Hi there I too cant answer all your questions but London is and always has been pricey, perhaps if the UK is your choice you just need to live in surrounding counties with good tranport links. Regards your pets..........whew, I've gone through this contact DEFRA and enquire about pet passport scheme. Basically as I understand it as long as your guys have had rabies shots 6 or so months prior to entering the UK there is no quarantine. This is a snippet of info so do check them out - just google defra