Possible relocation to London - Questions

amother

Amber

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 5:15 pm

<Long>

Hi London Imamothers,
We're looking into relocating to London next year for a 2-3 year period. We've started doing research but I'd appreciate a sanity check and any more insight we can get from people who know the area.
Both DH and I would be working in the city, so we're looking to live close to tube stations that would give us a relatively short commute - Hendon and Golders Green area. Are there any other areas that we're not aware of (perhaps to the south?) with an eruv and a community?

We have a problem with the timing of our decision vis a vis childcare. We'll probably only know for sure if we're moving in June, and we'll probably want to come around November, after the chagim. We will have PG a 5 month old and a 3 yr. old. Is it at all realistic to expect we'll be able to find child care with that time framework? We're pretty flexible about the type of places we'd send to (For the 3 yr old, as long as it's Jewish in some way we're good, the baby doesn't need a Jewish education yet, just good care. We can be more picky next year... ). Also, if anyone can give me or point me to an explanation of how the vouchers work, I'd be much obliged Smile

Initial calculations of monthly cost of living put us at around 2k for rent, 1.5k per kid for childcare and 1k for food, transportation and bills. Does this make any sort of sense? Is there any big expense we're missing?

Lastly, will we have friends? We're Israeli MO, pretty laid back. We like having friends for meals on shabbat, meeting up for play dates etc. Truthfully, we don't care that much about externals and keeping up with the Kleins. We're pretty nerdy, not a particularly well dressed bunch... Will we be able to find a crowd that will accept us as the friendly yet fashion challenged family that we are?

Oh and also, what the heck does double glazed refer to in the real estate adds?? What

Thanks so much to whoever got to the end of this...

amother

Cerulean

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 5:52 pm

I grew up in London. Can't answer all your questions but I'll try and answer some.

Double glazing - two layers of glass on windows. Reduces heating bills I guess.

No substantial Jewish/frum communities in South London. Theres a mostly chareidi community in Stamford Hill, a smallish community in Southgate, a (used to be big) community in Essex (Illford, gants hill, buckhurst hill) - mostly not frum I think though. You can also look further out in NW London - Edgware, Stanmore, Radlett - not that much further and you might find them friendlier and more laid back.

In any case there are only Eruvs in Edgeware and GG/Hendon.

LondonMrs

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 8:42 pm

For a community with an eruv and a reasonable commute to central London, the north London communities are your best bet. We don't have children so I can't comment on the childcare part - but in terms of bills, the one thing that surprised me (we moved to London from the US) was council tax - your flat is assigned a 'band' and it can be 100£+ per month, so you'll want to factor that in.

In terms of if you'll find people on your wavelength - you sound like our kind of people, so I'd like to say so Smile

As with any big city there are different communities where you can find your fit. Also some have more expats than others - we ended up meeting many Americans and other expats here who were in similar 'transplant' situations.

Good luck!

amother

Amber

Tue, Mar 15 2016, 11:11 pm

Ah... I'd seen mention of the council tax but I didn't really internalize what that meant. Thanks!

OK so it seems like we didn't miss any huge Jewish neighborhoods, so let's assume we've narrowed it down to Hendon - GG (see me using local terminology? Smile

I think...).
We'd consider Edgewere if there were considerable benefits as far as childcare and community are concerned, but anything farther out will be getting close to an hour commute, from what I see on the maps.
I don't relish the thought of each of us wasting 2 hours a day on the tube and having both parents an hour away from the kids.

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Mar 20 2016, 8:39 pm

OP, sorry for a delayed reply but here are a few additional comments. (I moved to London from overseas--not Israel--about 17 years ago.) Feel free to PM me, I used to commute to City for many years.

Commute to City: I would also consider mainline train. From Mill Hill or Elstree & Borehamwood to Farringdon or City Thameslink is about 35minutes, can be actually faster than tube (Northern Line) because it makes fewer stops. GG/Hendon to City is about 30minutes, but it can take more like 45minutes or more from Woodside Park, Stanmore or Edgware.

Cost: 2k for rent seems reasonable, but then it depends on # of bedrooms and areas. You may want to bear in mind that often 'bedroom' can be very small so you may want to check if it is a single bedroom (about the size of glorified closet) or a double bedroom. There are plenty of 2-3bedrooms to rent in Borehamwood, though further Radlett is more expensive.

You'll also need to include the cost of commuting (not usually bourne by employers). From Golders Green (Zone 3) to City (Zone 1), monthly pass is about £150/month, train/tube pass from Mill Hill/Borehamwood (Zone 6) is £300/month.

Also consider UK income tax rate gets steeper for higher earners. I've checked an online tax calculator, £50k gross annual = £36.3k net annual, £80k gross = £53.7k net, £100k gross = £65.3k net. You have income tax, national insurance premium (cover NHS and social security), then council tax (paid to local councils for things like rubbish collection, library etc). Then you got odd ones like TV License (to support BBC. You get free license if you're 65yr and older or vision impaired, 50% deduction if you're hearing impaired--go figure...)

Eruv: There are eruvim near Belmont shul (between Stanmore and Cannons Park). Borehamwood & Elstree also has an eruv accepted by almost everyone by the community. Hendon/GG eruv borders a major motorway so some people do not hold by it (largely depends on which shuls you affiliate with).

Childcare: Note UK educational system starts one year earlier than US or Israeli system. So Nursery for 3 years, Reception for 4 years, Year 1 starts at 5years. Most school admission systems de-coupled Nursery admission to Reception admission (ie children don't automatically move up/accepted to reception) but I think there're much ambiguity. In any case, you should really consider school options for your older child if he/she is already 3. In general, there are widespread shortages of places in Jewish schools. There are recent attempts to start free schools, so early years may be getting better. 3-4year olds get government subsidy at nursery places. Some companies have childcare voucher schemes, but only if your children are at registered nurseries or childminders (ie don't cover if you hire a private au pair or nanny).

As a side note, Shabbat starts much earlier than in Israel during winter months. Once your and your DH's employment terms are sorted, make sure they understand you'll need to leave early (the earliest Shabbat in Dec is around 3:30. We don't have too many bank holidays but paid holidays are reasonable (25-30days).

amother

Brown

Tue, Mar 29 2016, 5:44 pm

I would strongly suggest Borehamwood for you.
Hendon and GG are VERY expensive areas and you could get much more for £2000 rent in other areas like Borehamwood (I would be surprised if you could get anything other than a flat whereas in Borehamwood you could get a house). Transport may not be as good as Hendon or GG as it is doesn't have a tube station but depending where in the city you will be working it might actually be more convenient.

Also very non judgemental community and large young MO community. We lived in Hendon for a while and did not find it as friendly or welcoming.