Moving to UK, where do I start? Please help!

Cerenia

Ilford itself is a handy area - quite a few shops, and a variety as well. There is a Sainsbury's near the town center, but I believe its one you need to drive to unless you live close to it - i've just seen the signs while passing through.

There is a shopping center called the Exchange, they have several clothes shops there, 2 "Poundland" stores, where things are cheap, and they have a wide range - One on the bottom floor, one on the middle floor. There is another big store, the 99P store further up one of the main roads away from Ilford, its about 5 mins walking away from the Exchange. They have a Boots which can be good for medical/cosmetics, although they do have other things like toys there, but they can be pricier there. Also there is a shop called Superdrug that does the same sort of thing.

Ilford itself is a big place though, i'd advise taking a day just to walk around and get a feel for what shops are where as well as what they sell, it will be a big jump though. I personally like going to Ilford now and again because of the discount/cheap stores there

B2B-2008

You can get a train from Ilford station to London Liverpool Street, it takes about 10/15 minutes. I'm not sure what zone it is in, but I know it is in the London Underground Zone Area so you can buy Daily/Weekly/Monthly travelcards.

From London Liverpool Street you can get connections for the London Underground tube network. You can also pick some of these up at Stratford which is one of the stops on the way to Liverpool street.

seven-day-weekend

Don't forget to register with a Doctor and a Dentist. You can approach any Doctor's practice and if they have room on their lists they will take you. General Practitioners (neighbourhood Dr) are part of the National Health Service and are free to visit.

It will be hard to find a NHS Dentist however, although there are some still around. Most will be private, but there will be various options on how to pay.

Hope this helps!

mazza111

I don't know the area you are moving to, however. When setting up a home you, you should try places like Asda, Argos and Ikea for basics. Can get a cutlery set for £2-3 in Asda, set of dishes for £5, toaster, kettle, iron etc all come in about £3 each. Not the best quality, but ideal when starting out. I bought my daughter all this stuff when she moved into her first home. Also good for teatowels, bedding, curtains. Could list forever of the things you need when starting out but the 3 shops above would help out with the very basics and very affordable prices

happy_winner

Married to a stubborn Scotsman and don't want to look for another one.

ChrisCobra wrote: »

Good luck with the move , still trying to figure out why you would want to go to the UK tho , canada is probably better

happy_winner

Thank you Cerenia for useful information especially abut Poundland. The are my husband rented is Ilford/Redbridge I am a walker, so for sure I will be walking a lot exploring the area.. Since you have been there do you know if there are any charity shops in Ilford?
Thanks again

Cerenia wrote: »

Ilford itself is a handy area - quite a few shops, and a variety as well. There is a Sainsbury's near the town center, but I believe its one you need to drive to unless you live close to it - i've just seen the signs while passing through.

There is a shopping center called the Exchange, they have several clothes shops there, 2 "Poundland" stores, where things are cheap, and they have a wide range - One on the bottom floor, one on the middle floor. There is another big store, the 99P store further up one of the main roads away from Ilford, its about 5 mins walking away from the Exchange. They have a Boots which can be good for medical/cosmetics, although they do have other things like toys there, but they can be pricier there. Also there is a shop called Superdrug that does the same sort of thing.

Ilford itself is a big place though, i'd advise taking a day just to walk around and get a feel for what shops are where as well as what they sell, it will be a big jump though. I personally like going to Ilford now and again because of the discount/cheap stores there

happy_winner

Thank all for all info, my husband has a list and is planning to buy basic start up thing from Argos, I don't know how expensive it is. B-2-B, thank you for the train info, can I take a train from Redbridge area? If yes, do you know how much is the fare, I was on the trainline site, but I have no idea what would be the cheapest fair, travel card or seasonal or day, etc. Can you please give me an idea, so I can do my calcualtions.

sooz

'basic start up things from Argos?' - do you know what? it's ok, not too expensive, but not great quality. It really depends on what he is buying. There is the convenience that it's all in once place, & he has a big book to flick through at home. However, I'd avoid their furniture like the plague, especially the cheaper ranges. Their wardrobes & drawers are basically made of a cross between cardboard & breakfast cereal, but taste worse. If you want packflat furniture, IKEA is better. There is one in Edmonton just along the north circular. They also sell lots of kitchen wear etc. I've experienced Argos' cheapest cutlery, & it bends in half rather than cuts

If he's buying stuff online, get him to sign up to Quidco to get cashback on all his purchases.

RAS

Hi

I would suggest making a list of the absolute essentials and then raiding a few charity shops and checking out freecycle. Also look at the free ads and cheap ads in the local paper and in the local supermarkets - often how people get rid of furniture.

What he cannot get, make one trip to IKEA - like three pairs of scissors for £0.69 and a set of three wooden utensils for £0.59.

Once you have the basics, you can start to search for stuff that matches, the desireable stuff.

Also bear in mind things like local street markets and indoor markets which are good for some things.

Cerenia

happy_winner wrote: »

Thank you Cerenia for useful information especially abut Poundland. The are my husband rented is Ilford/Redbridge I am a walker, so for sure I will be walking a lot exploring the area.. Since you have been there do you know if there are any charity shops in Ilford?
Thanks again

I know there's one on the high street somewhere, never found much there though in my opinion. Shopping wise for bargains, Walthamstow is a great area, they have a market and quite a lot of cheap shops as well - and several pound stores, I adore visiting there.

There are a couple more a little further away, about 5 mins walk coming out of the exchange, near the big 99p store (you pass them to get there!) And there's a food place (I think its Lidl) also on the way which is very cheap as well. Also a Somerfield as well, which you can get groceries from

Argos is on the main street, which is good for a wide variety of things as well.