Considering an expat assignment in London

[Bob Slydell]

Well, actually it's my DW who's considering it, but me and the kids would be tagging along.

I was trying to start some research and had a number of questions. Unfortunately right now, details we have are sketchy, so I'm basing some of these things on a few assumptions and estimates.

Obviously, the main question I have is where to live? Ideally, we'd like to be within a 30-45 minute commute to central London (DW's office is closest to the Blackfriars tube station), but also within bus service of schools for DS. Right now, we're thinking of sending DS to one of the ACS schools, probably Cobham (he's 5 right now, but we're looking toward moving next year, so he'll be 6).

With those variables in mind, and estimating that we'll have somewhere around $2,000 to $2,500 a month to spend on rent/taxes, I was wondering what neighborhoods might be a good option. We'd like to have at least 3 bedrooms, something not too far away from either a bus or underground station (DW doesn't want to have to make too many connections during her commute) and something in a nice family area (we're not "city" folks in general).

Any ideas? And, in general, any other advice or tips?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Dimplenose]

Not a lot of advice here but Cobham is a beautiful area with a lot of Americans living in this area (probably because of the school). It's not on the tube line but there is a regular mainline train service to London, Waterloo (just under 40 minutes). It's a pricey area to live in though. Have a look at other towns in Surrey as you may find it easier to live near to school and commute into London than the other way round.

Here's a link to the local council's website
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsi...PagesByTITLE_RTF/Discover+Surrey?opendocument

Good luck

Libby

 

[Bob Slydell]

Thanks for the link I'll check it out! I love the interactive map feature.

 

[KayleeUK]

Can't help with any advice not living in London myself but what an exciting prospect

 

[Dimplenose]

I've just remembered that there is an association of American Women in Surrey that may be of interest. I don't know a lot about them (apart from attending their Christmas Fayre once). Here's their website

http://www.awsurrey.org/awshome/pages/about-us.php

I hope they can help you.

Libby

 

[Bob Slydell]

Thanks again, Libby I'll forward that link on to my DW.

What are your thoughts on a neighborhood like Morden or Colliers Wood?

I have a feeling when it comes down to it, DW will have to either have a longer commute than she'd like or we'll send DS to a local school if we want to live closer to central London, but I heard that getting your child into a local school can be tricky when moving from overseas.

 

[Dimplenose]

I'm probably biased as I live in Surrey (but not the posh part!). I used to commute up to London before I had kids and found it OK - in fact this is very much a commuter neighbourhood. Personally I wouldn't choose Morden or Colliers Wood to bring up a family as they are much more built up and more part of the urban sprawl. Hopefully there are some DISers that can give you another opinion.

If you want to be on a tube line maybe you'd like to look at Richmond (although I don't know it very well).

My children have had American and South African children at their primary school - but they may just have been lucky that spaces were available.

Good luck in your search.

Libby

 

[Bob Slydell]

Thanks That's the sort of thing I was hoping to find out from you folks. It's so hard to tell what sort of area something is based on the Internet. Urban sprawl is not something I'd prefer, especially, as you mentioned, to raise a family. I'll look into Richmond, along with more of the Surrey area that might not seem like too bad of a commute.

I wish I had more specifics to go by at this point, but it's still so early. I appreciate having somewhere that I can go to later on when we have more specifics. Thanks again.

 

[Frances999]

We're relocating the San Francisco for ten months later this year, so I know how hard it can be to get a feel for a certain area when you live so far away and know so little about it.

When searching for sites I came across the North American Connection . I don't how (un)useful it may be, but just thought I would share.

I don't know of the Surrey area too well, but it's great that you can come over to the UK board and get some advice. Good luck!