ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
United KingdomSelling property...
In the UK unless you are lucky enough to get two people despaerate for YOUR house no-one ever offers over the price ..... they will always offer under and hope you accept so price accordingly (IMHO)

With regards to when to put it on the market ...... how quickly are propertys moving in your area? Unless you are in a very sought after area you could be weeks/months finding a buyer. So I would tend to agree that getting it on the market now is your best bet, house sales going smoothly take six weeks in the UK and that assumes you find a buyer with arrnaged funds on day one. It could take months! As stated you can always stall a completion but you cant find a buyer if none exist. let as many agents as possible give you a quote and go with the one that makes you most comfortable at best price (often the one who sold it to you they did a good job that time) also find out if they are sole agents and for how long (this can have an effect) and whether all agents are taking the same percentage cut.

So put it on NOW and at top price (you can always come down). Unless you know of any reason why you wont get a visa i think you are going to have a visa before a house sale.


PS and may I be the first to welcome you to Ohio !

Edited by Widge, 01 June 2006 - 09:53 PM.

WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-06-01 21:52:00
United Kingdomavarage time line
Ooooh would that it were that easy. Unfortunately there is no such thing as an average it depends on so many variables service centre, personal circumstances, country of spouse (though UK is probably less time delaying than some) the only way you will get any indication is to look at peole with similar circumstames to you and look at their timelines ..... if you forced me assuming all your ducks were in a row and no RFE's or problems you'd be looking at 6 -12 months.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-04 09:29:00
United KingdomReactions to you accent!
Oh my....... working as a cashier (who now firmly believes i was only employed for my accent/entertainment value) i get about 1/3rd of the customers commenting EVERY DAY

"oooh I could listen to you talk all day" - always want to record this one and send it to my mother who spent my entire life telling me to be quiet :lol:

"does it really rain every day in England?" NO NO and THRICE NO! :no:

"did Charles really have Diana murdered" nooooooo comment :wacko:

the other thing that amuses me is Americans are sooooo patriotic but can't wait to tell you my "x" is English and then you discover they mean six generations back.

But at least i am attempting a bit of language conversion ..... everyone is amused that I call buggys/carts TROLLEYS so I got a friend to send a picture of a Tesco TROLLEY park over and that pic is now plastereed all over the store here ....... little steps little steps.

but the classic (which I couldn't laugh at at the time as it was genuinely said by a customer was
" oooh your from England, I've got a friend there John Smith do you know him?" :whistle: :whistle:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-07-28 12:03:00
United KingdomGoing to an English BBQ, recipe ideas and can we get golden syrup in the grocery store?

TimnBethanie - your Lyle's link isn't working - you can get Lyle's in the US? *looks hopeful but hasn't seen it in NC, only seen Corn syrup marked 'golden' *



Yup definitely available we found it at Wegmans in Erie (think they have more stores heading east) and at the Giant Eagle in Boardman Ohio.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-15 00:36:00
United KingdomGoing to an English BBQ, recipe ideas and can we get golden syrup in the grocery store?

Genuine Heinz Baked Beans are available in places here muchhhhhhh nicer than yucky pork beans here for a BBQ lol

We have managed to find treacle at both Wegmans and Giant Eagle near here



By "Genuine" I meant good ole BRITISH Heinz in the blue tin with made in England written on the side of the tin :lol: I actually find it hilarious that I live 30 miles from the home of Heinz (Pittsburgh) and yet the beans I eat are imported from England.

Golden Syrup and corn syrup are tooooooootally different, ask my hubby who has since I have arrived tasted home made Steamed treacle pudding and treacle tart.

When hubby was visiting me in England we threw a surpise kiddy birthday party for him and he is still (three years later) regaling people with tales of the fact that he ate cheese and onions on toothpicks!!!!!!!!!!
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-11 21:56:00
United KingdomGoing to an English BBQ, recipe ideas and can we get golden syrup in the grocery store?
Genuine Heinz Baked Beans are available in places here muchhhhhhh nicer than yucky pork beans here for a BBQ lol

We have managed to find treacle at both Wegmans and Giant Eagle near here
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-10 22:14:00
United KingdomInterview Thursday....together Friday
Stop worrying would be my advice !!!! Yes it is possible that he could be denied entry but no more likely than on any other trip he has ever made. I was once stopped and given a rough interrogation at POE and eventually allowed in )not pleasant but answered all questions honestly and eventually thye seemed to believe i was just visiting) later in the K-1 process made another visit and was no problem entering whatsoever. Even if he were to be sent back it would have no effect on your K-1 process whatsoever so go for it enjoy your visit and soon it twill all be over :dance: :dance:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-29 05:44:00
United KingdomVaccination Confusion


Grownups :lol: require :

TD (tetanus & diptheria) and MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) all the rest are age innappropriate or in the case of varicella (chickem pox) not available in the UK.

even though you may have had your jabs at school the critical thing is being able to get proof of such from your GP's something i was unable to do (records didnt go back that far :lol: ) so had to have them again (no problem) then they'll give you a pretty little vaccination booklet completed that satifies the medical folk at your exam.

I was just wondering if they have the antibody titre tests avaliable in the UK...



Yes I requested the titre test ref Chicken Pox and had it done free of charge (bless the good old NHS) but it was a total waste of time as when I attended medical they failed to record chicken pox or HepB vac which I had also had and was uptodate merely ticking the box "age innappropriate" - well at least I know I'm protected :lol:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-09-30 11:03:00
United KingdomVaccination Confusion
Grownups :lol: require :

TD (tetanus & diptheria) and MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) all the rest are age innappropriate or in the case of varicella (chickem pox) not available in the UK.

even though you may have had your jabs at school the critical thing is being able to get proof of such from your GP's something i was unable to do (records didnt go back that far :lol: ) so had to have them again (no problem) then they'll give you a pretty little vaccination booklet completed that satifies the medical folk at your exam.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-09-29 00:08:00
United KingdomReceived Police Report
In truth lots of pages would be aREALLY bad thing :wacko: so be very grateful for one page and little for them to say :thumbs: :lol: :lol:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-10-07 11:14:00
United Kingdomtax questions... exciting...
yes you will get all your tax back as per P85 above as soon as you have your final P45 file the P85

As per USA taxes you will have no problem, the first year I was here after much searching of IRS site and wustion asking asking here I filled in and filed our taxes here. The critical thing (which may not effect you if you were a student Jan - April 5th 2006) is that you bring with you records of all your earnings for the whole of 200r in the UK. This caused me a few headaches as I had only brought with me P45's and the like and didnt have fixed records pre April 6th - so if you earned anything Jan till April make a exact record.

You basically have to supply the IRS a detailed account of your Uk income (i did a week by week spreadsheet) converted into $$$$ on the date in questions exchange rate (not hard there is a website that will do it for you) then declare this amount as income but there is an allowance (which way exceeds any normal persons UK income) that can be set off against it so the two cancel each other out on the form - sounds complicated but it is basically tedious and two or three extra forms to fill but well worth the effort for being able to claim yourself as a taxpayer and get the allowances set aginst partners income.

Asking questions here in January will provide you with all the answers you need and pointers to forms and I and others found no need to pay a third party to do it.

Sorry I too can't help re JFK.

Good luck on a safe journey
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-10-08 23:36:00
United KingdomWhere in the UK are you from?

Norfolk here.



Ooooh Norfolk whereabouts? big chunks of beautirul bits in that county
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-10-01 01:24:00
United KingdomWhere in the UK are you from?


Wisbech, Cambs (a lil time in SW London) capitol of the Fens (unless you live in March :lol: )

:lol: and I completely get that :P :P (ex Littleport gal... :help: )



:lol: :lol: :lol: I totally forgot the Littleport connection with you NEVER expected that reamrk to be understood ........... ooh the little things we miss
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-10 22:18:00
United KingdomWhere in the UK are you from?
Wisbech, Cambs (a lil time in SW London) capitol of the Fens (unless you live in March :lol: )
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-08-04 09:32:00
United KingdomShipping Advice
I used Excessbaggage.com and had no complaints with them whatesoever (very very helpful) I too needed a copy of my visa to include with my shipping documents


(Packing tip : remove hard plastic cover from CD and repack in soft plastic slip covers halves both weight and volume )
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-11-01 00:48:00
United KingdomClaiming UK Tax

Hi All,

I read this and it concerns me...

Mr. Bruce got back roughly 3700 quid from last year. His mum and him share a bank account back in SCT. She cashed the cheque and wired it into our U.S. joint account this September.

My question is:


Will this count as US income and will we have to report it as such????
I am under the impression that we do not, as it is under 10K...but I could be wrong, as I am no accountant... :huh:

Any takers on my query???

Rose




When we filed the first year after my arrival/marriage jointly we had to declare on a separate form ALL my income in the UK from Jan - Dec of the relevant tax year (gets complicated as this doesn't tie to UK tax year and has to be expressed in $$ terms calculated on the exchange rate on the day paid not the day you file :wacko: ) The good news is that the allowance for foreign earned income is high so its basically included on one line and subtracted on another so doesn't have any overall effect. Although it sounds complicated (it was) I as the Brit managed to do it all myself and never had any comeback. Can't remeber the amounts or form numbers of the top of my head but if you need any more info feel free to message and I can look up what we did.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-12-20 09:50:00
United KingdomEver had a package to UK lost?
Never had anything lost but twice had stuff sent from USA to England take foreverrrrrrrr (like 2 - 3 months) nothing coming from Eng ever been that delayed. No logic to any of it and no way of knowing which step of the process holds it up USA/UK/customs so I try not to bad mouth any of em lol The only good news is from my experience dont give up yet
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-01-18 09:31:00
United KingdomFinally - done and dusted
Wonderful wonderful wonderful news may the rest of the journey been smooth and quick well done that woman ....... and Alan of course :dance: :dance:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-01-28 09:26:00
United KingdomMMMMMMM Marmite!
http://www.marmitepa....com/index.html

this looks like the answer to all your prayers :dance: (it also does vegemite though out of stock at the moment). Prices look pretty good from what I remeber it wasn't cheap in UK so with shipping this is probably cheaper than getting it shipped over (big jars too and bulk buy)
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-02-17 20:35:00
United KingdomHow Did You Move Your Stuff?
Another vote here for excessbaggage they were brilliant!

There is no import tax for K-1ers as we are immigrating and it is all personal stuff which is why you cant ship it till you have (i) the visa and (ii) your date to be moving (you have to be here before your stuff)

Excess provided all the forms n stuff that were required and were very accessable for answering really dumb questions on how to fill them in.

My packaging tip - if you are bringing CD's remove hard plastic covers and ship in the flimsy plastic ones (available very cheap online) it save a ton of space and weight.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-02-16 09:35:00
United KingdomHow are you getting around the mothers day issue?
I bought a card last year at American Mothers day and have managed not to lose it all year !!!! It is now winging its way to the UK with a present too. The only thing that was strange was the fact that as she is 88 I felt like I was kinda tempting fate. I also send one for American mothers day too as she now has an American son-in-law and is worth two special days she likes that idea too.

Edited by Widge, 12 March 2007 - 10:28 PM.

WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-03-12 22:27:00
United KingdomWhat do you miss that you never thought you would?
I have this theory that STOP signs are manufactured by the same folk that do the clutches and brakes here as having one leads to the faster disintegration of the other !! I miss roundabouts which sooooo keep traffic moving but cannot believe that the majority of american drivers who appear to have no concept of an indicator could ever master them :whistle:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-03-08 11:01:00
United KingdomWhat do you miss that you never thought you would?
I too miss the weather or more specifically four seasons of equal length with no extremes of heat or cold - seems like here in Ohio we get 5 months of summer (often too hot) 5 months of winter (often too cold) and blips on the weather map inbetween. I get fed up with people going on about oooh but it rains all the time in England, it doesnt annual rainfall here is double my UK home town :wacko:

English humour irony and subtlety ........

On the food score I think eventually you can find most things you hanker for here if you scour the shelves long enough (this was my haul at the weekend in the back end of Ohio so there must be hope for all)
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-03-06 10:27:00
United KingdomCadbury's Dairy Milk

Wegmans in Erie, pa sucks butt for its "british" collection and in my town the world foods section consists of " mexican and chinese :unsure:



That was the only place when I first arrived that I could find Heinz Beans and we ALL know Beanz Meanz Heinz plus I got ambrosia custard and treacle and Branston Pickle so I wish theyed open a branch a bit closer to us.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-03-23 21:53:00
United KingdomUltimate scrifice
I ordered three Easter Eggs online for me hubby and a friend (who I am sick of trying to describe a easter egg too lol) After two plus years here I have found ways to get most things here ........ except PLAICE n chips which I'm almost at a stage I'd kill for and would love to tuck into some eng meaty pastries (pastie, pork pie etc.) sp please feel free to gorge yourself for me !!! Have a good trip ............ (wonder if you should book an extra seat for your return trip to accommodate the weight gain lol)
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-03-28 09:36:00
United KingdomAnyone else got a FOUR DAY WEEKEND? :D
lol today I start the first of seven straight 1-10pm shifts at Walmart (which isn't bad as I'm only supposed to work 3 days a week :wacko: ) but I don't actually mind as we have snow back in the forecast for the northeast so won't be missing too much. Just know by the end of the weekend I am going to be soooooooooo sick of the sight of American candy, cannot believe the quantities EVERYONE buys - but at least I have a Flake egg for me and a Roses egg for hubby stashed away :dance:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-04-04 09:12:00
United KingdomIts ALMOST eastery time!
Last time I checked the Cadbury Creme Eggs distributed by Hersheys in the USA are actually made in England and imported (my theory is they don't sell enough to justify the machinery setup to manufacture them here - or should that be raising chocolate hens to lay them) like wise the cadbury fingers at Xmas.

I wonder if anyone has ever told Cadbury's back in the UK what a disservice Hersheys are doing to the Cadbury name by manufacturing chocolate that tastes like ###### under their name.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-04-06 09:07:00
United KingdomBest Fish'n'chips in the US?
Kath where in Ohio are you ......... the best I've found so far (and believe me its been an exhaustive search) is Ricky's English Pub in Salem Ohio
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2006-10-25 22:18:00
United KingdomPound smashes the $2 barrier today
As someone who has to transfers funds from US > UK every month this has been a downward financial spiral ever since I arrived :crying:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-04-17 17:30:00
United KingdomHot Plane Deals

I usually fly US Airways too, a) for the miles and B) Charlotte is a great little airport.

The "International" in Pittsburgh Airport always makes me laugh! Thought maybe we might have been in with a chance with the US Airways/Delta deal, but now that's collapsed I guess all hopes are faded. Maybe one day we'll be lucky.



When I first started flying here (2001) and for the next couple of years you could fly direct to either LGW or Manchester from Pittsburgh from March - Oct but when US airways pulled out of Pittsburgh as a major hub that all changed. I was hoping someone else would pick up the route but so far no joy . Their airmiles are a definite PLUS I managed a return flight for about $100 (taxes only) with absolutely no restrictions :dance: :dance: and am about half way to my next freebie so it's an incentive to stick with them.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-02-01 11:33:00
United KingdomHot Plane Deals

Are we quoting prices with or without taxes I get sooooooooo fed up with an airline price that they say is one thing becoming 30% more when the bottomline appears. Currently looking for trip to UK straight after Easter so far $471 from Piitsburgh via Philly which becomess $680 with taxes (US Airways)


(apparently Italy is about to ban advertising pre-tax prices on flights which should mess up Ryan Airs 99p deals lol)



You might want to check Continental, Widge. We're looking at May and got a price of $593 including taxes Pittsburgh-Gatwick via Newark.



Wow that IS a good price ....... I can get $673 inc taxes but for the sake of a few $$$$ not worth losing the US Airways airmiles ............. oh for the days when US flew direct from Pittsburgh to UK :crying:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-02-01 10:11:00
United KingdomHot Plane Deals
Are we quoting prices with or without taxes I get sooooooooo fed up with an airline price that they say is one thing becoming 30% more when the bottomline appears. Currently looking for trip to UK straight after Easter so far $471 from Piitsburgh via Philly which becomess $680 with taxes (US Airways)


(apparently Italy is about to ban advertising pre-tax prices on flights which should mess up Ryan Airs 99p deals lol)

Edited by Widge, 01 February 2007 - 09:29 AM.

WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-02-01 09:26:00
United KingdomMobile phone service
Having tried many calling cards to the UK from US over the last several years I have been using http://www.idphonecard.com for the last 18 months and cannot recommend them highly enough, though not the cheapest at 3.5C a minute there are NO hidden charges whatsoever (call connection, monthly maint blah blah) that some cards have so what you pay for is calls and calls alone. Never had a bad connection, and it even has a free try out,

Texting I use Cellular One mobile and texts to the UK are included in my free texts always get thru no problem.
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-06 21:38:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy

Dunno how much choc n crisps I ate in UK but I've lost over two stones since I moved stateside never been this slim in my entire adult life before :wacko:


Isn't that a good thing? :)

By the way, the same thing happened to me when I first moved to the USA. Sadly it didn't last!



LOL been here almost three years now and it keeps on dropping :wacko:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-08 11:07:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy

What? :o Kit-kats are disgusting in the USA, they taste nothing like the ones in the UK. The chocolate on them is pure Hershey's #######.


:yes:

Thank you, its not just me then! Maybe Widge somehow manages to get a Canadian Kit Kit instead. The USA is the only place I've ever been where Kit Kats are not made by Nestles, Canadian ones do actually taste like ones from the UK.



Now you have me totally puzzled as to what our Wal-Mart is selling as i) I could have sworn they were made by Nestles ii) they don't to me taste much different to UK ones and I couldn't eat a Hershey bar to save my life so I'm really fascinated now to get my hands on one and see weird.

Dunno how much choc n crisps I ate in UK but I've lost over two stones since I moved stateside never been this slim in my entire adult life before :wacko:
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-08 08:10:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy
The only choc bar that actually yastes like its UK counterpart is Kit-Kat.

Wonder if anyone has told Cadburys in UK how Hersheys are destroying their brands with the poop they are putting out under the Caddbury name was disgusted when I first tried the Fruit and Nut bar!
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-07 22:26:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy

Yay Widge! Now yer gonna make me get a craving big enough to schlep to World Food Mkt to buy $1.50 toffee crisps!



hmmm I would pay $1.50 for a toffee crisp!!!



lol the site I use has Toffee Crisp at $1.35 or a case (48) at $53.99

before anyone mentions postage i got

1 jar Mint Sauce
3 320g jars Branston
454g jar of raspberry jam
Coconut creams (for hubby)
Case of 24 Flakes (best by date is end of this month no chance they'll last that long) :dance:
Cadburys Caramel 6 pack

all for $47.66 inc shipping and if past experience is anything to go by they'll be here by the end of the week .

TO be honest with the $ at 2 to the pound I'd say thats probably cheaper than you could buy them in the UK
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-07 22:22:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy

Where's Wes' jar? ;)



Heck if I'd known we were getting together sometime soon I'd have added some for Wes to the order I actually thought it was a good deal at only $2.89 a jar!
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-07 22:03:00
United KingdomYummy Yummy
Just ordered Branston Pickle, Mint Sauce, Marmalade, Cadburys Flake and Cadburys Caramel online Usually only order
at high days and holidays but have been craving Branston so what the heck it IS a Bank Holiday in the UK :thumbs:

Edited by Widge, 07 May 2007 - 11:22 AM.

WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-07 11:21:00
United KingdomImported Foods Site!

There are international stores in the USA. there are also regular stores like Kroger and albertsons that have the international stuffs.



Not a lot of Brit snacks here in the USA though. Or if there is, it's expensive.

yes there is too!!! the one by my house has a compleat isle of that stuff. I know what I am
talking about i lived in the UK 10 years. I saw everything. it was pricy.but, thats why its called
imported.

I live in Dallas there is also central market. there is also one in Houston.
you can get any and everything there. some stuff can also be found in specialty stores
like the indian and arabic stores they carry alot of british products.



and some of us live in the sticks where they haven't even heard of Britain let alone imported food !!!!!!!!! (wish I had an Aero for everytime I heard "oh England you mean London" )
WidgeNot TellingUnited Kingdom2007-05-12 08:28:00