Newcastle upon Tyne Travel Answers

You'll be getting some "local" info from UK Residents and frequent travelers, but initially your CA license will suffice however since you'll be there an extended time, you'll likely need to get a new license. Learning to drive on the "opposite" side of the road isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be. That said there are MANY more "round-abouts" in the roadways so remember to think left when approaching them. Turning left will become relatively natural in short order. Cheers and good luck with the move.

Sorry, but these questions go beyond the remit of a TRAVEL website, what you want is information on living in the UK! You can get half the information you are looking for (weather, UK driving requirements) using google and I know of no PERMANENT bank accounts, it makes no difference whether you are opening one for 1 1/2 years or 20! You'll have looked at the rules for bringing your dog into the UK, I presume (defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/p...? For area information see mynewcastlejobs.co.uk/Pages/... There are specialised forums and advice sites for (U.S.) expats in the U.K., see http://www.americanexpats.co.uk/ - http://www.uk-yankee.com/ - http://www.theamericanhour.com/ - expatexchange.com/uk/liveinu...

I'll kisck of with accommodation. Have you had any contact from the University yet about taking up your place? A good starting pont would be the University's own Accommodation advice service - ncl.ac.uk/accommodation/stud... Weather - expect all the things you have mentioned from snow to hot and everything in between - not always at the time of year you most expect it. Dogs all I know is all kinds of vaccination and other health certificates, possibly even a period of quarantine are necessary. Look at the UK Immigration site for more info about the entry of dogs. Britain is a multi cultural society. You should fit in fine and have fun understanding each others different accents. Driving on the left in a right hand drive car with a manual gear shift could pose a problem. In the UK persons who pass a driving test and obtain a licence to drive an automatic car are NOT licenced to drive manual cars. More research needed here. I will leave it there for now - others will chip in. But I do encourage you to contact the University. I would be surprised if they fo not have a special information pack for overseas students.

As i was born in Newcastle but left there many years ago i will just answer a few of your questions and i am sure that you will get plenty of expert advice from others. 3) dogs are no problem but when you are out keep it on a leash and bring a bag to pick up any poo. 4) why not search rental agencies in Newcastle and ask them the requirements. 5) Newcastle is multicultural these days and you shouldn't have a problem. 7) you can expect some snow in winter but the city will have the roads passable, but some miles away in the countryside there may be a problem. the snow won't usually lie for weeks because of the sea air. Rain can be expected but coming from San Jose i think that you cannot expect "hot" weather, maybe a few days of the year it may reach 80 degrees F but not much more. 6) You may want to correspond with a bank now as they need so many documents, proof of address, elec bill etc, passport. Probably you will be able to xfer some funds there to get you started. I live in the Philippines and recently came in to a little money and it was a bureaucratic nightmare opening up new accounts. Try Lloyds, i found them the easiest to deal with. 8) Driving on the other side of the road takes a bit of getting used to. I used to live in Virginia in the countryside and i remember returning from UK, getting up early in the morning and merrily started driving down the road on the wrong side, not realising i had done so until a vehicle approached on the same side as me. I did the same thing in Scotland a few years back. I believe you can use your American license for up to a year and you must take a driving test or apply and apply for a provisional license within this time period or stop driving. I don't know if you can get around this if you take a trip out of the country and re-enter as a visitor, where your year may begin again. The British Embassy has a useful site regarding this and other info for U.S. visitors. www.ukinusa.fco.gov.uk Hope this is helpful to you.

WARNING---In england you are not allowed to turn left on a red light. I remember when i lived in the states you were allowed to turn right on a red light.

You might find it worthwhile to browse through this thread from an American moving to UK. VT Forum temporarily unavailable Unfortumately in spite of the very many replies received the original poster does not appear to have ever taken the trouble to post a response so we do not know how things worked out - or even if the replies were ever read! But you might pick up some useful tips and info here.

Don't panic, you will get used to driving on the CORRECT side of the road. Mobile phones are almost one and the same but there are some special deals out there to be had. You should not have a problem with your race as N-U-T is a multi racial city anyway. It is a long time since I was 25, so can't help you there :o) Your dog will not be a problem. You will need to remember that whilst outside it should be kept on a lead at all times and you MUST clean up after your dog or you could face a huge fine if caught. Renting property is easy, the only thing they may ask of you is some kind of reference and one from hubby's job will probably do. Make sure you have a list of everything that comes with the house/flat and you will need a deposit. I have given a weather forcast for the UK, you may laugh at it but get used to it, it is not too far from the truth. Trying to predict the weather can be difficult because of local on the day variations. This information should be used as a guide only. Here is the average weather for Great Britain for this time of year. Enjoy your holiday. January/February/March/April/May/June July/August/September/October/November/December. SUN. Possible but not likely. HUMIDITY. Usually follows the sun, and then:- ELECTRICAL STORMS. Followed by:- RAIN. We excel in rain. PRECIPITATION. NO! it’s called bloody RAIN. OVERCAST. Most defiantly. COLD. O yes. FROST. Comes just when you put in your bedding plants and kills them all off. SNOW. You never know. BLIZZARDS. Only when it snows. SLEET. Rain with icy bits in it. HAILSTONES. Anytime, anywhere. FOG. Not always on the Tyne. GALES. Strike just after the weather man says there is nothing to worry about. FLOODING. Only if you are daft enough to live near a river. RAINING CATS AND DOGS. No but we have had fish and frogs. SPRING. Anytime between January and December, a good indication is when all the housewives do their “spring clean” SUMMER. Anytime between January and December. Please send us a postcard when you think this will happen we have not a clue. AUTUMN. Anytime between January and December. All the leaves have left the trees, sorry, I forgot, the acid rain did all that. WINTER. Anytime between January and December. I think you are getting the idea.

OMG, ROTFL, Ricky has bloody well done it again. Absolutely great post. It tells it all without being wordy.

Hi A couple of other websites with consumer / money saving useful information and details about bank accounts: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com http://www.moneysupermarket.com 'rosata'

5) The UK is massively multi-cultural. You need have no concerns. 8) It is no scarier driving on the right side of the road than on the left. Those of us who are used to driving on the left cope perfectly well when driving abroad. You may find you have to deal with manual gears, which are the norm in the UK and Europe (automatics are unusual). That will take some time to get used to. Start off by practising in e.g. supermarket car parks when the supermarket is closed, or on quiet country/suburban roads. Take your time and make sure you get the hang of manual gears before you venture into heavy traffic or onto motorways. Info about your driving licence: direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Dr... Please don't try to avoid or get round this. It is safer for you, and for other road users, if you take the UK driving test if/when required and get a UK licence.

I was in Newcastle earlier this week. I would go for the Quayside - the views over the river are good and although the city centre is Ok it does have some rather depressing parts. Do you really need to drive? If you live anywhere in the centre you will perhaps have problems parking the car and as everything is walkable in the centre there would be no need for a car. The Newcastle area has a very good Metro system that runs at about 5 to 15 minute frequencies to most areas and there are trains out of Newcastle at generally 30 minute frequencies. As for the dog - well I am not sure city centre living is great for a dog - I am not sure there is actually any grassed areas to walk it in the centre but could be wrong. Other than that its a great city - lots to see and do and a great centre for culture - you will never be bored. Great coast and country on its doorstep too.

Just a little point...in the UK we do not call university level 'school'. 'School' is for children 5-18 (even though universities have e.g. a 'School of Economics'). So your fiancee will be 'at uni', not 'at school'. There are lots and lots of other differences between UK and US English. You will enjoy (probably!) discovering them but here's helpful list to get you started: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o... For example, 'pants' here are our underwear. So if you say e.g. 'my pants are wet'..well, just try to avoid calling your trousers/jeans 'pants'! And in the UK 'fanny' is a rather rude word for a slightly different part of the female anatomy... Enjoy the differences! :-))

hei! i's that you?