Move to London - Questions

Hi - We're looking at a possible relocation to London and would like some input from those who are from / have lived there. Specifically...


1. What kind of childcare can we get there and what's it cost? Live-in, live-out, pre-schools, kindermusik / gymboree type programs?


2. What is a good neighborhood/section to live in that's good for kids and also a decent commute to work (Canary Wharf area)?


3. How much rent can we expect to pay for a 3-bedroom place?


4. How are the pollution levels there? Weather year round?


5. Any other thoughts on life in London?


Thanks in advance!

Hi RiceT--


We're relocating to London the end of the year, and hubby will be working in the docklands too, so I'm quite interested in the posts you get.


On housing, I've found two quite good websites: www.primelocation.com and www.findaproperty.com. I've heard they aren't always updated once a property's been let, but still, they give a good idea of product and pricing. Be prepared, London is an(other) expensive housing market.


One of the things to think about in London is the commute...the tube system is old and running at capacity so there are often delays and breakdowns. For us, this means we'd like to keep the number of interchanges to a minimum.


But, information from someone who's actually LIVED in London, is more useful :-)

Docklands is a pain in the butt to get to and where you live really depends on how long your husbands are prepared to travel a day to get to work. I lived in Bow which is 10 mins from the Docklands and adored it but when we returned to the UK decided not to live in London. If anyone suggests you look in Bow, Mile End, Bethnal Green, Stepney I would suggest you disregard this advice as although they are close to Docklands they are not very child friendly and schooling is a major issue - all my friends who lived here have now moved since they had kids. Living out West can be difficult as you have to get across the whole of town and if this is being done in rush hour you can be looking at least an hour+ for travelling. Friends who work in the docklands are usually looking for easy access to London Bridge/Bank and I've a number of friends who have recently moved to Kent as the standard of living is better. Most of the people I know who work in the Docklands actually don't live in London anymore and drive in but if you can find out how long hubby is prepared to travel then I might be able to suggest more areas.


Compared to HK pollution in London isn't too bad but that doesn't mean it is too good either. Weather year round - you have seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter. It does get cold and it can be quite miserable with grey skies and drizzle but I'm glad to be back to the changing trees and the cool, crisp days.


I adore London and think there are great places to visit with children - I don't actually live there anymore and for us this was the right decision to make but we do come in once or twice a month with the kids to visit the Natural History Musuem, Science Musuem etc. Rent is expensive but like HK this is so dependent on where you are going to live. Sorry can't be more help about areas but it really is dependent on time travelling - also you will find that people are obsessed with tube lines in London 'cos we are always looking to live on the most reliable or those with bus routes as well!

Hi,


I live in London, soon to move to Hong Kong so can give you a few tips....London's a huge city though and there really are so many good places to live, it really depends what you like doing.


If your husband is going to be working in the docklands, then if he's going to be getting the tube to work, he'd probably prefer to live on the jubilee line (the only direct line into the docklands), otherwise any line that connects to the jubilee or a line that goes into Bank where he can pick up the DLR (although that seems to go down fairly frequently). There are some pretty long walks between lines at Bank Station though and I really can't remember which lines have the fastest connection. Check out travel info on the transport for london website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/.


If he's going to drive to work then anywhere close will work for you. My neighbour works in the docklands and drives to work, but its a difficult commute by public transport from here (even though we live pretty much in the city!!)


We live in central London (Clerkenwell) which is fantastic for me as we have young babies. I can walk pretty much everywhere I want to go i.e. no tubes with prams and no issues with parking. On foot from here I can get to Covent Garden, Southbank (to the Tate Modern etc), into the city or to the West End - Oxford st etc. It's also great for young babes around here as there is a fantastic kids park in Bloomsbury, baby music classes are free and run at one of London's premier dance theatres, and baby music is run by the London Symphony Orchestra. The only disadvantage of living here is its generally apartment living. I don't mind though as our place is pretty big.


With older kids Hampstead is fantastic as there is a huge heath (park) and lots of schools. It's also a cute village centre and there are lots of nice pubs etc. You can get from Hampstead to the Docklands from Finchley Road station, but you'd want to be living fairly close to Finchley Road or he could have a long walk.


Or even closer to the Docklands, but fairly far away from everything else is Greenwich.


Childcare in London sounds like its nothing like HK. We have a part time nanny and pay £10 an hour. A lot of our friends have au pairs, who live in, they aren't qualified and only get paid around £100 a week.


There are so many things to do with kids here. Some local councils run something called Surestart, which organizes heaps of free activities for kids (music groups, art groups etc etc). There are also lots of classes and gyms to go to and there are so many museums here I think you could go to a new one every day if you wanted to.


Once again it all depends on where you want to live!


I'm not sure if you're renting or buying, but there are a few books that might help you. There is one called something like Where to Live in London, and another called The London Baby Guide. They might give you a few clues.


Good luck with your decisions!

Quick question though I haven't read through all of these GREAT posts... Is Canary Wharf in the Docklands? Thanks.


My Thoughts - Can't believe you're relocating there too. Hope to meet up if we join you there.

RiceT, sad to hear you're relocating so soon, we haven't had the pleasure of meeting up still and you're leaving ?

: ) Hi Kateam - Funny. Reloc not a definite yet, but quite possible. Nonetheless, you're right down the road, let's get together.

Yes, Canary Wharf is in the Docklands.

hey RiceT, it'd probably be easier to meet up here :-) Though who knows, with both guys working in Canary Wharf, we may well end out on the same end of town.


Because of commuting challenges, we're most interested in the areas accessible by the DLR to the SE (e.g. Greenwhich, Blackheath) or to the NW on the Jubiliee Line (St Johns Wood, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead), but we'll see once we actually start looking at schools and properties. I'd just love a terrace home...with a nice big GARDEN.


We've gotten spoiled about commuting here, plus hubby works crazy long hours, so we're looking to keep transport time to an absolute stress-free minimum (hahaha), ~30 minutes and no interchanges. Again, we'll see. Maybe pure pie in the sky...


Stanley Family's note that the DLR often goes down wasn't what I wanted to hear :-(. There's not much rental property in the areas I've been keeping tabs on in the SE either, but from what I hear, it sounds like a family friendly area. Curious what others would have to say about that.


Hetfield, what sort of a commute do your friends in Kent have? There're some beautiful areas out there I hear. It's gotta be a long way from our friends in the NW, but maybe interesting for us to look at anyway.


Stanley Family, would you have any idea what the salary range for live-in help is? We're planning to take our helper with us, but I'm having a hard time finding out a fair (after tax) salary. I don't want her to find out straightaway that she's underpaid, nor do I want to foolishly overpay. She's quite good, though I don't know what "qualified" means. (You can PM me if you prefer)

Mythoughts - friends of ours who recently moved out of hk brought their dh to the uk. i'm awaiting word to hear what they are paying her. will let you know. and yes, let's see if we can arrange a time to meet here. will pm you for more.

We're going to pay £350 a week live in. I think a lot of people pay around £300 though.


If you ladies want a really broad range of responses on where to live near the docklands that's great for kids, try posting a message on mumsnet. i'm sure you'd get heaps of replies!

another website to get info on areas you're looking at is http://www.upmystreet.com/

Thank you for the weblinks! I'd meant to ask if there was something similiar to asiaxpat in London.


And thank you RiceT and Stanley Family. That figure (350/week) is aftertax, that is, what the helper actually receives? Ouch.


RiceT, will look for your pm...

Thanks SF!

50 minutes by train then another 15 minutes to get to the Docklands but of course there can be problems with overground as there can be on the underground. Also know quite a few people where we are living who work in the Docklands and drive into work takes around 40/50 minutes but again problems on the roads can blow that time ot of the water. I've found mumsnet really useful so would second SF on recommending posting there as well.