Moving to London for work from Miami, FL - Gadgets to bring?

[element6]

I'm moving in April from Miami, FL to take a position in London. Likely, our office will be in Canary Wharf so I may be living somewhere close by to there. Probably moving on a tier 2 general or tier 2 ICT visa since the job is with my current employer.

I'm trying to take advantage of my initial move and the cargo space I will have since they are covering most costs. I'm literally moving over with my clothing, a laptop, and a synology diskstation (home NAS). Not much beyond that. I am selling off the vast majority of the contents of my house before moving.

So what would be good to bring in terms of gadgets, computer hardware, etc?

Speaking in terms of things that would be good for me to bring for myself to arrive prepared, but also any devices to bring along to sell off in used condition or the like. I've seen that Apple devices have a tremendous markup, but since the only apple device I personally use is my iPhone, I'll have to wait to get there to purchase a UK/EU market 4g iPhone.. probably going to use ee for a service provider since I'll be in London.

Thanks for any info

[element6]

Thanks kindly for the replies.

I am originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania. Typically, it stays around -4 at this time of year up there. Kind of getting tired of the constant 27 degree weather in SFL combined with the humidity as hard as that might be to believe.

As far as bringing things with, I have no plans to bring anything with a US power supply.. I am actually going to purchase UK DC chargers for the battery operated devices i'll be bringing such as my laptop, jambox, and a few other tiny things. Trying to come over with very little baggage. Essentially selling everything in my house at the moment to accomplish that.

Was wondering mainly if there were any gadgets that I can more easily get my hands on in the US and bring over to resell for a small profit. Even if I bring them over used and such. I figure there must be something that we have over here that is much more difficult or expensive to find over there. I'm sure I'll go back and forth after I arrive, but it won't be often. The main thing I can't wrap my head around is the cost of clothing there compared to here.. yikes

mcflurry said:

Why not use your existing iphone over here?
You can get a 30 day UK contract from giffgaff (or similar), until the next model is out

Well, I was comparing my options and for work and such I'm always more concerned with coverage and quality of service. I saw that ee had the best overall coverage for voice throughout the UK as well as the best 4G coverage in London. I'd much rather have a reliable phone with an inexpensive contract. So, since I currently have a Verizon iPhone 5S in the US (ME347LL/A), I'd like to just sell this phone here, buy an EU 4G compatible iPhone 5S or 6 outright (really don't like the shape of the 6 but meh), and start a 5GB month to month with ee.

Just for giggles, my 3GB/month unlimited talk/text contract with Verizon (nothing special) costs me about 80GBP here in the US and I own my iPhone 5S outright. That's an inexpensive contract here.

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bingybongy said:

The best thing to bring would be pocket calculators, Psion handhelds, Commodore PCs and Atari games consoles, after all we can't get hold of all the awesome gadgets sold in the USA, subsequently we're 30 years behind the times.
Best of luck moving to London working with all us backward peasants.

I think you are reading between the lines. I didn't mean it in that way. I only meant that there must be certain things sold here in the US that have a high demand in the UK but either cost too much there or are not sold there in the first place.

Just like I cant go to my local VW dealer and buy a Scirocco R
And just like you can't go to a Chevy dealer and buy a right hand drive C7 Z06 Corvette.

But I'll bring my atari 2600 for you if you want it..

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Vandenberg said:

If you want a decent cell signal in Canary wharf you need to be with vodafone mainly as they have the majority of corporate contracts and thus have a great service, If I use my work vodafone It never drops calls even in the basement , however my EE personal phone drops calls all the time.

Very good to know. Thanks!

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FourWheelDrift said:

Only if you can grab some of the ET games they dug up over there.

I will exhume them if necessary.. Any takers?
I can get Beat em and Eat em too..


I'm not quite sure who I pissed off, but glad I did. A few years in Europe on the company dollar can't hurt

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mikef said:

Yes - V8 cars and trucks

I made a separate thread inquiring about that stuff.. actually, that was my first concern. I am more of a car enthusiast, the gadgets and computers come in as a strong 2nd hobby Only grow bored of them because I work with datacenter equipment all day for work.

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NNH said:

I also moved from the US to London. Almost all my electronics were dual voltage, so I just needed plug adaptors. My laser printer and a very few other 110V only items live next to a 240:110V transformer I got at Maplin.

One potential issue is that US HD TVs may expect a 60Hz signal through the HDMI cable. My TV was relatively new so I bought a 60:50 converter on Ebay.

Thanks, good stuff to know! I plan on bringing my NTSC Xbox 360 and PS3.. but the Xbox is RGH'd and the PS3 is running CFW.. so although I may need a 50hz to 60hz adapter, I can run EU games no problem. Not gonna bother bringing anything as big as a TV. They just cost so little lately to bother.

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Mr Pointy said:

Bose noise cancelling headsets always sell well on ebay & seem to be cheaper in the US, depending on local taxes.

Avoid anything with a keyboard as it will be US layout, not UK (for selling on, that is).

Thank you.. Good point. Getting rid of my logitech g19 before I leave. It will be missed

[element6]

Looking at the price of iPads it seems like I might be best off mixing about 40 iPads in with my clothing or something. I'd make about a 100GBP profit off of each if I got them into the country without being taxed for them somehow.. lol

Guess that's my next research project

Edited by element6 on Tuesday 6th January 06:55

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bingybongy said:

Are you for real?

First day at work...
Meet Hank it's his first day
Hi, I'm Hank anyone want to buy an iPad I bought 40 over to make a profit out of my new workmates.

I think you are about to become very popular.

Anyway I call bullst on all of this.

Well, I was kidding about stuffing 40 iPads into my cargo.. I might bring some interesting stuff with me but I have to do my homework on what is sensible to bring with. I wouldn't be selling to co-workers/workmates regardless. If I were to bring anything over to make a profit off of, it would simply be listed up on eBay or gumtree (not sure how reliable gumtree is yet.. we have craigslist here and most buyers are pretty flaky).

I'm coming over because we are opening an office in the UK. My employer has had a decent sized presence in the EU for years but we've been growing substantially and they now want a brick and mortar presence in the UK, Netherlands, and Singapore. I'll be working in a very small office with only a few others. Much of what I will be doing at first is hiring local employees and providing support on complicated service delivery issues, etc.

But to answer your question; Yes, I am for real.

Edited by element6 on Tuesday 6th January 21:01

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megaphone said:

I think the OP will be very impressed with London's public transport, far better than anything they have in Miami.

Yes.. as a huge fan of NYC's metro system (I grew up visiting the city every weekend) I can tell you how disappointing our public transport in the majority of the US is. Just imaging spending 75% of your life in a car stuck in traffic, because you can't get anywhere with public transit. That's Miami in a nutshell. Every public transit proposition here gets shot to the ground... not just here.. everywhere in the US.

Miami has an above ground Bombardier-made tram called the Metro Mover.. it's free, but it doesn't go anywhere. Enjoy.
We also have the metro-rail.. Light-rail which also doesn't go anywhere useful. Until the past year, it went absolutely NOWHERE useful. Only since 2013 has it been of any usage. They built an extension line that goes to and from Miami International.. so now it's slightly useful.

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wolves_wanderer said:

Wow, 2 pointlessly narky posts. Did you and OP break up on bad terms or something?

I just joined the other day after realizing PH had a forum. Who knows? Can't win 'em all.

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King Herald said:

A hertz converter? Really? You bought one? I don't think so.

I figured that other poster was referring to one of these:
http://www.bombayelectronics.com/Orei_XD_990_HDMI_...

That's what I was thinking at least.. the power supply is one thing.. no issue with dc adapters but when you start talking about PAL and NTSC video signals (50hz refresh vs 60hz refresh) that's a different issue. I guess most TV's can handle both nowadays. But I don't think my NTSC Xbox or PS3 can output 50Hz video.. that was my only concern. Not bringing a TV with me.

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andy-xr said:

Just bring Twinkies, there's nothing else you have there that there isnt already here.

If you want to bring a working, reliable public transport infrastructure then that would be good too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie#Return_of_Twinkies_to_US_market - We actually have them again.. For a while I noticed that Entenmanns (another manufacturer of such quality foods that will likely give you colon cancer in your mid 20s) was making a knock-off Twinkie.. They sell them in gas-station convenience stores here.

No comment on the transport infrastructure..

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Webber3 said:

If you use eBay UK & Paypal you'll struggle to make any profit after fees.

Ahhh.. I figured there was something tricky with eBay there.. I'll look further into it. Been using eBay for years here.

...May be an excuse for me to buy the new GoPro 4 and sell off my Hero 3 Black when I get there

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Hilts said:

There's a desperate shortage of AR-15 assault rifles in London.

And Glocks, any calibre.

You could make a killing.

Leaving my guns here

Florida is a weird state. I've had a concealed carry permit here since 2012. This allows me to have a gun on my person (concealed) anywhere I go except for certain defined places, such as schools, court houses and other government buildings, etc.. there is a list of places you obviously can't have a weapon. But for the most part, I can carry wherever I go.

I typically just leave my Ruger SR9c in the glove box of my car.. I sometimes end up passing through some sketchy areas by myself at odd hours for work.. So that's the only major reason I have the concealed carry. Gun culture is pretty big here in FL. But again, it's probably been mocked and made fun of in the UK just as much as it has here.. It got pretty crazy back in 2012-2013 when we had that big stink about Assault Rifles and "right to bear arms" and such.. I believe we are past that stupid phase at this point.

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Oakey said:

Cocaine? Miami is famed for that right?

Yes, and it's cheap. But I have no interest in risking my colon health and criminal record for a few bucks.

Good documentary if you're interested in Miami It's on NetFlix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ4pWzA6gIE

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Oakey said:

Yep, seen that before, that's what I was thinking of.

So what does your company do?

We are a warranty service provider for datacenter equipment. Mainly hardware maintenance and occasionally remote system maintenance.

We sell warranty contracts for servers, storage systems (disk and tape), and networking equipment. Currently I am a field engineer and backline engineer but assume many roles. When I arrive I will be titled as either Operations Manager or Lead Engineer. A little tough to explain without a lot of understanding of the IT industry and the working environment here.

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George111 said:

I doubt it. Being black in USA appears to be more dangerous than anything you can think of doing in London.

That's probably accurate.. but if you're referring to the recent headlines regarding ferguson, MO and such.. those are extremely ridiculous "made for tv" incidents.

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rottie102 said:

Pretty much the same price in the US and in the UK and if you buy it in John Lewis you get their 2 years warranty.

Hmmm.. I took a look at John Lewis.. never heard of them before of course (gonna take a long time to get acclimated to retailer names and such). They sell the Hero 4 for 360 GBP with the 2 year warranty (Is that before or after taxes and fees?)
http://www.johnlewis.com/gopro-hero4-black-edition...

Meanwhile, I can get a brand new, sealed in the box Hero 4 for approximately 250 GBP ($375). I'm sure I could price shop around if I understood UK retail and online sellers better but as a US resident for now, I only know the best places to look for electronics "here".
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GoPro-HERO-4-Camcorder-Bla...
^ There are no further taxes or fees when we buy things online here. Unless it is a business that resides in the same US state selling the item, no sales tax or any other fees to speak of can be added on. Individuals (not businesses) are typically selling their items on eBay here.

Edited by element6 on Wednesday 7th January 06:03