Relocating to London from Munich, Germany

[guhgoi]

Hello everyone! After a couple of weeks browsing through this platform, I was amazed by how collaborative y'all seemed to be!

Long story short: We may be relocating to London from Munich over the next few months but understanding the nuances of such a move can be overwhelming. To give y'all some context: we're a family of 4 (the older one is 3.5 years old and the younger is 2 months old).

Despite the tax system (which takes an enormous amount of money), everything works really well here in Munich, Germany. We're absolutely in love with the kindergarten - which happens to be subsidized by the government, which means we pay like, 100 EUR a month (our daughter stays from 08 am - 14:30 PM). Public transportation is affordable (60 EUR a month and can go literally anywhere). Rent is absolutely ridiculous here (we pay 2500 EUR) for a 102 sq meter apartment (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms). We managed to save quite a bit of money and only I work (my wife decided to take a long break to learn Germany, help the kids, etc).

Why are we considering moving to London?

1. the social aspect. We've been living here in Germany for 6+ years but it's hard to connect with people.

2. Me and my wife - we're both from Sao Paulo, Brazil and we LOVE London. Although we love the access to the nature here in Munich, the vibe of a big city, the variety (generally speaking) is something we miss.

What I need help with:

1) If we were to move to the UK with our little ones, what areas would you recommend? We're willing to commute for over an hour to get to Central London, depending upon the opportunity 1h30 min. The deciding factor (as of now) is to find the best public education for our kids (something we don't have to care about as much here in Munich, to be really honest)...

2. Based on your recommendations, can we find a 3 bedroom + 2 fully equipped bath for under 3k pounds?* *I got an offer or 180k pounds.

3. What should we know about the education system in the UK?

4. With this salary (180k pounds a year), can we go out as a family 2/3 times a month?

5. any other thing you'd like to highlight?

I can thank you enough y'all.

Bless up

Don't do it.
DH is from Munich and as soon as our DC finish school we will go there.
We aren't in London but do have access to some big cities and while we aren't unhappy here they don't compare to Munich and the surrounding areas.
I actually work as a Relocation Agent (not London so can't help with that specifically) and have moved people from all over the world to The Uk, I have had a few Brazilian clients and they usually stay a year or so and then go back.

Stay in Germany 🇩🇪

If doable for work I would suggest you also consider Manchester, especially if you want to connect with people.

I wouldn’t do it. Atleast not until the kids are older and don’t need round the clock childcare as those costs could cripple you. The UK in general isn’t that supportive of working parents.

Unless it’s for something like work I wouldn’t make the move. I love London as well but I wouldn’t want to live there.

Rent and house prices are ridiculous, you’ll either need to accept a tiny place for the amount you said above or live in an outer zone and public transport is unreliable and expensive.

If you do want to go to the UK I would second the suggestion of Manchester, or try Birmingham.

1. West London and South-West London but Munich is nicer IMO.
2. Kingston, Surbiton, if you’re lucky, parts of Fulham.
3. The education system is poor unless you get a good school.
4. £180k is good and you can go out daily if you want. I wouldn’t but you could.
5. Stay in Munich. Much better than London in my view.

Private renters have much, much less rights in the UK than they have in Germany.

On that salary I'd move to one of the commuter belt counties and commute in. You'll have a better quality of life than if you lived in London, especially if you love the countryside. If you can't do that stay in Germany.

I love Munich but London is great too. Childcare costs are high but if your wife isn’t planning to work for some time yet anyway this won’t be as much of an issue for you. London has many of the best performing state schools in the UK and the children who live there have amazing cultural resources on their doorstep.

@guhgoi

As you are Brazilian, would this school be suitable for your older child?

https://angloportugueseschool.org/en/

Britain is broken - literally everything. Nothing works and the country is skint.

Transports is reasonably good in London but expensive. And crime is rife.

I seriously would consider staying in Germany or somewhere else.

A friend moved from Germany back to the UK last year. He had lived in the UK before, near London, but he was pretty shocked by the transition and our awful systems and general infrastructure, very different from the last time he lived here over 15 years ago. Everything has deteriorated drastically and he was not prepared. I think he very much regrets it now and is looking to move back to Germany soon. Yes you pay a lot of tax, but you get so much back. Here we pay taxes but nothing functions as it should.

For the childcare alone, I'd stay put a few more years. Childcare costs in London are astronomical. Things are getting worse, not better, and so many places in Europe seem a much better option right now.

-we pay like, 100 EUR a month (our daughter stays from 08 am - 14:30 PM).

think 1000 or more a month in UK per child more probably

• Public transportation is affordable (60 EUR a month and can go literally anywhere).

London is way more Much more if you commuting from outside london to get soacious house ...colleague pays 30 to 50 a day for their 3x weekly commute from 40 mins outside london check costs before you sign

• Rent is absolutely ridiculous here (we pay 2500 EUR) for a 102 sq meter apartment (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms)

Amazingly ridiculously cheap yes ! Think 2500 for 80 m2 one bathroom only zone 2 London check.out rightmove to give you idea

Stay in Germany...

Typical size uk flat and that's £18 return per day train ticket
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148710845?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=lettings&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

Childcare is expensive …. £80- 90 a day for nursery daycare where I am.Travel is expensive.
for school if you want the free government funded ones then you need to live in the right catchment in time for the application. Which is by Jan 15th. Catchment areas are tiny for the best schools and there is no guarantee of places. And each year it varies as to the distance you need to be from the school. So if born 1st Sept 2019 to 31 Aug 2020 you need an address and to apply by 15 Jan 2024 for example,

medical care. Well, we have a free National Health Service but you will struggle to see a Dr, dentistry is expensive and if you have an accident and end up in hospital it is common to have 8hr plus waits, no beds and more than a day or 2 waiting for a bed on the ward.

Housing costs. Depends where you live and what size.

A income of £8800 a month is not going to be anything special in London.

It is doable though. It whether you feel comfortable earning that salary and not feeling the benefits of it. I mean if your wife also earns 180k then you will be very comfortable but if not and you need childcare then that will wipe you out each month when combined with your rent

London and Manchester are diverse, unique, international cities, and while Munich is pleasant and affluent, they are very very different places - it’s like comparing apples and pears.

I know Munich and it is an aging and quite conservative place although very clean and an amenable place to live; are you looking for similar in the UK? Or a place with more diversity, culture, energy, innovation etc?

My nursery bill is £2k per month for one child (London - not even a very expensive bit)

medical care. Well, we have a free National Health Service

If you're eligible to use it for free

You need to balance the costs of living within London against being further out. We are around an hour from central London and train commuting is £30 with station parking almost another £10 per day. A 3 bed property is 1.8k minimum plus bills, but standards of rentals will be more variable than in Germany. Your immigration status may restrict access to public funds and nhs for a while, but on that salary it should at least offer a private healthcare scheme.

Also bear in mind a lot of childcare is 8-6 maximum so both parents commuting a distance may not be feasible for drop off/pick up times.

It's a huge salary so you can get a decent house in the suburbs or commuter towns, with one parent at home you can just use the part time preschool place, school starts at 4 anyway so a year max for eldest. I like Munich but it's a very different place to London.

I'm just back from a holiday in Germany which was fab, but hampered by the appalling state of the railways. They're a national joke, the Germans just roll their eyes at the endless delays and cancellations. One group of Scotland fans singing 'are you Scotrail in disguise' was a highlight!

I loved Germany and the German people but I'm not buying the wonderfully functioning infrastructure thing. They drive like crazed maniacs too.

OP, would you be needing long hours at nursery? Yes, childcare is expensive in the UK but there is some level of subsidy and if you don’t need full time hours it’s less of an issue. Also, a lot of jobs come with private healthcare, I did in my previous job and now the kids and I are on my DH’s policy and I was seen quickly last time I needed treatment for something. Yes, the NHS is a disaster but I’m assuming on your salary the role will come with private care.

I don’t live in London any more and I now live somewhere where the standards of education have massively delclined (Scotland) but my children have still done well at school. London has many of the best performing state
schools in the UK.

Second. I lived in Munich as a teen and have spend many years trying to find a way to live there again.