It's toughie! Which country would you be relocating to?
We moved to Belgium 3 years ago. We didn't receive any help with our house in the UK, and ended up selling it, as rent wouldn't have covered our mortgage either. The company paid 3 months rent on our new apartment here whilst we got settled, and i think we got 1000 euros for expenses/furniture/white goods etc. The cost of the move was also covered.
Depsite having a long list of items in their relocation policy (language classes, school fees etc), we never got anything else as DH negotiated a higher salary.
I was the main wage earner in the UK, but DH was offered a much greater opportunity if we moved. As my CV is quite strong, I figured I would find something sooner or later, and actually started a new job 2 months after we moved.
Financially speaking we don't feel quite as well off as we were in the UK. Rent is expensive - to a get a largish, decent place. Tax is extortionate, but lots is tax deductible - child care/household helop etc.
Food/groceries seem to be really pricey. I'm amazed at these threads where people feed their family on 30 quid a week. My shopping budget for 3 of us is 120 euros and I often exceed that if I need washing powder etc. We have a nice standard of life, but I know we used to have more cash for clothes/luxuries than we do now.
On the positive side, I think it is so much more family friendly here. There are loads of activities laid on for children, and schools are set up to cover befoe/after school and holidays, at very reasonable cost.
I like being centrally located. Easy to get back to UK but also it makes the rest of Europe more accessible. Holidays in France seem cheap, and we've done weekends to the Ardennes, to Germany and Holland.
Kindergarten starts at 2.5 and my daughter is in her 3rd year. She is so happy at school, bilingual, and has really benefitted from the opportunities available. She is a lot more outgoing and confident than I ever was a child.
The hardest thing for me has been making new friends. I still to some extent feel isolated from family and friends, though I do have a couple of people I could call on here in a real emergency. We have a good babysitter so do get out from time to time in the evenings.
The Belgian's are quite conservative, and very family centred. It takes a long time to get to know them well, and I have yet to be invited to a social occasion by anyone I work with. As I've been working full time, it meant I didn't get to do the toddler group thing either, though I joined the local NCT and have met people through there. You have to put yourself out there so to speak.
Well I have waffled for ages. Overall, I do not want to move back to England, and this has been a very good opportunity for our family. I think it can be hard going at times though and you need to be prepared for that.