[Travel] Emigrating advice

[atfc village]

A lot better than the Scotch leagues, so I've heard.

I've seen the national team 3 times. Lost 6 0 to the IOM 6 1 to Gotland and beat Alderney 3 0 who had 2 15 year olds playing for them . I think Scotland would be ok

 

[Seagulls over Essex]

Please say Hello to my ex-boss who is Head of Procurement there!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

When transferring money, I was obviously aware of the need to carry out the necessary diligence on any organisation used. But, if large sums are involved, it’s safer to use the ‘big banks’, certainly ones that are internationally recognised as being compliant with Funds Transfer Regulations. (We sold our house in the UK, took the proceeds to NZ and back. When we bought a house back in the UK we had to show the unbroken trail between recognised banks. We had been tempted to use a currency house to get a better exchange rate – had we done that, the trail would have been broken and we wouldn’t have been able to prove that the money was ‘clean’.).

https://www.currencyfair.com/trust/regulation/

“CurrencyFair is a regulated Payment Institution fully authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland pursuant to Regulation 18 of the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018.”

 

[Kneon Light]

Sounds excellent. Good luck. It does sound as though you’re moving for your wife’s job so I would get a job as soon as you can so you can have your own stuff going on. And wildlife photography sounds awesome. I hope it’s a great few years!

Thanks. We basically have both been looking for jobs there and decided we would move there as soon as one of us got a job. She got a job so we're moving!
I'll get a job when we arrive (but might do a bit of wildlife photography first!)

 

[Kneon Light]

Mrs Ted and I have spent a couple of periods abroad. A few important things that I would have been better off knowing before we went . . .

Understanding the tax implications relevant to your situation and the need to establish non-resident tax status - living and working abroad doesn’t mean you are automatically non-resident in HMRC’s eyes. It’s more complicated than I thought it should be - RDR3: Statutory Residence Test (SRT) notes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

When transferring money, I was obviously aware of the need to carry out the necessary diligence on any organisation used. But, if large sums are involved, it’s safer to use the ‘big banks’, certainly ones that are internationally recognised as being compliant with Funds Transfer Regulations. (We sold our house in the UK, took the proceeds to NZ and back. When we bought a house back in the UK we had to show the unbroken trail between recognised banks. We had been tempted to use a currency house to get a better exchange rate – had we done that, the trail would have been broken and we wouldn’t have been able to prove that the money was ‘clean’.)

As others have said, keeping on top of NI contributions is important, as is being aware that making them when out of the country could well be cheaper than plugging gaps later. To qualify for a full state pension, contributions for 35 years are currently required but you don’t get a bigger pension if you pay in for more than 35 years. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe you can stop contributions while you are working, unless you are over state retirement age. Therefore, it makes sense to keep an eye on the rolling ‘score’ to avoid ending up either under or over. It’s possible that a gap now may ultimately be irrelevant.

I hope you have a great time.

Really useful - thank you

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Thanks. We basically have both been looking for jobs there and decided we would move there as soon as one of us got a job. She got a job so we're moving!
I'll get a job when we arrive (but might do a bit of wildlife photography first!)

Being nosey, why the Falklands? It’s not the most obvious of places to move to.

 

[Kneon Light]

Good luck out there. I served for 6 months there in 84, albeit mostly at sea, and then got to visit annually from 99-2012. I really enjoyed it there and made many friends. People are friendly, although everyone knows everyone else's business. Great place for kids for sure. Biggest initial surprise for people visiting is just how large it is. The local air flights mean you can visit most places fairly easily. Some really great places to go. Try to get to South Georgia as well if you can.

Would love to visit South Georgia at some point

 

[Kneon Light]

Being nosey, why the Falklands? It’s not the most obvious of places to move to.

We were looking for somewhere remote with lots of wildlife and not many people - I hate crowded areas (even more so due to Covid)
We have spent a lot of time in more remote parts of Iceland and loved it so were looking for something similar but with different wildlife.
Also, due to the remoteness (which as I said is a real pull for us) the financial package on offer is very good.
I spend a lot of my spare time photographing wildlife so going somewhere with such an abundance is a dream for me (and my wife)

 

[Kneon Light]

I did forget to add that penguins are, without doubt, the best animals on the planet. Please feel free to post your efforts on here

I'm sure I'll add some to the Photography thread at some point!

 

[Bodian]

For the first few years that Mrs T and I lived in the Netherlands, our mindset was always that we went to the Netherlands and home to the UK. Then at some unspecified moment in time it flipped and we found ourselves going to the UK and then home to the Netherlands. It's a small and subtle but extremely significant shift in mindset, and one that I think most if not all expats/émigrés experience at one stage or other if they are out of their home country long enough.

Interesting. I have a couple of friends who have married Europeans, who now live over here - and one of the things I've always been intrigued by is the point at which they begin to dream in English? But what they have told me is that they are never too sure in which language they are dreaming as they are so bi-lingual.

When I lived in Groningen in 1994, I certainly supported the Dutch in the World Cup - but I suppose that was relatively easy as England didn't qualify!

 

[Pickledegg]

Did 5 tours of the Falklands over 22 years, a total of over 2 years down there!

Hated the first tour, 2nd was OK and absolutely loved the rest!

Wildlife, second to none! Penguins, Elephant seals, sealions, seals, killer whales, birds of prey, all in abundance! But be warned, those penguins stink! You'll smell them before you see them!

Seatrout fishing some of the best in the world as an added bonus.

Embrace it and you'll have a great time!!

Sent from my SM-G988B using Tapatalk

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

We were looking for somewhere remote with lots of wildlife and not many people - I hate crowded areas (even more so due to Covid)
We have spent a lot of time in more remote parts of Iceland and loved it so were looking for something similar but with different wildlife.
Also, due to the remoteness (which as I said is a real pull for us) the financial package on offer is very good.
I spend a lot of my spare time photographing wildlife so going somewhere with such an abundance is a dream for me (and my wife)

Thanks for sharing. And good luck with the adventure. Exciting times!

 

[bhafc99]

Always loved a Penguin.

Especially the orange ones.

Or is that Club Biscuits?

Anyway, good excuse to show an ad from the “they sure don’t make them like that anymore” archives…

 

[Ali_rrr]

One thing you will have to brace yourselves for is that on your return to the UK, no one other than you will be interested in seeing your penguin photographs. Once back in the UK you will be "just another Brit".

Several decades ago Mrs T and I spent 2.5 years backpacking around Asia. When we returned to the UK (briefly), ready to regale friends and family with colourful tales of our exotic adventures in far away lands, we had to accept that while we'd been away everyone else had been getting on with their own lives and they were not waiting on tenterhooks eager to find out what we'd been up to. The cold reality was they didn't give a shit.

Two months later we moved (back) to the Netherlands "for a year". That was in 1994. Been living there (here) ever since.

This all over. Life moves on. People are happy to see you of course, but they're more focused on their lives to hear what things you're doing away from home.



OP I'm sure you'll have a great time, my advice is to make sure you join hobby clubs so you are meeting new people.

 

[Bakero]

This all over. Life moves on. People are happy to see you of course, but they're more focused on their lives to hear what things you're doing away from home.



OP I'm sure you'll have a great time, my advice is to make sure you join hobby clubs so you are meeting new people.

I've lived abroad for over 10 years and people at home still seem to think I'm on holiday. The fact I've now bought a house might start to shift perceptions but that remains to be seen.

 

[Tokyohands]

If you're having stuff shipped over to arrive after you, don't forget to tick the 'Declaration of unaccompanied articles' box on the arrival customs form. That probably doesn't apply from UK to The Falklands of course but worth looking into to avoid later customs fees.

 

[RandyWanger]

What an awesome thing to do. I've been and gone a few times in my life and will probably leave this rock again at some point.
Most of the useful things have been mentioned, glad someone said about the tax status as I wasn't initially told this, but 2 years in I was still able to fill in a form and change my status and get some back. I kept paying my NI in.
If you make it, get posting in the photography thread.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

People are happy to see you of course, but they're more focused on their lives to hear what things you're doing away from home.

You suggest my friends might have a choice in this matter?

 

[Kneon Light]

Sounds excellent. Good luck. It does sound as though you’re moving for your wife’s job so I would get a job as soon as you can so you can have your own stuff going on. And wildlife photography sounds awesome. I hope it’s a great few years!

Managed to get myself a job sorted working for Falklands Conservation - basically promoting nature/wildlife conservation.
Can't wait!

 

[zefarelly]

If you're having stuff shipped over to arrive after you, don't forget to tick the 'Declaration of unaccompanied articles' box on the arrival customs form. That probably doesn't apply from UK to The Falklands of course but worth looking into to avoid later customs fees.

Probably cheaper to buy a dented Supra Locally though