American family moving to London with 3 little kids...

[Arty3542]

Hello all!

I have no idea where to post this... My husband and I might relocate to London at the beginning of next year. He has a job opportunity in Covent Garden. Our kids are 6, 4 and 2 years old. We will be moving from the NYC area. We are very excited but I'm very nervous at the same time. I'm so worried about being isolated and lonely.

Which area is best for American Expats? Do we try for a church/Christian school? Do we attempt to apply to the American School? I heard this is very hard to get into. Will we be in for a culture shock? Do you think it will be easy to make friends with people? Only asking because a couple people told me it's very hard to make friends, the British keep to their own. I didn't know what to say to that and thought it was a bit silly.

AIBU? ;)

Thank you in advance!

Most church (C of E) schools around here have a requirement that you live in the parish and attend the church attached to the school for something like a year or two before admissions. If you can bring a letter from your priest / minister / pastor from home that might be helpful.

Catchment areas for good state primary schools in London are about the size of a postage stamp - and housing locally is priced accordingly. I can give you chapter and verse on girls' schools in NW London but west London is also popular and I know less about prep schools there. The Good Schools Guide is a great resource for independent schools.

When we had to do a lightening fast move to London when I was 6 months pregnant with DD1, we chose Hampstead basically because we had one set of friends who happened to live there. 13 years later and I still love it.

I think your approach should be:

1. Decide whether you want the American School or not. (I have my opinions on this!)
2. If yes, move to St John's Wood or close by. If not, start deciding what neighbourhood you do want. Work out how much you can afford to spend on rent and start nosing around on Rightmove
3. Narrow it down to 2 or max 3 areas and do some preliminary research on them regarding schools. Pretty much every area in London has good schools and bad ones. This is also when you can make the decision regarding state vs. church school vs. independent.
4. This one is vitally important = make sure the school(s) you are considering have space or might have space for your 2 eldest! Find out what their admissions criteria is. Most schools, state and independent, have this on their websites.

Your youngest will have access to 15 free hours or nursery (daycare/kindergarten) every week. It's not means-tested, but some of the more popular places are full full full.

Good luck!

Any excuse to window shop for houses...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-53406142.html

In the UK Christian faith schools amount to either Catholic or Church Of England IME (but other posters may disagree) the Catholic schools take the religion side of things much more seriously and in CofE it's more nominal/by name alone

As an aside.... Oxford English Dictionary definition of Public School:

in England public school (a term recorded from 1580) originally denoted a grammar school under public management, founded for the benefit of the public (contrasting with private school, run for the profit of the proprietor); since the 19th century the term has been applied to the old endowed English grammar schools, and newer schools modelled on them, which have developed into fee-paying boarding schools.

The equivalent primary level school are called Preparatory (or Prep) Schools for 7 year olds and older (= state school Juniors, Keystage 1) or pre-Prep Schools (under 7 = state school Infants/Keystage 2).

In your shoes I'd use a property search agent as lljkk recommends. You have a huge budget, but very little local knowledge so it would be money well spent. Also, assuming you are currently in the US viewing properties is going to be difficult. An agent will be able to get a short list together for you to view on one trip over. Friends of mine used such an agent when they were both working in high pressure jobs so had little time to look for themselves. They were v pleased with the service.

Great! Thank you all for your help! Looking for easy walking distance to schools, parks and such. My husband doesn't mind commuting.

I will look into the various zones... are there any that we should really look into? I will research zone 4. :)

Ha, cantaffordtolive... should we be rethinking?! My husband can only work in London. This particular company asked him if he'd like to come on over to the UK. We do love it but have NO idea what it's like to live there.

Here's something a lot of Brits don't know about the UK and it's schools: There is no separation of church and state in the UK. There is a law requiring scools to have a collective act of worship of a broadly Christian nature. So if you choose a state school, they will be getting something every day.

If you want something that's a bit more committed then have a look at faith schools in whatever area you move to.

Think about transport. Your DH (and you, if not a SAHM) will probably want to commute by Metro - we call it the Underground or Tube. Most people use trains in London because it tends to be far quicker than driving - the Tube, or overground train if in parts of London not served by the Tube. . It makes life far easier on the commute if you only have to get on one train - changing lines or from the Overground to Underground is a bit of a nightmare in rush hour.

This is a map of the Tube. This is a map of the Overground. Covent Garden is not close to any Overground stations but it is easy for the Tube. There is a station on the Piccadilly line at Covent Garden itself but it is in easy walking distance of Leicester Square (Northern Line), Holborn (Central) and Charing Cross (Northern & Bakerloo lines). This map shows the walking distances in minutes between different Tube stations. If I were you, I would try to live somewhere that is an easy walk to a Piccadilly, Central, Northern or Bakerloo line station - that will leave you plenty of options and make DH's life much more pleasant.

10k a month just for rent, that's very generous.

Thank you again, HeartsTrumpDiamonds. What is your opinion on the American School? We are not set on it. We just hear that it's quite popular.
I heard of Hampstead and how lovely it is!

All of the other responses are so helpful. DH and I have a lot of work to do. But we will consider hiring an agent.

Yeahhh, maybe we should spend around 8K...

I used to live in Fulham. Loads of Americans. Good schools. Good commute. Green spaces. Thames River walks. Near Chelsea and the local paediatric A&E.

Wow shinynewusername... awesome info!

Thank you VocationalGoat!
How long have you lived there? How was the adjustment? Pros? Cons? Major differences and similarities?

We have no family in the UK... so we're totally new.

Is Chiswick and Barnes a walkable area? How far is it from the center of London?

Where in the States are you moving from OP?

W4 is where I grew up. Very nice OP. 25 min from Chiswick to Covent Garden by London Underground. Loads of activities for younger children.

We're moving from the NYC area. We have lived in NYC prior to living here.

Chiswick and Barnes are quite far out from the centre - I wouldn't want to walk it.

I have friends with children at the American School and they are very happy with it. It is worth noting, however, that it is massively oversubscribed and the most expensive private school in London. Lovely though.

If you like St John's Wood (very close to Regent's Park), you may find this useful.

mumsinthewood.com

Here is a blog about London primary schools:

www.londonpreprep.com/2013/11/relocating-to-london-with-children/

What sort of a Christian are you? I ask because St Anthony's (a really inspiring Catholic prep for boys) is opening a school for girls this September, which may have spaces.

I live in Chiswick area and my children go to Ravenscourt Park School which is private ( fee paying). There are a fair few Americans in our area / school; the area is very peaceful and big park etc; masses of things for children to do. There is also a great Christian school nearby called St Stephens.

With the obvious disability caveats, driving in London is daft. You'll have a much better time if you walk/public transport cycle everywhere. Hampstead is very beautiful.