LIVING OVERSEAS + RETURNING HOME

EXPATRIATE EXPERIENCE

If you have spent some time abroad, and are planning a return to the UK, things may have changed significantly. With international offices and a globally mobile team, we have expatriate experience we can share with our clients.

Aside from your financial planning, the key pointers which are worthy of consideration include:

  • Your credit rating – if you have lived overseas for many years, or never lived in the UK, you may not have built up a credit rating. Many items (telephones, loans, mortgages, credit cards) are driven by a credit rating. So it may be that your bank will need to assist here, at least in the short term.
  • Cost of Living – the UK may be a more expensive place to live than your overseas location. So plan ahead and make sure you will be aware of the impact of your move on your lifestyle.
  • Cash Deposits – you may need access to a significant amount of cash for a few weeks, to buy new things which may have been lost in transit, or which you have chosen to leave behind. For example you may be unable to bring any electrical items (televisions, fridge/freezers and computer equipment) to the UK as they could run on different voltages.
  • Schooling – the UK system means that children cannot be enrolled into a school until they are physically in the country. You may want to plan ahead, to ensure you have researched the area and will be in the right catchment area but there is no guarantee that you will be able to secure a place. This is particularly pertinent if you want your child to attend a ‘good’ school which is over-subscribed.
  • Property – global websites help enormously in this area. It may be useful to rent in the short-term, if you do not know the area to which you are moving well. Do be aware that UK houses can be smaller than those overseas.
  • Practicalities – you must register with your local doctor, dentist, council

Aidan Bailey –
International Director
The Fry Group

‘Do be aware that you will need to live as simply as possible for a few weeks. Prior to our move from Singapore to the UK we had to pack all of our possessions up, and have them transported by boat – which took over 3 weeks!

David Goodman –
UK Manager, The Fry Group

‘People joke about the UK weather but we found that some of the furniture we purchased overseas does not tolerate a UK climate and our Indonesian furniture cracked in our centrally heated UK house!’

Kevin Coppard –
Financial Planner, The Fry Group

‘We found it was vital to use a team of international movers, who carried the right insurance for the transportation of our possessions. They came in, packed everything up, and a few weeks later, unpacked everything in the UK. We could not have moved without them!’

Tim Rainsford –
International Manager,
The Fry Group

‘My wife chose to return to the UK a few weeks before I did. She began the process of arranging for our children to be registered at school, and found us a rented house for the short-term. This helped enormously when I returned to the UK. Rather than both starting from scratch we had a base from which to re-establish ourselves in the UK.’