Moving to the U.K. for a year? What do I need to know?

[hummmuna]

Posting here for traffic.
My job has asked me to move to the U.K. for the year. We were hoping for a September move to coincide with a new school year. My dh is ok with this and he has had permission from his job (in Ireland) to work from home, from the U.K.

So we have started to look for somewhere to rent and near schools so dh can collect dc. And then we won't need childcare. What do I need to know about bills in the U.K.? Our only bill is here electricity and mortgage. We don't have water bills. What is the average water bill for a 3 bed house? What else do I need to know?

We have 2 dc and one will be in what I can see as year2 as she is in her 2nd year of schooling here now so if she starts there in September it will be year2. The youngest will go straight to reception. Eldest is just turned 7 now and the youngest is 5 in July.

What else do I need to do/be aware of? Thank you

I'm worried about the school years now. I can't really have them moving up a year they will be out of their depth completely!!

I wouldn't worry about that at all. The Irish school curriculum is more advanced than the UK one. Your children will be fine slotting into an older group. Have a look at Twinkl and look at the work set out for each year. You'll see for yourself that years that sound like they are higher in the UK do similar to the year behind them in Ireland.

Please think very carefully about your plan to come alone and fly back at the weekends. If travel is restricted at all during that year, as it is now, you could potentially go for weeks/months without seeing your children...certainly not a risk I would ever take.

Don't worry about this either. I know someone who travels every week. Its fine. Her biggest issue is that she might sometimes have to arrive into Dublin airport and drive to her county rather than arrive to her nearest airport.

Council tax is the main bill i find quite expensive and annoying since moving here 😂
But I find the electricity, internet, Netflix and general day to day life cheaper than when I was in Ireland (I live in London and moved from Dublin)

I wouldn’t worry about the school thing - I have a few friends and a cousin moved here from Ireland and their kids were similar age (7/8) and technically skipped a year - but it wasn’t a huge jump and they got on fine! :)

You’ll get to use the nhs as well which I bloody love - I used to have to pay 50euro a visit to the gp when I was back in Ireland

Warm clothing, also that schools keep closing but other than that school starts age 4/5

Age 4 to 5 is reception and 5 to 6 is y1 and your eldest will be year 3

@Gobbeldegook I cannot choose where I am going unfortunately as I am going to a specific company in a specific place

Thank you ever I will have further talks this week in work.

Ill tell you my bills but it varies widely. A lot of v rich pp on here. Some spend 2k per month on rent!

From varous mn threads over the years I think my bills are average, outside london, but my mortgage is v low.
Monthly:
Mortgage £289
Council tax. This is the law and you cant not pay unless on benefits / v v low pay. £92
Water inc sewerage. £32
Gas and electric combined £78. Cheap I think, but brits love to freeze and try to get it to zero, while spending £££ on wine and cheese! Not me!
BT (british telecom, landline and wifi) £50. Other providers available.
Mobiles (me and two teens) £50. Cheaper phones.
Netflix £5.99
Tv licence £9
This adds to roughly £600 per month fixed costs. 3 bed house, 3 people.

Then:
Food £70 per week.
Petrol £50 per week, in normal
times.
Rest on spend / save.

Also on the travelling back regularly - it feels like it’s not a long trip / it will be easy - but tbh it’s exhausting

Pre Covid I popped back and forth a lot! Weekends here and there / family birthdays / weddings / funerals / just to see my family etc!!

It’s very tiring - I’d work all day on Friday and then take an 8pm/9pm flight! I’d have to take a tube to the train station then a 50min train to airport, then there’s the waiting - usually a slight delay - flight time nice and quick once in the air - then you’ve the huge walk the other side to get out, then you have to get yourself home after that!

If it goes smoothly it’s grand - but there’s been heaps of times I leave my London office at 5 and it all goes wrong and I get home to Dublin at 1am - it’s crap. It’s very little time that you have then - as you have to fly back on Sunday evening!!

Haha I wouldn’t bother with looking at schools. We don’t even have them open here anymore

Pardon the direct approach.

Are you getting a pay rise ?

If so, make the money work for you., get a cleaner at home to come in twice a week, if your DH can cook great, if not time for him to hit the ground running.

My DH worked away Monday to Thursday, for more or less the last thirty years, it is a ball ache at times but you get used to it, one year in my opinion should be a doddle. My worst one was the time he was asked to go to Zurich to help out for a week, nine months later. He did come home every weekend, but it took nine months for me to get fed up with it, so as I said a year should be doable.

Offer to work longer days Monday to Thursday and leave early on a Friday or WFH at home (IRL) on a Friday, leaving late on a Thursday get the red eye back on a Monday.

Will you be flying into Dublin ? Again make the money if there is extra work for you and have a regular driver pick you up, if you are flying into Dublin I am sure you know the upstairs to departures walk to the very end and jump into a car that is more ya dropping off.

@OverTheRainbowLiesOz

Some areas have a separate sewage bill to a different company.

Don't they just!

Think Bristol water and Wessex water combined them as so many people were saying ''Paid it already''.

Council tax is very low in some areas and sky high in others.

Groceries / food shop.is much cheaper on England than in Ireland. I used to go over to Ireland to cottages and was gobsmacked by the prices. Often triple the price, meat quadruple the price. Shop would be £200+ rather than £70 for week, even buying as cheap as poss and taking into account currency conversion.

@Heyahun

Also on the travelling back regularly - it feels like it’s not a long trip / it will be easy - but tbh it’s exhausting

Pre Covid I popped back and forth a lot! Weekends here and there / family birthdays / weddings / funerals / just to see my family etc!!

It’s very tiring - I’d work all day on Friday and then take an 8pm/9pm flight! I’d have to take a tube to the train station then a 50min train to airport, then there’s the waiting - usually a slight delay - flight time nice and quick once in the air - then you’ve the huge walk the other side to get out, then you have to get yourself home after that!

If it goes smoothly it’s grand - but there’s been heaps of times I leave my London office at 5 and it all goes wrong and I get home to Dublin at 1am - it’s crap. It’s very little time that you have then - as you have to fly back on Sunday evening!!

A person I knew commuted from Bristol {Airport} to {Northern}Ireland every weekend ...{Ireland was her True Home} She lives in Ireland permanently now.

Your children will be fine, really, the school will help them and they will pick up things quickly if there are things they haven’t yet done.
Good luck whatever you choose 🙂

@Heyahun my employer pays my health insurance here and has assured me they will pay similar in the U.K. also.

@Boatonthehorizon I shop in aldi/lidl and do my weekly shopping for approx €80

@FinallyFluid yes there will be an increase but the main increase is the position I will move up to after this.

Dd5 doesn't know letter sounds at all yet as she hasn't started so how can they put her in year1?

I don't understand this...is your five year old not in Junior Infants?

A person I knew commuted from Bristol {Airport} to {Northern}Ireland every weekend ...{Ireland was her True Home} She lives in Ireland permanently now

Which one? NI or Ireland?

Council tax varies a lot between areas - we sold a house in London - council tax around £180 a month and moved to a much cheaper rural house (40% cheaper) and council tax £270 a month Water bills can very quite a bit area to area too depending on how much coastline/environmental costs etc as well as usage.

@FinallyFluid dh is extremely helpful, he always has been. My career has always been important to me and he is aware of that. He pitches in with everything to be honest. We are very equal though on the most part, and most of the time it's me who "backs off" from house duties as such

@Fufumuji no I didn't intend on starting her until sept. She turned 5 last week.

@Fufumuji

Dd5 doesn't know letter sounds at all yet as she hasn't started so how can they put her in year1?

I don't understand this...is your five year old not in Junior Infants?

A person I knew commuted from Bristol {Airport} to {Northern}Ireland every weekend ...{Ireland was her True Home} She lives in Ireland permanently now

Which one? NI or Ireland?

With the introduction of the second ECCE preschool year many of the incoming Junior Infants will turn 5 in their second year of preschool and start JI the following September.

I haven’t read through all of this thread but my advice would be to find out which schools other people in your company send their children to.
The other thing which I don’t know has been covered is that in large towns and cities in England there will be several schools - local authority schools, Church schools mainly Catholic and CofE and private schools.
Some people here do keep their children back a year especially if they are young in the school year - that happens more easily in a private school.
And the other thing which I have seen mentioned that is if you do want your child to go into Reception (first year of Primary for children turning 5 in the year from 1st Sept) this Sept, school places will already have been allocated in the state system so it may be easier to find a school with a place in Year 1. There will be a wide range of ability so I wouldn’t worry about your child being too far behind. Your dilemma might be which year should they go into when you go back to Ireland!

Go solo and fly home. You're not that far away, and it will be a lot less hassle.

@hummmuna

Now I'm thinking it may be easier for all of us if I go over and come home at the weekends?

That would probably be easier for you, but I doubt it would be easier for your husband or your kids. Being without their mum for much of the year would be very hard and your parrner will have to work full-time and be a single parent the whole time?

You'll have to check cut offs for applications to schools.

I think you'd be incredibly lucky to get 3 children into their school years without living in the catchment area beforehand

Application for places is made months before and allocation goes on postcode etc

It is a real possibility your children may be at different schools depending on demand in the area. It’s probably worth ringing the council schools admissions office for where you will move and see what the situation is.

School is going to be your biggest issue.

In year places are given based on space. Generally, good schools are full, spaces are in the leas desirable school. You can go on waiting lists, but unless you’re in a high mobility area like London you can be waiting a long time for a decent school.

It may also be the school with places you are allocated is not near your home, and you may not get the same school for both children.

You can’t apply to the school for a place without a local residence.

I moved in the july. Applied straight away. One child was out of school until October half term. The other was a bit longer, and was offered a different school a 15 min drive away in the opposite direction. Total pita. Option was take the school place or keep her at home.

I appealed, but lost as nearby schools were overfull and as I had a car I was deemed able to take her, or they would pay for the bus.

I would consider commuting if it’s only a year. Perhaps try to negotiate leaving at fri lunchtime and getting in at 10 on a monday, as you will be able to work late/start early the other days with no family commitments