Moving to Bristol, UK--recommendations appreciated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any particular UK banks anyone could recommend? Which cell service is the best? Which grocery store has the best produce and organic products? Any women's clubs or expat groups you could recommend?

Bank - First Direct (part of HSBC but a telephone bank - have been with them for years and they're great).
Groceries - Waitrose, but pricey. Not anything like Whole Foods over there (but there is a Whole Foods in London!).
Women's clubs ... ha ha! You'll find lots of local community things to do if you have toddlers/babies.

Good luck.

I'd send you to Waitrose, too. In their London stores, at least, Marks and Spencer have pretty good groceries.

[Anonymous]

Don't go to Tesco's:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/22/bristol-riot-police-injured

[Anonymous]

Marks & Sparks is the best (Marks & Spencers)!

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend First Direct too. I've banked with them for years and they have never made a mistake and the customer service is great.

About groceries, you can't go wrong with the big supermarkets such as Tesco or Sainsbury's. Waitrose has good produce as does Marks and Spencer. Asda is ok too. Most of the large chains will stock organic groceries. In Bristol there are likely to be small organic grocery stores, along with markets and greengrocers where you can get fresh produce.

My grandparents live near Bristol and it really isn't that remote. Only a couple of hours from London on the train, and you are fairly near some lovely countryside and beaches.

I know there are quite a few independent (private) schools in Bristol, but you can get information about state schools from the Ofsted website www.ofsted.gov.uk. As in the US, schools in middle or upper class areas will generally be ok, although a lot of people like to send their kids to state funded catholic or Church of England schools.

[Anonymous]

21.06 here again. Just realized that you are asking about preschools. Some primary (elementary) schools have nursery schools in their grounds. If these are state schools then nursery will be free. You can of course look at the ofsted reports for the primary schools to get a feel for the nursery schools.