Question for PeterMac - or anyone who knows Glasgow

[Pyraxis]

So I'm talking to an animation studio in Glasgow for a potential job and I need to figure out some things.

How well would I be living on 15k GBP (28.5k US / 22.3k Euros)

How hard is it to get around Glasgow without a car?

What's the rent on a studio or 1-bedroom apartment?

Also does anyone know anything about passports and work permits? I have an expired child's UK passport and a current valid USA passport. I've gone hunting online and haven't been able to figure out what I need to do to get a current UK passport. Whether I need a birth certificate from my mother to demonstrate my citizenship or whether the expired passport would be enough. How much I have to sort out on my own and how much I should expect the company to help me with.

[richard]

congratulations on getting out of the usa, i wish i could get out.

[Pyraxis]

Hey, I don't have the job yet, I just have a preliminary email saying they might be interested in me.

Can anyone tell me how health care and health insurance works in the UK? Is it a thing provided by the company you work for, like in the USA, or is it automatic to everyone like Canada, or something else?

[richard]

well i hope you get whatever is best for you and you want. i could be happy anywhere else on the planet besides the usa, the middle east, africa and indanasia.

[purposefulinsanity]

Health care in the UK is different to the US- we have a national health service.  Basically all medical treatment is free and you only need health insurance if you want private treatment.  If you need medication there is a flat free for prescriptions (currently £6.65 for each item).
Dental treatment works a little differently- there are NHS dentists (with this you pay what's probably a minimal amount for treatment compared to the US-e.g. for a routine check up currently costs £5.84 and there is a maximum price for a course of treatment of £384), however NHS dentists who are taking new patients are becoming rarer so you may have to go private (you can get a private yearly dental plan).

Its rare for you to get private health/dental care included in your job package over here though. 

As for the wages £15k a year is pretty low- for comparison a starting graduate level job is around £20K.

I could be wrong, not living in Glasgow, but a quick look at one bedroom flats to rent around Glasgow suggests that you're going to be paying £400+ a month rent.

[Pyraxis]

Thanks, PI - that's really helpful.

If an apartment is called a flat over there, what's the UK word for a studio? In the USA it means a one-room apartment with kitchen facilities as part of the main room.

[Lucifer]

it's either a studio or a bedsit, pyraxis.  it'd be cheaper for you to look for a room in a shared house, although that involves other people...

i live on a lot less than 15K a year, although i only have a small mortgage, which is about the same as rent on a room in a shared house.

passports (if you already have a british passport):  http://www.passport.gov.uk/index.asp   they're really helpful if you contact them with enquiries.

work permit (for foreign nationals):  http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/content/working_in_the_uk/en/homepage.html

you're probably on your own as far as sorting things out is concerned.  someone might help you out of "being nice"-ness, but there's no official help, unless there's a relocation package stipulated:  ask whether it's possible for you to have help with relocation (i very much doubt it, at that salary level, though).

[purposefulinsanity]

i live on a lot less than 15K a year, although i only have a small mortgage, which is about the same as rent on a room in a shared house.

You can live off £15K, but for a full-time, skilled job its a pretty low wage.

[thepeaguy]

Hey, I don't have the job yet, I just have a preliminary email saying they might be interested in me.

And I was about to send you a good luck message for the move today. :p

[Hypnotica_Gaze]

Pyraxis, If you need further help or anymore info or simply just need someone to look out for decent but nicely priced accomodation ie the right place to meet a certain budget in the right area or whatever, just compile a list and give me a PM or something as i live in Glasgow, im about 15mins drive from the town centre.

Good luck and dont hesitate asking for help if you need it. If i can help i will.

[Pyraxis]

  Thanks, HG - if I do get the job, I'll let you know. Iit would be cool to have help finding a place to stay.

[Hypnotica_Gaze]

No probs at all.

[Pyraxis]

I got the job offer!!!!!!

If all goes well, as soon as I can get my passport application through, I'll be spending the next year in Glasgow. Now comes the crazy planning stage - once I figure out a budget I'll need to do apartment hunting, decide what I have to take, etc, etc.

But first - 

[thepeaguy]

I got the job offer!!!!!!

If all goes well, as soon as I can get my passport application through, I'll be spending the next year in Glasgow. Now comes the crazy planning stage - once I figure out a budget I'll need to do apartment hunting, decide what I have to take, etc, etc.

But first - 

I'm sure that the neds there will be very accomodating. :p

Give my dad's cousin, Shuggy, my best.

[QuirkyCarla]

Wow, congratulations, Pyraxis.