LFFGGGGGGG!!!!! SO SO SO EXCITED!!! Definitely feels way too surreal to be moving to London in less than a month.
For reference, I applied on Monday, May 11 and did my biometrics same day in Toronto, Canada, and just received confirmation today (Thursday, May 21), so just less than 2 weeks.
Did not do priority and it’s the e-visa not when they put the vignette in your passport.
See y’all in London ✌️
I want to move to the UK. I am 36, and I have no skilled trade or University degree under my belt.
Question: What is the shortest pathway to get a degree or trade? I understand most take 3-4 years. Are there any skilled trades or degrees that can be done in 1-2 years? I would like to still be in my 30's when I am eligible to apply for a job in the UK to get sponsored for the visa.
Edit: For those of you that have given positive advice, thank you, you are great people. For those of you who have
Please read my question carefully before answering.
Was recently reading FAQs of a huge BuiltToRent fancy apartment building and they mentioned that the staff will have fobs to your home but obviously won’t use it…. (Unless an emergency). Is this common? Is this a huge red flag?
I’m from out of town btw, looking to move soon.
I'm an international student from China, 27 years old, and I was graduate in 2025 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from a Chinese university, specializing in front-end development. During my undergraduate studies, I had several internships and one project at a big technology company in China, all related to front-end development. I've been on a gap year for almost a year now, having been laid off from a major company and constantly sending out resumes without results. I'm now planning to study abroad to find opportunities and hope to stay in the UK.
I currently have offers from Qmul CS and Software Engineering.
I hope to get a job in London UK. I'm feeling lost about my future because of the impact of AI development; I'm considering not continuing in front-end development. If I were to switch careers (still in the tech/computer-related industry), which direction should I choose? Full-stack or something else? Which industries in the UK offer a lot of job opportunities? I hope you can give me some advice.
Third winter done. Still not sure which category I am in. Some days it genuinely does not bother me. Some days I cannot explain to anyone back home why I am here voluntarily. Where are you on this after however long you have been here?
Hi, I'm a project manager consultant from Croatia. I have around 2 years of experience in this field, but also worked on project and research in an NGO and public sector during my masters.
My boyfriend and I are moving to Manchester because he will be starting his PhD there, and I will be moving on a dependent visa.
Could you recommend specific companies or organisations - including NGOs or research institutes - that focus on social research, project work, behaviour, or similar areas?
Thanks in advance!
So my husband is originally from England. He was moved here by his family for his father’s work when he was 15. His goal as always been to move back home to England. We are 25 and have a baby and we want to raise him where he’ll grow up forever. So we’ve been talking and working through all the chaos of what I as American need and all that stuff for moving. The hardest part seems like the job situation. How did you guys go about applying for jobs while living in America?
I'm starting a master's program in London this September, but I have no local network and want to land a job in investment banking in 2027. I have internships, but I haven't worked in London before. Do you have any suggestions for getting started or any advice? I really appreciate any help you can provide.
I am a Spanish citizen residing in Madrid. My partner lives in London and I’ll be moving there.
I’ve decided to take most of my belongings over to the UK and I’m looking for advice on that, please.
Initially I thought of renting a van and driving there myself but beyond the obvious right-side / left-side potential problem, I realised there may be a good amount of import paperwork that I am unsure how to handle.
I am now searching for a moving company who could do the transport and paperwork part. I have everything packed, labeled and stored ready for pick up.
Has anybody on this sub done it themselves, and could you share your experience and learnings?
Or would you be able to recommend a company?
Thanks!
Hi guys. I (32m) am from New Zealand and am looking at coming over towards the the end of the year. I met my partner (Irish, 30s) when she was doing a working holiday Visa here a while back and we've been settled in NZ for a few years.
Unfortunately, due to some unexpected family health issues, she is wanting to head back and be closer to home. As I'm a NZer, the best long-term option would likely be a Youth Mobility Visa settling in the UK.
All my experience up until this point has been operating machinery in Vineyards, etc. I know that that is a very niche market in the UK, however I feel the skills could be transferrable to the farm sector, and I'm not picky when it comes to physical labour or odd jobs.
The biggest fear for me is job related, so just curious as to how the job market is in general, or if someone knows, how it is in those sectors?
Thanks for taking the time to read
Hi. My husband has a job offer in London through his current company. It’s the same “level” so, lateral move but potential for more growth down the road—he’s mostly maxed out where he is.
My main concern is that we will be taking a 30% pay cut, simply based on the pay structure of the UK side of the company. Their pay structures are just more rigid.
We are a family of 5–we would send our kids to state schools. His base pay would be £175k with a 25% bonus and a £9k car allowance. We love to travel and would want to make that a regular part of our lives. This is doable in London, right? We don’t ever come close to spending his current salary (we just aren’t very extravagant), but it is very nice to not really have to think about money. We live in Colorado if that matters.
I currently live in India and will be moving to the UK by July 2026.
I have funds in USD investments my fidelity account and I’m looking for the best way to convert and hold the money in GBP until I relocate and use it for my initial settlement expenses.
Currently, I can transfer the USD to INR in my Indian bank account and then convert to GBP, but that would involve double forex conversion charges and additional fees.
What would be the best way to handle this ? Has anyone gone through a similar process while moving from India to the UK ?
For months everything had a mental tax on it. Every coffee, every rent payment, every supermarket shop ran through a calculation before it landed. Then one day it stopped. The numbers just became numbers. It was such a small shift and it happened completely without warning but looking back it was the clearest signal that something had changed about how settled you actually were. What was your equivalent moment where something small told you the move had actually worked?
In planning to move to the UK, I have been digging deep into area statistics, Google Maps, council pages, room rental sites, and more, and have narrowed my moving preferences down to these towns. But one thing I really don't have is local perspective. For those living in these towns (or in communities nearby), can you give me some insights into what it is like to live there - both good and bad? Do you like living there, or does some other reason keep you there?
Johnstone, Paisley, Renfrew, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride - near Glasgow
Beverly - near Hull
Birkenhead and Wallasey - near Liverpool
Heanor, Ilkeston, and Long Eaton - near Derby and Nottingham
Leyland - near Preston
Newcastle-under-Lyme - near Stoke-on-Trent
Gateshead - near Newcaste-on-Tyne
Anything people feel like sharing is appreciated!
Caribbean national trying to relocate to the UK for work. I am in my 20s pursuing a degree online. I want to move to the UK for work to help to support my family, we faced a tremendous loss this week so it now even more serious that I try to relocate. How do I find jobs that sponsor visas, I am able to travel there without visa but I need a work visa to work.
Some pics I took these past few years in London, shot on IPhone 14. I’m super amateur as a photographer but learning and love this city. I hope you enjoy :)
Hi!! I hope everyone is doing well. This is going to be a little bit of a long rambling post so sorry in advance and thank you!
I’m a 23-year-old Canadian moving to the UK this fall for medical school (London area) and I’ll be moving completely alone : ( I’m super excited but def feeling anxious about the major move in my life.
I know I still have a couple months til my move, but I would like to be prepared. I’ve already read most of the basic things like bank account, SIM card, NHS registration, adapters, weather, etc. I’m just more looking for the nitty gritty things you didn’t realize until after you moved, especially if you moved alone or internationally.
Things like:
Also, what actually made the transition easier for you mentally? I’m super close with my family and boyfriend, so I think the moving alone with no friends is what’s stressing me out the most.
Thank you!!!
Read every forum before moving. Half of it was people describing a bureaucratic nightmare that would break you. Half of it was official guidance that made everything sound straightforward. Reality landed somewhere that neither version quite captured. The NHS is slower to access than advertised but more reliable once you are in. The housing market is harder than any forum post prepared me for. The people are warmer than the reputation but on a delay. Two years in and still finding things that surprise me in both directions. What is the thing about living here that turned out to be better than you expected and the thing that turned out to be worse?
I am a 25 years old English teacher, I have 8 years of experience (yeah, I started working at 18), I have a bachelors degree in English teaching and a certificate in Spanish teaching. I am from Argentina.
Would it be realistic for me to immigrate? What are my legal options?