Moving to UK ?? from an American

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

My husband works for a large internet company and recently was given an opportunity to transfer to London for a year or two. This came at about the same time that we found out his current boss (who is wonderful) is leaving to be replaced by his old boss (horrible)... so he is looking to leave anyways.

We love our home, and our neighbors, so if we do this we would keep our house and rent it to my sister. So we'd be looking to rent close to London, probably a small 2 bedroom flat. Is it possible to rent a place furnished? Would we need to buy a car or is it possible to get around with public transportation? We would need a school for my daughter (she'll be in first grade next year) and some sort of preschool for my son. I'm not sure where to begin looking. What areas should I be looking at? What kind of price should I be expecting to pay for rent? He'll still be paid in US dollars so I know we'll lose alot on the conversion. I need to try and figure out how much our expenses will truly increase before we can begin to negotiate his salary. Thanks for any answers and advice you can provide.

 

[Frances999]

Hi

We are doing the opposite to you and relocating to San Francisco for 10 months next year. Thank goodness for the internet which allows so much to be found out!

Firstly, you can take a look at London Education . This is a very useful website which clearly explains the different school types and how to search for schools. It also has a link to the league tables so that you can compare performance. You may also wish to consider looking at the ISC website which has details on private schools.

The price you can expect to pay for rent will vary dramatically depending on which areas you are looking at. Does your DH need to be in a specific area? In an average area of London I guess you will be looking at about £300-£400 per week for rent ($500+). However, it really does depend entirely on the area. There are some rental listings here which can give you a guide.

In central London it would be possible to rely on public transport (many people do) but personally I would want a car for that greater freedom. There are a few companies which specialise in long term car hire which might be something you can consider. Alternatively you could buy a car and then sell it before you move back to California.

Good luck in your research. I hope this helped a little.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

You will love San Francisco!! Dh and I met, fell in love and were married there. My son is 4th generation in dh's family born in SF, although we didn't live there still when he was born we traveled into SF because we had medical complications and SF had the best hospital to go to for them.

Dh would be working about half mile from Trafalgar Square. We can live as far away as he is willing to commute, although he'll be leaving behind a 3 hour commute (each way... but he only does it part of the week and is working from home the rest) here so he'd be thrilled if he had a short commute. We've done big city and suburb and can go either way. Main concern is schools and safety (and of course cost!). Its hard looking when I don't know where the different areas are. I can't find a map that lists the names of the areas to know where the good ones are at in relation to his job.

I don't think we'll be able to afford one of the American or International schools. Will it be hard to get my dd into a public school upon moving? Shes young enough that I think she'd adapt ok to the change. And I'm interested in seeing how she likes the different style of teaching. I myself took a semester of college in Barbados and our college professor taught based on the English method and I found it quite a bit more challenging (and interesting) then our methods.

I found out we'd get a car allowance so we probably will get a car (not sure about long term rent or buy) but just one which would probably stay with me during the day, so dh would still need to be able to take public transport to work.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Halo]

Its a very interesting choice you have. If DH's office is 1/2 a mile from Trafalgar Square, he could easily commute into Charing Cross Station. So your options would be somewhere in central London, or somewhere commutable from Charing Cross. Ultimately it will depend upon your life style decision and your budget. I would suggest Richmond (on Thames) for possibly the best combination of factors - in London and well connected on the underground (subway), good schools, good family area, near Heathrow Airport, and with good access to the motorways for trips to places like Windsor, Bath, Oxford etc for sightseeing. If you wanted somewhere further out, I would suggest Sevenoaks in Kent, which is a lovely town, good schools, countryside, fast train link to Charing Cross (about 30mins). Try looking on www.propertyfinder.com to get an idea of prices and www.upmystreet.com which will have a lot of area info and schools info to.

Good luck