- My husband reckons we won't get any benefits (Job seekers, council tax credit, child benefit/tax credit) because we haven't lived in UK for a long period of time. Is this really true?! If yes, how long do we have to be in UK for to be eligable for any benefits?
Don't quote me because I haven't looked into it per-say but it sounds about right. You have to declare long gaps out of the country for tax purposes and I doubt you can claim benefits until you have started to pay NI again (through work). I have been looking at the opposite side as to how long I need to be out of the country before I stop paying tax to UK
- Anyone any idea how it works with housing? We have 1 child and a second one on the way. Do you think we could get any kind of help to get a suitable house?
Don't hold your breath with housing. 'Council housing' no longer exists in most counties, it's been taken over by private companies who have agreements with the local councils. That said there is a long waiting list, last time I checked our town is was 3years
They basically sold too many 'council houses' in right to buy schemes and have not replaced them so 'affordable housing' as it is now often called is limited and given to what the council see's as the most needy.
There is still housing benefit (if you are entitled to claim - low income or uk resident out of work on some other benefit) but they only pay you what it would cost for 'affordable housing' (which is a joke when it's not available) so you can use this to rent privately from a landlord but will usually find that you don't get the full amount of the rent. As for your entitlement, you would only get for a 2bedroom house/flat. Most councils say 2 children of the same sex can share a room indefinitely but 2 of opposite sexes usually share until the oldest hits about 10years old (it varies slightly on the council).
All in all it will be up to you to check online, in papers and ads in shop windows for housing. If you rent privately be prepared to have to pay 1months rent as a deposit and you always pay for the month in advance. If you go through an agency you may get better protection from being ripped off but you will also have to undergo a credit check which will costs you £100-£200 each non refundable...and you'll need to be in work or have a guarantor.
- How is living in UK at the moment? I've heard it is pretty tough...Can anyone maybe tell me what I'll have to pay for on top of my rent? I think council tax, tv license (How much is this!?) Road tax, car insurance. Have I missed anything??
* Council tax depends on area but expect approx £100 a month
* Tv licence is currently £145.50 a year but hardly any channels available - you will probably want to pay for a freeview or free sat box (which are £50-£300) but you only pay to buy and then you can access a lot more channels....or consider a contract with sky or virgin media to get even better choice.
* Road tax and insurance depend on what kind of car and how long you've been driving etc...I can't really offer advice there...remember you also need to pay for an MOT yearly
* Contents insurance may be a good idea...this starts around £25 a month and goes up depending on your level of cover
* Water rates - we pay about £20 a month, this will be fixed depending on the area you live in
* Gas and electric - watch out for 'standing charges' during summer months, you still get charged even if you're not using it just for having it available. You wont notice so much if you pay monthly or every 3months but if you are pre-payment meters you can quickly run out of credit without realising. Gas and electric are VERY expensive at the moment in the UK. I'd advise easily put aside £150 a month for both combined (best offers if you can get them from same supplier) and given how cold the winters have been expect to pay more if you need to have heating on later in the year.
** Baby items are expensive but seem to even out as the children get older.
** Things like going to the cinema cost approx £7 each but if you buy an orange sim card for your mobile you can take advantage of 'orange wednesdays' where you text for a ticket which effectively gives you 2 tickets for the price of 1 at the cinema but you actually pay about £2 for it because you are charged for receiving the ticket by the mobile network.
All in all it's pretty tough over here. Wages are low, jobs are hard to come by....lots of competition when they do, and living expenses just keep going up. Childcare is very expensive if you are both thinking of working full time with children under school age.
If you are higher up the career ladder then you'll probably be ok but most people I know see or have heard of earning under £20k are struggling right now.
You just have to spend wisely I think
That said you can see I intend on leaving the country later this year :tongue1:
