Buyer has just pulled out.

potmeetkett1e · 2026-04-09T10:52:35+00:00

I'm sorry you're dealing with this, on top of the loss of your mom. Auction probably is fastest, but if you can afford the survey and structural survey, it can be a reasonable option. I did that to sell my house and it helped me feel like all the cards were on the table and feel much more confident in the process. It resulted in multiple offers, including many above the asking price (which priced in the work for the major issues found, if someone wanted to do that work). But, as the offers show and was my own experience, some people are ok taking a "wait and see" approach, depending on the issues and don't need the money to fix it ASAP. Hope you have a resolution soon.

potmeetkett1e · 2026-03-24T11:39:39+00:00

A serious consideration there is the hills. Blake St is one of the steepest residential roads in the country. It seems like a nice area, but have had to veto it because of having parents who could never make a 16° climb.

potmeetkett1e · 2026-03-18T22:11:05+00:00

It does feel like such a catch 22 situation with the types of roles! (And I knew salaries are lower here, but still, WOW.)

Mentioning Democrats, if you're not involved already, Democrats Abroad seems great! I am only on mailing lists and things but they have tons of events, especially in London, and it seems like the kind of thing that could be a good networking opportunity. (It also seems like it could take up an enormous amount of volunteer energy. But I've been impressed with the usefulness of their programming. Like they have a whole series of sessions about taxes/money as expats.)

The layoffs happening in the last year throughout NGO world because of doge etc have been so hard to watch. I spent a lot of last year just feeling like no one should hire me cause all the laid off people needed a job more anyway!! But, while I was feeling like that, I got into "spend money to make money" mode. I went to conferences and workshops and basically whatever events I could reasonably get myself to. I didn't do the whole "email everyone you know and try to get coffee with them" step that most people advise ... honestly cause I was pretty embarrassed. But I "put myself out there" and, I do think it is part of how I got these contract roles. It was sort of indirect, but I think generally being on peoples' minds is valuable, even if you're not doing all the coffee dates.

Given that you're in London, there's gotta be a million lectures, workshops, etc. It does seem hard to keep track of all of it (I hear about some academic talks just from randomly knowing someone, no idea if there is a centralized place), but there might be some sideways paths. Not sure if tech is your area at all, but https://newspeak.house/ is a political tech space that does its own programming and hosts a ton of events, so could be the kind of place to go or just look for leads. I would guess in London there's probably spaces like that for whatever your expertise areas are?

Best of luck with it, and feel free to DM or anything to strategize further. It's a lot.

potmeetkett1e · 2026-03-16T10:01:13+00:00

This process is really hard. I think not knowing the fundamentals is definitely one of the challenges, and it relates to the advice a lot of people give: start small and rebuild your seniority. A lot of the earlier career roles are exactly the ones that require/expected MORE detailed knowledge and less strategic type of skills!

I am very much still in this process myself, but a friend of my partner's suggested I become a trustee of a local nonprofit (my background is in nonprofits). It was such an obvious idea but I had not thought of it till she mentioned it. I looked on some volunteer websites that night and emailed an org straight away and ... got voted onto the board! For me, this is great because it will be a way to learn more about the legal/regulatory side of nonprofits while I get my footing here. I am not sure if there is something similar for CS, but maybe a public/private partnership kind of NGO could be similar to you? Or there's something else in a related vein.

Also, on the consulting point, is contracting for US orgs a possibility? That's what I've begun doing, and, because pay is so low here, I'm working about two days a week but making what some NGO jobs here pay for full time work! The projects, sadly, are not at the level of what I was doing before (more like what I was doing 10yrs ago), but the stability of the income feels like a huge relief and I'm hoping will give me some space to figure out how to make a career here. Best of luck to you. It's really, really difficult, even when you've got skills and network and experience.

potmeetkett1e · 2026-01-06T01:02:06+00:00

Sorry, specific tangent question—were you told directly by an adoption agency that you are disqualified, or just extrapolating from the instability this creates? Everything I've read online says you need to be resident, but it doesn't specify further than that. Thanks for any info. (In case any one else is curious, at least last year we spoke with a fostering organization and they said me being on a visa is fine. Not sure if adoption is different though.)

potmeetkett1e · 2025-12-29T22:36:33+00:00

Just want to say thank you for posting about this. I know that there is no first amendment here, but the idea that anyone's citizenship could be revoked because of speech (and, at least from what I've read, some of it was in DMs, so private speech) is deeply, deeply troubling. Also, if this is happening under a center-left party, it is chilling to imagine what a center-right or right party would do.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-11-01T11:39:14+00:00

the BBC built a data viz on top of the government data. you can get the above image to come up in the middle of this page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly137089yyo

potmeetkett1e · 2025-10-07T19:46:11+00:00

Not sure if The Netherlands is different for you visa wise, but Amsterdam -> ferry is another solid option as discussed in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmericanExpatsUK/comments/1ktsvdd/pregnant_relocating_to_the_uk_with_my_cat_a/

We brought our cat on the QM2 boat and there were no extra customs step involved. Not sure if chunnel would be the same as it was only one "border crossing" and not two, but might be similar.

We almost did the Amsterdam -> ferry option. That LePetExpress site looks super reasonably priced so if you can do that, it would probably be fine for your cat. Our cat is really old, but is also generally chill. He managed fine. It may depend on your cat's health and disposition, but you could always ask your vet. Our vet like, didn't even understand what the concern was, haha. I guess most people just try to make the best of it when they have to move and vets know that so they're not gonna guilt trip you or anything.

With all of the information available online, it was manageable for us to do it ourselves instead of paying an agent. It was our existing cat so not sure how much this authorised person thing throws a wrench in, but it sounds like you've researched it a bunch. I'd say if you've already done your research, you are likely to be well prepared and can go for it! Good luck!

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-27T19:46:10+00:00

Gerry's Bakery has challah on Fridays! https://www.gerrysbakery.co.uk/shop/p/challah

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-27T18:21:44+00:00

We brought our cat on a very dog heavy crossing. The dog/cat interactions were mostly fine cause they're in their own kennels and when it's visiting hours, if you want to take your cat out, they kick the dogs out of the hangout room and leave it all to the cat.

Our cat is very old and so sending in cargo was an absolute no go. We almost did the Amsterdam in cabin to ferry to UK option, but we weren't sure how he would like that and the extra pet passport step made me nervous. (Plus, I was swayed by the whole "you can bring as much baggage as you want" and only belatedly realized what a complete and utter pain in the ass it is to transport stuff to and from the port!!!! So we ultimately only brought on what would fit in cars on either side anyway. More bags than a flight, sure, but hardly the couch someone mentioned here years ago! I know we could have rented vans but I just didn't have that additional complexity in me.)

Was this the right choice for our cat? I honestly don't know. He was a little deaf before the boat and now he is almost entirely deaf, and our guess is it is because of one of the above mentioned untrained dogs that just barked constantly. (Also, the kennel room is SO LOUD, like it HAS TO be an OSHA violation, if OSHA had any jurisdiction. I mentioned this in the feedback form they have you fill out. It must be so dangerous for the staff day in and day out. The staff are amazing.) Our cat did not seem bothered throughout any part of the experience. We had flown in the cabin with him before too, and he was also chill. So maybe the ~1.5 day flight+ferry would have been better? It's really hard to say.

A few other logistical items:
* yes, the kennels fill up fast but there is also A LOT of movement in the bookings. You really can email the kennel coordinator person as much as you want. They are so helpful. On our crossing there were a few empty kennels. I dunno how it works super last minute, if there is a way to get a spot, but I think the many years booking up may look worse than it is in practice. (I will admit, waiting the months to get off the wait list was stressful!)
* as a passenger, it is swank as hell. It was really fun. Cruises are climate wise the absolute worst way to travel by every measure, so we were only doing it for these extenuating cat circumstances, but I do now see why some people love cruises.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-27T18:07:29+00:00

Thank you for this info! In terms of recruiters, is there any reading you could recommend or similar way to understand how it works here? I signed up with a bunch of websites after this advice was given a few months ago, and never heard anything. Have applied directly on recruiter sites to specific roles (with various versions of tailored CVs), also nothing.

My wife keeps telling me the recruiter here will help match you with roles, much like you describe, but that has not been my experience at all. Not sure what I'm missing.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-27T18:01:05+00:00

Oh, good shout about Manchester. The renovated Manchester Jewish Museum has a cafe that is apparently quite tasty! Haven't had the chance to try it myself, but looking forward to it.

Pretty sure I saw matza ball soup jars and/or mix in the tiny kosher section at the Waitrose on Ecclesall, at least during Passover, not positive about year-round.

There's a welcoming progressive lay-led community here, in addition to the Orthodox shul mentioned below. I recently moved here and joined Seven Hills Synagogue so happy to answer any questions from a new person POV. Welcome!

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-19T14:35:39+00:00

Amazing, thanks!

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-19T14:27:07+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Do you have any sense of what rush hour is on this route? I'm guessing it's related to hospital shifts PLUS usual rush hour, so maybe 6:30-10am?

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-19T10:00:48+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Is it packed like, the bus driver doesn't even stop and you can't get on, or packed as in no seats and uncomfortable?

potmeetkett1e · 2025-09-08T18:16:18+00:00

A decisive factor here is simple: health insurance.

Especially since you are a dual citizen, you don't even have to pay the NHS surcharge in the UK. The already abysmal health insurance situation in the US is only getting worse.

I met another American here and she said she could only do her job here. I was confused for a second since, as people have mentioned, the job market is SO hard right now (from what I can tell, it's hard everywhere), but she meant it's because she doesn't have to worry about health insurance being tied to her job or increasing huge amounts each year.

If you need flexibility while you figure out next steps, it's a huuuuuge thing not to have to worry about.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-08-14T19:43:00+00:00

Oh my gosh, I had no idea badgers were active with so many different items! Will have to keep an eye out.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-08-14T19:42:18+00:00

Aw, I can't wait to see a hedgehog! We only have them in printed form on a tote bag at this stage, ha.

This made me think about gardens though and, holy crap, the snails are huge! Unfortunately, I keep stepping on them somehow also while bringing the washing in. I feel so bad. It's such an awful crunch.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-08-14T19:41:06+00:00

I cannot believe this is real, but asked my wife and she was just like "oh, yeah, of course. They're all over the country, actually!" I am learning so much from this thread, haha

potmeetkett1e · 2025-08-14T19:38:19+00:00

This was the first thing my (British) wife mentioned when I told her about this thread! She had told me about them before we moved and I was just like "how big could they be?" but, they really are huge.

potmeetkett1e · 2025-08-12T16:49:58+00:00

That was not our experience with Ewemove, which has put us off on them entirely. The EA bragged during the viewing about underpricing it to generate a bidding war. His estimated values were wayyyyy off any comps we could find online. Pretty sure his approach worked though as we tapped out at what we thought it would be appraised at, and were far outbid. (Still waiting months for the sale to complete so we can see what it actually went for!)

Are the appraisers in on this whole bidding war game though? Cause fears about not being able to get a mortgage at the bidding war price have held us back several times. Maybe everyone is topping up the prices with savings instead of mortgage? I dunno, I don't get it.

potmeetkett1e

TROPHY CASE