Work is moving me from the US to the UK later this year. So I've begun to evaluate a few "tech" options and mobile options that will help me stay connected back to the U.S. I'd love some advice from people who have done similar things, or who live in the UK:

* Mobile phone plans in the UK seem to be much pricier than in the U.S. Usually run about £25-£50 per month ($50-$100) for not-so-many minutes. I could not find any options with unlimited evening and weekend minutes. Orange had a plan with 300 anytime minutes + free evening and weekend minutes to landlines only. On the upside, there does seem to be a much wider selection of free phones. Any tips here?

* Cable TV from the U.S. will be missed. I thought about exploiting one of my friends and installing a Slingbox on his cable connection. I assume he'll be able to watch TV even while I'm surfing around on his channels? Any other caveats related to the Slingbox worth considering?

* Keeping a U.S. cell phone and U.S. number is attractive for when I return here for vacation. I haven't explored much here, but I assume there would be options through services like SkypeIN and GrandCentral.com to keep a U.S. number and have it forwarded to a UK phone. When I return to the States, I have maintain a pay-as-you-go plan with my cell provider and switch the forwarding to local number. Are there any less pricey options out there?