US Family of 3 Moving to UK

[Aleida]

Hello All,

My name is Aleida, Its my first time posting on your forum and Im very grateful for this great source and exchange of information.

My husband, myself and our 10 year old daughter are looking forward to our move to London by end of November. We have narrowed down our place of resdience to the Greenwich-woolwich area, especially the Royal Arsenal development.

I would like to get any feedback regarding this area. How's the transporation? How are the state primary school and is it a safe neighborhood? your imput is greatly appreciated and please feel free to recommend. We are looking for an Urban, city like feel with trendy, hip (clubs, cafes, restaurants) atmosphere. We're in our mid-30s young professionals and love to enjoy the nite life that a city like London has to offer.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time .

Aleida

[Ken Wong]

Aleida:

You have to be careful with the school system at this point in time. When we relocated to the UK from the USA in early October, we had to prove our address first, then apply for a school, based on the address, "catchment," availability in a particular school, etc. Some folks can live on the same street and be sent to different schools. Your child will attend a school that has availability, not necessarily the school you want.

We were fortunate that 3 of our 4 children were able to attend a state school within 12 minutes from our home in Surrey. and, the school scores are very high- sheer luck...

I'm not familiar with Greenwich in the UK, but I am with Greenwich in CT...

Try this site and see if it helps as you have already done some research:

Schools in Greater London - Greenwich: School Guide UK: Schoolsnet

Good luck in your relocation.

Oh, carefully take and keep your treasured records (drivers license, birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.) with you, as many institutions here request various identification. As you should have found out when you applied for a VISA to the UK....

Cheers!

[Aleida]

Hi Ken,

Thank you very much for your response and yes, Schoolsnet is a great website.

Aleida

[morten bonde]

Hi Aleida!

I know Greenwich quite well from having visited a lot over the years. I must say that is has gone from being a little remote and bare to being one of the best places to live in London... and for the very reason you ask for.

It’s new, it’s safe, it’s happening, and it’s central and a transport hub to loads of nearby places with good restaurants, bars, and clubs ...

I had a quick look around and this is what other people had to say:
• ... It has fantastic transport links - 7 different buses stop by the village including two night buses - meaning literally a bus a minute. The tube station is only 10 mins walk away and the Thames Clipper service from the O2 pier is also really starting to take off.
• The opening of the O2 means that you have major entertainers (e.g. Prince) performing a 10 minute walk from your doorstep. Massive further development on the peninsula already underway (largest in Europe). Already becoming one of the places to live.
• There are several retail parks close by (two of which are well within walking distance - one being only 5 mins away!) housing a vast range of large stores including two 24hr supermarkets.
• To top it all off, this area is going to get even better. Development is taking place at a rapid pace in time for the area to be showcased as one of the main Olympic sites.
• The beautiful parks and lakes have really become established and offer wonderful views and recreation space as well as the beautiful river walks for strolling or cycling or roller blades! The village has a useful village website to keep up to date with your neighbours online.
• Shopping is easy with a retail park 7 minutes away on foot or 2 minutes by frequent buses. To go to the more historic west Greenwich there is the 188 and 129 which has a magnificent park, and everything you would expect from a world heritage site.

Good luck with your move
Morten

PS. You are welcome to use our online UK training to prepare for your relocation and success in the UK – www.culture-class.com

Originally Posted by Aleida

Hello All,

My name is Aleida, Its my first time posting on your forum and Im very grateful for this great source and exchange of information.

My husband, myself and our 10 year old daughter are looking forward to our move to London by end of November. We have narrowed down our place of resdience to the Greenwich-woolwich area, especially the Royal Arsenal development.

I would like to get any feedback regarding this area. How's the transporation? How are the state primary school and is it a safe neighborhood? your imput is greatly appreciated and please feel free to recommend. We are looking for an Urban, city like feel with trendy, hip (clubs, cafes, restaurants) atmosphere. We're in our mid-30s young professionals and love to enjoy the nite life that a city like London has to offer.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you for your time .

Aleida

[synthia]

Add to the list of records: medical, especially immunization records. If you have not been getting immunizations, check on the re-emergence of measles in the UK. You should probably go ahead with the vaccinations.

[Aleida]

Originally Posted by synthia

Add to the list of records: medical, especially immunization records. If you have not been getting immunizations, check on the re-emergence of measles in the UK. You should probably go ahead with the vaccinations.

Thank you synthia for the update.