Moving to bristol shortly.

[mrdad2013]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly apologies for not being a mom, but hopefully dads are also allowed ;)

I have just got a job in central Bristol (walking distance to temple meads station) and we are looking to rent property in or around Bristol. There are four of us (wife, me and two kids, 2 and 4yo). We have 4 main requirements.

• 3 bed house (with a possible USABLE garden), 2 to 2.5 baths. Budget of about 800-1100GBP per month.
• Good primary school area. By good I mean something that will educate the kids well enough to get into a good secondary school.
• Safe. We are originally from South Africa and therefore have different views on safety then a lot of people. I don’t mind the occasional drunk running by and sharing his life philosophies but I frown on shootings, stabbings, armed robberies, rape and murder.
• I need to start work within the next 2 months.

I’ve looked on rightmove and there are some nice places there but I need ideas of suburbs (Henleaze,, Bedminster, Southville were recommended). I know to avoid the ‘saints’ and places like Clifton are too small and expensive. We are 100% child-centric so the place has to be best for children in terms of school and safety. Drinking, nightlife, “things to do “ are not a priority and we will worry about those when the kids are teenagers.

Also a question of residency. We all have EU passports by birth or ancestral connections so living in the UK is not a problem, I also have a signed contract from a UK company for a permanent position.

Can we rent without being a UK resident? I see a lot of adverts require you to be a resident. And I can’t become a resident without an address, so it’s a catch 22 situation. Similarly with banks, I can’t open a bank account without being a resident for 12 months but I can’t rent without a bank account.

Any and all suggestions and/or ideas are appreciated,

Thanks

Hey, Can't help with the legal/bank stuff but I can recommend you look at Totterdown, Victoria Park, Windmill Hill and Lower Knowle (eg around Perrett's Park/Redcatch road area) to look at for rentals. Good primary schools (Hillcrest and Victoria Park primary are good), safe areas with good community vibe and walking distance to Temple Meads.

Also renting privately through a landlord directly rather than an agency may be more flexible with regards to your lack of bank account, though you will probably need to stump up several months in advance together with the deposit...

You could also look at areas on a direct train line into Temple Meads. To the north of Bristol is Bradley Stoke/Stoke Gifford which has direct access via Parkway Station. Family friendly areas with good local facilities, and decent primary and secondary schools. Keynsham to the east of Bristol is a small town, again reasonable facilities for families, good primary schools and a great secondary (Wellsway School). To the south of Bristol Nailsea and Backwell again are small towns with good links into the city itself, but have good local facilities and schooling.

I don't know how much you know about the school system, but if you are using state education (free), then generally access to schools are based on where you live in relation to the school rather than ability of the child. There are a couple of exceptions to this with academy/free/religious affiliated schools, who have slightly different admissions procedures. You obviously have plenty of time to settle in and around Bristol before having to think about secondary schools and there are plenty of good primary schools all over the city.

With regards to the residency/ rental issues I would contact a couple of estate agents in the city and ask for their advice. They must have dealt with situations like yours before. I would imagine a letter from your employer stating the nature of your job and your suitability as a tenant may be ok to secure a house.

Not being British is not an issue with renting, but not having a UK credit record can be. I moved back to the UK after more than a decade overseas so had no credit record. I also wasn't working, which didn't help, but had more than enough money in the bank to pay for several years' worth of rent. Even so, I ended up having to get my elderly parents to act as guarantors on the rental contract.

If your employer is moving you over, they may be able to help with landlord references etc, but you may find you need to pay a larger than normal deposit.

Opening bank accounts can be tricky - in SA, do you bank with a global operator like HSBC or Barclays? That might make it easier to open one with a corresponding bank here.

Temple Meads is a pretty easy place to commute to - lots of bus routes go there, as well as several suburban train lines, and even the ferry.

You could look at the areas you have mentioned, or maybe the Stoke Bishop area (close to Sea Mills station on the Severn Beach train line, as well as on lots of bus routes), even at places like Keynsham, Oldfield Park or Saltford (on the train line between Bristol and Bath).

I don't think you really need to worry about safety in Bristol. Stabbings are very rare, and mostly to do with drunken violence outside pubs; I can't remember the last time there was a shooting in Bristol - I think it might have been a couple of years ago, and to do with rival drug gangs from London down here for a weekend.

One thing I would say is that you might have to tone down your expectations about bathrooms - most 3-bedroom houses in that price range would probably have just one bathroom, and maybe a downstairs loo. A very few of them might also have an en-suite shower room with the master bedroom, but it would not be that common. I'm afraid the lack of bathrooms in British houses is a common complaint from people from other countries. You may also be surprised at quite how small some of the rooms are.

You can open a bank account with a letter from your employer, though usually it means you'll have to use the same bank as they do (which shouldn't be a problem).

Your budget is too low for the kind of place you seem to be looking for though. You'll need to up your budget, or live much further out and drive in for work, or settle for a smaller place. As a previous poster said, you're most likely to have to compromise on bathrooms if you want the third bedroom. For the best bet on prices, look for private landlords rather than an agency if you can.

The closest schools to Sylvia Avenue would be Hillcrest primary, Victoria Park Primary, Knowle Park primary (in opposite direction to Temple Meads) and St Mary Redcliffe primary. All these schools are rated Good. Since you also have a 2 year old, you may also be interested in pre-school provision: St Mary Redcliffe primary is the only school locally that has a nursery class and there is also Redcliffe nursery school close to Temple Meads.
There is also pre-school provision at Sydenham road under 5s.
HTH

Brislington is a nice little place that would fit your criteria. The local primary, Holymead, is very well thought of, and there is a good community feel - check out the community FB page. It's an area that's"on the up" and is beginning to have quite an arty feel to it, if you know what I mean.