Where to land in the UK

[BevfromSA]

Hi all, I may be blessed with a Project manager job in IT in Crewe next week, my Son (17yrs) and I (& 2 dogs) are emigrating from SA end December. Please help me with a place to live. I'm hearing Crewe is not a good choice. My son may want to go to University in Chester some time so I would like to find a village somewhere south of Chester I think. I can afford about 800pounds rent a month and would like a "nicer" village to settle in. I love rural but he's a teen so needs a gym nearby etc... can you help please? Where? Ive been online for hours

It’s not just qualifying for a student loan you need to think about. He will probably not qualify for home student fees at university. Overseas fees can be much higher. Having said that Chester University’s international fees seem quite low, which probably reflects its reputation.

Crewe honestly isn’t bad. Nantwich is lovely but you’re looking at a 2 bed flat with that rent.

Look at:

Wistaston/Willaston/Shavington
Sandbach

and then slightly further afield:

Northwich
Hartford
Holmes Chapel

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113242694#/?channel=RES_LET

Have you checked that he is eligible for funded post 16 education? It isnt automatic by any means

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1007458/16_to_19_funding_guidance_Regulations_2021_to_2022-Version_1.2.pdf

@Chemenger

It’s not just qualifying for a student loan you need to think about. He will probably not qualify for home student fees at university. Overseas fees can be much higher. Having said that Chester University’s international fees seem quite low, which probably reflects its reputation.

Or funding for A levels etc

Is your employer getting you a visa if you need one? I assume so. And it’ll cover you and your son as a dependant?

@daisypond

Ok, have I got this straight? You’re in South Africa now but are relocating to the Crewe area. Your son is at school in South Africa. You want him to come with you to the UK and attend university in the UK at a local university near to where you will live.

If your son is 17, how many years of school does he have left? Could he stay in South Africa if it’s only a year? He won’t be eligible for Student Finance to get a loan for university in the UK. Can you afford international fees? It’s not typical that students live at home while attending university, though it does increasingly happen. For a young man newly arrived in the country, I would strongly suggest he does not live at home with his parent. It will make it difficult for him. There are far better universities than Chester to go to in order to study the subjects you mentioned.

My Son is 17yrs old, turning 18 the day before Christmas. He is completing his AS Matric this year in South Africa. He would have to start with his A-Levels in the UK and we had hoped it could be online hence hoping it could be done as a South African on those rates so it wouldnt cost me so much. I do not think I can afford International fees and "no" He will Not stay in South Africa on his own to do any further schooling, Firstly it is only the two of us and secondly he qualifies now for a Dependent Visa and will arrive in the UK on that.

In SA it is not a problem for a student to attend University and live at home, it shocks me a bit that there may be a stigma around this in the UK, which is what Im understanding from your text. It is far more costly to pay for residence on his own and then I must pay rental on my own, that doesnt make sense.

I do not know what universities there are available in the UK yet, as I mentioned my new employer merely suggested Chester to try out of kindness trying to help. I will investigate these separately from this post and that is not what my post was about initially.

This can be all very confusing

Thank you for the guidance

@daisypond

Is your employer getting you a visa if you need one? I assume so. And it’ll cover you and your son as a dependant?

I was not planning on that, we are applying for an AV and Dependent visa

I know loads of young people who stay at home and study, there's lots of choice from that area.

In terms of travel a benefit of Crewe is the great train links.

Sandbach has fewer trains but you can still go to the Manchester universities. That line goes through Holmes Chapel and Goostrey. Another line goes from Stoke to Manchester and goes through Congleton.

The Crewe to Liverpool line goes through Winsford, Hartford and Acton Bridge for Liverpool universities.

Staffordshire University is accessible from Stoke station.

There's a train from Crewe to Chester too.

As you are planning on bringing your dogs with you, have you read up on the regulations about that? They are quite strict, and include time restrictions, so you would need to get organised well in advance in order to bring them at the end of December.

We moved our pets from SA to the U.K. in a 9 week timeframe - highly recommend Global Paws if you haven’t already started the process.

Staying at home and going to uni isn’t an issue, a lot of my friends in that area did the same. It won’t mark him out.

There is or used to be a South African expats in the North West group on FB who were really supportive when we relocated.

It is not a stigma as such , just limiting in terms of choice of courses and prestige of uni. Will he learn to drive? A few of dd's peers commute to uni, as they only have a few days of classes to attend each week (even less at the moment) and can drive themselves to and fro, but the majority live away.

Your ds will also be 2 academic years "behind" his UK peers who usually take A levels, IB , Level 3 etc before turning 19. Indeed funding for a level 3 course is only available those under 19 on 1st September.

No, there’s no stigma about living at home while being at university. It’s more that it will limit him in where to apply and also perhaps in making new friends at university.

[quote Tooembarrassingtomention]Have you checked that he is eligible for funded post 16 education? It isnt automatic by any means

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1007458/16_to_19_funding_guidance_Regulations_2021_to_2022-Version_1.2.pdf[/quote]
Thank you for this

18 is late to start A levels, UK students will mostly be finishing them at that age and starting university. If his South African qualifications aren't enough to get him onto a degree course (I'm not familiar with the SA education system, sorry), maybe an access course would be a better idea than trying to find somewhere he can do A levels? Maybe that is what your employer had mind re Chester: www1.chester.ac.uk/international/courses/centre-foundation-studies/international-foundation-programmes

That would bring him up to the standard needed to apply for a degree course.