First cab off the rank - renew passport. As my current passport is due to expire in February 2012, I need to get a new one before I apply for my UK visa. Otherwise, as my sister handily pointed out, I will be carrying two passports around with me from next year - the expired one with my visa stamped in it...and the new passport to get me in and out of the country. Best to get a renewed one for my visa to sit in for the next 5 years!
Next - once the new passport arrives - apply for UK visa to be able to live and work in the country. Should be fairly straight forward, as I can apply under ancestry and already have a job offer.
Book flights, one-way to London. Scary prospect. And can only be confirmed once the renewed passport is received.
Arrange accommodation. Something I'm hoping my sister who resides in the UK can help me out with. Decisions include: do we want to flat-share together? Do I want to flat-share with strangers? Should I stay in a hostel/hotel for the first few nights and flat-hunt once I'm there? I want to live close to my sister and her partner for the convenience factor. Plus I have a feeling I'll be quite homesick in the first weeks, so it will be handy to live close by for comfort and reassurance.
Advertise and interview potential flatmates. The co-owner of my house is presently running with the idea that we will rent out a couple of rooms to cover the mortgage. We have to get the right flatmate(s) in though and there's loads to take into consideration. For instance, my cat (Mabel - I know! Cute, right?!) is used to living in my self-contained apartment attached to the house. And there is already another cat living in the house who rules the roost, which means they've sorted out their territory. Adding a third cat into the mix is just inviting trouble. Probably more so for Mabel, cause she's just a big scaredy-cat and doesn't stick up for herself. Also, we want quiet, professional people who won't be partying every night of the week. Or very often, lol.
Sell my belongings in NZ. Car, bed, desk, sundry items - it's all got to go, or go into storage. While I'll be keeping my house as an investment, I don't want to burden my co-owner with having to store my personal belongings for years. So I have to get onto parting with these worldly possessions in the next 6 weeks!
Sell off my gym membership. Hopefully not too hard as I belong to the best gym in the world, Les Mills. Will miss the fantastic classes! Sh'Bam today was wicked. Must admit - it's the trainers I'll miss mainly.
Open a UK bank account. This might turn out to be the most painful part of the process. However, I will get onto this while still in NZ as I understand that saves a lot of hassle.
There are so many questions that I have to wait to ask. Like, when does the first salary payment go through? What about my KiwiSaver account in NZ? How do I arrange a payment holiday from my student loan? Will I get a mobile phone through my employer? Can I use my current Nokia? But these questions have to go un-answered until I have actually signed on the dotted line and it's all official. Plenty of time to sort that out then.
Loads to organise before I go. Plenty on at work in my current role. Still rehearsing for 'A Few Good Men' and will be running the season up until the week before I leave. Life is already full-on and only going to get busier. If there's one thing you can say about me, it's that I don't do things by halves.
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