Move from Canada to England

[Stufa]

Hello everyone,
I am new here and I hope I chose the right thread lol

I am a mother of 2 kids ( 4 years old and 13 months old). We live in Canada, but we are Italian. We probably will move to England really soon because my husband got a job offer in Alfreton. We will live there for 3 months (the company will pay for everything) and then we need to move in a house.
We would like to live in a city/village where is not necessary to use the car to go for grocery or other every day errands, with good schools/daycare and sport options for our kids. I will need to find a job and it will be better if it's in the same city.

My questions are:

1. How is to live in Alfreton?
2. Are there other city/village you can recommend?
3. It will be difficult to buy a house without a credit history in UK?

ps: We currently live in a city with a population of 100.000. I saw lovely villages of 2.000 people but probably they will not suit us. 10.000/20.000 will be ok :)

Thank you

I wouldn’t move to The Uk at all right now to be honest
Alfreton isn’t awful but it’s not very cosmopolitan and neither is that whole area. In fact I can’t think of anywhere commutable that might suit you.

I’d look at the suburbs of Nottingham. West Bridgford in particular is good for young families. Beeston would be another good option.

Never been to Alfreton, but Matlock and Ashborne are both nice enough little towns. The nearby Peak District area is beautiful. I would not reccomend Nottingham. If you want a proper big city, Sheffield is much better - a bit further away, but it looks like there is a direct train that takes less than 30 mins.
www.theguardian.com/money/2012/may/25/lets-move-to-matlock-derbyshire
www.theguardian.com/money/2017/feb/03/lets-move-to-ashbourne-derbyshire

I'm British, but lived abroad for some time before returning and buying a house. Many mortgage providers won't offer you a mortgage until you've been in the country for three years. We used L&C mortgage brokers to help us find one - I would reccomend them to anyone.

I would not reccomend Nottingham. If you want a proper big city, Sheffield is much better

Good Lord no.

Nottingham is not that bad. I wouldn't want to live in Alfreton though.

Ripley is supposed to be quite nice.

are you buying or renting? what's your budget?

What will you miss most about your current hometown ?
That way you can prioritise.
Google street view and trip visitor “things to do in” for example.
I wouldn’t move to Nottingham or Sheffield.

I live on the outskirts of Derby, and I wouldn’t want to live in Alfreton, it doesn’t have the best reputation locally. I like where I live, and Derby has lots of nice areas that would fit the bill for what you are looking for. Someone mentioned West Bridgeford in Notts and I have a friend who lives there and it’s a lovely place with lots going for it but might be quite a long commute to Alfreton as it’s the other side of Nottingham, anywhere else in Nottingham I wouldn’t even consider. What sector would you be working in? That might influence things.

Retford is less that an hour drive away and that’s a nice little town. I can’t think of anywhere else close that would offer what you want

I can recommend Allestree in Derby, good links to A38 (main road to Alfreton) and easy access to the A6 (Peak District/ Matlock bath/Cromford) a few (ofsted) good/outstanding schools too. It has its own shopping area. It’s also in the middle of 3 large park areas , one with lots of things for children. I believe there is a small Italian community around that side of Derby. Good luck

Chesterfield is lovely and Matlock isn’t too far away, Ripley and Belper are nice to.
I’d stay at home in Canada if I were in your shoes.

Thanks everyone for you answers!
We do like Canada, we have everything here..but we also miss Europe and the European culture, we like to change and have new experiences. We moved 3 times in Italy, than we moved to Germany (lived there for almost 2 years) and then to Canada (4 years).

We would like to buy a house, asking a mortgage, and for the moment I am looking for houses around 200,000 £.

I have a degree in Architecture and currently work as architectural drafter here in Canada. It's not necessary for me to work in my field, at least not right away. I like to work and not stay at home is my priority lol

Our main goal is to find a city that it's good our kids. The girl is still a baby, it's my 4 years old boy my worry. Here in Canada he is in Junior Kindergarten, while in England school starts at 5 so he will need to attend again daycare. Before Covid-19 he used to play indoor and outdoor soccer/football, he really likes sports and we would like to give him the chance to grow his passions.

Matlock might suit, Ashbourne is lovely but a little far. I actually really like Chesterfield too.

If your son turned 4 before 31st August, he would be in school. If not, preschool is much the same as junior kindergarten.

Good idea to move to England - far easier for you to get back to see your family in Italy.

I love living in a village, very good schools - I also think you need to shortlist what is important to you as a a family - countryside/city? Lots of families or quieter? Restaurants and activities etc.

I'm afraid to say Alfreton is not European culture unless you count going to the chip shop.
There are many beautiful villages in the area though your £200k budget might be pushing it. I would check travelling times but the other side of the Peak District is Stockport and Manchester which have a bit more life. My friends lived in Matlock but again it wasn't very lively. Buxton might work? They have moved to a tiny village where they struggle to walk the dog as so many stop and chat to them as that's village life.

I think you will struggle to buy a house in the UK with no credit history. It will take at least 2 yrs. Have you looked at the possibility of arranging an international mortgage before you leave Canada ?

I would NOT leave Canada for Alfreton! It's a small town which is not multicultural and rather deprived. If your husband wants to accept the job, plan on commuting from either a lovely Peak District town or one of the more pleasant suburbs of Derby, Sheffield or Nottingham.

Lived in the UK my whole life and have never heard of that place, i had to google it.

Is it to work for a chocolate company OP? Thornton's have their manufacturing and distribution there and they were bought out by Ferrerro (an Italian company so speaking Italian might be a bonus) a few years ago, essentially because Ferrerro wanted the manufacturing capacity in the UK before Brexit. It's the only thing I know of in Alfreton..... If it's not and you're looking for stop gap office work it's also their HQ. I've only ever driven through Alfreton itself but it didn't look like the nicest place to live

Retford? Jesus Christ no!
Brexit central
OP if you like European culture don’t move to Alfreton. That’s also quite a small budget for buying a house in most nice areas in The UK
I used to work as. Relocation agent Pre Covid and worked with a few Spanish clients who were moving to Derby with Rolls Royce, they were generally unimpressed

If I was given the option to stay in Canada or move to the UK, Canada would win hands down!

Thanks again to everybody, I am at work and I can't answer right away.

I know that Canada is appealing, but it is a huge nation and it's not the same everywhere. We are 100 km from Toronto, the city we live in is big but the 80% of it it's just residential. We love the north of Ontario, but without a permanent residence permit my husband can not change company....even if we are not too far to get the permit, we feel that our experience here is done.

The European culture that we miss is the history, the knowledge of the world before 1867 (the creation of Canada) lol , the literature, the music, be able to walk and get a beer, travel and be able to see something different everytime (here every city has the same buildings everywhere, even the houses are copied and pasted xD ).

I will take a look to all your suggestions tonight with my husband! Thanks again

I think you've come on the wrong forum here for a positive response! Try the local chat on mumsnet.