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!

Hi Arty. How exciting to be moving across the Atlantic. We are Londoners and would to love a stint in NYC sometime.

We live in Balham, South West London. We have family locally which is the main reason for staying put but find it a great place to have started bringing up our two daughters. There are great state primary schools and a lovely community feel around. We have a tube and overground station. Very handy for my husband to get to work in Westminster overground and for me to use the tube to get to my office. Lots of local independent shops and restaurants and it sits between Clapham and Tooting Commons so green space aplenty by city standards.

I hope you and your family enjoy our city and you feel at home super fast. It is after all the best city on earth - closely followed by New York of course

Good luck!

Hi i live in london and i have been to nyc, it is the same expect nyc is bigger and londoners are miserable but you should be okay

You might be miserable aerith. But 'Londoners' in my experience aren't generally miserable at all.

Give out misery, get misery returned to you.

Has anyone checked... do you mean £10k or $10k
The two are very different things.
You also need to remember that houses in the UK are much smaller than American suburban houses.(and much older).

OP will find the culture change pretty easy from NYC to London.

It's moving out to the provinces that are a big shock.

Definitely. I knew a woman who had moved from Caracas to London no bother but then went to live in Yorkshire. That was a culture shock!

And we're not miserable! I take exception to that comment .

I'm going to plug Peckham again - it's on the Overground so direct to Whitechapel (though the Overfround is quite a slow line) and your handy for the Dulwich Independents which are Dulwich College (boys), JAGS (girls) and Alleyn's (co-ed). All take from age 4 and possibly younger. Highly regarded.

Goodluck with your move OP. I am half American, half Brit.

Please don't worry about meeting people, London is very multicultural. As far as playdates go, do whatever you fancy. I am an expat and initially went through the first stages of inviting people over to my home, i find that that really helps you to integrate and for your kids to meet new friends. Just bite the bullet and invite someone, make the first move.
Have you lived abroad before? Lots of things won't be like back home and will just take getting used to. The homes are different eg. Walk in closets are rare and storage tends to be minimal. The washer and tumble drier are often kept in the kitchen too. Bathrooms may seem small versus US too.
People do tend to walk a lot more in the UK than the US.

I would avoid conversation about politics, Bush is generally disliked and Trump doesn't fair much better. Avoid talking about religion until you are very friendly with people too and avoid conversation about the right to bear arms (99% of brits don't agree with the US gun culture).
And lastly, don't tell people how long you are here for. Mums will tend to avoid making friends with you if they know you and your kids are going to walk right out of their little kids lives and break their hearts in a couple of years time.
Gosh i miss London.

Also check out your local WI.

Coming out of my lurking to mention Crystal Palace. We're on the Overground as well, and takes about 20 minutes to Whitechapel. Also got fantastic park with dinosaurs, the National Sports Centre with one of London's few 50m pools, lots of lovely cafes, bars and restaurants that are very child friendly and a lovely community feel. The downside is that it's pretty hilly everywhere but that gives us the most fantastic views all across London

Oh and a secondary school, the Harris Academy Crystal Palace, that is allegedly the most over subscribed state school in the country. I have not fact checked this though!

Playdates - you'd be expected to stay with the 2 and 4 year olds. For the 6 year old, I'm not sure - as this is after we moved away! I don't stay with him now but it might be different in Germany.

For the 2 year old I'd try to go to toddler groups or go to the same parks at the same time every week and from there you'll find you get to know people well enough to swap numbers and then you can invite them round or might be invited to their place for a coffee and a play.

The four year old will be entitled to a free preschool place (3 hours mornings or afternoons usually) or will be at school depending on when their birthday is. August 31st is the cut off. So you'll meet people through there and generally you'd work out who they tend to play with and ask them over some time. 6 year old definitely school friends, possibly activities too.

Download city mapper app. Choose London as location. Then you can choose start and finish stops

I don't have any advice but have really enjoyed this thread. Maybe I'm indulging in a little fantasy of where I'd like like to live in London with a decent budget. OP you come across as being open, friendly and positive which makes me think you'll have no trouble settling in here.

I would avoid conversation about politics, Bush is generally disliked and Trump doesn't fair much better. Avoid talking about religion until you are very friendly with people too and avoid conversation about the right to bear arms (99% of brits don't agree with the US gun culture).

To be honest, the GOP in general are unpopular here but I think most British people view Trump as either a psycho or a very bad joke. Obama is generally popular.

I saw Scott Walker being interviewed in London and refusing to give an opinion on whether evolution was real. The whole audience was

And guns are mainly associated with criminals - in cities, at least. One other warning, we are very protective of our National Health Service. Even if you hear us criticising it, don't be tempted to join in!

Whitechapel is very commutable. One of the great things about new technology is how much simpler it has made commuting, especially with children. Also They travel for free. Using TfL website from your phone, you can google your location and you can plan your journey instantly. It will tell you where to change, easiest and fastest routes. avoiding stairs if you have a buggy.

A tip from a seasoned Londerer is, once you have settled, in wander around your local area making a list of bus stop reference numbers. This way you will always know how long you have to wait for a bus, allowing just enough time, Essential trying to protect little ones from the weather.

Thank you all! DH said the company's two separate offices in London might merge soon, which will then put him near Mayfair. Which is great! We will definitely take all of the areas you mentioned into consideration. Thank you again!

Thank you camelfinger for the very nice compliment! I hope so. I can be on the bashful side at first

London is much bigger than New York Aerith

I posted earlier and it has gone AWOL.

I live in central London (Clerkenwell/ Barbican). I don't have children but lots of my friends do. The kids have a great quality of life - there is loads to do and your husband could walk to work.

With you budget you could rent a large flat or house.

School-wise I know children at the St Paul's Cathedral school which obviously has a christian ethos! But there are a few other schools in the area...

7 pages in and no one has mentioned the really critical things:

1. Do not refer to a fanny pack. You will be misunderstood.

2. Your husband should not attempt to buy suspenders to hold up his pants.

3. Conversely, you can safely say" Fag" (=cigarette), "Rubber" (eraser) and "Spook" (ghost or spy - no racial connotations).

Vive la difference, as our best frenemies, the French say. One of the exciting things about living in a new country is figuring out all the little cultural differences.

This and This are good intros into the differences between the UK and US psyches.

Make sure you know whether it's Mayfair (which tube?) or Whitechapel before you choose where to live as they are vastly different commutes.

I work at Aldgate (and I suspect given the money that your DH will be earning that his office will be closer to Aldgate than Whitechapel station; Whitechapel is a good 15 mins walk from Aldgate and 10 mins from Aldgate East (which is a separate station from Aldgate by the way).

Aldgate is also near the mainline Fenchurch St station which gives you access to a lot of Kent.

We live in Crouch End, North London, which I can do door to door in 30 mins on a good day. It has some beautiful houses and a very villagey feel. The route to Aldgate is mainline Hornsey to Moorgate and 2 stops on the tube to Aldgate.

There's a state Christian secondary school near us- Greig academy I think it's called.

When you are looking at commutes, the key is to find one with no or few changes as changes can often involve long walks underground through seemingly endless tunnels. Bank, for example, is a very bad station for that, as is Green Park. But some are super easy and just involve crossing a platform. Absolutely try it out before committing to one place.

For getting around locally without a car don't forget the buses- London buses are super frequent and easy and kids love the top deck. I do too!

I second Islington as a good likely fit for you.

Aldgate is also near the mainline Fenchurch St station which gives you access to a lot of Kent.

Er, no, Fenchurch St goes out into Essex, not Kent. North of the river, not sarf of the river. (Just saying so as not to confuse the OP.)

Fanny pack! Giggling at that! Its a bum bag isn't it?- I've never been sure
..

I stand corrected Harriet. I have never used it, just walk past it every day. It's definitely near Aldgate though!

OP, if you go to Redeemer in NYC or one of its plants, you should look at a church in London like St Helens Bishopsgate. They will help you find a church in your local area if you don't want to travel into the City.

There's also an American International Church at Goodge St.