Moving to Cardiff UK - Let the fun begin

[yld200]

Well it's official I think. Flights from Melbourne to Cardiff with QR in J have been booked!

This is something that's been on the cards for a while but has just become a lot more real. The SO has officially received and accepted a job offer for a position in Cardiff which is awesome for her career progression and something we're both pretty excited about. Just waiting on the contract and visa certificate of sponsorship but that shouldn't be too far away.

I am also lucky enough to have a great and flexible employer who is about to expand our operations into the UK which is perfect timing. I mentioned it to my manager a few months ago and the CEO has approved supporting my relocation with the details to still be ironed out.

No kids at this stage of our life means we'll have the flexibility of travel, given we'll be a few hours from anywhere in Europe is one of most appealing things for us.

We have until the end of February to get all of our affairs in order so now all of the fun begins. Namely we have a house full of stuff to either store of sell, sorting out visas, finding a property in Cardiff (probably airbnb for the first month), banking and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Anyone have any advice they can offer with regards to moving in general, or anything more specific to the UK would be greatly appreciated.

 

[VPS]

There was another thread not long ago about someone moving to the UK with lots of good ideas. I liked Cardiff and lots of cafes - try Milk and Sugar. Good luck and enjoy

 

[yld200]

There was another thread not long ago about someone moving to the UK with lots of good ideas. I liked Cardiff and lots of cafes - try Milk and Sugar. Good luck and enjoy

Thanks for the cafe suggestion VPS.

I did have a read through that thread, many people suggesting to pack lightly but I think I'll struggle convincing the SO to do so

 

[kelvedon]

Southern Wales is not as Nationalistic as the north but it'll be fun twisting your tongue round some of the Welsh words. The opportunity to sample living in another country will, I'm sure, be an exciting and memorable chapter in your lives.

 

[blackcat20]

Sounds exciting!

 

[kelvedon]

...Oh and Welsh Rarebit contains no Bunnies !

 

[Mal]

Cardiff is a nice UK town, albeit a bit small, but bigger than many Australian cities. Wales and the nearby areas has lots of things to see and do.

There are some important things to do when you move, including local bank account, electoral registration, doctor registration, tv tax, council tax etc, so make sure you check out the various expat moving to the uk websites for some advice.

Having done the move to London twice (Six years this time), I think the cultures are similar enough to survive but you need to learn the local culture!

 

[yld200]

Cardiff is a nice UK town, albeit a bit small, but bigger than many Australian cities. Wales and the nearby areas has lots of things to see and do.

There are some important things to do when you move, including local bank account, electoral registration, doctor registration, tv tax, council tax etc, so make sure you check out the various expat moving to the uk websites for some advice.

Having done the move to London twice (Six years this time), I think the cultures are similar enough to survive but you need to learn the local culture!

Thanks Mal,

We certainly have a lot to do. Bank account we should be able to manage as I've got a citibank account which should be transferable to a UK account and Amex cards have an option to do the same. The wife has made some friends over there so an address will be ok as well. One thing I do need to do some more research on is the income tax side of things since I'll be paid by my AU company.

Will definitely check out some of the expat sites.

 

[Mal]

Yes, Amex Global transfer is very handy. Not as handy as it once was, but is still a great way of opening an UK credit card to build your credit history which is very important in the UK (Electoral registration is also critical to help improve your credit worthiness)

Good luck on the move. There are a few Expats in the UK still posting here, so I'm sure one of us can help if you have queries!

 

[opusman]

Make sure you check out The Potted Pig. Great gastropub.

 

[yld200]

Thanks for all the advice.

Gumtree starting to get a workout this weekend

 

[Antoallison]

There’s nice ... A saying I heard often in the valleys when I lived there.

I think you will like Cardiff as it is a small and manageable city without any grim areas. Splott being the least unattractive area and name.
The old infamous Tiger Bay area has been regenerated, the city centre has all the flagship shops like John Lewis, Marks and Spencer.
There are lots of nice walks along the Taff River, or drives on the weekend up to Brecon Beacons. It’s an easy drive up the coast for bank holiday weekends. Good rail link from Cardiff to London, and a very small International airport in Cardiff.

I found the Welsh very friendly and hospitable and I loved listening to that sing song accent, but I never mastered much more of the language than “Bore Da”.

PS - I hope you like Rugby !

 

[Myrna]

Just some observations from having living in London for almost 7 years. Cardiff may be different in some aspects - your mileage may vary!

1. If you are lucky enough to have housing provided / subsidized by employers, then no need to worry. But, if not like us who have had to pay the exorbitant rent in London, then get ready. If you own your home in Australia (like us) and have not rented in Australia, then arm yourself with letters of references from friends, employer and write up a brief bio - all these will help in getting a rental place. When you move again, make sure you get the references from your landlords in writing - this will put you well ahead of other applicants.

2. Very different to Australia, RE agents in London are not required to be licensed (anyone can set up an agency) and they will charge (a rip off admin fee!) when you put in an application. Also rent in London is negotiable (not sure about Cardiff), not fixed like in Australia. If they advertise £500, you can ask £480 - depending on how much you want the place. And, deposit here is 6 weeks rent, not 4 weeks like in Australia. I had to fight with the agent and landlords for our 1st rental place to get the deposit back - it is not automatic, dishonest agent / landlord hope you will forget about claiming the deposit (Flashback knew about this). I had to threaten landlord to take him to court (which I would be awarded 3 x the deposit amount) - he knew I would win so he returned our money (almost £4K) on the last day before I went to court. So, be careful to keep records of your deposit.

3. Yes, tenants here pay council rates (not landlords like in Australia) - and this could add up to £3K a year (top band), Cardiff will be much lower I think. For our 3 rental places we have had to pay the top band - even though the first 2 places are 3 / 4 beds, and this one 2 beds.

4. Yes, the TV license to fund the BBC (biased) services. If you don't pay, there is a huge fine.

5. Like Mal mentioned, you will have to register with a local NHS clinic in order to see a GP - bring along your passport (which will have your visa included inside). The services are free, but the next available appointments (in London that is) are not until another 2 weeks! However, you can just turn up and wait for 4 hours to be seen by a nurse or a GP. If you are on really sick and cannot wait, then go to an A&E hospital(Acccidents & Emergency), wait for 8 hours to be seen and admitted to a shared hospital bed. You cannot just go to any NHS clinic, you have to go to the one where you have registered! If you want to be seen by a private GP, you have to pay and no claim back from any health insurance policy … Very different from Australia, you can go to any GP and claim some of the fee back from Medicare.

6. Most rental places come fully furnished (which is handy if you arrive in the UK with just suitcases - they always have stove top, oven, fridge/freezer, washing machine/dryer, beds, table & chairs) but quality varies (get your own mattress, the one in rental places are disgusting). Ours have been partially furnished and we bought a few things from Ikea.

7. If you want to buy a car here be careful about getting insurance for it. Most insurance companies will not insure you unless you have lived in the UK for 3 years or more. We opted for a salary sacrificed leased car from hubby's work as insurance was included. If you want a UK driver license than you have to surrender your Australian driver license.

8. Your banking arrangements seemed to be sorted - as you will find it will rather difficult to get a UK credit card and a UK bank account as a foreigner. Like Mal said, after you move into your rental place, it is important to register yourself on the local council electoral roll - this will help you to apply for UK credit cards (if this is what you want later). Yes, commonwealth citizens are allowed to vote in all UK elections - and we did vote in the Brexit referendum

9. The tax issues can be very complexed, so get advice. If you are only in the UK for a few years, then it should not be too much hassles. But, for us having been here for 7 years already, things are getting quite a headache, particularly having properties in Australia and a smsf!

Having said all the above, we have enjoyed living in London - despite many hurdles in terms of renting and the complex tax issues involved. It is a great place for travel (as Mal and Flashback would have agreed) and we have been to places where it would be costly from Australia (and trips back to Australia are cheaper than flying from Australia to the UK).

Best of luck with your move. You will get to meet some AFF in London (like Mal and Flashback - cove introduced me to them when we moved to London).

 

[yld200]

Just some observations from having living in London for almost 7 years. Cardiff may be different in some aspects - your mileage may vary!

Thanks Myrna! That's a great help.

Hoping to try and work out some more info re tax as I'll be in a similar situation with properties in Melbourne that we'll be leaving behind. Wife will be employed by a UK company and I'll be employed by my AU company.

For our housing situation, unfortunately no we wont have anything provided so we'll have to go through the RE agent game ourselves.

 

[kelvedon]

I think you’ll find the housing situation in Cardiff very different to London

 

[ozjuice]

I'm a little bit taken back by so much positive feedback to moving to Cardiff. Life is full of surprises. I must be a pessimist at best as it's not somewhere I'd consider an exciting destination. So Kudos to all who have been so positive and hopefully you love it.
I guess sometimes a change of scenery can be very positive.

 

[Antoallison]

I'm a little bit taken back by so much positive feedback to moving to Cardiff. Life is full of surprises. I must be a pessimist at best as it's not somewhere I'd consider an exciting destination. So Kudos to all who have been so positive and hopefully you love it.
I guess sometimes a change of scenery can be very positive.

Not exciting - just very liveable... in my experience the only downside is the cold, wet weather from January to March, but that’s all the UK.

 

[yld200]

I'm a little bit taken back by so much positive feedback to moving to Cardiff. Life is full of surprises. I must be a pessimist at best as it's not somewhere I'd consider an exciting destination. So Kudos to all who have been so positive and hopefully you love it.
I guess sometimes a change of scenery can be very positive.

It may not be the ideal destination to relocate, but professionally there are great opportunities for both of us. The wife has already met some people there who shes become close friends with and the ability to take a weekend flight to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal for as little as $100 each way is very exciting for us.

 

[Myrna]

Not exciting - just very liveable... in my experience the only downside is the cold, wet weather from January to March, but that’s all the UK.

The weather in the UK is truly miserable in the winter (we got used to it), but there have been many beautiful (sunny!) days. However, hubby said he does not mind being old or cold but not both at the same time - so we will heading home to Oz in a couple of years.
Having an opportunity to live in another city or country is a truly wonderful experience. We lived in the US (LA) in our early 20s, and have been living in the UK (London) in our 60s. We embraced both and are thankful for the both opportunities. So, yld200, take your chance and turn it into a wonderful experience. Certainly the travels will make it all worthwhile.
Moving to another country is always a daunting task - but don't let that deter you - go, wander and enjoy. When we moved to the US, we had 4 suitcases. When we moved to the UK, we had 4 suitcases and many boxes sent as unaccompanied luggage as we also brought our 2 dogs with us from Sydney - some boxes were their belongings

 

[yld200]

Some more recent updates;
Flights have been confirmed to Manchester with QR in J. Had to make a change from our original flights into Cardiff, as our pet Cavoodle Lily is relocating with us I'll book a rental car to drive from Manchester to Cardiff which will be fine.
Lily has also had her rabies vaccination and the paper trail for getting her into the UK has begun. We've decided to manage it all ourselves after doing some research it's a rather straight forward process. I did get two quotes which were $5000 and $3500
AirBNB has been secured for the first month, then we'll look at a longer term option once we're settled.
Gumtree activity has been good so far but we still have a lot to get rid off. Both cars are listed for sale and I'm meeting the real estate agent on Monday to have our place listed for rent.
Visa applications are being done this week, a minor hiccup with the online application which is being sorted out.
Next up is sorting out a crate for Lily and some training to get her comfy in there, getting rid of the cars, some maintenance maintenance around the house and sorting out what's going in storage.