Cost of living in the UK

Looking for your next contract or pay as you go (PAYG) mobile phone deal ?

Don’t just walk into the high street shop any more. You get loads of great deals on the internet today. There are many reliable internet mobile merchants who offer great phone deals online.

I have listed a few below though I haven’t personally bought from each one of them. Most of them are regulated anyway, so you can’t go really go wrong. Make your judgement by what the company has to say about itself. Customer is king. Take advantage of the deals on offer. Good luck.

mobilesplease is run by Bobbie Bhogal (the founder of e2save.com). Using his extensive experience in the mobile industry, Bobbie has created mobilesplease in conjunction with The Carphone Warehouse. Customers are therefore assured of receiving market leading deals on the very latest handsets. Mobilesplease uses Carphone warehouse fulfillment platform and Carphone warehouse manages all cashback payments. This means that your cashbacks are 100% guaranteed.

A1 Comms have been trading since 1997, the website originally set up to support their high street mobile phone shops is now stand alone and over the last 10 years of trading has gained many 1000s of satisfied customers. Their site sells all networks and specialises in contract phones with Free gifts such as Game consoles and mp3 players. They also offer line rental discounts (by redemption) and automatic cash back (where no claim is necessary).

Affordable mobiles are a new UK mobile phone and related products website. This website is the online trading arm of Shebang Distribution Ltd, which is a uk leading mobile phone and accessory supplier. They have a dedicated team of web design and developers striving to produce the best possible customer experience. There are some great deals on contract mobiles on the site with free delivery on every order & fantastic free gifts to be had when purchasing a contract mobile product.

Beepy Mobiles have great combination deals allowing customers to mix and match the handset, gift and cashback. Customers are also able to top up their deal at the checkout so they can have any gift with even the most expensive handset. There are some great deals on contract mobiles on the site with free delivery on every order & fantastic free gifts to be had when purchasing a contract mobile product.

BuyMobilePhones.net is one of the UK’s leading mobile phone websites, featuring Free Delivery on a wide range of mobile phones and mobile phone accessories.

BuyMobilePhones.net is dedicated to online sales, allowing them to provide competitive prices and fantastic special offers. When customers buy from them, they do so in the knowledge that they are getting a great deal and have the security of buying from an established business who deals direct with all networks. Their prices are always among the very best online.

MobilePhoneCentral is the Internet division of Intek Communications Ltd, an established £10million turnover company trading on the high street for 8 years.

With 30 stores across the South West of the UK and more opening soon, Intek Communications is the 5th largest independent retailer of mobile phones in the country.

We are direct dealers for all the major networks including Orange, 3 and T-Mobile and offer some of the most competitive deals on pay monthly handsets in the UK.

Mobileshop.com is one of the UK’s top mobile phone retailers and has been leading the way with the best customer offers since 1997. Mobileshop have a fantastic dedication to customer service and a well-designed site that is friendly to both the affiliate and the customer.

Contract mobile phones with Tesco is here! Tesco has received great success with their Tesco mobile prepay offering, as a result Tesco has entered the contract mobile phone market to offer its customers a greater range of products.

VirtualPhoneStore is the new mobile phone website from Phones International Group offering the very best deals for contract and PAYG mobile phones with Vodafone.

Living in UK (especially in cities like London) can be very expensive where accommodation costs are quite high. A decent 2 bed flat rent could be around 800-900 pounds a month. On top of it, you also need to take care of the utility bills and council tax. You may end up spending 1000-1200 pounds just on the accommodation. If you are single, it just doesn’t make sense. You will be better off using that money somewhere else.

Ideally, you could look to share an accommodation with someone or find someone to share an accommodation that you get into.

Also keep in mind that the person you share with should be reliable and operates on the same wavelength as you. For example, you are a non-smoker and you would want to live with someone who is also a non-smoker.

There are a few websites which help you find the right partner. I have listed a few below to get you started.

Some of the classifieds advertisements in your local newspaper can also be helpful (one of them is Friday-ads).

Ok. All the best in your search for a partner to share your accommodation. Good day.

Easyroomate.com - the UK’s number one flat share website.

Founded in 1999 the company has quickly grown and dominated the ‘flat share’ market worldwide. Their service allows users to post a FREE advert either advertising a room to rent or if they‘re looking - a ‘room wanted’ listing. Their technology then matches suitable flatmates, tenants or landlords and notifies users daily by email.

FlatMateClick is the leading matching services in the UK for those who look for a flatmate or a flatshare. Their website allows our members to look for a place or a flatmate by Postcode and covers the whole UK. You can play it safe by adding your contact info or references to your profile. Hundreds of rooms everyday should make the life of everyone simpler.

You can also find more information on Accommodation in UK - here

When you have newly arrived in the UK and slowly settling down in your accommodation and new job, you may not want to start spending your salary on furnishing your accommodation with new stuff.

You can manage for a while with stuff bought from charity shops and car boot sales.

Charity shops in the UK are run by institutions like British Redcross, Cancer Research institute, etc.

Car boot sales are very popular in the UK. CD players, music systems, keyboards, books - you name it. You will get it. This is a practice where a family decides to sell old stuff in their home and make some money to be used for some purpose. They bring all the old stuff in their car / van boot and put them up for sale. Some of the items are sold really really cheap. I have personally bought a Sony CD player and an entry level Yamaha keyboard (both in top condition) for 3 pounds each. That’s dead cheap. These sales are usually held in a popular open field on Sundays. Talk to your neighbors about it.

I even bought cutlery at prices like 1 pound for a set of 6 plates, which was like “wow”. I used them for almost 2 years before I started slowly settling down and bought new items for my family. Trust me, it saves you a great deal of money.

For a long time, UK has welcomed educated youth (highly skilled workers) to come into the country for work. Though there are different kinds of Visa available, I’m going to discuss primarily about the 3 types that are popular among people wanting to come into the UK for work.

For long term work, there are two categories:

1. Tier 1 (earlier called HSMP - Highly Skilled Migrant Program)
2. Tier 2 (employer sponsored work permits)

Tier 1 (high skilled migrants)

This scheme is for individuals who fall into one of these categories:

• Highly skilled migrants. You do not need to have a specific job offer but will need to demonstrate you are highly skilled, have money to support yourself and are able to speak English.
• Entrepreneurs. If you are keen on establishing a business or own and operate one, this is for you.
• Investor. If you want to invest in the United Kingdom you will need to demonstrate that you have the money to do so.
• Studies completed in UK. If you graduated from a university in the United Kingdom, you can apply to stay in the United Kingdom to work once you have completed your studies.

See the following page for more information

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier1/

Tier 2 (sponsored skill workers)

For Tier 2 scheme, a sponsor is required to file a work permit for the individual. The sponsor has certain responsibilities to satisfy the home office before a permit is issued to the candidate.

• To apply under Tier 2, an applicant must have a sponsor. A sponsor is an United Kingdom based organisation that wishes to employ the applicant in the United Kingdom.
• In order to sponsor applicants, an employer will need to have registered as a licensed sponsor. The sponsor will need to meet the requirements for the particular category within Tier 2 and accept certain responsibilities to help with immigration control
• The sponsor will need to assign a certificate of sponsorship before the applicant can apply for leave under Tier 2. The certificate of sponsorship will act as an assurance that the applicant is able to undertake a particular job and intends to do so

For more details, visit
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier2/

Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme)

For short term work, there is a Tier 5 visa a.ka “Youth Mobility Scheme”. Highlights of this scheme are:

• The Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) is for young people from participating countries who wish to experience life in the United Kingdom
• Successful applicants will be free to do whatever work they like during their stay in the United Kingdom, except for self employment, working as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach) or working as a doctor in training
• Youth Mobility Scheme temporary migrants may also engage in self or privately funded studies and voluntary work
• Period of stay allowed: 2 years
• Can I switch into another category: Not permitted
• Can I extend my stay: Not permitted
• Those who have previously spent time in the UK under the Youth Mobility Scheme or under the Working Holidaymaker Scheme are not eligible to apply under the Youth Mobility Scheme.
• Can I bring my dependants: Not permitted
• Applicant must not have any children under the age of 18 who are either living with him/her or for whom he/she is financially responsible
• Applicants who are married or have partners may participate in the Youth Mobility Scheme. Although spouses or partners of Youth Mobility Scheme participants may not enter the United Kingdom as dependants, they may enter if they qualify and obtain entry clearance in their own right under the Youth Mobility Scheme, or qualify for entry in another capacity

For more information, see
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk/tier5/youthmobilityscheme/