better to move where income is higher or lower?

[threeangels]

Does anyone have opinions on whether they think its better to live in an area where the pay is lower and the living expenses are quite low too or is it better to live where the cost of living is highter (homes and rents especially) but the pay is a lot better. We are thinking about relocating but Im trying to way the pros and cons of both situations. My dh feels its better to live where the pay is higher.

depends what your job is - some jobs pay the smae in "high income" areas as in other areas, but the rents are much much higher. A good example is teaching, but many large firms only offer a higher wage to those actually in London, not in other areas where rents/house prices are much higher. You should get some local papers from the areas you're looking at to check. (I'm writing this as someone who had to leave Brighton due to high rents - I was a teacher and care worker)

Well we want to move near dc we are now in tn. The job outlook is horrible because of the 911 incident. Everyone is closing up. Dc is a lot of government jobs and a lot of large corporations which is always going to be stable and constantly having money. Va is actually where we want to live right outside of DC. My husband will be a network administrator in Dec. The pay there is about 15,000.00 dollars more a year there for his position. May even be more in the large firms. I figured once we get locked into a mortgage eventually, the chance for advancement would be great because of the economy there. While homes are going up in price well have ours already and my dh can go up in pay as time goes by. What do you all think?

Slightly off the subject - but as one who didn't consider standards of local schools in the are I moved to , even tho I was pg - please do ! If you need to pay privatley al the local schools are c**p (as in my case ) it takes a big chunk of your salary.

threeangels, IME, even if the pay is lower the cost of living isn't much different. i.e the food in the shops is the same price, utilities cost the same, childrens' shoes aren't any cheaper etc etc. (true for a lot of the UK anyway).

The cost of rent/mortgage might be lower though so I suppose you could gain that way. Depends on what else you want out of where you live I suppose. We put up with c* pay because the schools are good, the air is clean, the countryside is beautiful, we have little stress and spend more time together. Therefore for us we do all round have a better quality of life. And whoever said you can't go back easily is right: we couldn't afford to go back to London unless I sold my soul to a corporate devil and even then we'd only be able to afford a cupboard since we've been out of the housing market there for so long. But I don't think I want to go back anyway. Good luck with your decision.

My main thing is to make sure there is a good economy job wise. Here people are being laid off so much. Its pretty scary. My dh works for Gateway Country computers and their laying off in so many of the stores. I myself do feel everything is close to the same expense but housing. A house there is double then here. The only good thing to me is the rent/mortgage. It really doesnt give you anymore money in your pocket though because of the low wage. It seems like theres good in both ways. But your right it depends on what you want out of life. I guess the money isnt always the best thing if you gain other positive things as you did.

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KS - no , its specifically the school very near me that's c**p. I can actually see it from my window we're that near, and was advised my the LEA that I didn't stand a chance of getting dd into any schools further away. Bear in mind this was 3/4 years ago now as she's nearly 8.

Generally I'd say the state schools in Brighton, and Hove particularly, are good but there are some duds and I just happen to be near one! Sorry to have worried you - are there any state schools you're particularly interested in ? Mabs

ks the only state schools worth going to in Brighton are Dorothy Stringer, Varndean and the RC Cardinal Newman School. Unless Patcham has improved enormously in 15 years

We moved from the South East to East Anglia two years ago & the change in lifestyle is amazing - country air, great schools, beaches nearby, low crime rate, the ability to buy a house twice the size we had before BUT I acknowledge we are very fortunate in that my DH has a very well paid job in senior management - I have no financial need to work but if I wanted to it would be almost impossible to find anything like the sort job/salary level I did before - we fully realise that if DH's job ended for any reason we would very likely have to relocate.

ks - from memory ds is only 5 so we're talking infants I think. Here goes ...(sorry if I offend anyone)

Surrenden area - Patcham's not good I'm afraid, I don't know personally but reputation ain't great. The only 2 schools to go for in that area are Balfour and Downs - I know people at both who love it.

Hove Park Area -

St Andrews - excellent (bit cramped but being rebuilt), down toward seafront so it'd be a drive, but lots of parents in that area use it .

Goldstone School - small classes , excellent head. Was bad but is improving daily . May be moving its location but don't know.

Westdene - very good

West Blatchington - absolute NO

Stanford School is good as is Summerhill but they're a bit further towards Brighton - not exactly sure of their catchment area.

Is Windlesham full then ? Did you see Mowden's prospectus? Deepdene is great but only infants at present but may be changing ...might be worth an ask ?

Do you have a Catholic bone in your body, cos they've got some good ones round here

As away for anything else MABS