Relocating from US to UK?

Question

My family and I will be relocating in the next few months to the UK, my husband is originally from the uk so we are all set in terms of visas, but we have no where to live. We would like to live in the Reading area. We have a 4yr old, 2.5yr old and a 2 month old, so a safe area with good schools and access to public transportation is our only criteria. Can someone please recommend a relocation expert to help us pick an area and have houses for us to look at when we get there? The lady we spoke to was looking to charge an arm and a leg and seems to only have houses starting in the 1500GBP range which is out of our price range. Please help.

Answer 1

I am set to move to UK as an American in just 6 weeks.  Although I have never been, I am in correspondance with several Americans who are sponsering my arrival.

An area that by description, fits your requirements is North Yorkshire (Harrogate)  It is a bit more expensive than most areas but seems a good community for family.  I am not sure of the job market in the region so itwould be advised to research that.  

I recommend Harrogate based on the positive feedback from many personal friends who are currently living in the area.

The Flower Gardens, Turkish Baths, and Betty's Tea rooms are reknown attractions.  You would be living in or near the Yorkshire Dales and you are close to Leeds which I have heard is a good place for work and adult nightlife.  There are local grammar schools and the town has more specialty shops due to having no Tesco to drive the smaller business out. But this means get your shopping done befoe 7pm!  The community is under 90k yet less diverse if that means anything to you.  There is not much crime.  That is all I can think of at the moment.  Give it consideration.

Answer 2

My family lives in reading and we relocated here from US about 2.5 years ago,,,, since your children are still small they should adapt really easily. I would suggest the Caversham area as it is the safest but it is also quite expensive. So in your situation try east or reading, the area around west reading station is really bad (lots of crime). And as for schools, there are a lot of good schools in Reading so all  you have to do is choose one, here are some of the websites for Reading schools:  

http://www.schoolswebdirectory.co.uk/lea...

http://www.tilehurst.net/community/schoo...

Transportation in reading is really convenient and easy, there are lots of buses and there is the train station in town. Also it's really easy to call up a taxi.

Answer 3

my advice would be to rethink your options about coming to england. everything is so so expensive. if you are determined to come over i would suggest a company called countrywide residentials for a place to rent. i would give you a link but i am computer illiterate! ha ha. but try this company and im sure you will find something for less than £800 pm.

Answer 4

Up until late 2002 or early 2003 a UK citizen could enter the country with their foreign family without much problem. However since 2003 immigration has been tightened and it is not as easy to enter.

First thing you need to do before addressing the current UK housing situation you need to be sure you can enter the UK. At least the way I understand UK Immigration your husband can apply for your children to be UK citizens provided he is a UK citizen and so their status should not be in question if he is a UK citizen. If he is a permanent resident then his status may be in jeopardy especially if he has not returned for over two years. So that is one point you need to confirm with him is his immigration status.

In regard to your situation from my understanding before you can enter the UK you need to apply to enter the UK through the UK embassy in Washington DC or either Consulate in either Chicago or Los Angles as a spouse of a UK citizen. The one point that I am not sure though is if he needs to have an established a residence in the UK before he can apply to have you to enter the UK as a spouse. In any event the UK Embassy should help you with that question.

Once you apply your application will be reviewed and if accepted your immigration status will be determined based on the number of years the two of you have been married. After you have received your approval to enter the UK then you can move.

Second in regard to the house price in Reading £1,500 is about right for the area west of London and south of Oxford. Reading is somewhat an IT business area and is home too many corporate offices so prices are going to be high. Also the UK is going through its own housing slump and no one is buying homes right now. Everyone is renting so there is a demand for rentals.

One option available to you is going further north like Manchester, Leeds, York, Sheffield, Birmingham (?), Hull, Newcastle, or any other northern town.

Second option would be consider buying a home. If you are able to put 3% - 5% down you could expect mortgage payments to run you £700 - £1,200 (approximately).

Third I would do more reasearch and confirm you have everything in place. Otherwise you find that you are being removed due to the fact you imporperly entered the UK under the wrong visa. Once you are 100% certain you can enter the UK then I would begin worrying about houses.

In addition to the above consideration another point you need to consider with the cost of oil going up travelling has become much more expensive between the UK and US. This means you will not be able to return as much to see your family in the US which may have an impact on your ability to adjust to life in the UK. Finally in regard to research you need to think what happens if you go to the UK and your marriage ends due to the stress of moving?

Fourth point if you are still set on going you need to understand that the UK and US are similar on certain areas and different in other. Probably the three biggest differences are housing, politics, work, and health care. Housing is more expensive but the standard of living is much better than the US. So it balances out. The UK politically is more liberal, to a certain extent anti-Bush, and anti-Iraq War.  Health Care for you will be free after a year of residency, it is not consumer driven but need driven.

Finally I have included some links to help you with your journey. Furthermore I have not given you housing links as there are many more issues for you to think about before deciding on where to locate or if it is fesible. Anyhow I wish you the best on your journey and hope that I have been able to help you in some respects.

Answer 5

http://www.gspc.co.uk/

dont go to england ! they are all wankers lol

http://www.slaterhogg.co.uk/

http://www.remax.co.uk/

anyhow bugger about with these places you can rent or buy !

engurland or scotland

mm?? look at a place called didcot cheaper than reading plus it only 30 mins on a train to reading

Answer 6

I'm guessing you've visited the uk so won't be shocked at the prices (£1.20 for a litre of petrol - $9.91 per gallon)

there are lots of houses to rent advertised online

http://www.propertyfinder.com/cgi-bin/rs...

and most schools have websites which will give an indication of what they are like, a list of schools here

http://uk.local.yahoo.com/Berkshire/Read...

you can also check the local school against the property you find to rent here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/lea...

and how safe it is here

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ia/atla...

most urban areas have very good public transport links.

I hope the move goes well for you