Moving to the UK - location advice

[wisteriahouse]

Hi all,

My husband and I will be relocating to the UK next year from Australia. We have a seven year old son and will be looking for jobs upon arrival (husband works in IT, I am a lawyer).

We have been looking at different locations to settle including London and Leeds. Our requirements are excellent schools, good transport links (we will be using public transport only), local shops/pubs/restaurants/high street. Our budget is around £1,300pm.

Coming from a “new” country, we are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the history and culture and would value having these options readily available without having to venture too far away. We enjoy going out for meals, walks/bike rides, enjoying the outdoors, swimming etc. We are hoping to travel around Europe on a regular basis (mostly long weekend trips) so convenience to an airport would be a plus.

Any suggestions would be welcomed! It’s so hard to plan things from the other side of the world and we don’t want to drag our son around while we decide on an area as we want to get him settled in a school asap.

How do you know what your rental budget is when you don't have jobs yet? I would expect two working professionals in your fields to have a bigger combined income for housing that £1300.

Or is that just the 'starting' budget and therefore, how long do you have before needing to work; 6 months? Is it a temporary let you're thinking about and then get a proper place subsequently?

I’ve just come back to the UK 🇬🇧 best feeling ever.

OP look at Rightmove! I think everywhere matches your description but your rental amount is a little low. I think with Law and IT as roles you’ll be best off looking around Manchester.

what about a smaller UK city like Exeter? ☺️

You’ll need to revise your monthly rental budget but with your two jobs I’m sure it’ll be okay!

It’s so good to be back in the UK. I was in Canada for a bit and happy to be home. Don’t give up!

I think you may struggle to get a rental without jobs as it's competitive at the minute for rentals.
Have you ever been to the UK? Maybe a holiday would be better first and you can travel to different areas to see what they are like before moving over.

Also the Government has a few roles that might be suited to you and your DH. Those roles may be WFH but have to be near an office I.e Bristol or London.

☺️ good luck @wisteriahouse how exciting for you!

I live an hours train journey from London, even here tiny 2 bed rentals go for more than your budget. I don’t think you’ll live comfortably in the South with a budget that low.

I am a Professional Relocator and you are very unlikely to get a Rental property without jobs arranged and in most cases you will need to produce Contracts and/or wage slips.
There are on average 3 or 4 people going after every rental property right now and if your application isn't excellent you don't stand much chance

Rightmove is the main website for property in the UK, you need to put in some cities and your requirements to see how much rents are. Even in Leeds you will be paying more than £1300pcm for a house in a decent area. Ensure you do lots of reading up on neighbourhoods within cities as well, for example in Leeds some areas are very rough (although might looks cheap)!

In nice areas of Liverpool you can get a 2 bed flat for £1,300 pcm, for a 3 bed semi it’s more like £1,500-£1,600 pcm.

Formby has a lot of what you are looking for. It’s on the coast, beautiful National Trust beach and pinewoods, plenty of walks and biking trails.

All the extra curricular activities you can think of for your DC and plenty of good primary schools and 2 secondary schools (also buses are provided to other secondary schools that are a short distance out of the area).

It has a nice village centre with bars/restaurants/supermarkets/boutique shops and a swimming pool.

30 min drive or train to Liverpool city centre. Good reliable train/bus service linking to other areas.

It might be worth looking at the East Midlands, towns around Nottingham or Derby. There are good public transport links and East Midlands airport if you want to travel abroad, and have decent job opportunities. Look at places like Long Eaton or Kegworth. Loughborough has a lot of student accommodation so fewer general rentals but good train links. As others have already said, your rental budget needs increasing to £1500 and, without a job or a guarantor, you may need 6 months' rent up front.

Where do you get your £1,300 budget from? I don’t think you will find anywhere in the UK next to excellent schools and good transport links for £1,300pm for a family home. Definitely not in London but I think that would be very difficult in any UK city.

If you are a lawyer and DH in IT, your budget should be able to stretch to beyond £1,300pcm. As a general rule of thumb, I think the average housing cost in UK is 1/3 to 1/2 of income. Closer to 1/3 if mortgaged and closer to 1/2 if renting.

I would rule out Edinburgh on that budget too! 30minutes to the city centre keeps you firmly within the city bypass where £1300 barely gets you a 2 bedroom flat in a nice area. Also, difference laws so might not be transferable from Australian qualification.

Budget not big enough for most of the decent areas in big city's with transport etc

Would work for Nottingham/ Sheffield if you want a big city.
here in Bath ( which is lovely) you could just about get a 2 bed flat in a decent area for around £1400 - lots of legal jobs in Bath and also Bristol ( on regular train 13 minutes away) IT - some in Bath, more in Bristol- Bath is also easy if you don't drive ( I don't) as big enough to have stuff, small enough to potter around without a car . It also has very good schools - you will struggle to rent without jobs- however we have tons of Airbnbs - so I would suggest you did that whilst sorting jobs- I'm presuming you are both British nationals as you can't just rock up and stay longer term without live/work visas - unless on a very specific scheme

Not London. You will be lucky to get a studio flat for that budget. Rooms in shared houses are nearly as much. Manchester? It's quite a bit cheaper.

This is a nonsense.

£1,300 isn’t a high budget at all, but it can certainly get you more than a studio flat in outer London.

OP, search zones 4-6 on Rightmove, there will be 2-bed flats available which would suit your family of 3.

You’re going to get ridiculous responses from the anti-London brigade.

Personally, I wouldn’t consider anywhere but London if moving to the UK.

£1,300 won't go far in a city, especially London. You may need to look at smaller cities or towns.

I lived in High Wycombe for 2 years. The town itself is not great, but it's 20 minutes to Central London on the train, and is surrounded by glorious countryside. It also has a good Lido in the park which is heated as well. Lots of good schools (mix of private/state).

Surely at least one of you needs a job first? Not just so that you can rent (ie so you’re not automatically ruled out), but also because it’s no good renting a property in, say, Milton Keynes, then getting a job in York.

Your budget is small but here’s a flat in the centre of Bristol bang on it. Mainline railway station, airport, good schools, close to lots of nature and historic areas:

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/to-rent/details/68043416/?search_identifier=a3f70a83289202444e351ee387022f0b441e34589fbafad9f638789434cf6001

I would rule out most cities on a budget like that! Maybe Hull? Certainly not York or Leeds or Manchester unless it’s a one bedroom flat.

Yes but then you have commuting costs, probably for two people, and that is not cheap. And it will add a lot of time on to the day.

Belfast. You can rent a family home for £1300. Don’t know what law/tech sector is like in Belfast right now although I know a lot who commute to Dublin.

www.propertypal.com/property-to-rent/belfast/bedrooms-3-4

Actually Northern Ireland is a good suggestion. South Wales would be worth looking at too.

OP what kind of income are you expecting to earn?

As others have mentioned, the budget for housing is probably the biggest consideration at £1,300 - and will impact the answers you get.

It’s typical for people renting in the UK to spend 30-40% of their income on rent.

If you want to be in London - you need to increase your budget. £2,000 will get you an ok two bed flat. You will also pay monthly taxes on this - maybe another £2-300.

If you can spend £1300, you’ll have a far higher quality of life elsewhere. All the major cities would probably be an interesting place for a couple of years!

At 2 bed flat in Manchester these days is over 1,300

If you're out in Zone 6, particularly South London, then life without a car becomes harder. And commuting into the city is expensive, and time consuming.

You will need to show proof of income jobs etc credit check to rent.
Do you have 6 months rent to pay up front? Ideally double your budget to live in a nice location.
How confident are you of job offers?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent

Which part of the UK do you want to live in? Wales, England, Scotland? The laws are different in Scotland and England, perhaps Wales too. Have you considered you may have to retrain?