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Forum -> The Social Scene -> Chit Chat
Is life in the UK really so easy? ?



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Maryann




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 3:53 pm
Hi this is out of pure curiosity. ...I don't see any complaints here from UK imamothers(London /manchester), no complaints about tution, real estate or anything else
Is life In UK rwally so easy how is it to live there ?
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yOungM0mmy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 4:23 pm
Maybe we just complain less? Wink
Many jewish schools here are voluntary aided, which means the government pays up to 80% of the running costs, and parents in jewish schools make what is called a 'voluntary contribution' towards the kodesh tuition which is not really voluntary - I pay £1500 per child per year. But I also pay over £1200 for private transportation to school.
Buying an old used car seems to be cheaper than buying in the US, but insurance is not cheap and gas is a fortune - around £1.20 per litre - not gallon!
Housing is a real issue - any decent 4 bedroom house in one of the frum communities near London (not manchester) is minimum £750,000, realistically over £1,000,000.
People complain about the cost of food, but almost everyone has access to the big supermarkets (or can do online delivery) and get cheap basics. I found food shopping in crown heights the last time I was there to be ridiculously expensive.
Many of us do not buy into the whole matching clothes or buying from frum shops, and can buy cheap clothes, a few £ for kids tshirts, etc.
What else??
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Maryann




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 4:36 pm
Interesting so basically it's very cheasy to live there?
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Gerbera




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 4:43 pm
I wouldn't say life there is easy! We left because we couldn't afford to live there! I think there is a much larger representation of Americans on here than ppl in the UK.
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yOungM0mmy




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 5:24 pm
Oh, just remembered, healthcare. The nhs is free (of course we pay high taxes), and literally a life saver. Having a baby is free. All drs, vision tests (and glasses), dental (and braces if bad enough), are free for under 16s. Emergency room care is free. Prescriptions for under 16s, pregnant women, over 65s and in some cases the chronically ill, are free. Maternity leave is better than the US, but most of it is not paid. Many still have private health insurance, gives you faster service and more choice, but the nhs is there.
But no, I wouldn't say life is easy here, but is it easy anywhere? There is no such thing as wic or food stamps, although there are some benefits if you are eligible.
I think basic salaries are lower, most people are making nowhere near 6 figure salaries.
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Maryann




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 6:33 pm
Thx young momy and gerbera, I guess u don't need to make so much money bc less expenses?no health insurance and tution?
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Gerbera




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 6:59 pm
The cost of living in London is sky high. I live in Canada now but we were in London for Sukkot and the cost of living there is just crazy compared to here. Yes, schools are cheaper but food, housing, transport etc is very expensive. Our standard of living is much better where we are now. Healthcare is free here as well but tuition is a fortune but your salary dollars stretch much further.
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nylon




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 9:49 pm
We left because of the cost of living and that was nearly 10 years ago. The lower tuition and healthcare costs are a huge help but the housing situation is simply impossible. And salaries in a lot of fields are lower than in the US.

Manchester is quite a bit cheaper than London though.
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5mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Jan 11 2017, 10:14 pm
I think the difference is that life in England is expensive for everyone. In the US, religious Jews feel particularly burdened because of the high cost of tuition. Your colleagues at work who earn the same amount as you but send kids to public schools are living well while you are just scraping by. When everyone is equally burdened by high housing costs, you don't feel like frumkeit per se is the problem.

Also, it's cheaper to vacation because so much of Europe is close by. And of course, it's really not that expensive to pop over to Israel.

The expectations for clothing are not as high. (Do kallahs in Stamford Hill dress in furs and diamonds? I don't know.)

So it's not objectively easier in England, but it is different from the US.
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 12 2017, 3:04 am
Youngmommy, most frum families live much closer to the kids schools then you do.

Not all schools are state aided, especially the more chareidi ones. (although there are a few chareidi schools with state aid)

I think the cost of housing in London is crippling for many families. A lot of young families move to Manchester for this reason, or further out in London. (But I am sure salaries are lower in Manchester)

If you have a good job in Manchester you can probably live very well. Houses there are pretty cheap - under £100,000 for a small house or flat, £260,000 for a 3 bed house.

You can get housing benefit, unemployment benefit, something called child tax credits, (no idea how that works) if you are out of work/low income. There is a pretty good safety net and I think many frum families take advantage of that eg for kollel.
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smilealot




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Jan 12 2017, 3:30 am
I live in Manchester.
Struggle tonz financially.
Earn very low salary. DH also earns low.
Kids go to state aided school but we still need to pay a lot coz the government only pay the chol side.
Re cost of houses.
Raisin the prices have gone up a lot. I just bought a house. It's totally out of the area coz in the area was way too expensive. Most houses in Prestwich (area in Manchester) nowadays start at 300,000 U can get some for cheaper but most are more than that. 400,000 easily.
In Salford they are way more than Prestwich.
All these benefits are very challenging too.
If u earn over a certain amount then u get no benefits and end up having less each month than if u earn under that amount so people try to work off the books..
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