rikur_ wrote:..
Advice clearly not written by someone who has tried to withdraw more than £1000 in cash from a personal account in branch. Most banks have a limit of between £1000 - £2000 for cash withdrawals - in part because they don't hold that much cash in branch, and in part for 'policy' reasons.
Article in Saturday's "Times" is on the effect on crime of Sweden having gone almost 'cashless'. Bank (and major cash) robberies are now very rare, but there has been a big boost in other villainies eg 'nature' crimes, such as poaching or smuggling wildlife.
Back to cars (but not quite to aircraft
): For those newly arrived to work in US, it may time and effort to achieve a 'credit rating', without which ordinary economic and social life can be very difficult. Also, use of a car is almost essential. To take out a loan to buy a car, then pay it back reliably and promptly is a good way to get a good credit rating. But it may be difficult to get a US bank to lend to a newly arrived foreigner with no US credit history ..
Fortunately, the DoD establishment where I worked had an employee Credit Union (much better than US banks even before the Reagan deregulations). Also another Brit there had married a salesman at a local car dealer. There was an informal arrangement whereby a Brit newly arrived on the RAF flight to Dulles on a Friday could go to that salesman at the car dealership on the Saturday, choose a brand new car, get a 'fair' but possibly not 'bargain' price, insure it with a call to a similar tame insurance agency, and drive it off the lot with new 'temporary tags', no money changing hands. On the Monday the Brit would go to the DoD office, go to the Credit Union branch in it, hand over a few $s to open an account, immediately apply for a loan to buy the car, which was immediately granted, details being 'phoned through to the dealership. Brit would get a cheque payable to the dealer, and take it there on the way home. With the first cheque book the insurance could be paid. With the bank account established, money including pay cheques via the Embassy and transfers from UK, could be deposited. I was told it was very 'unAmerican' for institutions to be so trusting, but no DoD Brit had ever let the Credit Union or the car dealer down, and the dealership probably sold quite a large numbers of extra cars that way every year. Once the first loan repayment had been made, getting store and back credit cards was not problem.
(mere guide at) Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport
http://www.jetagemuseum.org/TripAdvisor Excellence Award 2015
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... gland.html