WORDS OF WISDOM: TOP 10 TIPS FOR MOVING TO THE UK

I have been talking to quite a few people back home in New Zealand lately who are in the process of moving to the United Kingdom. With that in mind I thought this would be a great place to discuss my own advice and offer helpful websites on different aspects of this big move in the hopes of helping at least one person in their own personal adventure.

Taking the leap and committing yourself to step outside of your comfort zone can be a scary thing. Too many times we pass up on opportunities because we are too afraid of what could happen if things don't work out. Packing up your life and moving to the other side of the world is scary! It is also extremely satisfying and without a doubt the greatest thing I have ever done. This experience teaches you things about yourself that can only be discovered by getting outside of your comfort zone and opening up your mind to new possibilities. I am not saying it's for everyone, but in reality what have you got to loose?

Money

Money is the thing I get asked about the most. If you have a job to come to, you really don't need to have very much at all. When I arrived in Wales to start work, I had about £200 to my name. You quickly learn to make do with what you have and live pay check to pay check for a while until you can develop a travel savings plan.

On the other hand, if you are just coming over and planning to find work once you get here, you will be needing a lot more money. Hostels can be expensive, especially in London, so if you have a friend or family member who will let you sleep on the couch you could be saving up to £150 a week.

"What will £75 get you in the UK for a week" The answer, not a lot. Expecially if you are in London. Travel takes up the majority of your weekly amount. A 7 day tube travel card will cost you about £50 alone.

Travel Insurance

When you move to the UK on a working visa, you are treated as a British Citizen and therefore don't need to purchase travel insurance for your whole time away. I would recommend getting it for your flight over, and possibly your first week or so, just to be on the safe side while you register at a bank and so on.

You can then purchase travel insurance for trips you take outside of the UK, into Europe, as they come along. You really only need to be coverered for time spent outside of the UK.

Visa

Keeping in mind it was in early 2014 that I applied for my Tier 5 Youth Mobility Visa, I still wanted to share my tips with you. You should allow 2/3 months from the date you submit your visa application to the date you recieve you visa in your hot little hand.

Although you need to have proof of £1800 at the time of the visa application, there is nothing stopping you arriving into the UK with far less than that. A simple trick is to transfer the funds from a parents bank account into your own. Once you recieve the visa in the post, you can then transfer them the money back. I would also wait to book my flight (I know its hard!) until you have the visa in front of you. This way you can use that £1800 to pay for your flight!

To enter the UK on a working visa you do not need to have a return flight. During the time that your visa is valid, you are treated like a british citizen and can enter and reenter the UK as often as you want.

The contact address and phone number, from my experience, isn't investigated further and is just a way of the passport control knowing you have a contact over here and are not going to be left out on the streets. Feel free to use a friend or family member if you do not have a job organised at this point!

Agencies

For bar and Au Pair work, I wouldn't recommend finding work through an agency. They are overpriced and really not very helpful at all!

The only times I would recommend paying an agent to help you is if you are applying for Teaching or Teaching Assistant positions, or if you are looking for full time work that could lead to you being sponsored to stay longer in the UK.

Accommodation

I personally did not need to look for accommodation during my two year stay in the UK. This is because I proactivly looked for jobs that were a live in position. London is an expensive place to live but if you do want to find a place in London I would suggest Fulham. There are a lot of Kiwis and Aussies living there and it is relatively cheap but still well connected to the city centre.

In my opinion, live in jobs are the way to go, especially if you plan on moving around during your time in the UK. It is already enough of a pain to have to pack up your life and start over once, let alone reestablishing yourself again, to have to move on six months later! It is important to find out what you are getting yourself into with live in positions. You could end up sharing a room with someone you have never met before, which can go one of two ways!

Finding a job

Finding a job can be a daunting task. "Do I look for one before I leave home, or do I take the risk of waiting until I get there and hope for the best." For me personally, when I made my big move overseas I didn't know anyone, and this was scary. It meant that I didn't have anyone to help me when my money ran out, no couch to crash on! This meant securing a job before I left New Zealand to ensure I wasn't going to be left on my own. There are two valuable online resources I have used to help me find jobs.

The first is Au Pair World, a free online agency where you simply sign up and create a profile. You can put in your specific location and age preferences and the site customises the families to meet your requirements. Often after exchanging emails, the family may want you to meet in person, but Skype can be enough to get an understanding of the family. The whole site is run by you, meaning it is up to you to organise contracts with the family. I will be writing another blog post with more detail about what Au Pairing is all about and what to expect, so subscribe to be the first to hear about it!

Secondly, there is a little known gem by the name of Dee Cooper. This lady has a whole bunch of live in hospitality jobs available throught England, Scotland and Wales. All you need to do is send her an email, letting her know which area of the UK you are interested in and she will provide you with a list of contacts. It is up to you to follow up these contacts and send out your CV but she knows the right people to get in touch with and is super friendly and helpful!

Creating A Bank Account

Creating a bank account in the United Kingdom can be a tough time. In order to set up an account you need to have an address, but in order to have an address you generally need a source of income, and to have a source of income/job you need to have a bank account! To get out of this vicious cycle, there is one bank that is proven to help out. Lloyds Bank is the easiest bank to join if you are new to the United Kingdom, all you will need is your passport with a valid working visa! Some stores are busier than others and I would recommend to not go to one of the centrally located stores as there can be a long wait to create an account. It is best to ring and book an appointment in advance. It is also handy to note that there are no Lloyds Bank branches in Scotland, but your account is still useable!

Healthcare

Healthcare laws are in the process of changing in the UK. I was fortunate enough to be eligable for the full range of free treatments available under the National Health Service (NHS). From the 6th of April 2016, Kiwis staying in the UK on a working visa will be required to pay an immigration health surcharge as part of the visa application.

As this doesn't concern me I cannot comment on it further, but my advice around Healthcare is to register with a Doctor as soon as you are settled in. This ensures that if you are involved in an accident or suddenly become sick, you are already on the system and are therefore treated like a British Citizen, rather than a tourist. It is generally quite simple to register, all you need is proof of your address (a letter from the bank will do) and your passport.

Reconnecting to the Digital Age

There is free wifi located throughout the United Kingdom, thanks to The Cloud Hotspot Provider. Most big chain stores such as Cafe Nero, the Tube, Pizza Express, Madame Tussauds, Wetherspoons, Super Drug, Gregs Cafe and Burger King provide access to the Cloud network, which is extremely useful!

You will however need to buy a Sim Card as there is only so much free wifi can help you with! There are four main networks in the United Kingdom, Vodafone, O2, Three and EE. I went with the O2 network simply because at the time it was the cheapest and easiest one available to me. O2 has the cheapest monthly pay as you go, but doesn't offer any unlimited data bundles. The best network for unlimited data is Three, but you will pay somewhere between £20 and £30 a month for it. It is best to check out these four networks and decide how much you are willing to pay (I personally refuse to pay more than 10 pounds a month!).

Keeping in Touch

Once you have made the move it is important to remember about those you have left behind. No doubt you are extremely busy enjoying the new lifestyle you have embraced, but taking the time to stay connected back home. At some point homeesickness will inevitabily set in. You will have a bad day and begin to question your motive for leaving the comfort of home in the first place. This is completely normal! It is so important at this moment to have those connections back home to ease your mind, as quite often these are the people who know you best.

On the other hand, those back home want to stay informed about your whereabouts, not only for safety reasons, but also so they can continue to be green with envy over your new exciting lifestyle.

I would recommend starting a blog. Mine began as I have been emailing my Nana backwards and forwards a few times and found myself copying and pasting the messages to other family members. I decided that this blog platform was a way of sharing my experiences with those who are actually interested in reading about them, instead of forcing it upon others. I am grateful for sticking with this as it gives me something to look back on in years to come.

Skype is an amazing thing. It has been my source of comfort in a foreign place many times and is valuable in making the distance seem not quite so far. If you are communicating with those in New Zealand, the time difference couldn't be much better if you tried. It is a 12 hour difference (sometimes 11 or 13 with daylight savings!) meaning that morning is night and night is morning.

You should definitely join a local Facebook page for likeminded people. Kiwis in London is a great start as they often advertises events happening around London, as well as special discounts on travel. You should try searching "Kiwis in ..." followed by wherever you end up, you never know where it could lead!

Please let me know if you have any more questions about moving to the UK!

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you – it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you… Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

I hope this has inspired you.

LARISSAJODEE x

#advice #aupair