Assume I wanted to move to the UK - what's the process like for finding a home to rent for a year? Anything uniquely different than hunting in the states?

The call it letting.

Are you going for a job assignment? They should be able to help you. For school?

Otherwise, you can only stay 6 months and cannot work without a visa - but its been forever since I looked at this.

Download an app called Rightmove - this is the UK equivalent of Zillow, and will help you with an initial search, and would suggest narrowing down your location preferences early, specifically if you are looking in the London area - do you need proximity to the overground or tube, city life vs. village, etc.

For reference, in London a 4 bed flat/house will rent (let) for +$6500, so you need to be very clear on budget and how important location matters.

You will need a UK bank account, cell, and residency permit before you can lease beyond a few months. Not an easy process and very time consuming.

PM me for more detail/advice

Very helpful info. Thank you

Diggity said:

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If someone offers you "Spotted Dick" for a closing gift, don't take it the wrong way

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Think I caught that after a night in Boy's Town...

Don't forget to take your own ice machine.

Process isn't that different other than you don't have credit and the costs with that. And as another poster said, if in London, expect to pay up but that shouldn't be a big surprise. One thing you should know is that landlords technically can't but practically can kick you out in the UK for just not liking the cut of your jib. Just say they plan to sell the house, have you move out, list it for a day or 2 then take it off market and re-list at a higher rate. I've got some protections against that… but know people that has happened to.

Other thing about the UK is so many of the properties are super old. The house I live in now is refurbished but like 133 years old. The fun thing about that are the bodges done through the years are usually hilarious. For instance, 4 things have to be set right for the heat in my house to work (but it does work well). Make sure your landlord walks the house with you… homes aren't that complicated here but a lot of things like water shutoffs or where the breaker box is aren't intuitive all the time.

Most homes don't have aircon here. I got portable units. Aircon is nice to have… while it doesn't get incredibly hot here, there's 2-4 weeks a year where it's kind of uncomfortable… especially in London where you get that urban heating effect. Also pay attention to the direction your windows face. The big ones in my room face East so come now through late July where technically, there is not real nighttime here and the sun rises at 4:30 in the morning, it starts cooking early. On that note, a lot of homes have loft bedrooms… those are practically sweat boxes 4 months out of the year so if you rent something with one of those, make sure you have a vent plan for a portable unit.

Last thing, is see the house in person before you commit. Especially in the city, everything is connected and old and particularly Victorian homes are known to have stupid amounts of little access points amongst neighbors. Dirty neighbors will mean more unwanted little visitors in your house. Not been a problem for me… but know others who have had this problem.