Sterling Exchange

I've been slacking.  I still have big thoughts for England, Cheerio! but I've been non-stop busy busy busy.  New jobs, extra responsibilities, my first grader's homework, holidays, back-to-back viruses sweeping through our small community...  Things that move my blogging to the back burner.

We have officially been in the United Kingdom for a year now.  To my dismay, we've done nothing of major significance.  This is pretty much entirely due to the US dollar's weakness in exchange for the GB pound.

This month, I started a new job at the ITT office.  I sell tickets and leisure trips that I can't afford to go on myself.  It's cool though, because it's income which helps to fill the gaps and because it gives me an inside-look on what is available.  Plus, it gets me out of the house, which was SO needed and overdue.  I have missed employment.  Getting dressed and putting on my makeup in the morning because I have someplace to be has been therapy for me.  It's also made my days off that much sweeter, because I appreciate having a flexible schedule that still allows me time to spend with my children.  And, ok, I'm not going to lie.  It gives me time for occasional naps on the couch with my youngest and our pets.

Banking here is depressing.  I have a better sense of how much of a bummer the US economy is by living overseas because for the past four years I've been able to see firsthand how much our US dollar has struggled against foreign currency.  When we arrived in Okinawa in September 2008, $1 bought us ¥113.  By the time we left, $1, struggled to buy us ¥80.  Here in England, I've not experienced the dollar being "strong" at any time.  $1 currently buys about £0.60.  In Japan, our COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) was adjusted pretty frequently to compensate for the yen's strength, and as a result we lived pretty comfortably.  We had a huge military exchange to shop at and for everything else, going off base wasn't much of an issue.  Here, it's my understanding that the COLA hasn't changed in quite some time.

What all this COLA discussion means, basically, is that we took a big pay cut when we came here from Okinawa, but have found the cost of living to be significantly higher.  In Japan we were able to comfortably eat out 3-4 times per month without issue.  In England, we are lucky if we get to eat out once a month without blowing our budget.  Going to McDonald's easily costs us $40.  And a bellyache.

When you arrive in the UK, eagerly you will probably take a trip to Vodafone (or other cell service provider) hoping to get your hands on a bit of technology and a means to connect to the outside world.  They will send you away.  In order to do anything of value in this country, you will need a sterling bank account.  For us, this means going to Community Bank and establishing an account from which you will be able to auto-pay your British bills.

It's only after establishing your sterling account that you will find yourself able to set up certain things - mobile service, telephone, cable, internet...  And things in your financial world will get a lot trickier.  You have to remember to transfer money into this account monthly.  Transferring in $200 will only add about £120 to your balance.  You will find yourself estimating your bill totals and then doing math to make sure they'll be covered with what's in this account.  And in order to fiddle with it, you will have to walk into a branch and speak to a teller - which means dealing with their odd business hours (most things on Alconbury are closed on Mondays).

If you're not familiar with it, dealing with foreign currency is overwhelming.  When you withdraw pounds from the ATM, you'll be working in increments of 10.  And then, for example, you might go to Tesco and spend £15.  It will feel like you're spending $15.  I guarantee it will, because it will feel like $15 worth of merchandise.  You're actually spending closer to $25, though.  You have to be extra careful to keep your wits about you when shopping on the economy because essentially most of us just don't make enough money to cover the expense of currency exchange.

Not to say that everything feels like a rip-off.  Produce, for example, is actually more reasonable on the economy - especially when you factor in quality.  When you buy a bunch of bananas at the commissary, you are bringing world travelers into your home.  The majority of the commissary's produce comes to us via refrigerated transport from the US, passes through Germany and is then distributed between the commissaries here in the UK.  They've been on a long journey, and usually are near spoiling, unfortunately.  Many times I have bought produce in prepackaged units from the commissary and brought them home to discover that a large percentage of my (costly) goods have already begun to rot.

On another note, manufacturer's coupons are valid at our commissaries here for 6 months past their expiration date, so finding ways to pinch pennies (if you are motivated and have the time to devote to doing so) do exist.  Tesco's motto is "Every little helps".  This will be your mantra here.  Especially if you have any plans to travel and enjoy the opportunities that come with being in Europe.

About Visas

...And no, I don't mean the MasterCard competitors.  Let me tell you about the fun-filled process for obtaining an entry clearance visa.

We were on track to leave en route to the United Kingdom when somebody mentioned in passing that we ought to have our visas sorted out before leaving Okinawa.  What?!  Why had nobody mentioned this sooner?  Our only requirement for entry to Okinawa had been our passports – tourist passports at that!  And now, at the last possible moment we were learning that our tourist passports were not sufficient and that in fact we needed no-fee government passports, imprinted in advance with entry clearance visas to the UK?!

It was a massive scramble for us to get this sorted out and taken care of on time, and to be honest we quite nearly didn’t make it.  We managed by the skin of our teeth.  But if somebody had just explained the requirements sooner, we’d have been a lot better off.

Traveling to the UK on PCS orders requires a special entry clearance visa and a no-fee government passport.  The first step is to apply for your no-fee passports right away.  Passport processing and turnaround can take quite some time, so as soon as you are aware of your orders to any overseas location, it’s a good idea to apply for not only your no-fee passport, but if finances allow, also for your tourist passport.  Ask your command where the passport office is on base.  And if they can’t point you in the right direction, you can check at your local post office.  More information on Passports can be found here (http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html).  If you’re REALLY pressed for time, passports can be expedited and obtained same-day (for a fee) if you can get in at one of the US Passport agency offices (http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/agencies/agencies_913.html).

And then you wait.  Your sponsor will not need the entry clearance visa.  Actually, your sponsor won’t need much of anything beyond his or her orders.  The entry clearance stamp only applies to dependents.

Once your passports arrive, give them a once-over to make sure everything looks perfect.  And then kiss them goodbye because you’re going to have to ship them off to New York City.  This was really nerve-wracking for us because we were so pressed for time, but the office that handles this is very efficient.  Aside from a phone call we made to the office that cost us a whopping $3 per minute to ask for guidance, we had no issues with them at all.  Their website has much of the process outlined for quick reference (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/usa/?langname=UK%20English).  This process is also EXPENSIVE.  To the tune of around $500 per visa.  It’s also, in many cases, reimbursable.  So be sure that you keep a paper trail of your expenses associated with this requirement.  The process for obtaining this visa after you’ve already arrived in the UK is achievable but even more costly, unfortunately.  Handling this step as soon as you are able to is very much in your favor.  You fill out the visa application and pay the fee entirely online, and then you submit your no-fee passport(s) along with any other required paperwork (original birth certificates, marriage certificates, additional passport photos, etc) via mail.  I suggest going with insured priority mail, given the nature of the required documents.

If you’re in a hurry like we were, there’s an expedite option for this procedure as well and while it’s an additional expense, it’s still well under what you’d pay to handle the visas after your arrival in the UK, so absolutely worth considering.

Given that we were due to leave Okinawa soon, we requested that the issuing agency return our passports to our home of record where we’d be visiting for several weeks in between leaving Okinawa and arriving in the UK, and this worked out well for us as they shipped them there via FedEx.  We traveled home with our tourist passports (which weren’t needed for the visa process) and collected our no-fee passports with their new entry clearances when we arrived in California.

If somebody else has more information on obtaining no-fee passports and UK entry clearance visas from another military branch, please share your stories and your advice!  I'd love to hear from you.  gonzka at gmail dot com.

Why This Blog Exists

My family is spoiled.  We’re working on our second consecutive overseas tour, this time in Europe.  In the Marine Corps, this is nearly unheard of.  Most Marines are lucky if they manage to score two overseas tours back-to-back in the Pacific, and we managed to move to a completely different continent.

My husband got stationed at RAF Molesworth directly after spending three years at Marine Corps Base Camp Hansen (Okinawa, Japan).  Our time in Japan was outstanding.  I have no doubt that Okinawa will forever be one of our family’s most favorite places on earth.  The quaint, tropical island paradise that is Okinawa is filled with amazing food, sweet people, loads of culture, and exciting adventures at every turn.  We didn’t spend a single weekend bored.

Our adventures in Okinawa can be credited largely to a blog called “Okinawa Hai” – the unofficial military family guide to all that is Okinawa.  You can’t exist in the American community on Okinawa for more than a month without hearing about “Okinawa Hai,” and for good reason.  This blog, created by a military wife looking for her place and for guidance in exploring her new surroundings, is chock full of all the important things that anyone living in Okinawa or heading to Okinawa on PCS orders might want to know.  It’s a community project that makes what could be a daunting, mysterious, and sometimes lonesome journey into a fun and carefree ride that can be enjoyed by even the most culture-shy.

When we got orders to the UK, we were absolutely elated.  In the Marine Corps, getting stationed in Europe isn’t “just another duty station,” it’s a rare and precious opportunity.  But getting orders to the UK unfortunately didn’t come with an instruction manual, and despite my awesome Google skills, I was left with loads of unanswered questions about our next adventure.  Sponsor family programs are in place here, as with most OCONUS duty stations, but there isn’t always a crystal clear line of communication between sponsors and newcomers, not to mention newcomers often don’t want to come off as a nuisance asking too many “stupid” questions of their sponsor – the ONLY person they “know” in a foreign country.

After much stress, we arrived in the UK and settled into our new home.  What a relief!  Only, now we have found ourselves totally overwhelmed at all of the things we want to cram into our three short years here.  Where do we begin?

In the grand scheme of military family life, our struggles are not unique.  The goal of this blog is to create a community, an index of information about all things Britain and beyond.  An “Okinawa Hai” of sorts.  And we hope that you’ll help!