Scotland Question

[olivetree]

Hello! I just stumbled on this forum, but you all seem so helpful I thought I'd venture a question. My husband is thinking about applying for a job at the University of Dundee and we are wondering how realistic an option the job really is. We have both visited London, I lived in various locations around the Midlands for a couple of years and I went on one (much too brief!) visit to Scotland several years ago. Even though I have lived in the UK I was there doing volunteer work and lot of my expenses were taken care of by the sponsoring organization, so my idea of the cost of living might be a little off. Anyway, the job pays 25,000 pounds per year and has good benefits and at least some relocation assistance. Would this be enough to live on without a huge amount of difficulty? We also have two very small children. We are used to living on next to nothing since my husband has been in school and we are living in Boston, which isn't exactly cheap (by US standards). So we are used to being frugal. The only expense other than the usual ones that we would have to worry about is a somewhat hefty student loan payment, but we figure that could actually work out well for us since we'd be gaining so much on the exchange rate! Anyway, I'd really love to hear any thoughts--does it sound like this could be a good move for us or are we delusional? The main draw for us is the experience of living in Scotland, not necessarily trying to get ahead or anything, but it wouldn't be worth it if we were constantly worrying about how we were going to feed our kids!

[oddball]

Congratulations , about the most concise plea for help i have read on this (or other) forum, I have nothing to offer because i have no experience on which to draw . The best of wishes to both you and your family in this venture , to move to a comparitively strange country without foresight is perilous at least , you are a sage person . Colin

[Bevdeforges]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

I have no direct experience with Scotland, but if the folks here in the forum are to be believed, the cost of living gets lower as you go north from London, and well, you do the math!

Then, too, there is the reputation of the Scots for being, well, shall we say "parsimonious" - though when I was living in Baden-Würtemburg, the locals said that the Scots came there to apprentice. And, if you're affiliated with the university, there are all the usual local attractions, tailored to the budgets of poor students and faculty.

Oh, and by the way, I'm from the Boston area myself - and I know how expensive it can be there. Dundee has got to be better! (And don't discount the exchange gains... sometimes it work for you and other times against you, but right now, it's a good deal.) I'd say go for it - you'll be kicking yourself the rest of your lives if you don't.
Cheers,
Bev

[MichelleAlison]

Have a look at this website UK Estate agents with homes, houses & property for sale on rightmove.co.uk which will give you an idea of rental prices. Dundee is certainly far cheaper than London, but don't forget the dreaded council tax that every property has to pay. I was also under the impression that everything up north was cheaper, but not according to the council tax figures for Dundee. I used to pay a lot less (two years ago) in a London suburb, - have a look at this link Council Tax Bands - Dundee City Council.

Good luck with your plans.

Michelle

[Loki117]

Hi Olivetree

I went to university in Dundee. It's a niceish place gets very cold though and I am originally from Glasgow. £25k would be a push to live with 2 kids in Dundee in my opinion. But then again I was in a 4 bedroom place in the bad end of Dundee for £900 pcm in 2003.

Hope this helps

[jlms]

£25000 is below the average household income in the UK (which is above £30000 ), that would need to be complemented for your family to live comfortably.

If you check with a tax calculator ( www listentotaxman com ) you'll be left with £1800/month . You could try to budget using the websites of well known UK supermarkets (Sainsburys, M&S, Waitrose, Tesco, etc) by checking how much your current shopping would cost over here, checking rentals (google for it) and for other major expenditure so at least you don't arrive blindly if you decide to come.

I have to say that £1800 for 4 people sounds pretty scary :-)

[Bertie_Wooster]

As others have said, £25,000 isn't really high income, but there are other things to consider. First, having children, you'll be eligible for Child Benefit. This is £18.10 for the first child and £12.10 for any other. It's paid every 4 weeks, so for you, that would be £120.80 each time - tax free. Also, medical care in the UK is free! True, you pay for it in taxes, but the tax you'd pay for the NHS (National Health System) is far less than an American HMO Family Policy is per month. And you don't have to worry about co-pays and deductibles each time you see a doctor. There is a small charge for prescription medication. It's £7.10 for each 4 week supply in England where I live, but Scotland has just dropped their price to £5.00, and will make them entirely free by 2011. There are also other monitary benefits that you can get, such as Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. These depend on your income during the previous year, but when I first came over, I applied using my previous year's American income and I was approved. Remember, one dollar is only worth half a pound, so if you've been living on next to nothing, there's a good chance that you'll qualify. Some things here are more expensive, such as gasoline at £1.11 per liter (over $8.00 per gallon), and utility bills are set to rise 30% this winter, but if you start getting into trouble, the government here is very generous in the help they give. Your local council will pay all or part of your home payments as well as your council tax if your income falls too low. And you can be approved with as much as £6,000 still in your savings account. I fractured my wrist last year and they paid my entire rent and council tax for 2 months. I even got additional tax credits to help me through. In conclusion, since you said the main draw for us is the experience of living in Scotland, I'd say go for it! My family is poor, but we love the chance to experience foreign cultures. We're struggling to save up now to move to the continent - just because we feel like it!
Good luck

[olivetree]

Thanks everyone! So much good info. It looks now like it's probably not going to happen, but I really appreciate all your thoughtful responses. At least now I'll have a better idea of things if other opportunities come up in the future.