Moving to NI questions

[hedgehoggle]

This is something we've started mooting for various reasons such as housing, quality of life... but had a few practical questions. Hopefully someone will be able to help!

We're considering areas around Belfast and I wondered:

1. How difficult is it to find a primary place? DS would be 5/6 probably, we are Catholic if that makes a difference.
2. How difficult is it to find a nursery place? DD will be around 1/2
3. What's the NHS like? And maternity care? Although maternity care couldn't be much worse than some places by us!

Thanks so much for any answers

My DC are 6 and 4 and both were low birth years, there's only 25 in eldest's class. Obviously it'll vary hugely area to area but I'd fancy your chances of finding a primary place.

Nursery place will vary on locality. I'd say you'll find something but you might need to be flexible on days. Remember there's no funded hours here so you'll pay through the nose for it until school age.

My experiences of the NHS and maternity care have been very good, but at the same time I know many who have struggled. It was true that there were as many people on waiting lists for over a year in NI as in England, despite the massively smaller population. Not sure if that's improved but I'd say not tbh. Get private health insurance if you can.

Depending on the area some state schools can be better than the equivalent in England.

Can't comment on the comparison in maternity care but some areas of the NHS are much slower in NI. For example, the waiting list for cataract surgery in England is about a year but in NI it's up to 4 (unless you have other medical issues).

@CelesteCunningham I've read a lot of mentions of private health insurance! Is it more of a thing in NI?

@PoachedScrambledBoiledFried Love your username Just had an omlette myself! The schools are a big part of the reason we are moving, they're dire by us... shocked at the 4 year cataract wait vs 1 year in England though!

Thanks for your replies

Schools will totally depend on where you move to. In general standards are good. There's a transfer test to secondary / grammar level.

NHS is poor. But maternity is fine. It's elective / non urgent stuff you'll wait years for hence people going privately.

Can’t help with primary/nursery places I’m afraid as my DD went to a prep school. Here in NI fees average around £5k/year so a lot more affordable than other parts of the UK. Most of the better state primaries near us seem to be increasingly oversubscribed. Looking further ahead though we have a truly amazing grammar school provision which does attract many families to move here at that age.

The NHS is dire at the minute and has been for a number of years. The disparity in our health service vs the rest of the UK is shocking. The head of the BMA in NI has recently stated that those who are able to afford private health insurance need to invest in it. It is no longer a choice or a luxury here - the only alternative is waiting years for medical care/surgery in a crumbling system. There is no way that I would feel comfortable with myself or my DD being uninsured nowadays.

Also - what area of Belfast are you hoping for? Will help other posters give you a better idea re: schools

Definitely get private health insurance, the NHS here is on its knees, and we dont have the systems here you are used to - online booking, self referrals etc

We're considering East Belfast or the area near Ormeau park, but are very open to suggestions as where the 'trendy' parts are. My husband works in universities so near to queens or ulster uni might be good as he'd feasibly end up working there. Alternatively we'd be open to a nice small town that is commutable to Belfast. Carrickfergus is supposedly nice, and we saw some houses in Ballymena that look decent. We wouldn't object to being near the coast and commuting in to belfast and saw a nice looking house in Cushendun...

Alternatively, any areas you can recommend?

Also for the private health insurance, approx. how much is it? (Per month/year or however it is paid).

Thanks so much for the responses, I really appreciate it It'll be a really big move for us, so trying to gather as much info as possible!

Cushenden is beautiful, but there is just one road in and out, across the glens and if its bad weather, you wont be going anywhere for a while . Also nothing there, a pub and a tiny shop. Its a tourist destination, national trust

Carrick is close enough to Belfast to drive in and out of with ease and has all the shops and restaurants you would need plus puts you in a good position to travel anywhere in the Provence with relative ease

Ballymena is just a skip to both Belfast and International airport and the ferry ports. Busy wee town . Obviously not the range of shops you will be used to, but again its 30 mins into Belfast and hour into Derry/Londonderry

We moved over 18 years ago, my DH is from Armagh, my parents are from Donegal. We have moved to North Antrim, the Triangle area. Once we get onto the A26 we are a skip and a jump to anywhere really. Traffic is nothing like England, 30 miles takes 30 mins, give or take a few tractors :) We chose here because DH remembered his holidays in Portrush, I needed to be close to a train station and a hospital so thats how we chose. We are really rural, we have primary schools but the kids have to travel to Coleraine/Ballycastle or Ballymoney for high school, which means long days for them, and parents needing to drive them to the nearest school bus pick up

I love it here, wouldnt live anywhere else. It did take a long period of adjustment , life here is completely different from back home. I was talking to a family today, the grandparents had been here a while but the kids and grandkids only a year - from Manchester . The Grandkids - now finished primary ready for high school in September love it here and have settled in well. Said to me they were preferring the schools here, have made good friends and love that they have the lifestyles they have now - lots of sports, lots of outside activities and of course, only being a spit away from the beaches here

North Coast area is hard to beat and part of Ulster University is in Coleraine and there is also the Magee Campus in Derry/Londonderry. Excellent secondary schools a lot of which are multi faith despite being labelled as Protestant or Catholic (tend to pick the one that suits you best despite its religious leanings) an hour will normally get you to Belfast from Coleraine and its an easy drive to the airport as well and there are regular bus and train services. Loads of beaches and activities for the kids (I felt like I was on a merry-go-round when mine were younger as they were at something every day but Sunday!) I often thought of moving back to my home area in Co Down but have stayed as this area wins out with services at hand.

I think I'd see where your dh is likely to get a job and go from there.

Jordanstown (where one of UU campus is, though it has moved lots to the new city centre campus) is lovely, right by the sea. Excellent primaries (both catholic, integrated or neither) and grammars. Good access to trains/ motorways for going into Belfast (in 10 minutes) or up north. Haven't had a baby here but my friends have recently and no issues with maternity care.

I've never regretted moving here 30 years ago! I live on the north coast and it's idyllic for the children mine loved growing up here and the schools are very good. House prices are fab!

Thanks all. One thing that concerns me - a lot of the people I read who move to NI/praise it often mention they have family links etc. We have no family links and would be coming in as total outsiders - my son/husband are English. Is there likely to be any frostiness/hostility towards them because of that? Especially worried about my DS in school/bullying... Partly I am basing this on my Welsh background as the Welsh can be VERY unfriendly to the English in certain parts.

I’d look at Hillsborough. Great schools, got a strong English vibe, which you might prefer. Commutable to Belfast (but a lot of traffic). 1.5 hours to the North Coast for day trips / holidays. 1.5 hours to Dublin for big events / days out.

My DS2 moved to NI for uni and has never left. He loves it there and has just bought a house, that would have been impossible at his age where we are on the south coast of England. Everyone he's met has been really welcoming and we found the same when we went over for his graduation. Belfast as a city is great but the countryside surrounding it is what draws us. If we didn't have family commitments here we'd be moving out there too.

My dh is English and my dc had English accents when we moved here. Neither have ever gotten any grief. Both made friends very easily.

It is strange for me to see people loving the Triangle area so much as I was born and bred there, and couldn't get out of the place quick enough. I will admit I got a great education, and the beaches and countryside is lovely, but it wasn't for me at all. YMMV, but I recommend a long holiday in February before you make a permanent movie, especially if you plan to live rurally.

Being English here was a concern of mine, esp being in a mixed marriage - IE catholic/Prod, and it was also a concern of DH - he being an Armagh Prod

Im an English born catholic born of Irish ( Donegal ) parents

Even Armagh has changed from the one I first visited back in 99 :)

Ok so you are never going to see a pub full of people supporting England, but I have never had much bother. I had a few smart remarks ( but Im going back 20 years ) at times but now mostly Im questioned about my love of this country and how I got to be here

In the past 20 years NI has moved on so far and there are more and more Brits moving over and making it their home and are finding it welcoming

I work in hospitality and believe me, I speak to as many Brits as I do born and bred NI in any day and they all say they couldnt believe how welcoming and hospitable people are

But they wont ever support England :)

@alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 , I really get what you say about the Triangle :) I Love it and it frustrates the life out of me constantly :) You do need to be of a certain mindset I think. When I first came, I was overwhelmed with the beauty and the laid back ways. Then I went through a few years of railing against it as being a backward hole. Now I love living here and really cant see me leaving

Do you like flags!
If you like flags you'll love NI.

God steer clear of Carrick - much nicer places to live!

Well if everyone is as friendly as you lovely people on here I'll be on to a winner

Last thought for now... how often would you suggest visiting before taking the plunge and moving? We wouldn't even be thinking about it for at least a year, probably 2 so there's plenty of time. But equally the ferry is £400 a pop, so it's going to be hard to visit a lot beforehand. We could fly but we'd then need to rent a car...

@hedgehoggle I bought our house and my dh didn't see it until we got the keys! I knew the area but didn't grow up in this part of NI.

I'd say at least twice generally. Flights are cheaper and you might find car hire isn't that expensive.

I grew up on on the outer edges of the Triangle (less than 20 miles from Portrush) and while I love the 'Port' I'm not sure I'd like to live there now. Housing is very pricey too. Hillsborough as suggested by someone else is lovely but again costly housing.

East Belfast is quite a good call. Decent primary schools and access to good grammars. Most of the so-called Protestant grammars are mixed in their religious composition, so you've got Campbell College for boys and Strathearn for girls. Our Lady's and St Patrick's, Knock, obviously has a Catholic ethos is a really good grammar, really supports the kids (mine didn't go there but I know some people whose kids did). There's also Dominican College. For secondaries, Ashfield Girls (which you won't need probably!) and Ashfield Boys have a good reputation.

Belfast would be easiest for you really if your DH is going to work at QUB or UU. UU has a beautiful new campus in the city centre. The area around Queen's is lovely too.

I don't think your husband/son would have any issues with being English. It's really not like that now. Yes there are pockets where the politics are fierce, let's say, but most of the country doesn't really care that much.

Same as @circular2478 , DH saw the house for the first time the day we moved in :)

I spent maybe 3 months searching online for a house using property pal and a scatter gun approach, looking at what type of property was available for our budget, then started to narrow it down. You will see the same estate agents names and it was the girls on the end of the phone working those agents who were my greatest source of "inside information". Id be on the phone to them at least weekly asking about this or that property and sussing out the area. Finally shortlisted to 5 and flew over to view them all the same day. Picked 5, one was a new build that I had originally only had the drawings for and really wanted, one I knew was up there as a serious contender and three that I really liked but werent really sure about. The new build had been completed, and was 100K more in price and the plot was a nightmare, the three not sures were non contenders when viewing and the serious contender was bought before I walked in the door :) Our first invited night out for a drink was with one of the girls from the estate agent and her husband

As @Treesinmygarden , theres just wee pockets of bigotry/sectarianism , those would be the areas that come up on the news mostly but some wee villages in the countryside would also have lines drawn. Im in the country and none of that really effects us ( my family ) at all

I deal with people across NI through work, and I can honestly say, there are areas that have shocked me - some of the people I can only describe as feral, sadly! - but they are very much in the minority now.