AmericanExpatsUK

Hi folks, I hope everyone is having a great British spring this year! Just a quick note as we've had numerous threads recently that cover the same duplicate topics (pet moving, how do I rent, etc). I understand that everyone's personal situation is unique (I was frequently frustrated when doing my own pre-move research that people assumed the info was out there and easy to find), but there really are some excellent threads in the archive on these topics! Rule 6 is to help de-clutter what makes it to the front pages of everyone who subscribes to this subreddit. Thank you!

Alright folks, it's finally happened - the general election has been announced for July 4th. Starting up a megathread to help contain any burgeoning desires to discuss this event among ourselves in several different posts, and to give everyone a place to vent/discuss among ourselves as it's a pretty major event for all of us, I'm sure.

Please note rule 5 on no politics, with the carveout exception for Immigration issues, which I'm sure will be discussed on the campaign trail and are 100% okay to discuss in this subreddit, hence this thread.

That said, please refrain from discussion of all other political issues in this subreddit. There's /r/unitedkingdom and /r/ukpolitics that serve as good places to discuss other election based issues. This thread will be heavily monitored for rules enforcement and all other threads on the election from here on forward will be removed. Thanks! And happy voting/campaigning to those that can and do

Edit: suggest sort by "new" as this will be up for almost two months.

Preparing for an upcoming move to the U.K. later this year. What surprised you most after making the move to the U.K., good or bad? The biggest thing I have noticed, and this is only from visiting many times, the civility and manners of Brits. I remember we messed up several times driving about, and not one driver honked or exhibited any type of road rage. This would never happen in the States. 😂

Overheard on the central line tube tonight: With a deep sigh: “you have to let everyone off the train first before you try to get on. Please note there is more then one door on every train. Train is now ready to leave” another deep sigh and loud click as she hung up the receiver. At every stop.

Felt like any I could have been on any subway in NYC on a Saturday night. So much nostalgia in a sassy conductor. It was great!

I think we should probably make a thread specifically for these kinds of questions.

My question is, how do I vote in the US elections? I see advertisements on Reddit to order a ballot but I am questioning if that is reliable or not? I’ve read some things online about voting at the embassy.

Listen, I’m not the best at finding out the best ways to do things while living abroad. I’m hoping to start a discourse to help people, like me, understand how to exercise our rights while abroad. Thanks in advance for your conversation.

To clarify I am British, but I thought an American would have a better idea than me on where I can get my hands on some twisted tea. Possibly a rogue, individual store somewhere in London im assuming. There can’t be absolutely 0 twisted tea in the UK.

Hi all- I’ve recently accepted a job in the UK. I just found out that my visa has been approved and everything is starting to feel real for my move in July. But one thing I haven’t thought of— do I somehow need to report this move to anyone in the US? For example, I’m keeping a permanent address in the US for my license and voting, but what if I get summoned for (US) Jury duty while living in the UK?

What have you guys done?

I'm British but read a lot of American recipe blogs and often find their "cheap" recipes confusing because they use things like peppers (bell/sweet) a lot that are actually quite expensive over here. I also understand that pasta is not the absolute bog standard cheap staple that it is in the UK, and that rice is significantly comparatively cheaper.

I am planning on spending the rest of my life in the UK. My family is here (mom married a Brit), my partner is here, my job is here, my life is here.

Can I invest and how? Long and short term…

I have seen mixed information online and I am so confused at what I am and am not allowed to do. Also, if there is a way for me to invest in the uk, do I have to claim this to the IRS and HMRC?

I want to do it correctly but I’m very wary about doing something wrong due to just not knowing.

Anyone have a sample budget for a 1 bedroom flat in London for 1 student at UCL and a retired spouse?

So far we have

Rent: 2200£/month

Oyster card Zones 1-3 1400£/year (student) 1820£ (non-student)

Internet: 40£/month

2 cell phones: 50£/month

1 Celiac & 1 Ultra fit Carnivore Groceries: 550£/month (the amount we spend now in Southern California)

2 Massages: 220£/month (googled it, in CA we spend $136+tip for 2)

VPN (login to Parent's US cable)& Netflix: 20£/month

Utilities (per google): 66£

Council tax: 125£/month ?? Students don't pay it? But spouse pays single occupant (25% less)?

We are going on a 4 year Student Visa and spouse visa, we won't work, so no jobs.

(We have military pension and GI Bill Housing Allowance and stipend from US, some of that is taxed in US but none taxed in the UK).

To preface: yes there's the usual year round depression, but my depression since coming here has gotten so so much worse and is HUGELY responsive to whether it's dark vs sunny--the difference is starkly noticeable with how few properly sunny days we get.

We get a properly sunny day? My mood is amazing. Rainy? Overcast? I will try so so hard to tackle the day and have a good one but most of the time I fail. I get so so sad.

Since moving here over a year ago I've had to double my antidepressant dosage and start taking anti anxiety meds again that I'd been off of for years. Prior to moving I was doing so well I thought I might be able to come off them.

I thought it would get better when it started getting to spring/summer, but only a few days are properly sunny. Most of the "sunny" days where people are saying oh its so sunny and nice out...there are tons of clouds in the sky and everything still looks tinted gray?????

I use a sun lamp, I take vitamin D, I keep all the lights on in whatever room I'm in even when it's daytime just to make it feel a little brighter...and I'm still just miserable most of the time.

There are a lot of other contributing factors to me struggling since moving here, but man the sunlight is one of the worst since it effects me so intensely and it feels like there's nothing I can actually do about it. Has anyone had this experience of like, year round SAD after moving to the UK with only brief respite on the occasional properly sunny day? Have you done anything that's helped?

Travelling gives me panic attacks, so I can't just travel to sunny places.

I am attending the University of Glasgow as a postgraduate student (23 F) in September and as time is getting closer to my departure date, I am starting to get stressed about how to pack. I also am unsure of everything I need to do before moving, I have my accommodation planned but other than that my mind is blanking for what I need to have for the upcoming year... So if anyone can help me come up with a checklist that would be great!!

I’m a US/UK dual citizen with a cash ISA as part of HL active savings product. Lately I’ve been unable to access the account online and all transactions require me to phone HL or message. They claim this is an ’IT issue’ because the system flags my US citizen status, but they have no timeline for a resolution. Wondering if anyone else has encountered this issue and had any joy getting info from HL? As per usual, I find they don’t understand issues surrounding US citizens very well - eg telling me I can’t have a cash ISA due to HMRC regulations 🙄.

Why are pizza places offering me chilli oil and they don't carry Red Pepper Flakes? I don't want your low grade oil with a few pepper flakes in it! Give me the real stuff!

Barclays used to do it until January this year.

It's a refund check from the IRS, for some reason they can't do direct deposit into my US account and always send a check to my UK address. The check has my UK address on it so I'm not sure that I could send it via mail to my US bank (which is a credit union, if that matters).

TL;DR: Are there any ISA brokerages (like HL) which allow US citizens in the UK to open accounts, AND also offer a high-interest cash LISA?

More detail: Sorry for the one millionth “how to invest in the UK as a US expat?” post - relatively simple question though, so bear with.

Hargreaves Lansdown offers fixed rate cash ISAs (current yield ~4.5%) to US expats. They also offer Lifetime ISAs but with these you either keep it in cash (with no interest) or invest in stocks or ETFs (bad for us).

Does anywhere have a high-interest cash Lifetime ISA (similar to this MoneyBox one: https://www.moneyboxapp.com/isa/lifetime/cash/) so I can take the ~4.5% yield with the 25% government bonus, and still avoid bad US tax reporting/liabilities?

And a follow-up: to confirm, the returns on such a LISA (if I can find one…) are tax-free in the UK but treated as a capital gain (when crystallised) by the IRS? Does anyone have experience with this? Are we sure the 25% govt bonus is a capital gain, as opposed to income?

Hello! I am currently looking to switch my employer and among many questions about how this impacts my visa and whatnot, I am wondering about the “notice of termination” in my job contract. It specifies that I must give twelve weeks notice. This feels like something that doesn’t exist in America. Do I have to give that notice or is it just a courtesy? My new employer seems to be okay waiting, but since the new job is a higher salary, I’d rather start ASAP.

Follow up question, if somebody has gone through a similar process on a SWV, are there fees associated with changing my CoS to my new sponsor?

I don’t know exactly where to ask these questions so if anybody can give me some direction, it’s be greatly appreciated. I tried Googling this stuff but I kept getting results for employers.

I’m trying to find a cute seaside town similar to Cape Cod! My partner and I recently moved to the UK and I am hoping to find a similar spot to visit and that hopefully has some nice bakeries and restaurants and is accessible by transit (we are hesitant to drive in UK)

For reference, we usually stay in Chatham or Provincetown on the Cape and are fine if the weather/water is a bit chilly.

I thought I’d post on here in case someone is familiar with Cape Cod and UK towns and could suggest where to look!

So far I’ve found towns in Kent (Whitstable, Margate) and Cornwall (Newquay?) any thoughts on these?

(Side note also not a huge fan of pebble beaches, but I’ll take what I can get haha)

Admittedly this is probably an obscure, hypothetical question only relevant to a very small percentage of people , but I was curious if anyone who is planning on relocating to UK from 2025 onwards have been looking at how to utilize this new 4 Year FIG regime with regards to drawing on US accounts and income?

This is not law yet, but will most likely still come into being (in some form) even if there is a change of UK government. It would basically allow 4 years of UK tax exemption on your foreign income and gains (based on UK residency rather than previous domicile status).

More details on:

https://www.frazierdeeter.co.uk/insights/overhaul-of-the-uk-non-dom-regime-changes-announced-in-the-chancellors-2024-spring-budget/

Thanks!

I will be moving to the U.K. soon and was reading about Wise to pay U.K. bills like rent, phone, etc. How does it exactly work? Will it link to my US bank account? Does it only work with specific banks, like Chase? Thank you!

My girlfriend is American and has to renew her passport. Where can we get good US style passport photos? We are in the UK.

Anyone done this?

Thank you

It’s been a while since I’ve called over to the UK. Mostly I’d message via FB or WhatsApp in the past, but what about needing to call a regular business that doesn’t have one of those set ups?

Looking for best alternatives to make low-cost calls to and from the U.S. to the UK to begin looking into business, potential moving, that begins with a short holiday trip relatively soon? The calls in advance would be for getting information in advance in preparation for the visit.

Suggestions?

Hi! I’m sure this has been asked but I have searched some of the old threads and can’t find this specific issue.

I moved a year ago and my new GP doesn’t prescribe benzodiazepines (ie Ativan). I take a very modest amount about 5 over 2 months and have now tried 2 other options both of which the side effects have been miserable.

I’ve been prescribed it in the UK before on that low dosage so have no track record of drug seeking. Is there really no other way and I’m just out of luck for having an unfortunate GP?

Is there a way anyone has gotten around this? Can I go private?

Thanks for your help in advance.

I have been driving in and around Los Angeles for 25ish years now and never experienced more than some middle fingers, honking and screaming from a window.

But I was walking in a very pedestrian area today in zone 2, and the cars were stopped so we and someone else walked through the stopped cars. This was also the crossing area of the street between 2 sidwalks on a main street. Not a zebra crossing but the path was marked if that makes sense.

While we were walking through, the lady tried to gun it because the car in front started moving - even with the 3 of us already crossing.

Lady and her daughter started honking and screaming at us and tbf we screamed back because wtf were they doing trying to run us over when we were crossing.

We continued walking across - it's literally one lane, that's how crazy they were being.

And the daughter gets out of the car and chases us screaming at us.

Daughter wanted a fight and she kept screaming at us. Other people intervened to get her back in the car.

It was insane.

Still a bit shaken. The saddest part was that the general sentiment was that there's nothing you can say or do about people like that. But It's just a matter of time till they hurt someone.