Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyLily43
I can actually answer this one more specifically; that is unless there has been a change or two within the Picadilly Circus area since I've been there back in 1985...if not; then if you actually live in London; even in what we Americans might call a subburb of London; then as long as you can get to Picadilly Circus; you should be able to find the American Express office there...you can wire money home from there, and any family you might be wiring to in the US would only need to have either an American Express office in town, or an agent of American Express...for example if your family has a K-Mart in town; I think they do American Express transfers, and I think the fee is still somewhere around $12.50 though don't quote me on that part...You just go up to the counter; tell them you want to wire money home; tell them how much; they will do the conversion rate plus tack the fee on and then tell you how much the total is...
I do have one or two more questions to ask though if no one minds:
1)The TV Tax; is that £100 total or per tv? I ask because right now we have three TV's; so; though we are planning to either sell or give away most of our belongings to make the move less expensive when we are ready to move...once there it will give us a greater idea of how many TV's we can afford for our residence there...
2) We were actually thinking wherever he might work; that we might live in a smaller village nearby so that even though HE might need a car to get to and from work; *though we were also counting the train as part of the public transit*; I would be primarily relying on either a bicycle for my son and I in the village; or our own feet, but just in case we were to live somewhere in London; how easy is it to purchase and use the Oyster card, and how much does it cost? We were thinking about even getting one for each of us while we would be visiting in November as well...
3) The VAT...what types of things do they put the VAT on?
Thanks Again
T. Vandal
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Firstly (thank g-d) the TV licence is per household and it doesn't matter how many tv's you own (we had six before we left). The cost is 139.50 (pounds) per year and you can check it out here
TVL - Welcome to TV Licensing There is no way you can avoid this tax - every household is on their radar system - no joke.
One major tax that hasn't come up on this thread is the dreaded council tax. This varies from area to area. You will need to let us know where you plan to live before we can give you the figures, but this can be anything from 1,000 to 2,500 pounds a year. This is compulsory and failure to pay it, can end in a prison sentence - this is more serious than robbing someone - honestly.
The London Underground has it's own website which you can check out here
Tube | Transport for London - not sure if there are any prices.
Commuting from outside London is very expensive - once you decide where to move, you can check out the releveant train line for costs.
Don't forget that all the British go to America shopping and find it very very cheap, from clothes, accommodation and food both in supermarkets and restaurants.
Petrol in the UK has just hit $US10 a gallon compared to US$3.50 in America. Car road tax varies from car to car, but can be anything from under 100 pounds to 300 pounds a year. Car insurance, well that is huge, especially as you won't have any no claim bonuses, which means you are starting from scratch.
Will post more information soon.
Regards
Michelle