Paul

November 25, 2009

I'm a UK citizen- now a dual UK/US citizen, and have been out of the UK for 4 years. I am planning on visiting for Christmas and wondering if I now need travel insurance or if I would get NHS treatment in an emergency... does anyone know what the rules are or where to find out? Similarly, is my newborn son covered? He has a UK passport but was born in the US...?

thanks!

November 4, 2009

wow plenty of good tips here...
Does anyone have experience with buying from rental car agency? I've read some good things about it, and bad things as well.

In my opinion, I think the rental agencies don't want people to have bad experience with their cars. If they sell a lemon, it will be bad publicity for them. It's in their interest to sell good cars. Enterprise, for one, even offer powertrain warranty, which i find interesting.

Keep in mind, I'm not looking for a whistle and bells car. I do not intend to use it for commuting. I'll use it as a "getaway" car, for occasional trips in the weekend, or major grocery shopping. So i don't need one of those flashy cars we see on tv..

I don't have direct experience to offer- just an opinion- I would never buy an ex-rental car, just because people tend to drive them quite badly since they don't have to take responsibility for problems they might cause! The best used car has one owner who really looked after it and drove it carefully. That's my opinion, anyway. Rental companies are also buying cars with limited lifespans since the lifecycle for a rental is quite short (like Chrysler Sebrings etc which are very poorly rated and wouldn't be good long-term bets).

November 1, 2009

200 bucks for an inspection? Yikes

$200 is a lot for that. When I first got here someone recommended a mechanic and he looked it over for free.

Find yourself a good mechanic here if you haven't got one already:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

If you are even remotely near having enough cash to buy new then you should consider that- dealers are desperate to sell since the Cash for Clunkers scheme ended. A friend bought a brand new Honda Civic the other week for $16,000 (and it wasn't a manual with no radio or anything like that).

If you really want to avoid haggling don't forget the Carmax chain of used car dealers who make a point of having a very open price policy. They are a bit more expensive as a consequence but quite trustworthy. We bought our most recent car from Craigslist but that's probably the most risky. Best bet is probably buying used from a major new-car dealer. Just research the price and be prepared to walk away if they won't give you the deal you want- there are always more cars out there! My wife bought her first car here from a dealer and they kept us there for hours negotiating the price, I wish we'd just said 'thanks but no thanks' and left sooner.

November 1, 2009

Hello- not sure if this is the right area for this question but thought I'd try since I don't know where else to ask it.

Currently I am out of work (in the US) and on COBRA healthcare from my last job. We are thinking of going back to the UK for a couple of months, and maybe dropping coverage while we are gone.

Is that a risk if we come back and try to get new coverage? Will it make it difficult to get a new policy later? We are in good health (as far as we know).

Or should we get a really cheap basic plan (with a massive deductible) so we have continuous coverage?

Does it matter if we have a break in coverage?

September 6, 2009

Thanks for the advice. Are there any 'rules' anywhere online I could look at just in case I get a passport official moaning at me?

Why would the passport officer moan at you.. how is he going to know you have 2 passports?

I have never found any info on line about it..

Don't tell me you've never had a difficult passport officer! Thanks for all the advice, everyone!

September 3, 2009

Thanks for the advice. Are there any 'rules' anywhere online I could look at just in case I get a passport official moaning at me?

September 2, 2009

Hi

Not sure if this is the right forum for this question- I have just had my oath ceremony and applied for my passport. I have a UK passport too, and was wondering which I have to use when I travel?

I know I have to use the US one to exit/enter the US (I think)- but what about when I get to/leave my destination?

Thanks!

August 27, 2009

I have my oath ceremony tomorrow and the officer who interviewed me strongly advised to bring cash and apply for an expedited passport there and then ("you never know when you'll need it")... I should have asked him but forgot, do they make a copy of your certificate (or whatever they give you) or do you have to simply hand the only copy over and hope for the best?

(If it's relevant this is at the Orlando, FL office)

August 27, 2009

You can read reviews of people's interview experiences here:
http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/

I had my marriage-based N400 interview this week- not in Newark though, in Orlando. I have posted my experience in the section linked to above. All went pretty as expected- took loads of documents and they didn't ask to see any!

August 25, 2009

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August 25, 2009