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don’t move tbh if you still have a choice
Rising Star
It's worth it.
I did three years in London with dependents on single income. It was a pay cut, but absolutely no regrets.
I recommend Monzo for the ease of account setup and app functionality. Now that I'm back in the US, I really miss Monzo. The pot system really made managing my money easier.
Barclays, Monzo, Starling, HSBC
EE, O2 (avoid Vodafone)
Pro
Lloyds is good for current account. Avoid Revolut
Why avoid Revolut?
Chase are about to launch their digital bank in the UK so if you use them over there might be worth keeping an eye on otherwise HSBC/Barclays/Lloyd's are probably the biggest "mainstream" banks. Starling is a digital bank and an excellent one.
When I stayed in London Vodafone was terrible so I'd avoid them and go with O2 or EE. You can usually get decent deals with Three but I've never used them in London so no idea if good/bad.
I used Three and Lloyds. No real problems with either, but you will find across the board customer service is horrible in the UK compared to US - so go in with low expectations!
Start with monzo while you set yourself up. And you won’t get a bank account without a proof of address. Dealing with this myself now.
Once you have this done. Go to Barclays.
Rising Star
I did Monzo because I couldn't get past the address thing. Expected to later open another account somewhere, but Monzo met my needs for the three years I was there. Monzo's app crushes the others.
Anyone has experience with First Direct?
Good, simple, still prefer my HSBC account and Starling though
Giffgaff does month to month goody bags and they’ll mail you a SIM card to your home in the states. Request one now so when you land at the airport, you’re good to go. Get a goody bag with unlimited data because any accommodation you find will take ~3 weeks to get internet (unless you’re moving in as a roommate to an established home). Then once you’ve settled, get another phone plan with better coverage.
Giffgaff works off the O2 network and it’s fine, but there are dead zones
Using Monzo and HSBC. Great service
Avoid Vodafone. EE/O2 is good avoid small telecom providers as well
What’s wrong with Vodafone lol
Love voxi 😍
Pro
Depends where you live. Vodafone is the only one with service in my area. True story, can’t even call my spouse (eg if they go to the shops) who is on EE unless they are connected to Wi-Fi
I started with Nat West, but switched to HSBC when they had an offer for new accounts. If HSBC don’t have an offer going, I’d suggest not opening an account so you can claim an offer later.
Pro
Welcome fellow American 👋🏾
Digital banks are good for everyday transactions and moving money over from your US account (Revolut, Monzo), but you can also use Apple Pay in most places.
When it comes to a brick and mortar bank for paycheck direct deposit, I went with HSBC because of their presence in the US.
Personally I often use my Chase Sapphire card via Apple Pay (given that there aren’t foreign transaction fees).
As for mobile providers, I used to have Vodafone and now have O2. I feel like my service was actually better with Vodafone, but I prefer O2 as a company (no random sneaky charges unlike Vodafone).