The BBC may make the news a bit more neutral than you will see in the US. But the newspapers in the UK are a completely different ballgame. The world is left to American politics as it is so it might be hard to find something that might report as right as Fox News might. Because the papers are so varied in their pitch, I have seen households buying two different to get the whole picture.
So here is a guide to read a paper aligned with your views.
Conservatives (the closest thing you are going to get to the Republican party)
Sunday Express
Daily Mail
Telegraph
The Sun
Daily Star
Liberal Democrats (Liberals)
The Independent
The Guardian
Labour (Democrats)
The Guardian
Daily Mirror
Financial Times
The Times
Showing posts with label Other. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Other. Show all posts
How do my visitors get here from the airport?
This is a common question that is asked over and over again. You have several choices.
- Take the tube to the train and then pick them up at the train station. I do not recommend this. The reason being is that there are stairs leading up from the tube and from my experience, Americans do not pack light. I tried to tell my friend this when they came here but took advice from someone else (A European who packs way lighter than they did!). When they finally got to my house, they asked me to do number 2 as I suggested.
- Take the National Express coach. I highly recommend this. I have done this several times. It does take longer but, you get on and only have to get off at your stop. You get help loading your bags. It makes having guests easier. You can pick them up at a variety of places.
- Drive to pick them up. This is okay but if you have a small car and they have 4 bags, this is not ideal. I had my mom, aunt and cousin come here for my wedding and they each had two suitcases. Luckily my father-in-law came in his car because they would have had to wear the same clothes for the two weeks!
- There are two ways to get to Heathrow from this area. M11 to the M25. This is okay but you might get caught up in traffic if there is an accident.
- The other one is to go A14->A11->M11->M25->M4. It does not seem like it would be faster but it is and all of the people that drive for a living go this way. Use Transport Direct info.
Hope this helps!
Kimx
American to Britain
Twitter: @Americn2Britain
Thankful for Varagesales
Not sure if you knew this but I started a Facebook group for people to be to sell, buy, exchange, or give away their stuff in the RAF Mildenhall/Lakenheath area. It was the first of the kind and my real motivation behind it was to prevent people from throwing stuff away. Well it grew into the biggest one and because we had so many members, we had rules to help it run smoothly. That created a lot of grief for me and the other admins.
Anyways, I came across this thing called Varagesales. I took a look at it and other admins of FB groups said how much easier it made their lives. So I made the decision to move my FB group over and it continues to grow!
Varagesales is a platform that makes managing your groups so much easier. It is integrated with your FB but makes uploading pics in categories so much easier, deletes sold items after 7 days and as an admin, makes my life so much easier. It has saved me so much time and effort.
So if you are in the area, come join our group in Varagesales and happy selling!
Anyways, I came across this thing called Varagesales. I took a look at it and other admins of FB groups said how much easier it made their lives. So I made the decision to move my FB group over and it continues to grow!
Varagesales is a platform that makes managing your groups so much easier. It is integrated with your FB but makes uploading pics in categories so much easier, deletes sold items after 7 days and as an admin, makes my life so much easier. It has saved me so much time and effort.
So if you are in the area, come join our group in Varagesales and happy selling!
Buying a House
Buying a house in the UK can be done but the process varies from the way its done in the States.
A good resource for information is Consumer Direct.
Here is an overview of how the process works:
- Find out what your buying power is by finding out how much you will be able to spend on a house. This can be done by going to a bank. They will discuss the mortage options available to you. This maybe 3 times your income.
- .Find a house. An estate agent can help you this. You might have to visit a few estate agents as they only show the houses listed with them unlike in the States.
- Agree on a price.
- Get a mortgage.
- Move in.
Another resource about buying a house is the Housing office.
Crime in the UK
The crime rate in the UK is relatively low compared to the US.
There are more crimes overall in the US but more per capita in the UK.
The best advice we can give you is to ensure that you lock your doors and windows even if you are home and do not leave valuables in your car.
Before moving into a house, check out the crime rate by post code here.
There are more crimes overall in the US but more per capita in the UK.
The best advice we can give you is to ensure that you lock your doors and windows even if you are home and do not leave valuables in your car.
Before moving into a house, check out the crime rate by post code here.
Do American TVs Work Here?
You are able to bring over your American TV. Many people sign up with AFN so that they can watch their shows from the States.
The TVs here run on different systems on how they are displayed. You can get a converter for your television which will allow you to watch British television if your television is not able to convert on its own. Many people usually get Sky TV they might be experienced at getting you up and running.
Doing research for this blog has told me, the reason for the difference is the ratio of the images being displayed (in case you wanted to know;)
You will need a TV Licence to watch British TV shows and if you watch show online (via your computer). It costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence. You will get reimbursed for this through Finance on base.
If you do not get TV Licence and get caught having access to the TV (via your TV or internet), you face a maximum fine of £1000 ($1500). Since you get reimbursed for this, don’t risk it.
The TVs here run on different systems on how they are displayed. You can get a converter for your television which will allow you to watch British television if your television is not able to convert on its own. Many people usually get Sky TV they might be experienced at getting you up and running.
Doing research for this blog has told me, the reason for the difference is the ratio of the images being displayed (in case you wanted to know;)
You will need a TV Licence to watch British TV shows and if you watch show online (via your computer). It costs £145.50 for colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence. You will get reimbursed for this through Finance on base.
If you do not get TV Licence and get caught having access to the TV (via your TV or internet), you face a maximum fine of £1000 ($1500). Since you get reimbursed for this, don’t risk it.
Freecycle
I like to give my cupboards a good sorting through a couple of times per year. I think the older I get or the longer I am over here, I realise I don’t need all this stuff I accumulated over my life and time in the military or I don’t have the space to store it all.
Since I separated from the military and life being more expensive here in England, I try to be more frugal and cautious with my money. I am also have been inspired by “The Story of Stuff”. Would you buy that item if you knew in six months time it will be in the landfill?
Sometimes things happen for a reason such as this recession, we are all living beyond our means. I personally think that the consumerism culture in America has driven us to put us into debt and many families can’t get out. The stories of how crazy people were getting over the Black Friday is just an example of where we have lost control and most people will be putting Christmas on credit cards and not pay it off by the next Christmas.
Don't throw anything away you don't want anymore, either turn it into cash or pass it onto someone who can use it. Also if you are looking for something, these are great places to start!
These are a few great ways to do this:
Since I separated from the military and life being more expensive here in England, I try to be more frugal and cautious with my money. I am also have been inspired by “The Story of Stuff”. Would you buy that item if you knew in six months time it will be in the landfill?
Sometimes things happen for a reason such as this recession, we are all living beyond our means. I personally think that the consumerism culture in America has driven us to put us into debt and many families can’t get out. The stories of how crazy people were getting over the Black Friday is just an example of where we have lost control and most people will be putting Christmas on credit cards and not pay it off by the next Christmas.
Don't throw anything away you don't want anymore, either turn it into cash or pass it onto someone who can use it. Also if you are looking for something, these are great places to start!
These are a few great ways to do this:
- Lakenheath Yard Sales
- Lakenheath/Mildenhall Sale/Wanted
- Freecycle
- Carboot Sales
- Charity shops are always looking for 'new' things to sell.
- Airman's Attic
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