moving to London!!

[JJ]

We're moving back to London sometime in the next three months.

Whoo hoooo!

Where are you now?

Hurrah! Can you bring ks with you?

Where are you going to live?

Switzerland. We lived there for a couple of years a while ago. I'm so excited and stressed. Now I just have to find a school, a nursery and someplace to live.

How old are your kids?

Yes, of course you are, I remembered just after I pressed the post button . I hope you find the right place. I find that everytime I move country (not that I do it very often) I remember all the best bits about the last place and notice the annoying bits about the current place. Different cities have such different lifestyles don't they, it takes a while to adjust to the new pace.

Where do you want to live?

RIght! That was the question I meant to ask. We want to live somewhere with good private schools, good access to Central London and within 45 minutes (door to door) of Canary Wharf. Maybe Victoria Park? Or Greenwich if we can't find a school in east London. (He has a possible place at a school there)

The boys are 6 1/2 and nearly 3. I'm soooo sick of moving and want to stay at least 5 years this time.

Sorry no good at SE London. Anywhere on the Jubilee line would be good would it not? How much do you want to spend or are you renting?

Oh, JJ how great. We'll be able to meet.

Ooooh, JJ I live directly across the river from the Cutty Sark. I don't know about schools though, but the DLR will get you from Greenwich/Cutty Sark to Canary Wharf in about 20-25 mins.

I don't think we'll buy .. it's not a good time to do it? I guess if we saw something perfect. Hmmm, I don't know. My husband handles the finding of the house. He's really done very well the past couple of times, so I'm inclined to let him do it again. Plus, we'll have to work around whatever school will take the boys. I'm hoping Gatehouse by Victoria Park, because it looks nice and people have said good things about it. Or Bow or Bethnal Green?

Boy I'm psyched.

Not that it will necessarily tip the balance - but my WW leader (who is a complete sweetheart) also does classes in Greenwich and (I think) Poplar.

If you're renting have you thought about living near Canary Wharf? There are no private schools so you would have to get the DLR to Greenwich, but you would be going against the rush hour so it would be fairly easy. And most of the developments have swimming pools and concierges which makes life much easier. Don't choose Canary Riverside though, they get membership of Holmes Place which doesn't allow children in the pool outside of office hours or after 11am at weekends.

Ooooh, Victoria Park, definitely! It's lovely. Lived there for three years and miss it loads. 15 mins bus ride to Canary Wharf. Frocks restaurant. The Crown pub. The park on a sunny day. It's great for kids round there too, I always thought. sigh

I think you should buy, there's little chance of losing out in most parts of London. Even if you don't make a lot, you're unlikely to lose money and very likely to make it. I'm near the Jubilee line...... but not Sarf (Swiss Cottage nearby).

Ooh, thanks guys. You are tipping it in favour of Victoria Park/ South Hackney. (Sorry bran!) There are houses we could afford there.

How do you buy a house and get a mortgage? What is the typical rule of thumb for the amount (I've heard 3x salary -- does that include bonus or not?)? What kind of down payment would we need? The money we'd use for a down payment is in USD now, so we'd have to transfer it over before we became resident in the UK (tax regs). Are there any good mortgage calculators?

Hmmm, although I'm advocating buying, I haven't got a bloody clue!

OMG, there are around 5000 different types of mortgages out there!

Off to do a search on trusty ole MN for help (and google it, too, but that's a bit more overwhelming)

ks, thanks! It was what I was thinking, although not counting in bonus. Does anyone know how that works? Is bonus considered in mortgage calculations?

How much of a down payment do I need? I think we could easily do 10%. Is that enough?

I should start a thread on this next week, probably, but any advice is welcome.

Have any fave property websites?

Try findaproperty and Prime Location

Glad it's all official now JJ . I have friends who have primary school aged children, and they live in Greenwich. V happy with the schools and the area , though her oldest son aged 12 now travels to Dartford for his secondary education.

Well, it's not exactly official. No forms signed or anything (or whatever you do to make it official). In fact his current company doesn't know yet, so please don't tell anyone who works with him. :)

SueW, thanks for the advice. I'll ask whoever is in charge of our relo. (But I hope no one thinks we make loads! We're both happy with it, but it's not crazy money.) Am pleased you replied as I realized the other day you were a member before me and didn't reply to my very first message. :O (just teasing!)

uh oh, they've taken away the old way of doing smileys. Damn!

I think Bethnal Green is a nice place to live - there is good access to the city and also near the park. Museum of Childhood also good for your younger one. Lots going on in the area for kids because it is a deprived area. People are fairly friendly, and you do feel like someone would help if you asked (not a feeling I get in St. Johns Wood for instance). Downsides are rubbish and narrow pavements!