moving to UK for job in London - where to live, 3 kids...

[milenalee]

Hello,

We are US citizens who have three children who have been attending the local German speaking Swiss schools for the last two and half years. My husband found a job he loves in London and so we must move...

Our kids are 9 years old in 3rd grade which I think is 4th class, 10 almost 11 in 5th grade (6th class?), and 12 in 6th grade.

We don't have a place yet. I would like to use state schools but we could sell our house in Seattle and use private schools. Perhaps we should for the girls and perhaps a girls' school would be better. But it's not a must of course.

What I don't want to do is move them around a lot. It's already tough for them to move and start a new school. I don't want to have to move them again once they do start a new school, unless it's the natural progression and all the kids are new.

My son has something called auditory processing disorder and is somewhat dyslexic. His education needs are very different from his sisters but he is also clearly in elementary school whereas they are already in secondary. At least his needs narrow down the pool of schools to consider.

Where would you choose to live if you had three children these ages? Generally I like to walk places but do not need to live in a city, rather hate crowded cityness. My husband would rather not commute more than 45 minutes to an hour each way.

It will be at least two months before my husband can start working. He has to get the visa first. So even if we rent a place early we cannot apply to local schools? If he is resident and we are still waiting for the kids to finish their year can we then apply?

Thanks so much for any advice.

You only need to worry about 11plus if you are moving to a grammer school area like Kent or Essex. The 11 plus forum would help with what prep and materials. Most private schools will also want to do an assessment but that would be individual to the school.
The best idea is to identify areas where most/all the schools are good. The state has to find you school places so if you move somewhere where all the schools are good you will be in luck. Richmond borough is good but the wrong side of London for Liverpool street.
With regard to your younger child. Schools are supposed to be able to cater for SEN. Reforms have meant they should be catering for the 1st £6000 or £10000 out of the SEN part of their budget. It if only if the needs are more than this you will be eligible for an Education health and care plan. ( replacement for the statement). Class sizes in the UK are 30 . Will he cope in a class of 30 with .APD? If you need smaller quiet classes he might be the one to consider private for? How severe is his problem/ dyslexia? Fairly House school has a god reputation but I personally don't know it

I was going to suggest colchester too. County websites will give you a lot of info on 11+ exams.

commuter guide website

Another vote for the German school. And have met Americans who use it and are happy. There is a fair degree of mobility so the chances of getting a place should be good, and they will be used to settling in new arrivals. Plus it is in a good part of London with lots of green and lots of facilities for kids plus good access to Heathrow (though aircraft noise is a downside.)

You probably need to be clearer about what you want. You are talking about Brighton and Cambridge and are getting suggestions for Stoke Newington. (Look at Google maps - Stokie is loved by many but quite urban!) Are you planning to pay. Are your children academic and does their progress here matter, or do you see them mainly having a curltural experience. What is your budget. (Look at Rightmove for approximate rental costs.) What is your tolerance for commuting. A crowded train is very different from sitting for an hour on the freeway, and expensive too.

I second raking, Kingston and Richmond! Good tube links, you are near central London if you fancy a night out. Nice green spaces and access to lovely countryside for a day trip.

Ealing, not raking!

If near Bank (close to Liverpool St) then anywhere into Waterloo works as you can take the Waterloo and City link which is quick!
I'd really recommend moving in June.
Friends suggested we do the same when we moved overseas - and it worked brilliantly as DCs made friends who they could then play with/meet up with in the hols and I did too!
Must less stressy in September then.

I would look primarily for places where the train goes in to Liverpool St. If an additional tube journey can be avoided so much the better.

What about Saffron Walden?

I would definitely choose somewhere on the Liverpool Street line up to Cambridge - much better not to have to get on the tube after having a train journey.

Lots of the stations on that line are in quite small villages, so you might have to weigh up between walking to the station and walking to the shops.

Saffron Walden is lovely, but it doesn't have a station in the town - nearest is Audley End. It is theoretically in walking distance, but the shortest route doesn't have pavement. I think it would still be my top choice though. Semi-fast trains still stop at Audley End, so the commute is not too bad.

Bishops Stortford has good schools, fast commute to Liverpool Street, lots of amenities.

Stansted Mountfitchet is nice, quite small, close to the airport so might be noisy.

Elsenham, Shelford, Great Chesterford, Newport all quite small and villagey - though Newport has a secondary school. Whittlesford station is in the middle of nowhere (or rather in the middle of lots of busy roads)

Cambridge is great, very bike friendly, good transport links, very good schools, state and private but very expensive. The station is quite a trek from the town centre.

Broxbourne and Sawbridgeworth would both be worth a look too.

Harlow, is (imo) not that nice, same with Cheshunt and Roydon.

Could OP get a 4bed house in Cambridge on that budget,and afford the season ticket for commute to Liverpool St.? I suspect not.

You need www.commutefrom.com - you put in Liverpool Street, and the length commute you want, and it tells you what places are on the right train lines, with a load of other useful info, like train season ticket costs (which can be eye watering - expect to pay at least around £3,000 a year for an annual season ticket, and quite possibly more).

When you say he wants a commute of 45 mins to an hour, do you mean the total house front door to desk time, or time on the train? They are very different things - my train journey into London is only 20mins, but my total commute is one hour. So you have to be clear what you are signing up for.

In commuterville (ie towns or villages with a good commute into London), there is often a massive premium on house which are walking distance to the local train station. So that's something to bear in mind too. If you live 15-30 mins walk from the local train station, houses are often cheaper, and you can then cycle in to catch the train in half the time - that's what I've done in two houses in two different towns.

If you have a browse on that website I'm sure people could tell you what the various places are like to live. Afraid I'm better at knowing places which commute into Euston or Kings Cross, not Liverpool St.

Oh, and I strongly agree with others on this thread - that considering you could live anywhere, definitely choose places where you can get a train straight to Liverpool St. 50% of the time on my commute is getting from my house to London Euston, and the other 50% is getting across London on the tube, because annoyingly we live the wrong side of London. It would be so much quicker if I didn't have a tube journey as well as the train (there are lots of reasons why we aren't going to move though...).

I second WhatsGoingOnEh re moving to Thames Ditton.

Lovely area. Good nearby schools . Not too much of a commute into Central London.

Definitely would agree with not going to Brighton. Too far to travel each day.

Good luck :)

Thanks all of you! Many ideas here. I have one friend in UK... but in Oxford. Others in France and Switzerland. Cambridge does seem a bit far but there are rentals for 2 to 3000 per month on the rightmove cite now. If all the schools are good there maybe it's worth the commute. Since three people really like Thames Ditton I will have to check that out for sure. They have lots of property for sale but little for rent.

The housing budget should eliminate a lot of choices. If I can narrow it down to say four or five towns and then visit it should be a lot easier to decide where to go. I think 3000 per month is more like our max now that I understand the taxes...I'm not sure we can find a 4 bedroom in London near good schools on that budget.... so some commute is probably necessary. Husband would rather not have much more than an hour total commute, unless it were a short walk at the end. His work is near liverpool station now but in two years moves to bank. London bridge seems a short bike ride or walk if one could keep a bike at the train station.

I was once a mother's helper in London, ages ago, and have fond memories of running in Richmond Park and taking the kids to parks near Chiswick but it was too long ago to count. I suspect Richmond Park or Chiswick would be too expensive.

As an expat family myself who has lived in London for 7 years and having moved kids among private/state and from primary to secondary... I would say everything is very complex puzzle here. Unlike US where I believe deciding where to live automatically decides which school, here in the uk things aren't straightforward. I found state schools in nice posh areas (wimbledon, west part of more central london) aren't generally good.

Easiest option for u would be send them to private with from primary to senior yrs under one roof. But sending 3 to private would cost 30K to 45K pound ( not dollar!) a year.

Or you can temporarily send them to private and find good state options from there when u have better idea how things are actually like.

Generally Surrey and SW London (many rich locals and professional expats) have v good private schools and Kent (solid local middle class area) has v good state schools. I don't know much about northern part of london.

London, in sense of greater London, is like a network of villages and so just like a small rural towns in their own. London as u see from TV and news is usually central London. Outside the v central, it has many incredible green parks (especially west of london)

With 3000 pm you can definitely rent a good decent 4 room house in Thames Ditton, surbiton, esher, Kingston and teddington. And much better and bigger ones in Kent or SE London.

I work near Liverpool St and commute into Cannon St station. I live in the great family area of Petts Wood and can't recommend it highly enough. There is a large but oversubscribed primary school which is popular. I had some new neighbours last year and their children got in after waiting two terms on the list, attending another local school in meantime. If going private the excellent Bromley High for girls and Eltham college for boys are convenient. My commute is an hour door to door which consists of ten minutes walk to station, get there a few mins early to get in right place to guarantee a seat, 30 mins on train 17 mins walk from Cannon St to my office. Cost for season ticket is £1,666 for the year. Good luck.

If moving to Bank, another option is to get the tube to Mansion House and walk. Opens up the district line. (Eg Chiswick/Richmond)
Not the fastest but if it's direct with just a walk at the end then it works!
A walk from Cannon Street also as already said.

Liverpool street/bank is very easy from Waterloo, there's a one stop line called Waterloo & city which shuttles between Waterloo and bank station.
Lots of expats, parks, green space, bigger houses around Esher (near Thames Ditton btw) just 25 minutes to Waterloo and tends to be cheaper than much of SW London even though the train into London is faster. Lots of rentals too as a lot of expats.
Re schools for entry into yr7 (starting secondary school) the allocations were made March 2nd but there'll be movement first week of September with people who don't turn up (move away or we're selfishly holding their state place even though they were gong private "just incase" ) so if you can hold your nerve first week of term can be a good time to get a spot in a popular school.

Teddington/Kingston also nice but train is slower into Waterloo.

Tunbridge Wells? It has some amazing schools and a direct line into London Bridge. Also a lovely town (although a bit too middle England for me!).

Essex or Hertfordshire if you fancy nice countryside with a manageable commute to Liverpool street station.

In your situation I would consider living along the east of the central line tube system as that goes directly to Liverpool Street and Central London. Believe me the London public transport system is so overcrowded these days your dh does not want to spend more than 45 minutes each way commuting by tube or train lots of perfectly fine suburbs along here: wood ford green, snares brook, buck hurst Hill, Epping, loughton the further out you go the more space you will get and you will also near Epping Forest. Also lots of state and private schools in these areas, Bancroft, Chigwell, Forest and selective grammars: Woodford County High, Ilford County High. Depending on what schools have places and what you're happy with you may have to be pragmatic and use both state and private schools for your dcs.

OP if your DH is going to be working near Liverpool Street station you really don't want to move to west London (i.e. Thames Ditton, Kingston, Richmond or other places in that area). London is huge and getting across it in rush hour can take ages, particularly if you local tube line is the excruciatingly slow District line. Life in Seattle and Switzerland will not have prepared you for the time-consuming misery of commuting into/around London!

The best advice on where to live is those taking your DH's work location into account i.e. places in east or northeast London, or on direct lines into Liverpool Street station from Herts/Essex.

Remember that for a commute of around an hour you have to factor in: travel to the station from your house, waiting for the train, mainline train, any additional tube travel inc. walking through the station between lines/platforms, and walking from train to office. My DH has a 25-min commute purely based on the time he sits on the train, but it takes him an hour to get from home to work on a good day and during rush hour, with all the delays and crowds, it can take much longer than that.

ThisIsOurBlanket gives good advice to places for you to look. Please discount anywhere that is south or west of London (and FGS don't move to Brighton - its MILES from Liverpool St and its v. expensive).

These 4 bed houses in Buckhurst Hill are in budget, near to the tube station and Epping Forest
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-48372331.html
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-33502560.html

Look up journey times by using TfLs journey planner and the post code of his work place. Its not really case of North, South East, or West but the transport links from different places, and their frequency.

The further out you are the more likely it is to get a seat.