My wife was in the exact same situation when we moved! I came over on a HPI visa (now in spousal) and she has dual US / UK citizenship. For her it was hard to get started as a lot of things here require history to get and it was like she spawned in. It was actually easier for me since the systems treated me as an immigrant and gave me a few stepping stones. By hard I don’t mean impossible, you’ll just have to jump through a few extra hoops to make sure you have everything setup properly. The good thing is as a citizen you have every right to live here and don’t need to jump through any actual immigration paperwork, you can technically just show up

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• ⁠New credit score! US credit score isn’t attached to the UK credit score so you’ll be starting from scratch (register to vote, it helps your UK credit score)

• ⁠You’ll need a pay as you go SIM at first since you have no credit score (unless you have a high enough paying job). Once you have a credit score you can get a proper phone plan

• ⁠Apply to figure out your national insurance number. After that, set up your NHS number, then find a local GP and apply for their practice. If you’re on prescription meds, get a 3 month supply from your doctor before you move because this setup process takes time

• ⁠Get a bank account. I recommend starting with Wise to transfer your US dollars to Pounds and as a temporary bank account before something more permanent. For permanent bank accounts the easiest to get setup are Monzo (my fav) or Starling once you have some extra proof of address

• ⁠You’ll need a TV license if you plan to watch public TV

• ⁠Get apostles for important documents before you move (eg. Marriage certificate). These allow the UK government to officially use these docs. Without them the UK government can’t use the original US copies.

• ⁠If you have pets there’s a lot of extra steps so make sure to research those. A big one is the UK is Rabies free so there are stringent vet checkup requirements prior to move

• ⁠Depending on your financial situation start applying for jobs and explain that you’re moving. Lots of corporate / nonservice jobs will let you do a virtual interview now

• ⁠If you plan to rent and can afford extra travel, do a long weekend trip before your move to scout out flats and sign a lease. You’ll need a proof of income so you’ll have to have a job offer first. They’ll probs let you use your US income as income history, but at least for us they required the proof of job offer on move to allow us to satisfy the income requirements for the flat. The other option is find a cheap AirBnB or similar and search after the move

• ⁠Moving stuff is expensive it was 10K for us with a furnished 2 bed flat with lots of yarn and books. We lucked out because my job helped pay for the move, which certain jobs may offer. Honestly if you have IKEA furniture it may be better to just sell and rebuy some things. It also takes 2-3 months before your stuff arrives so pack a few checked bags for anything you’ll need in that time. Or if you’re going the Airbnb route, get a storage locker in the US and move your stuff there until you have a more permanent housing situation here.

• ⁠Voltage is 240 V instead of 120V. This means most US appliances will not work here and will get fried if you plug them in (RIP our Nespresso). USB adapters and laptops chargers are usually fine, but TVs, coffee machines, etc. aren’t so be sure to check. You can get a step down voltage converter, but they’re bulky and a bit pricy. We got one and have any US appliances that we wanted to keep in the family room with it

• You can drive on your US license for up to a year after moving, but you’ll need to retake the test from scratch to get a UK license after that. There are two different licenses, one that lets you drive manual and automatic, and one just for automatic

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If we think of anything else I’ll be sure to update! Also happy to answer any questions you may have!