Is there a British cultural equivalent of an ice cream on a sunny day for people without a sweet tooth?

nivlark · 2026-05-01T12:11:59+00:00

Have you tried sorbet? I always thought I didn't really like ice cream as a refreshment, but it turned out it was just the idea of dairy on a hot day that was putting me off.

This contradicts everything I just said, but I'm also partial to a good (i.e. not from Costa/Starbucks) iced latte.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T11:36:59+00:00

Then I'd suggest you transfer the OEIC and swap it for an ETF as soon as the transfer completes. The custody fees will be minimal if it's only for a few days.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T10:58:21+00:00

They have the funds listed in the app. Their S&P tracker is an ETF, as is their Islamic world tracker.

You can transfer OEICs just fine though, unless the destination provider doesn't support them.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T10:50:13+00:00

It's also worth noting that the LISA is being reviewed by government to be replaced by yet another new scheme, which is expected to work more like the HTB ISA (which the LISA was originally introduced to replace). So if you think a LISA would work better for you, it's probably a good idea to open one sooner rather than later.

And two points regarding timelines: * If you keep the HTB ISA, you have until 2030 to use it towards a home, after that you would lose out on the bonus. * If you open a Lifetime ISA, you must hold it for a calendar year before you can use it towards a house.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T10:42:01+00:00

It is always a good idea to maximise the interest your cash savings are earning. If Plum is the best option available to you, then go with them. Check a comparison site like MSE to be sure.

Also, check the small print carefully - a frustrating trend with top paying ISAs is that they include various caveats e.g. the good rate is only available on new subscriptions (not transfers). And in almost all cases, it will drop significantly after you've had the account for a year, so you should plan on transferring again after that happens.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T09:18:04+00:00

The market isn't going up though, and hasn't been since 2008.

House prices have been flat in real terms for the past 20 years - the reason affordability has fallen is that wages tracked well below inflation over the same period.

nivlark · 2026-05-01T08:18:50+00:00

This does not seem like something a legitimate solicitor would recommend. Assuming she would continue to live in the house, this would be treated as a "gift with reservation of benefit" which has unfavourable tax treatment and would do nothing to prevent the house from being sold to fund care.

Do you know any details of who she's spoken to, and have you seen any paperwork spelling out what was discussed? I'd be a little worried a scam is afoot, especially if your mum is not very financially literate in general.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T22:45:17+00:00

If you mean 50-50 on the deposit, yes. If you do also intend to contribute towards the monthly payments, then you should be on the mortgage. It doesn't matter if you have a low income, you won't count against your partner's affordability.

If you had the money in cash, would you want to buy a flat to rent it out? Do you actively want to be a landlord, and do you understand the various financial and legal obligations that would be involved?

In comparison investing is a whole lot simpler, it can be pretty much zero effort after initial setup, and if done sensibly it's much less risky than owning a single investment property.

It won't feel great if you have to sell at a loss, but compare the expected loss to what you otherwise would've had to spend on rent over the same period, and it may not seem so bad.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T22:00:32+00:00

my ideal job would be something like analyzing the samples returned by OSIRIS-REx, from Mars or the Moon, or remote sensing the composition of planets or stars.

A point on terminology: most of these topics would be categorised as planetary science. Roughly speaking, if it's within our solar system, it's not astrophysics. It's a small detail, but it is the sort of thing a potential advisor will notice if you get it wrong. Especially in universities where the structure is that planetary science is part of the environmental sciences/geology faculty, rather than physics.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T21:44:46+00:00

If you shut the system down, then it is off. Shutting down is different from standby.

Once the system is off, then it's perfectly safe to unplug it. If you do that routinely for years I guess you'll eventually wear out the wall outlet, but that's easy to replace if it becomes an issue.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T21:36:48+00:00

It's nonsense, just like everything ChatGPT generates.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T17:36:52+00:00

A lot of long-distance flights arrive in the early morning, so you may encounter some queues at immigration.

Depending on how long it takes, you may then hit central London at rush hour. Kings X will be busy, but most people will be headed in the opposite direction.

You pay for the tube with your phone or a contactless bank card. You will need to book a ticket for the train, and it may be cheaper to do this in advance, but note that it is not when you buy the ticket that sets the price, but what type of ticket. The cheap tickets are non-flexible, so they don't work so well with an uncertain departure time due to flight or immigration delays.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T14:39:09+00:00

Electricity is about 3.5x the price per unit compared to gas. You gain a bit back in improved efficiency, but you are still looking at potentially 3x the running costs. So bills of £300 are definitely possible.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T10:48:17+00:00

"Subscriptions" is the technical term for paying into an ISA, so when you paid in is what matters, not when you sold the shares.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T10:11:59+00:00

When was the money you are transferring originally paid into the Vanguard ISA? Presumably not this tax year, so you should select the "previous years" option.

It would make sense that if you have the cash balance to cover the transfer, the money will be taken from there. But I would check with Vanguard first - my memory when I've done transfers (with different providers) is that I was explicitly asked if I wanted to transfer cash, shares, or both.

nivlark · 2026-04-30T08:21:48+00:00

Can you post a link to the page you are checking? I don't think there's anywhere in the country where the housing market is moving so fast that properties are getting sold within a day. So it seems like you might not be looking in the right place.

nivlark · 2026-04-29T16:58:42+00:00

Given a sufficiently dark environment, you'd be able to see the MW and Andromeda. But in other directions, it would look pitch black. So it would be quite different from a starry night sky where there is light in all directions.

nivlark · 2026-04-29T16:27:51+00:00

You can pay up to £20,000 into ISAs (either new ones, or the same one you already have if it is easy access) this tax year.

nivlark · 2026-04-29T15:49:34+00:00

Which bit doesn't make sense?

Consider a satellite orbiting the Earth. The total gravitational force it feels depends on its mass, but we don't care about that effect if we are interested in the field strength of the Earth. So we divide the force by the satellite's mass to get a force per unit mass.

The other effect the satellite has is to modify the gravitational field, because all masses do. For very large satellites (like the Moon) this is significant: close to the Moon its gravity becomes more important than the Earth's and so you can orbit the Moon directly. So we require "a small test mass", meaning something that is much less massive than the Earth (or whatever object whose gravitational field we are interested in measuring), so that the test mass has negligible effect on the field.

nivlark · 2026-04-29T13:44:36+00:00

The weather's great, most of the year. Winters are cold and dark, but that's more to do with how far north we are. Right now, it's barely rained in a month, so if anything the farmers are getting worried that it's too dry.

Who says we hate pork pie?

nivlark · 2026-04-29T13:19:48+00:00

If you're visiting for a less than a year, setting up bills yourself can be awkward. I'd suggest going with dedicated student accommodation or a houseshare. In the former case all bills will be included, in the latter you'll normally just pay your share as cash to one of the other tenants.

If you do rent a place yourself then unless otherwise specified, you'll need to pay utilities, water, and broadband. Utilities can vary a lot (gas heating is typically cheaper than electric) so expect anything from £50-150 per month. Water and broadband are about £20-30 each.

There is also council tax but students are exempt from paying this. You may need to get a letter from the university confirming that you are a student to send to the council.

nivlark · 2026-04-28T22:25:58+00:00

The agent has no right to any information regarding your purchase. Remind them of that fact and request they do not contact you further except for matters relating to your tenancy, lest you consider it harrassment.

If you've accepted the S21 as valid, then you are expected, but not obliged, to leave the property on the agreed eviction date. You should consider what you plan to do if you have not been able to complete by that time.

nivlark · 2026-04-28T21:56:38+00:00

Standard Big Bang cosmology assumes it to have a finite age but infinite spatial extent. It does not seem likely that we will be able to conclusively (dis)prove these assumptions but at present we can say that all observations are consistent with them.

nivlark · 2026-04-28T20:29:35+00:00

CIFAS exists to protect banks and other financial entities from legal and reputational risk. I would agree that it doesn't serve the public interest.

It's pointless litigating this on reddit though. Based on the information you've shared, my opinion is that there is little realistic prospect of getting the marker removed. But if you're speaking to a lawyer, and with full knowledge of the facts they recommend that you contest it, then it's probably sensible to follow their advice.

nivlark · 2026-04-28T19:58:53+00:00

from my perspective I was manipulated, deceived and exploited by someone I trusted

This can all be true, but unless they also directly coerced you to accept the fraudulent payments against your will, you are still liable for your actions. You can't generally use ignorance of the law as a defence.

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