JohnCoventry

Hi there

I'm planning to move back in June 2015 and am facing the stuff that you're going though, although it seems you're more advanced along than I am. I wonder if you can share your experience on securing a school place for your children?

You said you'll stay at your Mum's house temporarily - this is exactly what I intend to do until I sort out housing for the family. Does the local education authority accept your mum's address for confirming a place in the local schools?

Thanks!
John

MrMuffin

Hi John,

We have identified a school we really like but frankly all the primary schools in the area have great ratings via Ofsted which is good. I did a tour and met the head who gave me all the paperwork. Basically I have done an application through the Country Council for my son who is currently 3 and turns 4 in January. The closing date for the application is early Jan. We will be living at my Mother's home for a few months and I told that to the head of the school and she assured me that using that address would be fine. I have a bank account sorted and also have some other admin stuff done basing me at the same address.

We can't apply for a mid-year transfer for my daughter (6) until we arrive. So I am afraid there is nothing I can offer in terms of special info. Basically we have to wait until we get there to get the schools properly sorted. We won't know anything for my son until April when the Council send out the notifications telling us which school he's been assigned to. We're *hoping* to get them both into the same school and the good thing that's on our side is that the schools and local population is a bit smaller and therefore less crazy in terms of numbers of applicants compared to places closer to London, for instance... so all we can do is hope for the best and go through the appeals process if needed.

Good luck to you!

JohnCoventry

Hi MrMuffin

Thanks for your reply. So they said that you can't apply until you're there? I've heard other people say that, but I hate to have that uncertainty as we're basing where we will live on the school. Good to hear that your local authority accept your mum's address though.

When I phoned the local education authority they said that I should phone back in December because they're swamped with people already living in the UK trying to get into schools for September 2015. Since my daughters will be entering the school as a school transfer (i.e. not in the first year of the school) I have to wait until the standard Sep 2015 entries are processed and then apply.

Thankfully I have bank accounts and stuff sorted already because I never closed my accounts when I left the UK 13 years ago. From other posts on here about how tricky it is to open accounts now I realise how lucky I am now.

thanks and good luck to you too!
John

fulwood

Good luck with move and everything.. Let us know how things go..Don't abandon ship

MrMuffin

Yes it's a bit of a juggling match regarding where to live. Luckily we know whereabouts roughly... it's still tough though because we really want to be able to walk the kids to school if/when we can. And I'm hoping we won't set our sights on a place only to find out the school we're assigned to is the farthest one away.

We applied for my son already as he's not due to start until September 2015. But my daughter will be looking to start (transfer) immediately so as soon as we arrive we'll send in the application for a transfer.

Good luck!

dunroving

It's amazing what we expats manage to survive as part of our moves back and forth.

Congratulations on surviving!

MrMuffin

Survived... so far. Not back yet. Hopefully in about 8 weeks. Before then we've still got to:

- Get my wife's paperwork finalized for her Tier 2 ICT visa
- Finish packing belongings for the UK move (we have about 1/3rd of a container already packed and sitting in the living room downstairs)
- See special friends and say our goodbyes (planning a party in December...eek!)
- Sell two cars... carefully timed so we can hang onto them as long as possible
- Sell off lots of electronics that will be either useless (because they have heating elements inside) or will be useless eventually
- Get my wife to actually go through her clothes/shoes and get rid of stuff (she's done a really good bait and switch job up until now
- Figure out what to do about admin stuff: address changes/money/ banking/taxes/future social security/etc. etc.
- Get through Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays relatively unscathed
- Try to limit my wife's adventures in the malls with her credit card at the ready

Honestly I think going through this temporary move was a good thing as it really made us see how much crapola we were hanging onto. I have got a lot of stuff sold over the past week on Craigslist and have also donated a ton of stuff. We're past the weather window for yard sales now really so I am shooting for the larger $$ value items and low hanging fruit and trying to get them sold. Plus stuff that might bring in a few $$ here and there but are more hassle than they are worth, I have just been either donating, posting for free on Craigslist, or taking to the dump.

Still lots to do. And I have to do it all because my wife is trying to do two jobs right now and has little or no time for anything after the kids are sorted. She's generally on the laptop working every night after the kids go to bed and until the early hours and that's not going to change. I have backed off marketing for my biz so I have a few things ticking over but apart from that I can be really focused on packing and clearing out.

We'll get there! Onwards and upwards!

Englishmum

Ha ha ha.... re; your comment about your wife likely to be getting busy at the malls with her credit card! (That would be me too.... )

Here's a tip; Our Volvo XC90 was stuck long-term on the drive of our house in New Jersey, as I'd relocated to join my spouse on his expat posting in Switzerland. I was spending less and less time in NJ - our son continues to live in the house - so last year I decided to sell the car, but I was only going to be there for a fortnight.

We had always had the car serviced and maintained at the Volvo dealership where we'd bought the car......and I was cheesed off when they offered a rubbish price for it as I wasn't trading it in for a new model. I drove over to Carmax in Connecticut. They offered a much higher price for it - and best of all they give you a written price; it holds firm for 7 days and you keep the car unless you want to sell it to them on the spot. Of course in that 7 days you can try and find a private buyer if you wish.

You could then keep your cars until the last possible moment...perhaps then maybe rent a car for the final couple of days and drop off at the airport?

I drove home and kept the car for another week (so I didn't have to rent one!). In fact, we decided to also get a price for my son's Subaru Outback....again Carmax were offering a better price than two Subaru dealers....so we returned with both cars to Carmax, got the cheques/checks on the spot and they gave us a lift to the East Haven train station, where we took the train to Grand Central, NYC - had dinner - then the train home.

Easy peasy and much better than dealing with time-wasters/no-shows/people who want to pay peanuts for your car or creepy people turning up at your house. I just didn't have the time or patience for any of that! (I also think that Jerseygirl who posts here recently sold their US-registered car to Carmax when they relocated to Canada).

I highly recommend them and they are in many locations across the USA:

CarMax - Browse used cars and new cars online

We Buy Cars at CarMax - Sell Us Your Car Main Page

Selling your car to CarMax FAQ

MrMuffin

Thanks so much for the tip on Carmax!

I am having the cars detailed and some minor things fixed. I'm going to try and sell them early and then give the buyer an incentive to put down a deposit and then wait. It'll be interesting. But I think if I offer them $500 discount on the spot to wait they might go for it. But first I'll figure out costs to rent a crapbox for a few weeks. It might end up being just the same. We shall see. I love the Carmax plan as a fall back though. Thank you so much!!

Bnet36

Hi MrMuffin,

I enjoyed reading your updates. You seem to be coping pretty well. All the best to you.

PS for everyone's sake cut up the wife's credit cards. If she's anything like me, I have a list of things that are cheaper here ...it's getting longer by the minute. I have 2 boys to buy trainers for every 2 months it seems. I would just pack a store if I could.

Best of luck to you and the family!

MrMuffin

The. Flights. Are. Booked!! We'll be in Cornwall January 11th!!

- Wife's ICT visa all sorted. No hiccups. She's already started her UK responsibilities.
- School for my eldest daughter is sorted... turns out I could do the In-Year application from the USA before we move so that's in place and a spot just opened up for us in Year 1... perfect.
- Our rental place is truly Shambolic. Boxes everywhere. We're having an open house to say our goodbyes anyway. I'll just have to ask people not to sit on the boxes (LOL!). The dartboard is still up so we'll have that to play with
- We still have some stuff to get rid of. I'm having the cars detailed next week and then they'll be up for sale.
- We are crossing the days off the calendar and you'd think I'd remember to do it but I keep missing a day and have to do two at a time. It's only 30 days until launch! Argh! So happy!!!

Happy Christmas everyone! (Is it too early to say that

LondonSquirrel

Was watching Wycliffe tonight and marvelling at the beautiful colour of the Cornish sea. Merry Christmas and good luck with the move.

Rosie Lee

"Crossing days off the calendar"
Not jealous at all, not, not, not......

MrMuffin

Sorry . Not trying to make anyone jealous. But I remember how inspiring it was for me when I was first making definitive plans to move back and I read postings of people on the verge. I just hope this thread does the same for others and makes them more determined too!! It's not an easy process. Baby steps, baby steps. Hang in there and good luck to everyone!!

Mummy in the foothills

Very exciting and nerve wracking those last few weeks of countdown. it goes as smooth as ours did.