Immigrating to the UK

Lycanthrope said:
I can't stand the public transport. Prefer to drive virtually everywhere, including London.

It's absurd. Excusing wear and tear and public charging, it's a few quid by EV.

Plus, air-conditioning, stops when and where you want, and fewer issues when there are strikes and delays.

Public transport is only marginally worth it travelling solo, and even then it depends on the trip.

This is my moany manner of saying I hear ya.
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I'd consider driving this, but there's limited headroom in the car's lease which pushes the cost up a bit. It's also like 400km each way so a bit tiring.
 
Sinbad said:
Travel in this country is a ****ing joke.

2 night stay in Manchester for a work event, plus rail tickets (NOT first class) - £530.
How the hell is this justified? (the hotel is only £190 of that btw)
Oh and it's also off peak rail.
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Why so much?

I can get a train from Eastbourne to Manchester, return for £290.
 
Priapus said:
Why so much?

I can get a train from Eastbourne to Manchester, return for £290.
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The train portion is £339.
It's not the cheapest possible ticket (ie, single advance) because I need it to be an anytime ticket in case of delays/changes in schedule etc. Single advance is only valid on one particular scheduled train.
 
Sinbad said:
Travel in this country is a ****ing joke.

2 night stay in Manchester for a work event, plus rail tickets (NOT first class) - £530.
How the hell is this justified? (the hotel is only £190 of that btw)
Oh and it's also off peak rail.
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This is why Brits do not holiday in Britland.
 
Sinbad said:
I'd consider driving this, but there's limited headroom in the car's lease which pushes the cost up a bit. It's also like 400km each way so a bit tiring.
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I can appreciate that.

We do regular trips to Newbury and London for the other half's work. It's around 360 miles roundtrip, so around 580km, albeit not in one sitting, obviously.

We have a couple of favourite stops, which helps break up the monotony of the motorways and make for a pleasant opportunity to eat, stretch legs, and re-energise.

I find the public transport in the UK overpriced and generally unpleasant.

A couple of the motorway services are quite stellar, like the Gloucester services with the farm shop.

Definitely prefer the vehicular experience :ROFL:
 
Work paying no doubt? We use Clarity Business Travel to manage all of this. Enjoy it quite a bit just ‘cause I don’t typically eat as well as I do when work is paying.
 
Paul Kemp said:
Work paying no doubt? We use Clarity Business Travel to manage all of this. Enjoy it quite a bit just ‘cause I don’t typically eat as well as I do when work is paying.
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Yeah they are of course. It's actually completely trivial and non-impacting for me personally, just... my mind boggles.

Oh, the other consideration for driving...
Car insurance. If you don't have work or business specified on your policy, this trip would not be covered.
Commuting is only to your normal place of work...

The tesla has work cover, but the restrictive lease. The scoob has no work cover.
 
How are people “catching up” with their UK pensions?

I see you need 35 years of NI contributions to get the full state pension of £221 per week.

And that you can make voluntary contributions as far back as 2006 if you want. (Dead lines end next year April)

So far me; is only need to maybe make contributions for a few years back. As I’m 35 now. So by the time I’m 70 I’ll have contributed enough.

Of course I plan to also have a private pension as well as state (which work will continue to I think by law)
 
Priapus said:
How are people “catching up” with their UK pensions?

I see you need 35 years of NI contributions to get the full state pension of £221 per week.

And that you can make voluntary contributions as far back as 2006 if you want. (Dead lines end next year April)

So far me; is only need to maybe make contributions for a few years back. As I’m 35 now. So by the time I’m 70 I’ll have contributed enough.

Of course I plan to also have a private pension as well as state (which work will continue to I think by law)
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I'm going to TRY to catch some of it up. I have 10 years already though, which helps a lot. Still way behind though. I know I won't get it all caught up, but I'm putting a fair whack into a private pension (18% of salary)
 
Sinbad said:
I'm going to TRY to catch some of it up. I have 10 years already though, which helps a lot. Still way behind though. I know I won't get it all caught up, but I'm putting a fair whack into a private pension (18% of salary)
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my wife will just need to catch up a little as she has a 8 year gap now.
 
Yeah damn, I see trainline app comes back £143 open return, jesus. I'd go one day early at a mad time, done it a couple times now. It's a ripoff. Either that or bus, which isn't too terrible actually
 
Priapus said:
How are people “catching up” with their UK pensions?

I see you need 35 years of NI contributions to get the full state pension of £221 per week.

And that you can make voluntary contributions as far back as 2006 if you want. (Dead lines end next year April)

So far me; is only need to maybe make contributions for a few years back. As I’m 35 now. So by the time I’m 70 I’ll have contributed enough.

Of course I plan to also have a private pension as well as state (which work will continue to I think by law)
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You can only catch up NIC payments if you were previously resident in the UK.

The private pension tax deduction allowance is very generous compared to SA, and in fact just about anywhere else. You can pay up to £60K a year into one, and also structure it so that the employer NI contribution is less by doing a salary sacrifice arrangement. I don't have any pension at all, so I'm going to sacrifice the full 60K a year into one and live off savings just for the tax benefit.
 
Priapus said:
How are people “catching up” with their UK pensions?
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I’ve got one partial payment to make for 2008/9, which I’ll sort out next week, then I’m up to date and in line for the max.
 
Priapus said:
Where do you get that from?
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You had to have had a NI number previously.

So if you arrive and have to apply for NI number, you can buy back for the start of that UK tax year in which you applied.

Sorry mate, I am in same position as you, but 5 years ago.
 
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