<p>OP-interesting post. Just a few random comments.</p>
<p>1-your daughter will need to get a UK mobile phone. Once she makes new friends, they will not want to phone her/text to a US number. Same with her landlord, etc</p>
<p>2-she will also need UK bank accounts as she will need £ cash and need £ checks for utilities and council tax. As someone mentioned, HSBC is rubbish, but Citibank will let you open up free £, $ and current accounts. </p>
<p>3-she was smart to turn down Australia for the UK. Oz is a much smaller market than the EU, so she will get better experience over here.</p>
<p>4-make sure that she finds a flat close to the Tube, as taxis are expensive and buses unreliable late at night. </p>
<p>5-it is difficult to find a flat in 2 weeks here. She should ask her boss for 1 month in temporary housing.</p>
<p>I might not have mentioned before, but my daughter has spent a good bit of time in London over the last 2 years with this company. She knows her way around well enough to know what areas are desirable to her. I think she know the Tube as well as you know the Metro in DC! As she is friendly with many of her coworkers in London, they are all happy to help her find suitable housing. She also has a few college friends in London and has met friends of friends over the years. Hopefully someone will have a friend looking for a roommate; if not, her company has a broker they work with. Knowing her company as I do from her, if she really couldn’t find a place after 2 weeks there or before, I think they would give her more time. Remember, she is only there for 6 months! </p>
<p>I think she is aware she needs a local bank, but will double check with her again on that. As far as the phone, they may provide a UK Blackberry for her; she may end up using 2 phones, I have no idea! While she will live in London, she will still be traveling 50% of the time, so I am not sure a UK phone number is any better than a US number. Her territories were changed before this offer to the Americas instead of Europe, so she will be coming back this way for her travels; yes, it is backwards, but she wanted to be in London. The company has decided to hire someone to be based in London that speaks German and Italian; my daughter Spanish only helps in Spain! So she got shifted to North, Central and South America and the new person will take Europe once he/she is hired. My husband and I figured that maybe they would keep her on for Europe if they didn’t find a candidate for the London office. Either way, she wanted to live in London for a bit, so they are letting her.</p>
<p>As far as taxes, her company again takes care of those for her, but our family CPA will do what ever is necessary. She will have been a DC resident for 6 months and London will be 6 months. I haven’t bothered our CPA with this during tax season, but will ask him about it next month.</p>
<p>My daughter is aware of the higher cost of living in London and said while she isn’t willing to live on oatmeal, she knows she will need to count pennies. She might not be putting much away into her 401K during these 6 months, but will budget where needed.</p>
<p>Well my daughter arrived in London yesterday morning, unfortunately one of her bags did not arrive with her! It of course was the bag she planned to live out of, as the other bag was to be stored with a friend. Seems the bag never got on the plane, but should be at her hotel this evening. </p>
<p>A place to live was secured before she even left DC; a friend knew someone that needed a roommate beginning in mid July. Since work would pay for two weeks of a hotel, and she would be gone from London on a 3 week trip, this only left her one week without housing. She is going to stay on a friends sofa for that week. These first 6 weeks without a place to call her own will be a bit unsettling, she decided she would rather know where she was going to live and have a roommate; plus, she is saving on rent by having a roommate and not paying rent for 6 weeks!</p>
<p>Work did provide a cell phone, so she will only use her phone when in the states and Canada; work will still pay the roaming on her iPhone while in Canada. She is in the process of setting up an account with a local bank; I believe there is one with a relationship with her bank here.</p>
<p>As far as taxes, she has emailed our accountant, and is waiting to see what he has to say. </p>
<p>I truly feel like an empty nester now with her so far away and my son also just moved across county to begin his residency. This will be the first year ever that neither of them will be home for Thanksgiving, which is the big family holiday we host in our home :(</p>
<p>It isn’t easy. I am moving within close range of my children this summer for the first time in seven years. In the meantime, there have been graduations, weddings, graduations and jobs. All I can say is bless Skype.</p>
<p>What makes this hard is both my family and my husband’s almost all live here in the same city. I have one cousin and her family that live a 7 hour drive, but they come in often with the kids. It will just be so different having both of my kids not here; we are use to them being gone at school, but they were always home for Thanksgiving and part of winter break. While it will be hard for me, I know both kids always look forward to Thanksgiving at our home. I have really thought about going to London and having the rest of the family fend for themselves, but that is way to selfish of me to do! We then discussed having Thanksgiving after my daughter gets back, but there is no way to know if my son can be here as his vacation weeks are decided by his department.</p>
<p>The money that she is saving on 6 weeks rent in London will be more than enough to pay for a return ticket back to DC for Thanksgiving (and Christmas)! If she works for a US company, they should be sympathetic to let her visit her family at Christmas.</p>
<p>londondad-She is only there for 6 months, so she will be back in the states the second week of December; at that point she will return to DC after a short visit home. She travels for work, so if she works it right, she might be able to be home for Thanksgiving, I’m just not going to get my hopes up!</p>
<p>Due to her travel, she has accrued enough miles to fly her dad and I to London for a visit this fall. I think that will more than make up for her not being home for Turkey day, although we will still miss her. I will also miss her help in the kitchen ;)</p>
<p>Yes, Wimbledon is on her to do list; if nothing else she was instructed to get her grandmother a shirt as she is the real tennis nut in the family!! It is funny, my daughter isn’t as excited for the Olympics as she went to several events when they were in Atlanta. That is not to say she won’t try to go to a couple of events just to be there, but she isn’t dying to go.</p>
<p>Wimbledon has an online shop. It will probably be easier just to order a shirt yourself (note in the UK a “shirt” will be formal office wear. I think you might want a “T-shirt” for the grandmother).</p>
<p>OP here; more adventures for my daughter! While in London she tried her hardest to show her company that it would be in everyone’s best interest for her to be based in London full time, at least for a few years. She was not able to get them to agree with her, so she returned to DC in December, as her 6 month visa expired. </p>
<p>Today she gets called into HR to be offered a permanent move to London, not as an expat, but as a local!! HR and one of her supervisors couldn’t understand why she wasn’t jumping up and down with joy; her reasoning, not that she told them, was she had gotten the idea out of her head about living there because they said it couldn’t happen. The company was doing some restructuring of her division, and didn’t know until January what monies were available. Once that realized they could indeed afford to pay for the visa she would need, they offered her the position. Because other jobs need to fall into place once she makes a decision, everything hinges on her at the moment. Her team is only about 20-30 people, but only about 5 at her level. Those other 4 will be placed in counties once my daughter makes her decision.</p>
<p>My daughter asked what I think, and I told her honestly, while I would love for her to live in our city (which is not an option,) I think professionally, going to London would be the best for her. She said she is so numb at the moment as this offer came out of the blue, that she just can’t think at the moment. She just go back to the states in December, working from our home for two weeks before settling into an apartment in DC 5 weeks ago. She move her furniture out of storage, we shipped all her other belongings that she left here with us as she didn’t take her car back to DC, painted the bedroom she moved into, and decorated the bedroom. Now it looks like she will move again! While in London she had purchased linens and a few other things that she gave away when she moved back; I guess she will be doing that again! </p>
<p>Again, I don’t have all the details other than she would get a $5K signing bonus that is taxable, and only a small increase in salary. I don’t know how much negotiating, if any she will be able to do; her company’s pay scale is all employees at the same level receive the same pay. If there is any wiggle room, I don’t know how much she more is reasonable to match the cost of living as I don’t know what the difference between London and DC is.</p>
<p>More to update as I get more information :)</p>
<p>I worked in London for a while years ago and my H is currently negotiating a potential move there as we speak. I’m sure your D is aware, but the cost of living is much higher than DC and salaries are typically much lower. But, Brits do receive some very nice perks - 6 weeks (minimum) vacation, excellent pensions, etc. We have negotiated private health insurance. National health is fine, but with private you can choose your own specialists and usually less waiting. Best of luck to your daughter! And hopefully you can visit often!</p>
<p>London has to be more expensive than Washington D.C. You give up so much being hired as a local. There are some typical benefits that go along with being an expat that she might have to negotiate if she is hired as a local. They would have to pay moving expenses. I would also need (in writing) the promise of return moving expenses. I have heard stories of people being moved overseas, then let go and stranded. It’s not pretty. What about temporary living expenses until she finds a permanent apartment? Will she be given a trip back to the U.S. every year? (I would guess not as a local) How much vacation will she get? Locals in UK probably get plenty of vacation, but an expat typically gets an extra week knowing that lengthy travel is likely. </p>
<p>In the old days, local hires in London got a car. That may have changed along with tax rules. Her company will save a lot of money by giving her a local package instead of an expat package. She will need to look it over carefully and think about extra costs she may have to incur. Did she sign a lease in Washington D.C. that she will have to break? Would that cost come out of her $5k? I think it should be covered separately. Lots to think about!</p>
<p>Just read megpmom’s post, which reminds me, does her U.S. job have a 401K with company match? She won’t get that as a local in London. Will there be any retirement benefit that she can transfer to the U.S. or cash out if/when she returns to the U.S. ? Young people typically don’t think about that kind of stuff (I didn’t) or even think it’s important, but it is, and at the very least you can put a $$ value on it.</p>
<p>NJres, I think any moving expenses would have to come from the $5K, but I could be wrong. When she went for 6 months she only took clothes and toiletries, everything else was left here. I can’t imagine she would deal with taking kitchen items, so everything she takes would fit in her luggage.</p>
<p>I know she mentioned a pension and I have no idea what happens with her current matched 401K. These are things I will have her get more details on if she hasn’t already.</p>
<p>No car with her company; I don’t think any of them even own cars on their own. Her lease in DC is not a big deal; she rented a bedroom in a home with 4 others. She isn’t on the lease and would just have to find a replacement. </p>
<p>As far as vacation, she gets more here in the US than the London crowd I believe, but she never uses more than half of her days each year; the girl is a workaholic! I would bet they will give her a couple of weeks to find housing, they did last time. Too bad she had to give up the place she was living; she liked the flat and the roommate. </p>
<p>I would love to see her be able to get private insurance, but I bet that won’t happen on their dime.</p>
<p>Will her company carry the costs for her to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) so she can get on the path to British citizenship? If her visa expires before ILR is granted will they pay for the costs both for visa renewal AND her ILR application if required? </p>
<p>I’m not sure if your D has any dependents, but will the company also pay for their visas if so?</p>
<p>She needs to check about the pension. My understanding is that pension arrangements here in the UK differ significantly from the US - she will need to check that if she starts paying into a UK pension she can receive it in the US if she chooses to retire there. Or that she can pay into her US pension while in the UK.</p>
<p>She should also look at a Cost of Living calculator and negotiate an equivalent (or higher) salary for the UK. London is seriously expensive, and while it’s fine to live in a less-nice apartment for 6 months, if she’s here permanently she may want something better!</p>
<p>Laylah, we will look over those sites, thank you. </p>
<p>Her company does all the visa work as well as pay for it as they did for the last one. It is my understanding that her company has a law firm that handles all their visa work and everything when smoothly the last time. While I am unfamiliar with the visa process and the term, from what my daughter described, I am guessing she might be receiving the ILR you mentioned. </p>
<p>As my daughter is only 25 and single, she doesn’t worry much about the pension, but she knows to look at the offer carefully. She has been contributing to her 401K for 2 years I believe; I have no idea what happens to that money. My husband is self employed, so we have never dealt with retirement plans offered my companies. Our accountant is a cousin, so I will have my daughter contact him to get his thoughts. I know she spoke with him when she moved there last year, but I understand this is a whole different ballgame!</p>
<p>As far as where she will live, she is happy to have roommates to keep the cost down, and the place she lived in last year was cute. She said it wasn’t the best area in the world, but I thought it was nice when I saw it.</p>
<p>She has so much to think about, and while she was told no rush, the company has to decided what to do with others; her answer dictates where everyone else lands!</p>
<p>My daughter took the offer, not that I am surprised! Looks like she will leave DC by mid April to avoid paying rent and will work from our house for two weeks, heading to London around May 1. She has to come home to bring most of her belongings that aren’t going with her to London. Her thought is to wade through everything here at our house so she can spread it all out and decide. </p>
<p>The hard work is for my husband who gets to drive our SUV to DC, picking up a trailer and helping her load and drive back home. We have decided to sell her furniture which doesn’t make me happy. When the kids graduated college, we bought them furniture, my daughter only has bedroom furniture, but it is a nice set. We will never get the money back,but it isn’t worth the money to get a truck to move it back home. Other than Craigslist, I am looking to see what our best options are in selling. The set she has currently sells for $2100, although we didn’t pay that much 3 years ago. I don’t want to give it away and not really sure what a reasonable price would be.</p>
<p>Note to self- Don’t buy furniture for young adults, they move too much ;)</p>
<p>I know that now, but at the time my husband and I thought it was a good idea for them to have a bedroom set to keep for a long time. My daughter actually doesn’t love her set other than her mattress as I convinced her to go with a darker set instead of the white she wanted; big mistaken on two counts!</p>
<p>My son loves his furniture and we got it at cost, but he has already moved it cross country last year and is moving again this summer. The moving cost will surpass the cost of the furniture with this next move Great deal at the time, not so great now!</p>
<p>At least in London my daughter will most likely be renting a furnish flat :)</p>
<p>Snowball, I still have the bedroom set that was bought right out of college. It is in one of my spare bedrooms. It was our set until we upgraded to a king size bedroom set 5 years ago. I was so happy to have one nice piece of furniture. I have the dresser from my sisters set and she still uses the other piece in her bedroom. </p>
<p>I think it was a nice idea even if it didn’t work out.</p>
Great deal at the time, not so great now!</p>