Thinking about moving back to london

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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Moving/ Relocating

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happymummy

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 2:48 am

We are currently living in Israel and have been since we got married 5 and 1/2 years ago. My husband has been learning and doing a few odd jobs and I have been teaching/cleaning/babysitting.... We are debating moving back mainly for financial reasons(my husband cant speak hebrew so there is little chance of a steady job here for him)
Can any London mothers tell me about expenses in London?
When I lived there it was in my parents house so I dont know much about bills.
How much on average can I expect to pay for rent,groceries.electricity,tuition?
We have 3 children 4,3 and 1.
Anything else I should know to investigate before we make our decision?

DrMom

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 3:37 am

Not a Londoner, but I can tell you when I travelled there recently that food is not cheap there.

Raisin

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 3:51 am

where in London do you want to live? What type of school? (some schools get state funding so are cheaper or free)

amother

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 4:05 am

Life is expensive. Simple. If you have a solid job then great, if not, well I think almost everyone is having a bit of a struggle right now. Where you actually live matters, but although I haven't been renting for a while now, even 3 years ago I would have expected to pay more than £1000 per month for a 1-2 bed flat, considerably more for more rooms. I'm not the best food shopper and don't visit the kosher outlet often, but a very large amount of my cash goes on eating. Then there's utility bills (expect to pay no less than £1 per day per utility, often a lot more).

Tuition is a bit more complicated, because if you are in state education, not Jewish, schooling should be free, but every school has various top ups which cost money and all schools expect something. Getting in to your school of choice is more than just hard.

Also, travel costs, if you run a car or rely on public transport (or in my case both), it just costs a lot of money. I would think you would need a monthly take home salary over £2500 to live and not even comfortably, of course there are benefits and entitlements and help available, but there are tough choices too.

mummy123

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 4:10 am

Whereabouts in London are you thinking of moving too? London is not a cheap place to live, housing costs a fortune and even buying every day things there are expensive. I'm in Manchester but my family is in London,I would love to move back to London but its just not feasible.

nylon

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 8:26 am

Also, housing benefit has been slashed and the rental market is tight.

Getting a 4yo into school may be a trial, you've missed the big round of school admissions and will have to go where you can get a place.

3 little 1s

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 10:52 am

Schools is something you should definately look into before you come. Do you know where you would want to live? Prices obviously vary (in rent etc) based on that.

happymummy

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 12:18 pm

Thanks for all the responses.Where in London is cheapest to live?How much should I expect to spend on food every week?
mummy123-how much cheaper is it in manchester? Arent the salarys significantly less?I heard that it much harder to get into schools in manchester...

Raisin

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 1:09 pm

rents are MUCH cheaper in manchester. I'm not sure exactly, but you can rent a small house for well under a £1000. Maybe even £500.

food prices are probably similar though.

mummy123

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 2:16 pm

Housing is cheaper in Manchester. We are 2 adults and 2kids under 2 and I spend at least £40 a week on shopping. So food is not so cheap and the shops don't have offers here like they do in London.
About schooling, I don't know your affiliation but its just as hard to get into schools in London as it is in Manchester,Its just that in London there's more to choose from.
You can pm me if you you any specific info about Manchester.

amother

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 7:09 pm

I would seriously think twice about moving to London. It's become awfully overcrowded and packed with far too many people. This is not just very annoying and unpleasant on a day to basis especially when travelling into town, but it means people cannot get jobs, houses are way over the top expensive, young people cannot buy in their dreams, and the hospitals have become a nightmare. Life for young people here looks bleak. Society as a whole has deteriorated and it is not the city that it was say 30 or 40 years ago in my grandparents generation.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Nov 27 2012, 9:10 pm

amother wrote:

Hmmm you can say that to many cities in the UK and elsewhere. Afterall people are migrating to London because they see better prospects than their native town.

Getting back to the topic, OP, are both you and your DH UK or EU citizens? I would say stick to whichever city you are most likely to find employment, because the job is the hardest bit to get right now esp when you move from overseas. Your children are still young, you may be able to homeschool for a while (though your oldest would be in reception year). Within London, there has been a few recent start-up schools so your oldest may find a place in such schools where the first intake hasn't quite filled up. BTW, voluntary aided schools are NOT free, parents pay limudei kodesh, securities etc.

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