Apple ID Family members in different regions, AppleID, app stores, family-sharing

[occamsrazor]

Hi,

I'm trying to work out what is the best solution to living in a different country than family members...

Current situation: I, the parent and family organizer have AppleID and app store with a UK account. All family's AppleID also on UK store. iCloud+ is via UK store, shared with the family.
But I will soon be moving to the US for 1 year only, while the rest of the family stays abroad. I know there will be apps that I will need only available in the US store. Equally, there are some banking apps that are likely only be available in the UK store. There are already some US banking apps that I need from US store but cannot get because I'm on the UK store. I have bank accounts, addresses and credit cards in both countries.

From my reading it seems the options are:

1. Update my AppleID to US region/store. This would require cancelling all subscriptions, redownloading apps from the US store, and forcing the rest of the family to all do the same. I'd also likely lose access, or at least updates, to apps that are only available in the UK store.

2. Keep everything in UK store as it is currently. This would prevent access to apps that are only in the US store, which will likely be problematic.

3. Keep the UK store AppleID, but create a second AppleID for the US store. Use the UK AppleID for as much as possible. Keep UK AppleID for family sharing. Then if I need a US app I will have to log out of iCloud, log back under US AppleID, download app, log out, log back to UK Apple ID. I'd need to do that every time I want to update US apps. What worries me is what happens with all the various other syncing that goes on to iCloud (contacts, app backups etc etc) everytime I do that. I'd also end up with differing apps belonging to differing stores on my phone.

4. Are there really no better solutions? I can't understand why - so long as I have credit cards in both countries and agree to terms in both countries - it isn't possible to just switch between apple stores without logging out of AppleID.

Thanks for any help.....

 

[mystery hill]

Option 3 is the best.

Keep using your UK Apple ID for everything. Only use the US Apple ID to download apps that aren’t available in the UK App Store.

You don’t need to sign out of iCloud.

All you have to do is go the to App Store app, sign out of your UK account, sign in using your US Apple ID, download the apps that you require, then sign out, and sign in using your UK Apple ID again.

 

[occamsrazor]

Option 3 is the best.

You don’t need to sign out of iCloud.

All you have to do is go the to App Store app, sign out of your UK account, sign in using your US Apple ID, download the apps that you require, then sign out, and sign in using your UK Apple ID again.

Thank you, this is very helpful. So if you have two AppleIDs you don't actually need to sign the one out of iCloud ever, you can just switch the AppleID that applies to the store only, back and forth, in the App Store app, all the while keeping the one AppleID signed into iCloud... is that right? That would work well.

 

[mystery hill]

So if you have two AppleIDs you don't actually need to sign the one out of iCloud ever, you can just switch the AppleID that applies to the store only, back and forth, in the App Store app, all the while keeping the one AppleID signed into iCloud... is that right?

That’s correct. You wouldn’t need to ever sign out of iCloud.

 

[dimittar]

The best is to keep using the UK Apple ID as usual.
A US Apple ID only for US App Store.

As well in case then you moving to the US permanently or long period, the best is to use a “new” US Apple ID and keep the UK one. Not worth it to change Country to a primary Apple ID account, you could lose purchases changing country.