In 2009, I studied aboard in Rome for a semester- and thats when I fell in love with Europe…

I traveled around Italy, Greece, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona etc. on the weekends and it was a dream. The ability to hop on an hour plane ride and land somewhere with a totally different culture made America seem bland to me. Since then all I’ve wanted to do was move back.

Knowing that Italy’s economy wasn’t ideal, London seemed like the smartest option. I booked a trip with my girls to do some recon there for my 26th Birthday. Once back in NY, I set a goal of working two more years at my current job before I would start job hunting there.

As mentioned in my Our Love Story post, I would spend weeks at a time staying with Stuart in London. It started to become my second home.

Since I work remotely and wanted to travel more, it only made sense that I would move to London rather than Stuart moving to New York.  So, when his friend proposed us living in his brand new investment property we were ecstatic!

This was going to be a big move. I had 7 months to prepare…Here’s what I did.

• I had to explore the legality around Visa options. London is currently existing the European Union, Brexit, so timing is a bit difficult. Currently, those living in Europe were able to freely work and live in the UK however due to the chaos, that will cease on March 29th.  Now, the hiring of immigrants is a bit difficult. The UK allows one to stay with out any documents for 180 days at a time, so I’ve used that to my advantage. In the meantime I googled visa options and spoke to lawyers for advice and was told:
  • Simply get married
  • Gain a Visitor’s Visa- 1,2,5 years long, however you cannot work
  • Get a employer to sponsor you. Easier said then done! Conversations ended as soon as I said I needed a sponsorship.
  • As an Entrepreneur, you can start a business with £250
  • You can invest  £1m in the UK markets (yeah, okay)
  • Obtain a European Visa through Ancestors then apply for residency pre March 29th **this was what I’m doing- but it’s a race against time.

• It seems everything plays off the Visa because you cannot get a bank account without papers.  Unfortunately, a bank account is needed for anything with autopay such as cellphone, gym memberships etc.

So, for the time being I still utilize my  Chase Sapphire Reserve card for everything; then put certain things under Stuart’s bank account and just PayPal him every month. It’s really the only other option I have until my Visa is sorted.

As for the Phone, I am looking in to getting the iPhone X as it allows two sim cards. Getting rid of my US number is hard, not to mention I’m grandfathered in to unlimited  data! Thought this was a super cool feature to have though 🙂

• When you get your citizenship or visa, you have to pay a fee to the NHS (National Health Service) therefore you get health insurance. There is also an option to get Private Insurance but you would need to pay more or have an employer provide it. Luckily, this was something I was able to access through Stuart’s work and didn’t need a Visa!

• Time to figure out how the hell I was getting everything to London! 7 Months meant I would have a few more trips over to London, so I began leaving things  there from off seasons. In addition, I began selling my clothes on Poshmark (not to mention making money!) and giving away what I didn’t need.

I looked in to mailing boxes of clothing over via plane (fastest but expensive) or boat,  which takes up to a month but opted out. By the time I left, I managed to have 4 suit cases and planned to bring heavier winter coats back after my visit for the holidays.                     This  process just helped prove how much I don’t need.

• I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend and know his friends, but I did need to build a new network.  I began reaching out to PR companies I already knew that had a UK presence so I could meet with them. In addition, I reached out to more UK bloggers and other agencies to introduce my self therefore I could have a few connects before I moved. I ended signing with Red Monkey Collective as my branding agency and FRPR London for press and events. It was the best decision I’ve made.

There was A LOT of grey area prior to moving, and still is as I’m pushing towards my Austrian Citizenship. However, I understand I was very fortunate in many ways because I had the opportunity to come here often, have a place to live right away, and of course have a local boyfriend.

For those looking to move, it’s an incredible experience. What I’ve learned is there will never be a green light to do so, but it’s much easier to get things done once here. Other’s I’ve met actually rented a room on SpareRoom until they were able to learn the city and sort their  situation out.