From America to London – The International Move to Roehampton
Posted on 12/11/2013
From America to London – The International Move to Roehampton
Moving to the London area of Roehampton can be a big challenge for an American. This international house move will require a considerable budget, plenty of time and proper preparation. It’s definitely not a process that can happen overnight. Americans usually move house to London for a complete change of scenery or because of a job offer. Americans need a visa in order to stay in England so make sure you start with this – you wouldn’t want poor documentation to be the reason for a failure when relocating. One of the things to be prepared for is the cultural differences that you will encounter – different words, slang, traditions, habits, lifestyle, etc. Another thing to get used to is not driving, but taking the underground to just about any place in the city.
That’s very typical of Londoners these days, because the traffic is quite intense.
There will be plenty of things to take care of before you can even pack a single box for your move. It’s a huge step and an exciting change for you and your family, so you need to ensure that you are doing things right and not rushing everything. If you have to move with your pets, you need to complete a quarantine that’s 6 months long. Your pets will need blood testing and a series of approvals so they can fly to England with you. Before you can book your plane tickets you need complete approval and then a final checkup of the animal before the trip.
London is an expensive city, but it is also full of opportunities and free things to see and go to and that is a serious advantage over many other European cities for example. If you have bought a house or you will be renting, make sure you have the approximate date of your arrival as early as possible. This way the utility services can be sorted out and you won’t have to spend days at the house/flat without any of your belongings. Of course it’s essential to pack a bag of complete basics for surviving the first few days, but it doesn’t mean it will be easy. Another option is to rent a hotel room for the days that you have to stay without your luggage and just try to relax as much as possible after the trip, before you have to start unpacking and arranging the home from a scratch.
Your responsibility is to ensure that your household belongings are shipped professionally by a reputable moving company – a service with full coverage and good assistance. Choose a mover that has a significant experience in international relocations, so you know that everything will go well from the very start of the moving process.
Budgeting your move from America to England has to be adequate – take into consideration the money you will need after the move and the fact that you might be unemployed for a while. If that is not the case and you actually have to start work straight after the relocation, ensure that you prepare an unpacking schedule, even if it involves just the evenings and the weekends – it’s still better than nothing.
Embrace the changes and the new opportunities and don’t be overwhelmed by the move – it’s normal to feel stressed out, but people move house every day.
Happy moving.
