Aussie mums who live/have lived in the UK.......I need help!!

[mymama]

We are going to UK for a year on 4th October this year. Have booked and bought our flights and passport apps etc are lodged. I have lots of questions though.

DH is in I.T. and planning to work whilst over there. He is eligible to work as his parents are British. He is hoping to get a job before we leave. Obviously this will restrict our options but if we had an idea of nicer family friendly areas we would direct our efforts to those areas. So...

If you could settle anywhere in England where would you go (considering the work/school options as well)?

Where would you strictly avoid?

Is it relatively easy to enrol our children in schools? Should this be done before we leave?

What is the best accommodation option when first landing in London (first week or so)?

Is it easy to rent a house?

Is it possible to live/work without a car?

Personal experiences would be fantastic and tips on what to do/what not to do. tia

sittingbull my children will be 9, 6 and 4. We have no idea where in London as we have never been there before. We are in Brisbane in Australia if that helps any. We have a v good friend in Milton Keynes.

I guess we would like a nice family area that does not mean a long commute for dh. By long I mean anything longer than 1 hour each way.

If we could get by without a car I would need to walk to school and shops or bus/train for the shops possibly.

bump

I stayed here when I first arrived in the UK

here very friendly people, close to Hyde park - 5 min walk at the most, close to tube - on central line

dh and I lived here and we commuted - lovely village with great little school and close to main centre of Chelmsford - handy to M25, straight into liverpool street station. We rented a fab detached house close to the danury country park area, a quick walk into the village itself, good pubs within walking distance - we would often walk over the hill for pub lunch.

here h

you can walk the children to school - bus into Chelmsford for shopping, tescos within 5 minutes drive to Maldon, so-op shop in town. Great asian take away. We loved living there.

We had no problem renting a house.

Thank you for the links eidsvold. I was hoping you would come along.

As an Aussie arriving in the UK was there anything you wish you had known before you got there? I guess a little different as you arrived single didn't you?

nah - think it was a learning curve as it would have been for dh coming here.

I think having a job to go to made it much easier than just fronting up at a teaching agency and hoping for the best.

It was really a nice area where we lived although somewhere like Brentwood would be the same - bit closer to London on the train line. Lovely area again - friends lived there, very good schools too.

Message withdrawn

Leighton Buzzard is nice. Fairly economical. That's where we moved from. Most of the schools have good reps.

45 mins by train to Euston (London)
30 mins to MK (LB is in between MK & London)
30 mins to Watford (huge shopping centre, although MK has a huge one too)

Walk from most place in LB to the town/local doctors/dentist. I don't drive & never had problems getting around. Good bus service locally & to MK, Aylesbury, Dunstable, Luton Etc

Huge Tesco/Morrisons/smaller Waitrose. Boots/Argos/Good eating out/Pubs

bloss - I had no trouble opening a bank account but I guess that is cause the teaching agency I was working with had an association with a bank and so I just had to front up with a letter from them and my passport.

if your dh does get a job before you leave then again the company should be able to help him set that bank account up.

I know city bank do and there is a HSBC I think in the City ( brisbane ) as another option. Think friends of mine used citibank to set theirs up.

Thanks for the replies. Had wondered about the bank account. We are Suncorp here so might check it out.

eidsvold - the place you stayed when you first arrived - would it be fine for a family of 5?

My dh will be taking 6 months long service leave and 6 months unpaid leave so at least he will still be paid here for first 6 months also. Still really hoping on the job before we leave though. Would dh most likely find work in Milton Keynes or London?

sandcastles - funnily enough our good friend I mentioned at Milton Keynes is actually staying with family at Leighton Buzzard at the moment. She is recently returned from Australia (having left her husband behind). She plans on settling in Woburn Sands. I think it would be nice to be around that sort of area as she can help guide us on Schools etc.

Are schools same as Australia? Can we just enrol our children when we get there or do they have waiting lists we need to get on to?

What sort of references do rental agencies look for? We haven't rented a house for 13 years so can't get one from real estate. Possibly employment and personal references? Would they count the Australian employment here or only the UK employment? dh works for govt department and has been with them for 12 years.

they do a tarrif for 5 to a room ... theyy were great - I sorted it all via email and they recommended a transfer service as well - great.

I just had a letter from the my teaching agency and that was fine by my real estate agent when I first rented my flat. I think second time round when dh and I rented a house we had to provide proof of income.

Hi mymama
Another Aussie here!! I am just about to do the opposite to you and move to Oz from the UK so I know the questions you have are the same as me.

You can get by without a car here as public transport is generally ok, tho I am in London and near a tube station. Tricky for doing grocery shopping but all the big supermarkets have online shopping so you can have it all delivered.

In the past friends who haven't been able to provide references when renting have been given the option to pay 6 months rent in advance. Maybe you could have DHs new employer write a letter when you get here.

I have found that generally finding work has never been a problem as Australians have a really great reputation as hard workers in this country.

Can't think of anything else at the moment but will be in touch if I do. Good luck!!

thanks superloopy. There just seems to be a lot to organise even for one year. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Looked up non UK resident bank accounts yesterday. 175 pounds to open an account. .

dh works with an I.T. contractor from the UK. He has been great for advice with regards to that area. He seems to think that dh shouldn't have a problem and should be able to get good pounds/hr with his experience and quals.

I'm not an Aussie, but we're about to make the move in the other direction and my DH is in IT here so hope you don't mind me butting in. There are plenty of IT contracts around at the moment - obviously depending on your DH's specific skills. If you like I can ask DH to recommend some agencies; most of the big companies have "approved contractor" lists so you need to make sure you deal with agencies with good contacts. DH was getting a team together last year and couldn't even consider CVs sent in if the agency wasn't on their list, regardless of how good the person sounded. Most of the work is London based - we live in East Sussex and DH has a 2 hour commute each way which I wouldn't recommend! IT also has a very long hours culture (one of the reasons we're making the move), but compared to Australian salaries you are talking big bucks. It's unlikely you will be able to organise schools until you get here if you are looking at state schools - how old are your kids? If you miss the main points of entry (for state schools these are reception (rising 5), Year 3 (juniors - age 7/8) and Year 7 (secondary - age 11/12) you might have a better chance of getting spaces, but the obligation of the LEA (Local Education Authority) is to provide your kids with "a school place" and obviously you tend to get spare places at unpopular schoos. You are entitled to "express a preference" here, not to choose. Most schools will want to see proof of address - I was amazed recently when we visited schools in Sydney who said they would take our children on the basis that we intended to move to the area and were extremely puzzled when I explained the school place hysteria here. Schooling starts earlier here as well - most kids start the term in which they turn five. I can't help with the culture shock thing, but any other questions feel free to ask.

West London! Come and live in West London around Kew, Richmond, Ealing, Acton, Isleworth, Twickenham, Sunbury, Teddington, Kingston...........

There's a great and very active MN bunch who meet regularly. We have Americans and Aussies and German and French so we're very multi-cultural.

Kids range in age from newborn to 6 (i think) so yours would fit right in.

Altho, I cannot deny, all those with older kids seem to be having dilemmas finding good schools. It seems dependent on (amongst other things) living in the catchment area.

Pop over to the West London Meet Ups thread and ask some questions.

It's a lovely area of London to live, you can get to Waterloo in 30 mins or have easy tube access. There's Kew and Richmond park amongst others for green spaces.

You can get by without a car for sure.

Alternatively places like St Albans are nice and commutable etc but tbh price-wise not a great deal cheaper than this area.

I work in IT and have lived in Sydney altho was YF&S in those days. The IT employment market is quite bouyant here right now altho not sure what your DH specialises in.

Anyways, good luck with the adventure. Don't worry, you can get TimTams and Anzacs at the supermarket these days. Cheezels and Violet Crumbles and Freddos can be got from the Australia shop in Covent Garden.

Thanks for the replies. To be really honest I am not sure what dh specialises in . He mumbles about networks and architecture regularly. I am technophobic so will have to ask more.

thanks very much for the advice re agencies superloopy. It would be great if you could give us some more info on those.

Paddlechick666 if you are any indication of the locals West London sounds lovely, very welcoming.

It all depends on where dh gets a job really. We are going to aim for certain areas and go from there. He can start applying in 3 months as well will be 6 months from departure.

hi mymama

the other mums are much nicer than me!

come live here!

happy to help with more advice etc so CAT me if you'd like.

good luck with it all.

a family like you gives me hope that one day my wanderlust and itchy feet can be indulged once again

guildford

epsom and ewell a friend lives here and its lush!

thanks for the replies. been away camping for a few days at the lovely Sunshine Coast so haven't had a chance to get on. Will check out those places nappyaddict.

is it only london and surrounding areas you are looking at?

Hi another aussie here, have moved uk, aust and back to uk and I am thinking about coming home. Been here too long.
When you have an idea of an area your moving to ie: the borough of london or the county please contact there school admissions dept can do this on email. there are set entrance times for applying for a school place which you will need to do for your 4 year old. it is complicated admission rules, catchments and class size prejudice. at KS1 reception, year 1 and 2 classes cannot go over 30, so please look into it. you can get buy with a car but it does make life easier with one, if it is raining, snowing etc. where abouts in brisbane are you from Im from Wellington point.

sorry should be without a car.