Transport/home addresses

Hello
What a typical Aussie response “you’ll be right mate”. Thank you for wonderful helpful info.
Cheers

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Hi Cookie
Useful handy info. Makes me less nervous now.
I will def ask hosts if I can arrive/ leave a day later.
Really looking forward to my first sojourn post retirement. Will return next year as I really want to spend more time in Europe.
Cheers

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@Nagy26 posts and replies like yours are the reason this forum is so valuable. I was starting to look at England sits and was wondering about transportation

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Thnaks @Colin & @richten1 for clarifying. It seems UK Uber offers different services to Aussie Uber.

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@Crookie you maybe able to temporary switch your country under Account > Settings. I love apps that let you do that ( like Lidl Plus). On the US Uber app you can no longer switch countries, but you can add your pronouns.

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Good thought @BunnyCat but it didn’t work :frowning_face:

@Colin do you have to sign up to Uber One for those extra services?

@Crookie - No, we just have the basic App

They are really pushing booking train travel via their app in the Uk.

We travelled by train yesterday, there was massive UBER billboards at the station and even many UBER posters on the actual train

Beware though that UBER does not always offer split ticket discounts so it is always worth comparing prices with Trainline before booking

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As a black mark against UBER, they do not always give the split ticket discount which is very common now in the UK, this discount is always given by Trainline and can be a really good discount, meaning that Trainline will often be cheaper in comparison - Be sure to compare prices UBER vs Trainline, before booking!

As an extra gold star for UBER - Yesterday, due to a :deciduous_tree: falling onto the track, our train journey was delayed by 5 hours, I just called UBER and they immediately issued a full refund of the price of our tickets. - excellent service.!

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@Colin that’s brilliant, so much easier than delay repay! I’m thinkimg about starting a UK Uber account with another email address

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I use trainpal most often in the UK but also often use the actual booking site for a particular train company.

@crookie I was able to change my location from US to UK by going to my Uber profile Uber on my laptop. The phone app didn’t have that option. I now see the option to book train tickets. Thanks @Colin

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Thank you fellow Aussie for you very handy advice and reassurance. My first sits in the UK is pretty daunting especially as I navigate public transport and accommodation between sits. Being a technophobe doesn’t help🤔
I’m hoping by the end of my sojourn in the UK I will be a bit more savvy and more than ready to venture again next year. Hoping my great sense of adventure will kick in as soon as I place my feet in Heathrow😜

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You are understandably nervous @Karen65, we were too! We quickly got used to the trains and buses (with much assistance from Google maps). We found most people to be very helpful and kind when we asked complete strangers for guidance. They were mostly interested in our accent and where we came from! Conversations normally went:
Are you from South Africa? No!!
New Zealand? No, but warmer!
Australia? Yes!!!
Wow, you’ve travelled a long way! We have!
You have a lot of animals that can kill you! Yep! We risk our lives everytime we leave home :rofl:

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@crookie
Yes I know I will be fine. Did you get a UK sim? I guess if I have to use Google maps on the move I’m going to need some data?
Talking about dangerous animals…my recent walk at my local headland

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@Karen65 yes we got a UK sim wirh Lebara. They have different levels of pre paid monthly plans with no lock on contract which include generous mobile data allowances, unlimited UK cslls & texts and include 100 minutes of international calls per month.

You know you’re in trouble when there are actual snake signs, don’t see those too often!

Ha ha @crookie
It’s a popular walking track all tarred but with the golf green and bush on either side of the track
Wil get a sim card from Lebara when I arrive. Will I be able to buy it from Heathrow?
Cheers
Karen

I’m not sure. We bought our Lebara SIM online before we left Australia and arranged with our first UK owner to have it posted there.

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You can:

  • order a UK SIM online to the home address of your first pet sit so you have it as soon as you arrive. I did this when I went to the UK for the first time.

OR

  • get a simple £5 or £10 SIM card (like EE or Lycamobile) when you arrive from any corner shop, grocery store or possibly even the airport.

OR:

  • get an e-sim on your phone (can purchase through apps like Revolut or Airalo). E-sims are usually a little more expensive than physical SIMS, but they work in almost every country and you don’t have to swap SIM cards every time you change country or pay for data roaming.
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@crookie @nagy 26
Thank you for handy info re UK SIM

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Thanks to @Smiley for spotting that UBER train don’t always do the split ticket saver which means trainline will often be quite a bit cheaper, especially for long journeys.

The moral of the story, Always compare Trainline against UBER before booking!

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