I have most of the big details sorted, but because I am going to be new in the country aside from a few family visits and one business trip, I have far from expert knowledge on living in the UK. I try to research as much as I can, but there are limits.
These questions are going to probably be subjective, and some may be dependent on where we’re going to live in Britain long-term, something I can’t tell you until I get a job, but I trust people on Lemmy more than some random Google search to tell me what they actually think.
So, here are my 20 questions- although some are really multipart questions- and I will probably end up asking more based on what I find out. I felt like 20 was an exhausting enough number. They are not in any particular order, I had about 8 and then I kept thinking of others and stopped trying to organize them. Please feel free to answer as many or as few as you like. Assume we won’t be getting rich off of my salary, but also won’t be living in a council flat.
- Which mobile phone company would you recommend and why? Getting a UK phone number for both me and my daughter is going to be one of the very first things on my itinerary.
- Obviously, I will need a place to put my money. I would rather go with a building society than a bank. Which would you recommend?
- Which supermarket(s) would you recommend? Which should we avoid and why? Believe it or not, my daughter is happy to eat the cheap supermarket sushi they have in supermarkets here. Is that available there?
- What should I think about when getting us a GP? I have health issues and need to get a National Insurance number as quickly as possible, but should I wait until we have a more permanent place to live? What are my options there?
- My daughter is a 14-year-old neurodivergent lesbian who has no problem letting people know exactly what she thinks and also likes to go on long tangents about esoteric subjects that interest her, which makes it difficult enough for her to find friends in the U.S., but I have no idea how she’s going to find friends in the UK. She will hopefully make some in school (it’s sure as hell been hard for her here, and it’s going to be hard on her there being foreign), but I’d love other suggestions on ways she might make friends in the UK that might not be a way in the U.S. She is super into Japanese stuff, but slightly off Japanese stuff, like obscure anime and electronica bands from the 1970s and 1980s, although she also loves punk rock and Hello Kitty 🤷. She also is a very talented artist and spends all day sketching in sketchbooks and on her iPad.
- This is going to sound really stupid… do I just carry around my passport or how do I show ID if someone needs it? I’m not going to have a driving license.
- What difficulties do you think I might encounter trying to rent a flat or house? I really don’t know how the process works in Britain. In the U.S. they often do a credit check and you provide first and last month’s rent, plus a security deposit. Utilities are not always included.
- Once we get settled, is Ikea the best place to go to get furniture (I don’t find what they have to be all that comfortable), or are the similar affordable options?
- How about house wares? We care much more about utility over aesthetics, especially when getting established. I’d rather have cheap, durable plates and bowls and pots and pans than pretty, expensive ones.
- And how about clothing? I do not care at all about fashion, I just want decent clothing that will look appropriate at a job. Obviously, I have plenty of that already, but it will need to be replaced eventually. Where do I go for cheap and durable over expensive and fashionable?
- Are ISPs as dependent on where you live as they are here? We have very few options available and they are entirely geographically dependent. ISP recommendations would be great. I would especially love an ISP that didn’t have data caps.
- If I watch everything on a monitor via my computer, do I still need to pay a TV license fee or do I only need to play it if I want to use iPlayer? How does that all work? I definitely will not have an actual TV for a while.
- My daughter’s absolute favourite breakfast treat is going to a diner and getting corned beef hash. Is that a thing over there? Is there an okay breakfast place to take her to so she can have it once in a while?
- I’m guessing this is a no, but if anyone knows of anywhere in the UK that serves decent Mexican food, even if it is just somewhere I can take her to as a weekend treat, please tell me. That is her absolute favourite kind of food in general. By “Mexican food,” I mean “the shit they call Mexican food in America which isn’t really Mexican food” (you might notice I’m not a fan), so you would have to be familiar with both in order to answer this.
- I have been looking for a long time and I just haven’t found anything good- does anyone know a video or series of videos I can show to my kid as a basic “life in the UK in the 2020s as a teen” primer? I try to tell her all that I can, but it’s not like I can tell her what it’s like to be a teen in the UK in 2025. I was last there as an adult in the 2000s, before she was even born, and Britain was already a noticeably different place from the last time I was there in the 1990s. I mean I know she’s going to make a lot of cultural faux pas, but it would be nice to find a way to minimize them beyond me telling her things like what “pants” means in the UK and that “cunt” is not thought of in the UK as the horrific word it’s considered to be in the U.S.
- This is just something I’ve been wondering from job ads: when they say “casual dress,” what do they mean? In the U.S. that means you can show up in a T-shirt and sweats. I don’t want to make my own faux pas there.
- If we end up having to move to Wales- I am interviewing for a job in Swansea this week- it’s my understanding that my daughter will have to study Welsh in school. Does anyone have any experience moving to Wales with a teenager who is suddenly put into a (what I assume would be very remedial) Welsh language class? Any advice there?
- I basically never carry cash on me in the U.S. at this point. What might I need to carry it for there or is it also unnecessary?
- Do UK institutions care about your US credit rating?
- I hate Marmite. Is that still a capital offence?
- If you’re on a budget, check out Facebook marketplace. A lot of people basically see it as an easier more ethical way of quickly getting rid of stuff than throwing it away, so it gets put on there for a token price. You will be expected to arrange transport for it though. Also don’t haggle if something is already ultra cheap, somebody selling you a £500 sofa for £40 still feels like they’re doing you a favour.
- As long as you are aware that you need to enroll your child in an English-medium school then I wouldn’t worry about learning a bit of the local lingo on the side when/if she joins. (There are Welsh-medium schools too - best avoided in your case.)
One other piece of advice I’d suggest is stop thinking of the uk as a single place - but rather a collection of different places. Moving just eight miles in any direction can often put you in a completely different demographic and community. It’s a weird place.
I can’t give good answers to all of these, but here’s what I can say.
1. Check the mobile coverage in the area (Ofcom have a coverage map) you will be living and pick based on that and price. I personally use Giffgaff, which is a MVNO using the O2 network. They are no frills and cheap, I’ve been using them for years and quite a few family and friends have since joined me.
2. For a building society try Nationwide, long established stable option with a good high street presence across the country. My family have used them for many years.
3. Aldi and Lidl are cheap and cheerful, great for staples on a budget. Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s are the middle tier. Waitrose and M&S are the posher options. Wherever you shop you will save money by joining the loyalty scheme (Tesco Clubcard, Nectar, Lidl Plus etc).
4. Register for your local GP surgery once you have a place to live. You can always switch later if needed. The NHS website has plenty of info. The emergency phone number here is 999 and non emergency is 111.
6. You can carry your passport but it’s inconvenient. A provisional driving license is a commonly accepted ID here, and you can apply for one even if you have no intention to actually drive. We also have a scheme called PASS cards such as CitizenCard which are low cost and available for anyone with UK residency. Not as versatile as a provisional drivers license or passport, but work fine for simple checks like proof of age.
8. IKEA is fine. If you don’t mind second hand many charity shops have larger stores that sell furniture, there can be some real bargains there and they will often provide delivery.
9. Supermarkets do a reasonable range of housewares. T K Maxx often have some bargains. John Lewis is more upmarket.
10. Supermarkets again are cheap and reasonable. Somewhere like Next is may be better quality. I hear a lot of people recommend Uniqlo at the moment for quality everyday wear with a plain/timeless style that doesn’t break the bank.
11. Most ISPs provide national coverage, however the quality of the underlying infrastructure does vary by location. Most will use the nationwide Openreach network, which is slowly upgrading to full fibre, but exact speed will vary. Generally the more rural you go the worse the service gets. Virgin Media is the UK’s cable provider, and operates both copper and fibre networks. They do not have a great customer service record, but they may have a far greater service speed in your location so it’s worth checking out. Even the best ISPs for customer service such as Zen and A&A are often beholden to Openreach who may or may not give a crap about faults in a timely manner anyway. We also have several independent fibre “altnets” operating in different areas who may offer better speeds and prices. Also consider bundle deals for both broadband and mobile plans, there can be some good deals to be had there.
12. Officially you need a TV Licence if you watch or record any programmes via any device as they are broadcast, and to watch on-demand BBC programmes on iPlayer. You don’t have to have a license to own the TV itself, nor to watch non-BBC on demand content. I’d say it’s worth paying to legally access BBC content (which still has a lot of cultural relevancy here) and avoid hassle with the TV Licensing authority.
13. Eating out for breakfast is less common here. But a “greasy spoon” cafe will serve a traditional fried breakfast amongst other things. Ask locals for recommendations. Do not be afraid of black pudding.
14. Authentic Mexican or American-Mexican food seems to be rare here. When I have travelled in the US the Mexican food was very different (in a good way) to the “Mexican” I’d previously known at home. I’m sure there is some somewhere. We do have Taco Bell though now if that counts. If you are seeking spicy food in general though consider going for a curry - we have rich tradition there that has become a cuisine of its own.
16. For a job interview I would read that as “smart casual”, which would be a shirt and either trousers or maybe nicer/neater jeans. Definitely not sweats. Honestly depends on the company and area. If in doubt though - ask - if it was me hiring I would appreciate the proactivity and curiosity.
18. Going cashless is easy here. Cash is fading out here, to the chagrin of certain older folks. Contactless cards and Apple/Google Pay etc are widely accepted, even in small independent shops and market stalls. Bank transfers are near instant. The only places that may be cash only are places like certain takeaway food places. I carry an emergency £20 note and very rarely need it. Cash machines may charge for withdrawals. You can do most simple banking tasks at Post Offices if needed.
20. I hate it too, and I haven’t yet been dragged off to the tower, so I think you’ll be fine.
Other than that, enjoy your life in the UK.
Adding a couple of things:
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Smarty is worth considering as a mobile network. It’s very similar to giffgaff - there’s no contract so you won’t be locked in, pricing is cheap and data allowances flexible.
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For ISPs just look on comparison websites. They usually list a star rating for customer service. Favour 12 month contracts over 24 because they now all seem to randomly increase your bill by RPI + 3% half way through which is tedious as hell.
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Asda is the only cheap supermarket the other poster missed. It’s the UK’s wallmart. Cheap but best avoided.
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999 is the emergency number for fire, police, ambulance (and possibly life boats / mountain rescue). 111 is a non emergency number for NHS health. 101 is the police non emergency number.
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M&S is also worth checking out for reliable clothing.
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There are burrito places in every city which may satisfy the desire for American style Mexican.
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a neurodivergent LGBTQ teen interested in anime and Japanese culture would almost certainly find themselves at home in any board gaming cafe or group. Most cities have one nowadays, you’ll be able to find them on the MeetUp website, or search Facebook. Or contact an independent geeky store and the staff will be able to direct you.
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For a British culture TV shows I’d recommend Skins for your teen. It was super popular amongst millennials as teenagers. I’m sure it’s now very dated and it’s definitely an absurd, unrealistic view but it’s very British and had a lot of appeal to teens. Don’t watch it with your youngster there will definitely be awkward moments…
Everyone has done a cracking job of the questions, so all I’ll add is:
ISPs:
Most ISPs are nationwide.
Almost all fixed lines have no data caps.
If you’re in a standard area, go with a provider that costs a little more, but have good customer service, and know their arse from their elbow.
Zen are good imo. https://zen.co.uk/
If you already know your address, their site will check what you can get, and how much it will be.
If you get a friend to refer you, you also get a £25 love2shop voucher.
Fixed line contracts are usually for 12-18 months.
You can get one month ones (give me a shout if you want them pointing out), but you may be better off with a 5G dongle for short term accommodation.
Further detail:
Most ISPs use the same physical wires/fibres owned by OpenReach, or an altnet, which go from your house to the nearest exchange.
You normally cannot speak to the wire/fibre provider directly, any maintenance request has to come from your ISP.
So if there is ever a problem, you’re relying on the ISP doing the legwork. So good CS is critical, imho.
You pay the provider, they pay the cable owner to get it to them, then provide the backhaul.
There are some area based exceptions, like single-provider fibre.
And there is also Virgin. But I wouldn’t go with Virgin.
You’ve had a bunch of good answers but I’ll chip in with a couple of additional thoughts:
Three. If you’re not planning on driving then location will probably determine where you shop more than almost anything else.
Six. I haven’t shown anyone ID in over a year. Apply for a provisional driving license as soon as you can and that will be fine for any need. Keep the passport at home!
Twelve. Channel 4 is also a beneficiary of license fees so you may need a license if you watch that. But as others have said, the TV License people have very little power to actually do anything.
Thirteen. I’d guess there’s, at most, a dozen restaurants in the entire UK which will serve what you would recognise as a corn beef hash. So break that bad news to her sooner rather than later. There are places you can get a good breakfast (and a gazillion pubs and cafes and restaurants where you can get a full English/Scots/Welsh/Irish). Many places will also do American style pancakes) but, otherwise, cooked breakfasts will not be a taste of home.
Fourteen. Equally you won’t find much ‘proper’ Mexican. You can find crap Tex-Mex places in most cities but I’ve only been to one Mexican restaurant (in London, not open any more) that was anything like as good as Mexican restaurants I visited when living in the US.
Sixteen. Jeans or chinos paired with a shirt (not a suit shirt but also not a Hawaiian shirt), plain t-shirt, polo shirt. Shoes or smart sneakers. On day one I’d go chinos, shirt and shoes then dial down depending on the culture of the office.
Eighteen. Cash free is easier here than in the US. I haven’t bought anything with cash in over a year. If you have a cell phone with Apple Wallet or the Google equivalent, you can pay for almost everything anywhere using that.
Twenty. Meh. The whole ‘love it / hate it’ thing is an advertising slogan. Some people like it, others don’t, no wars are fought or lives lost over Marmite. You’re more likely to get into a fight if you pronounce scone as scone.
