Immigrating to the UK

Tman* said:
Once I started looking for homes to rent, I realised there is no way in hell most of my furniture will fit. Another important aspect to consider, SA furniture is not made to be dismantled tp such a degree like in the UK. Your dining room table might "fit", but if you cant remove the legs there is no way to bring it into the home lol.
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I hardly think it's worth shipping anything over that has no sentimental value.
 
Came over budget style, which of course is easier with a British passport. Spent about R150k including movecube and dogs. Had £1500 in cash and stocked the house here via freecycling. Silly to spend money on furniture as soon as you get here
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Came over budget style, which of course is easier with a British passport. Spent about R150k including movecube and dogs. Had £1500 in cash and stocked the house here via freecycling. Silly to spend money on furniture as soon as you get here
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How did you find the moves with the dogs. I hear it's hard to get a property which allows them, unless you buy of course.
 
Oh yeah, depending on the pets, that can also be well over R25K per pet to get across. Lots of fees and tests and transport costs around them.
 
my god, this exchange rate is hurting. I was expecting somewhere in the R23+ by the end of the month, but these past few days are crazy.
 
Priapus said:
How did you find the moves with the dogs. I hear it's hard to get a property which allows them, unless you buy of course.
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Was R45k for 2 dogs, used AnimalTravel who are disgusting, dunno why they are/were recommended ... one bent and hurt tail and both dogs covered in their own filth on delivery, which they charged an extra £250 for. Luckily, here in Harrogate there is a well known landlord who owns like a third of the properties here and is very relaxed to new arrivals and pets and deposits. Painless once here in other words.
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Was R45k for 2 dogs, used AnimalTravel who are disgusting, dunno why they are/were recommended ... one bent and hurt tail and both dogs covered in their own filth on delivery, which they charged an extra £250 for. Luckily, here in Harrogate there is a well known landlord who owns like a third of the properties here and is very relaxed to new arrivals and pets and deposits. Painless once here in other words.
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**** that's a horrible experience for them. They settled okay?
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Was R45k for 2 dogs, used AnimalTravel who are disgusting, dunno why they are/were recommended ... one bent and hurt tail and both dogs covered in their own filth on delivery, which they charged an extra £250 for. Luckily, here in Harrogate there is a well known landlord who owns like a third of the properties here and is very relaxed to new arrivals and pets and deposits. Painless once here in other words.
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Which airline did the pets fly?
 
Thankfully they did settle ok yeah, helped that my buddy here had 2 dogs as well so they had walking buddies from day one.

Same airline as us, Emirates. Only unfortunate thing was that they had to be there the day before so whew, that was awful. Got bundled into their crates and driven away, panic. Ugh, it's awful to go through but wasn't ever gonna leave them behind so
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Thankfully they did settle ok yeah, helped that my buddy here had 2 dogs as well so they had walking buddies from day one.

Same airline as us, Emirates. Only unfortunate thing was that they had to be there the day before so whew, that was awful. Got bundled into their crates and driven away, panic. Ugh, it's awful to go through but wasn't ever gonna leave them behind so
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Of course not, they're family.

If we had to move; we'd have to take 4 dogs (One small one, and three medium sized ones) and two cats.

I think that's 200k right there - and then try find a place to rent with that many animals will be tough. Thinking budget for a rental will be close to 2k GBP a month.
 
A tip I got was to never go with an agency for rentals, contact landlords direct. Far too many stupid rules that they impose themselves. Budget yeah that's going to be very area dependant unfortunately. I've had the same rent for the last almost 4 years, lol.
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
A tip I got was to never go with an agency for rentals, contact landlords direct. Far too many stupid rules that they impose themselves. Budget yeah that's going to be very area dependant unfortunately. I've had the same rent for the last almost 4 years, lol.
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Oh that's a good tip. How does one contact the landlords directly and what sites are best?
 
Mephisto_Helix said:
Came over budget style, which of course is easier with a British passport. Spent about R150k including movecube and dogs. Had £1500 in cash and stocked the house here via freecycling. Silly to spend money on furniture as soon as you get here
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Provided you can transport the stuff on freecycle but agree, nothing wrong with sleeping on blow-up mattresses and eating on the floor for a bit.

This thread could scare people, which it should ‘cause it’s not an easy undertaking but I’d do it all over again. Winter is bloody long though. Is it summer yet?
 
Priapus said:
Oh that's a good tip. How does one contact the landlords directly and what sites are best?
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The big property sites should have an option when browsing but there's also dedicated sites like OpenRent. Barring that, it's not hard to get the info in whichever area you're thinking of and just contacting them direct. I even have a buddy in Suffolk (I think) who did it and found the majority to be very friendly and helpful.

Paul Kemp said:
Provided you can transport the stuff on freecycle but agree, nothing wrong with sleeping on blow-up mattresses and eating on the floor for a bit.

This thread could scare people, which it should ‘cause it’s not an easy undertaking but I’d do it all over again. Winter is bloody long though. Is it summer yet?
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Aye, gotta have the option of own transport for sure. Most stuff, and it was a lot of stuff, lol, was delivered by the people offering the items. Freaked me out to deal with such friendliness and people going out of their way because you're new to the country. Couple items were further away and I used man-in-a-van for one and a Ukrainian mover that was recommended for the rest. He's so reasonable and efficient that I still use him for things .... big ass bald mofo and his buddy :laugh:
 
Paul Kemp said:
This thread could scare people, which it should ‘cause it’s not an easy undertaking but I’d do it all over again. Winter is bloody long though. Is it summer yet?
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It's not easy nor is it cheap. I've moved countries twice. First to the UK when I was young and then back to SA again hen I was a little older. My wife moved from the UK to here, and that was not easy, either.
 
Priapus said:
Which visa(s)?
What would be your path into the UK?
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I have access to an ancestral visa. I'm not sure how that would extend to my wife and kid (though they both have Irish passports so may be easier for them). Also we're healthcare workers so that may also help.
 
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