Trying to decide

[andapplepie]

My husband has the opportunity to be transferred to London for a two to three year engagement. We've loved visiting London in the past...but not sure about moving there. One concern I have is where to live. I realize everything will be much more expensive and smaller. I'd like to hear your feedback on the pros and cons of living closer in to London or farther out. We have a two year old and want to be sure that we are able to connect him with other tots. Actually, I have a load of questions...but I'll start with this one

[Bevdeforges]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I take it you're coming from the US. (OK, I confess, I checked your IP address...)

Where to live will depend a bit on the type of work your husband is doing and where exactly his office is located. Take a look at the train lines to see which train station is handiest to where he'll be working and consider the towns along the relevant commuter lines. If he'll be traveling, you may want to be near one of the airports.

But a big consideration will be the type of package you'll be on - an expat package (where the employer picks up many of the extra costs, often including housing, a company car and tax assistance) or local payroll (where you're on your own like any local employee).
Cheers,
Bev

[andapplepie]

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, we'll be coming from the US. He'll be working in Central London not too far from Picadilly Circus. We'll be on an expat package, but not at a high enough level to get the car

We'll have some assistance (moving assistance and initial housing for a few months), but then we'll be on our own in terms of housing. Is it hard to live in Central London with a tot or do a lot of folks do it? Do people move out farther once they have children? Do we miss the London experience if we live out farther? If we move to the suburbs of London are we missing the point of moving to the UK or conversely is the experience still rich living in the vicinty of London? Thanks!

[Bevdeforges]

OK, I was on my own - but I really loved living near Reading. Transport into London was excellent (although I wasn't working in London). London is like any big city like NYC or Paris - sure, there is a certain something to living directly in the city, but there's plenty of great times and other sorts of experience if you live out a ways and enjoy what the "suburbs" have to offer.

You may want to contact one of the FAWCO clubs in the London area (FAWCO - Member Clubs). These are American Women's Clubs for expats. They have a wealth of information about living in the area.
Cheers,
Bev

[jlms]

Originally Posted by andapplepie

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, we'll be coming from the US. He'll be working in Central London not too far from Picadilly Circus. We'll be on an expat package, but not at a high enough level to get the car

We'll have some assistance (moving assistance and initial housing for a few months), but then we'll be on our own in terms of housing. Is it hard to live in Central London with a tot or do a lot of folks do it? Do people move out farther once they have children? Do we miss the London experience if we live out farther? If we move to the suburbs of London are we missing the point of moving to the UK or conversely is the experience still rich living in the vicinty of London? Thanks!

Plenty of people raise children in London, if you are going to be a stay at home mum I see no reason why it should not be possible.

The major constraint is money since London is one of the more expensive towns in the world. As a general guideline I always advise people to request as many pounds as US dollars as a base salary as a starting point of negotiation, having said this I think $1 buys you more than £1 in general terms, so beware. You should be paying around £1200/month for a 2 bedroom flat and general utilities in a medium income area, some less in a not so good part, and the sky is the limit from that.

Housing in the UK, but particularly in London, is very small when compared to the US. You will be in for a shock, I guarantee you that, many friends that did not know any better brought too much stuff with them which had to go to storage because would not fit on their place. If your time here would be limited I would seriously consider not to bring much and to rent a furnished place or to buy stuff here (2nd hand if necessary).

You could of course live in the London suburbs, but have to be prepared to suffer the commuting in the very inefficient and crowded trains. I chose to live close to my place of employment, which gives me back 3 hours of my time every day. I don't have anymore nice fields with cows and horses as neighbours, but I could not care less, London is a great place and it simply rocks.

The London suburbs are very loved by families with children, many middle class people "escape" London to places perceived as "better" to raise children. You have less access to the fantastic cultural life in London, but having said that, with a child that may not be an important consideration since life revolves around them, but be prepared to lose your partner at 7:30 not to see him back until around 18:30 every day (if he leaves on time every day, which he should anyway).

If you intend to enjoy London in any serious way childcare is fundamental, living in the suburbs will make it more difficult to find this while in London, although still difficult to find, obviously is more widely available.

These are lose musings, I hope they are helpful.

[andapplepie]

The norm for commute to/from the burbs is 1.5 hours each way? Egads.

In terms of salary, just to make sure I understand - you suggest that we negogiate that my husband receives the same salary amount in the UK that he receives in the US. So, if he makes $100K here we should request £100 while in the UK? Is this normally done?

Does anyone have a good website or resource that you suggest in terms of items to negotiate for an expat package?

[jlms]

Originally Posted by andapplepie

The norm for commute to/from the burbs is 1.5 hours each way? Egads.

In terms of salary, just to make sure I understand - you suggest that we negogiate that my husband receives the same salary amount in the UK that he receives in the US. So, if he makes $100K here we should request £100 while in the UK? Is this normally done?

Does anyone have a good website or resource that you suggest in terms of items to negotiate for an expat package?

I just gave my example as a person that used to live in the suburbs. I used to walk 20 min. to the train station, then the trip to London took 30 min. and finally the ride in the tube (underground) took another 25 minutes. Add any imponderables and the daily trip was often 1.5 hours.

I could have driven to the train station, saving 15 minutes, thus losing a cool 6 pounds a day for parking (Woking is particularly bad, other places charge a bit less), but the train and tube times are pretty much set in stone. At some point I was lucky that my office was on top of a train station (Victoria) and thus my trip took exactly one hour.

In any case I got tired of that and moved to London proper, now I may wake up at 8:30 and be sited in my desk at 9:00

Let me put it this way, in the UK £50000 ($100000) is a very good salary, but by no means you would be considered very wealthy with that. I earn a little bit more than that and I can only afford a 2 bed flat (In the suburbs I could afford a 3 bed house with garden).

I do believe that $100000 is an extremely good salary, to reach a similar standard of living I am sure you would need £100000 which would allow you the same level of comforts.

As I said I suggest this as a point of reference, that way you know if your company is not being as fair as they should (if they give you exactly the same money, but in pounds, then you know they are taking you for a ride ... ).

[MichelleAlison]

You definitely need to be earning more in the UK than in the USA. Many items in the UK have the same price tag, the only difference is the dollar sign is replaced by the pound sign.

A good website to look at properties to rent is www.rightmove.co.uk- You can check out all rentals and sales for the whole of the UK.

Regards

Michelle

[Catfamily]

Hi
I am also considering moving to the UK. My homework says that Wimbledon area is very nice. if you are from South Africa, there are a lot lving there.

[Big Pete]

Originally Posted by Catfamily

Hi
I am also considering moving to the UK. My homework says that Wimbledon area is very nice. if you are from South Africa, there are a lot lving there.

Theres a hell of a lot live there . Thats what makes it the wondeful place it is