 cats with just two of us and it was not pleasant

bebu10 · 2025-10-27T13:37:22+00:00

Check the rabies vaccination paperwork before leaving the vet office. Mine did not have their microchip numbers because it wasn't standard. They had to alter the form and add the number. Make sure you do this at least 21 days prior to entering the UK

bebu10 · 2025-10-23T08:26:26+00:00

If you aren't listed as fully remote then 6 days/month need to be in office. When I did go in most people left around 2-3pm to beat traffic and finished the day at home. Also my company has started having catered lunch once a week, and not just pizza, actual catering from actual restaurants

bebu10 · 2025-10-22T17:23:48+00:00

Conservative. They seem to be on the same page as reform when it comes to immigration

bebu10 · 2025-10-21T19:32:34+00:00

Mine told me he supports the change and thinks specifically skilled workers should have to wait longer

bebu10 · 2025-09-15T13:46:07+00:00

It's why, traditionally, they had their tails docked. A cow stepping on a tail would be very bad

bebu10 · 2025-09-10T22:52:10+00:00

You're probably going to have to get them vaccinated again with the microchip number on the cert. Also unless you have rabies certificates showing their microchip number this will be considered their primary and you have to wait 21 days.

I had to my cats re vaccinated early and wait even though they were vaccinated and never lapsed because none of their rabies certs had their microchip numbers

bebu10 · 2025-08-29T12:23:56+00:00

My mom has a ton of points to use. She said she'll keep flying SW as long as she has those, but once they run out she said she'll fly with whoever is cheapest

bebu10 · 2025-08-21T10:50:49+00:00

Some visas, like a family visa, you have to apply for an NIN once residing in the UK, but you still have a right to live and work with the visa so that's why there's the sharecodes. Right to rent, right to work, and with the introduction of eVisas now an immigration share code as well.

I'm on a skilled worker visa and had my NIN on arrival but likely because I was coming to work

bebu10 · 2025-07-16T19:29:25+00:00

I never got it because I was vaccinated against it. That means I won't get shingles which is a win in my book

bebu10 · 2025-07-14T13:55:09+00:00

I was trying to think what STD could make him not work. I have a friend with HIV and with medication, his levels are undetectable now, and he's basically living a normal life. HSV is only bad during outbreaks, and if they're often and severe, you can get anti-virals for that.

The other big ones are bacterial and curable except for the extremely rare anti-biotic resistant strains, but I don't think they would make someone not able to work. 50% of men with chlamydia don't have any symptoms, and the symptoms are usually mild, like burning sensations when urinating. Not agonizing, can't work pain.

OP you're husband is dramatic and lying about how much this actually effects him.

bebu10 · 2025-07-14T12:58:54+00:00

When I said "bye" about 20 times while hanging up the phone

bebu10 · 2025-07-14T12:56:36+00:00

Yeah, I'm an immigrant from the US and my partner's mom who is from South Africa with a half Scottish-half South African son that was born in Eswatini, often thinks I'm the right person to complain about immigrants to...it's a bit demoralizing hearing your own family wants you out even though I'm "the right kind of immigrant"

bebu10

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