I’ve come to the conclusion that a distinctly possible reasoning for many of our cultural differences come from the use of ‘silly’ as a bad thing in parenting and school and early years settings.

Being ‘silly’ is one of the great fucking joys in life. Be loud, make weird noises, laugh a little too much, make poop jokes, put french fries under your lips and be a walrus!

While I understand teachers and childcare workers need to be in control of the classes, and parents sometimes need to calm their kids the use of ‘if you don’t stop being silly you are going to X’ is something I think is a weird way to replace the word naughty or bad and just turn a fun lovely thing into a thing kids think is awful.

I am having to train it out of my child cause she yells at me when I make funny faces at her and do ‘silly’ things’.

Petition to make silly a positive word in the UK.

Edit: didn’t finish my post for some reason so came back to finish the last line.

No links to bogleheads (although it’s helpful!) or deep discussions of what can/can’t be done. I’m curious - for Americans planning to retire and live in the UK, how are all the ways you’re actually saving for retirement?

I’m working to figure this out for myself. For now:
-Contributing to pension at work, though I need to learn how to maximise this
-ESPP program at work
-I do have my old US Schwab account; need to make it an international account
-Buying a house/paying off my mortgage, if this counts

If I am able to save a little extra monthly from my wage, am I better or going for increasing contributions in a UK workplace pension beyond the employer match or am I better off sending that back to the US to add to my Roth?

Curious how those of you without UK credit or rental history navigated securing housing when relocating from US to UK.

We are moving to Scotland and don’t have someone local to act as a guarantor.

I’m putting together a ‘packet’ and considering hiring a relocation property scouting service.

We’ve offered 3 months rent up front + deposit and proof of UK income, apostilled background checks, proof of timely mortgage payment history in US, character references, and even offered to cover rental payment insurance to the landlord but no hits so far.

Any guidance?

Hi all. I’m a UK/US citizen, moving back to Scotland (or England, depending on job offers as a nurse). I’m interviewing for a non-nursing position in Edinburgh as an option for getting my foot into NHS — but that means the pay is only £29k/year eek!

Pretty sure I can live on that for a little while as long as my husband gets a job pronto. But for the first month or two we were thinking Airbnb or other short-term furnished let. But they are $3000-4000 a month minimum, even in commuting distance to city centre! Twice as much as I was hoping (and as other UK cities except London).

Any other ideas for short term let searches? Anything for healthcare workers or similar professionals who travel for work? I’ve checked out rightmove and even booking.com for vacation rentals.

Am I just trippin, hoping for less than $3-4k/month, even in surrounding areas?

Thanks!

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Hey friends,

My fiancé just moved here from the US. He follows the NHL, MLB, and NFL. I was hoping we'd be able to just buy one American sports streaming package, but alas it seems like that's not available and it would be really expensive to have three separate streaming services. Have you found anything that combines some of these? Are these ever on any of the regular TV channels here?

Thank you from an Englishwoman who never watches any sports lol

I'm moving to the UK soon on a work visa but will remain a U.S. citizen. My employer told me I'll likely have to deal with both U.S. and UK taxes on my salary, and potentially on startup equity that vests while I'm there.

My biggest concern is my personal investments. I have a Schwab brokerage account, a 401(k), and a high-yield savings account. I don't plan to sell anything or withdraw from my 401(k) or Schwab brokerage.

Could I still owe UK taxes on these accounts even if I don't touch them? For example, would unrealized gains, dividends, interest, or retirement account growth create UK tax obligations?

I'm really worried and thank you for the help in advance

Only passed my test in January. Lived here 11 years, since I was a kid. UK roads are basically engrained in me. I visit family, specifically my grandma in the US about twice a year in NC, sometimes on my own. My grandma is old and can barely see, it's really not safe for her to be driving around. Not so bad when my parents are here, but a challenge when it's just me/my siblings. I'm visiting now and my mum wants me to do some lessons whilst I'm here. But I'm so scared! Scared I'm gonna mess up here but also scared it'll mess up my UK driving because I'm so new. My idea is just drive loads more when I'm back home and idk lock in while I'm here too eeee idk. I have an auto license so that eliminates any concerns using a manual I guess.

My final concern is that I haven't actually driven a car with nobody else in the car with me yet. I mean my test was pretty independent and my dad since usually just gives road insights rather than instruction but still.

Any insight onto swapping between the two driving systems would be much appreciated.

I graduated with my master's here technically in January, but really in October and have been job searching since on a graduate visa with 1 and a half years remaining. I've landed a few interviews, had some serious interest, and then someone just that little bit better always came along. I also don't like the city I live in, which I ended up in because it was cheap enough to move too AND was willing to take an unemployed young foreigner with a cat, but moving seems impossible too because no one is willing to consider me even though I have assistance that means rent isn't an issue.

I'm just feeling like trying to stay is hopeless, but I also absolutely can't stomach the idea of returning home. My industry (international development and adjacent) is significantly reduced, I have few friends and certainly none where I might end up, and I know not having the distance from everything going on will eat at my soul. Still, I don't know if it would be worse than here either, where I'm just feeling increasingly hopeless, even though I know I would feel that way at home too.

I'm just struggling. It feels like going home is an awful choice and staying here is an awful choice. Is anyone else feeling the same way or can offer some advice? At what point do I just give up and go home? Would that really change anything?

I have some friends coming in from the states and I want to find a fairly central pub with good American support for the World Cup match vs AUS. They’re staying near Borough market. Short tube journey is fine.

Any ideas. I always just head to my local, but that’s not the vibe they’ll be looking for.

I went to the U.S. Embassy in London on 15 May to apply for an emergency passport, as I have work travel on 6 June (Hong Kong)

I also have a second passport, but it expires at the end of July, and my main passport was lost a couple of years ago (yes, I know I should’ve sorted it sooner)

At the appointment, I was told that because I was still about 3 weeks away from travel, it would be better to apply for a regular passport instead. They said if it still hadn’t arrived 3 days before travel, I should call and book an appointment for an emergency passport.

Because I went in expecting an emergency passport, I didn’t bring a return envelope. I was told I’d receive an email later with a link to purchase one once the passport was ready, but I can’t find any clear info on how this works or what the usual delivery time is.

My last update from the tracker:
“The U.S. Department of State has mailed your passport book on 05/26/2026.”

Has anyone been in a similar situation where no return envelope was provided upfront? How long did delivery to the embassy / dispatch to you take after this status update?

Thank you Reddit community for all the helpful guidance so far! I’ve done some research but am struggling to find a comparison between US banks that expats continue to use, particular Bank of America (perhaps for good reason?). I am moving to the Uk in two months. I plan to use Wise for transfers but have a large check from a house sale in the US coming through. I was going to deposit this in my BoA account but wondered if perhaps opening an account with a more “international” bank may be better. My main concern is the need to be able to conduct large 6 figure wires from USD>GBP if Wise does not suffice.. I would prefer not to use HSBC premier as I don’t think I’ll be able to maintain eligibility here. My experience with BoA is that they are less of “global” in their operations and I worry about restrictions on these transfers or large fees. Would opening a Chase checking account be a good idea instead? Thank you

EDIT: thanks for the comments. Have decided to open a Schwab checking account and use that for any future banking/tax deposits in the US. Rolling over 401k to IRAs through Schwab and maintaining all our US finances in one place is certainly a big drawc along with having a US brokerage account should we need this in future. We’ll use Wise for transfers to our UK HSBC account (already opened) and have our Amex gold card which will hopefully set us up for Uk credit card when we move! If anyone has comments to this, please feel free to offer them as I’ll continue to monitor. Thank you!

Hello! My partner and I are in the process of moving up to Aberdeen, Scotland and have already secured a flat. During the flat hunting process, the letting agency we are working with asked how many months rent we would be willing to pay up front if needed. We stayed we would be willing to pay up to 6 months if needed, the letting agency noted it but did not state it was required prior to us signing our lease. We have paid the deposit and signed the lease, and recently inquired as to the best way of paying the first month's rent. In the response, the letting agency stated they would send a request for 6 month's rent as we stated we were willing to pay this, however, the request or requirement to pay 6 month's up front is not listed anywhere in our lease. Is this enforceable? Can they pull the lease if we state we are only willing to pay one month?

We're looking for temporary housing as we relocate to the UK next month. Found a unit on Rightmove that is marketed through this AirBnB style company called Pillow Partners. It's a great deal for a month long stay, but would like to sanity check the company is legit. Appreciate any shared experiences. https://book.pillowpartners.com/

I have a German shepherd I found while living in the US and I want to take him back to the UK with me. From looking at some past threads I'm a bit confused about how to do this. He would have to go in cargo unfortunately as he is large, but people are saying there's no commercial flights that take them to the UK, and I'd have to go somewhere else in Europe, e.g. France, Netherlands, Ireland.

Does anyone have any advice as how to best go about this? Should I book through a pet service that will handle the flights for me? Should I try and go to Dublin and then take the ferry?

Relocated in January, drove up to Scotland this weekend with a friend. Was absolutely delighted on the drive home to see this old Tennessee State Police cruiser in Oxfordshire. Why is it here? Not a clue. Driver seated on the left and everything.

If you've ever had to roadtrip through Tennessee on a holiday weekend, you know the TSP are sitting there along the whooooooooooole of I-40, so somehow it seemed quite appropriate to pass one here, lol.

Hello! I’m 26 living in the US and will be applying for a partner visa in August to live with my partner in the UK! If we get a positive visa decision back, the plan is for us to move to Portsmouth! He will travel to work in London three days a week - it works out great that this move will give him a shorter commute time! However, I’m feeling anxious about finding work myself. I have my bachelors degree in Special Education and eight years experience working with people with disabilities. I was curious if anyone had any advice on how to validate my credentials to help me get a job? Should I do the statement of comparability? I would love to enter a new field as well, maybe something like HR or Admin Assistant. Is there anything I can do now to better myself for later since we’ve got time before we even submit the visa. Thank you for any advice - please be kind! I’ve been doing my research but sometimes personal stories are more helpful!

My husband (UK citizen) and I are moving to the UK later this year. Our dogs (11 & 3) will most likely move in November. We have ruled out cargo & the QMII, and have settled on a shared charter.

Of all the pets-ride-in-the-cabin airlines, we've identified two which will seat 1 human & 2 under-50lb dogs: K9Jets & Avolar.

It looks like they provide pretty much the same service, but Avolar is almost $1k cheaper. Have any of y'all used either service and if so, what was your experience?

It has officially reached that point in the year where I am reminded that the only thing I truly miss from America is the AC. I currently live in a flat and I’m looking for any fan recommendations that work really well to cool down small spaces? I currently have a fan I bought 3 years ago from Argos when I moved here, but I’m ready to upgrade!

You know the scenario when a neighbor comes round asking for an egg or some sugar? I had that recently, but with a very British request...gravy! My mom and brother were over visiting and heard the whole conversation. They were so confused she asked for something so niche and also that I did in fact have gravy to lend! Dinner rescued! Haha Guess my 10+ years here means my British neighbors can count on me in trying times

Hi all,

My program end date is September 2030 but my passport expires in March 2031. My supervisor recommends to apply for the new passport before the student visa to avoid any hassle of having to fly back to the states to renew it, even if after my program end date.

But, from what I've seen online, it's quite easy to apply for the passport renewal online. Any other student visa holders have their passport expire either during or just after their program and can tell me what the process to renew was like? Can you do it from the UK or even online? Or, if you're living outside the country, do you have to travel back to the states to renew it?

Any insight helps, thanks!