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Lost in London

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Lost in London

Hello, we're Jesse and Renee! We moved to London, UK, from Canada in Dec 2023.

We created this page to share about the exciting moments and the mundane things that we learned along the way which we hope will help others doing a similar move in the future.

08/10/2024

09.2024

06/09/2024

08.2024

02/08/2024

07.2024

04/07/2024

06.2024

03/06/2024

05.2024

13/05/2024

04.2024 (fashionably late)

15/04/2024

03.2024

01/03/2024

02.2024

11/02/2024

Some places in London charge different prices for eat in vs take out. Eat in prices seem to include VAT (value-added tax) which is 20% here; however, the difference doesn't always work out to 20%. A few articles explain it as a service charge or shop cost charge.

This is at Hart & Lova Bakery, one of our favourite spots ☕️

06/02/2024

Before we arrived in London, I took out £750 in cash anticipating that opening a UK bank account would be difficult with a Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) visa. I also didn't want to use my Canadian bank card due to currency exchange and foreign currency conversion fees for every transaction.

After looking into it, I decided on neobanks since high street banks are a hit and miss with YMS visas and we're unsure how permanent the UK is. After considering a few neobanks, I decided on Revolut and Starling. Revolut is easier for opening a UK bank account and great for travel. Starling is well reviewed and also FSCS protected meaning that up to £85,000 will be compensated if Starling fails (Revolut is not). I'm also able to deposit up to £1,000 cash each year with Starling whereas Revolut does not offer cash deposits.

I wasn't able to open a Revolut account until I picked up my biometric residence permit (BRP) from the assigned post office. Fortunately, my BRP was ready for pick up within the week of my arrival. I've read about people waiting 1-4 weeks for their BRP. It costs £4.99 to be mailed a physical card so I did a global money transfer with CIBC and received the funds in my Revolut account on the same day. In the meantime, Revolut offers a virtual card and many places in London accept Apple/Google pay.

I wasn't able to open a Starling account until I had a proof of UK address. Starling is very particular about this and rejected my CIBC and Revolut bank statements so I used our tenancy agreement but had to wait until our move in date to submit it with my application. If you know someone in the UK, ask if they would be willing to put your name on a utility bill as a workaround to get a UK bank account faster. It's free to be mailed a physical card and Starling also offers a virtual card. I transferred the majority of my funds to Starling since it is FSCS protected and plan to use Revolut as a travel card.

Both Revolut and Starling applications can be done on their website and app and a decision on your application will be made on the same day. I received my physical card from both neobanks in less than a week and I appreciated that both did not put their branding on mail for security reasons. Your physical card is not activated until you receive and verify it.

To have a UK bank account, you need a UK address and to have a UK address, you need a UK bank account so this is where a sublet and Revolut can be helpful. I've read that high street banks will open bank accounts with BRPs but it can depend on the branch.

02/02/2024

01.2024

07/01/2024

We moved in! 📦

Today was chaos. We woke up at 08:30 to a notification that our IKEA delivery was arriving in 9 mins. Pyjama-clad and with unbrushed hair and teeth, I ran to the Tube. I got a call from the delivery driver but it disconnected since I was underground. Once I got to our new flat, I quickly learned that none of our keys opened the front door. Panicked, I buzzed our neighbour (who is super nice) and he let me in. I was very relieved to see the delivery at our front door! Jesse met me at the flat soon after with a mover who transported our belongings over from the sublet. Without a front door key, one of us always had to be home so Jesse started assembling IKEA furniture and I headed back to the sublet to return the keys. Since the Underground was starting a strike at 17:30, I rushed back to meet Jesse so we could collect our bedding from Marks & Spencer before the Underground stopped running. After assembling our bed and ordering take out, we're exhausted.

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