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Welcome to the Jamaican Teachers Information Link UK |
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Living in the UKBT Telephone DirectoryChildcareChildcare is expensive. For more click here Council TaxThis is payable monthly by householders. Rates vary depending on the area. When renting, find out if it is included in your payment or if you will need to pay for it separately. Driving For details about driving in the UK and other related subjects such as the validity of Jamaican driving license click here Housing Housing costs tend to be expensive in the UK. Costs vary depending on the location, with prices being highest in London. Prices in London tend to start at £80 per week for a fairly nice room, depending on the borough and locale. Some rooms can cost as much as £150 per week and this means sharing bathroom and kitchen as it is not standard to find more than one bathroom in a house, even if it has 5 bedrooms. There are instances when a nice bedsit ( one-room with bathroom and kitchen facilities) can be found. Some provision has been made by the government for allocations to teachers in London to make deposits on homes. This amount is currently £25,000 but note that you will need to find all the money for the other costs (legal, survey, etc) and arrange your own mortgage. Prices of houses in London range between £150,000 and £Ms. This allowance is only available for persons in London. There are conditions and not everyone receives this money, but of course,’ try yuh luck, nutten beat a try’. NB: When renting be sure to ask your landlord what is included in the rent and what is not, do not assume anything. For a good site to look at housing and living in different areas click here
Information and Communication Technology There is a wide range of ICTs available – • Mobile PhonesMobile phones are available at varying prices. There are several mobile phone providers, though the most popular are: T-Mobile , Orange Vodafone and 02. All provide Pay-as-you-go , as well as Contract Service. It is best to visit a mobile phone dealer to compare prices rather than going to a specific provider’s shop (unless you have already done your research and know exactly what you want. NOTE THAT THE MINIMUM CONTRACT FOR MOBILE PHONES IS 12 MONTHS! FAILURE TO KEEP UP PAYMENTS CAN SEVERELY HURT YOUR CREDIT RATING
- ISPs - CableMoney Matters· Finance Credit ratingMoney TransferThere are many money transfer companies in the UK. However, one must be careful and it is best to ‘stick to the evil you know’. The ones most popularly used by Jamaicans are: Jamaica National - £6 to send up to £100; varying prices above that; Western Union- £12 to send up to £100, Moneygram - £10 to send up to £100. Phoning home As Jamaicans, we all like to keep in touch with home. ‘ We cyan come ah Englan an t’row stone back ah wi’. So we can find ourselves facing very large phone bills if we ‘call yard awftin’. The cost of calling using BT or cable providers’ lines is prohibitive – sometimes in excess of £1 per minute. Costs using mobile phones vary. The best option is to use phonecards. These are available in most areas – in and outside of London. Popular ones include: Easycard, Alpha Blue, Alpha Smile, Africa Card, Back ah yard and Jamaica Direct.
Postal servicesThe Royal Mail is the postal service, though there are various other courier services such as Federal Express and DHL. SchoolsIt is relatively easy to get your child into a primary school, depending on where you live. There is no 11-plus exam and the system of application to get into a secondary school is a relatively complicated system. You need to visit individual schools’ Open Days and Evenings to see what the school has to offer. You then need to make applications to the schools.
Voting
Commonwealth citizens, including Jamaicans are entitled to vote. Check with your landlord to ensure that your name is placed on the list of persons eligible to vote living in the house/flat, etc. The respective councils normally update this list in October. It is important that you get onto the Voters List as this assists your credit rating, establishing that you have a permanent home address in the UK. Do not register as soon as you arrive in the country if you are only staying with friends/relatives for a short time. It is best to wait until you have found more long-term accommodation. Consumer Advice: Nothing in the UK is free. Whenever you see anything advertised as FREE, read the small print or ASK for clarification!
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