Back 3 months... Sort of
Jan 3rd 2015, 8:43 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 41
Back 3 months... Sort of
Hi all,
Sorry haven't been on in awhile it's been a whirlwind.
But here is where we are at;
I came to the UK on October 6th, by myself, leaving my wife and kids in Canada until I could figure out if this move was doable and I could find work.
Before arriving and upon landing I went to work applying for everything and anything that sounded like a good fit. I had an interview my first week here and at least 1 every week after. I had a few rejections and questions about WHY I am here from Canada. I think people have a real hard time understanding why we would do this move.
Well, it took 2 almost 2 months but I got offered a job the beginning of December and started Dec 8. I will be based near Leicester, but spent the last 4 weeks in training down in Ipswich and driving back to Derby for the weekends. Even worked up to the 24th and then through to the 31st.
This did not leave me any time at all for house hunting.
We are renting not buying, and it is very very very difficult to find a reasonably priced, 3 bed that accepts children and a dog. Most letting agencies wouldn't even help me and some said just pay £5000 upfront and we will get you in this really bad house that no one else wants. But finally found an agent and landlord willing to rent to us with 1st month + security deposit and got the keys yesterday to a beautiful little bungalow in Barrow-on-Soar.
My wife and kids are planning to fly out this coming Friday to arrive Saturday. Cannot wait to see them in person again. 3 MONTHS IS WAAAAY TOO LONG.
Then we need to establish ourselves here. Working on getting at least beds in the house this week and hopefully a sofa and kitchen table, but the holidays have made getting stuff delivered difficult and working fulltime makes it hard to even figure things out. But my wife is the best and will tolerate my failure to provide furniture.
The dog is supposed to leave either Friday or Saturday for Paris as it is much much more affordable. I just don't have the kind of money they want to do it direct. But I am so nervous about this. Has anyone ever driven to Paris to pick up a dog? I'd love to hear from you. I am scared it will be complicated, afraid they will keep her documents making it impossible to enter the UK. Never drive in France and no idea where I need to pick her up or how much they will charge me to get her out of customs. Anyone?
I will try asking on another forum to see as well.
Next week hopefully life returns to some normalcy with everyone under the same roof again. Albeit with little to no furniture or possessions (boxes will arrive later by sea ) maybe 6 weeks?
Take care BE.
Sorry haven't been on in awhile it's been a whirlwind.
But here is where we are at;
I came to the UK on October 6th, by myself, leaving my wife and kids in Canada until I could figure out if this move was doable and I could find work.
Before arriving and upon landing I went to work applying for everything and anything that sounded like a good fit. I had an interview my first week here and at least 1 every week after. I had a few rejections and questions about WHY I am here from Canada. I think people have a real hard time understanding why we would do this move.
Well, it took 2 almost 2 months but I got offered a job the beginning of December and started Dec 8. I will be based near Leicester, but spent the last 4 weeks in training down in Ipswich and driving back to Derby for the weekends. Even worked up to the 24th and then through to the 31st.
This did not leave me any time at all for house hunting.
We are renting not buying, and it is very very very difficult to find a reasonably priced, 3 bed that accepts children and a dog. Most letting agencies wouldn't even help me and some said just pay £5000 upfront and we will get you in this really bad house that no one else wants. But finally found an agent and landlord willing to rent to us with 1st month + security deposit and got the keys yesterday to a beautiful little bungalow in Barrow-on-Soar.
My wife and kids are planning to fly out this coming Friday to arrive Saturday. Cannot wait to see them in person again. 3 MONTHS IS WAAAAY TOO LONG.
Then we need to establish ourselves here. Working on getting at least beds in the house this week and hopefully a sofa and kitchen table, but the holidays have made getting stuff delivered difficult and working fulltime makes it hard to even figure things out. But my wife is the best and will tolerate my failure to provide furniture.
The dog is supposed to leave either Friday or Saturday for Paris as it is much much more affordable. I just don't have the kind of money they want to do it direct. But I am so nervous about this. Has anyone ever driven to Paris to pick up a dog? I'd love to hear from you. I am scared it will be complicated, afraid they will keep her documents making it impossible to enter the UK. Never drive in France and no idea where I need to pick her up or how much they will charge me to get her out of customs. Anyone?
I will try asking on another forum to see as well.
Next week hopefully life returns to some normalcy with everyone under the same roof again. Albeit with little to no furniture or possessions (boxes will arrive later by sea ) maybe 6 weeks?
Take care BE.
Jan 4th 2015, 2:53 am
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 369
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Lovely update Tratclife and congratulations on the new job!
Presumably you are all British so you didn't have to worry about visas etc. lucky sod
This thing with Brits or anyone else for that matter (for me the Americans), not understanding why we move back is going to get old quickly.
Presumably you are all British so you didn't have to worry about visas etc. lucky sod
This thing with Brits or anyone else for that matter (for me the Americans), not understanding why we move back is going to get old quickly.
Jan 4th 2015, 4:16 am
#3
MODERATOR
Joined: Sep 2009
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 29,867
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Lovely update Tratclife and congratulations on the new job!
Presumably you are all British so you didn't have to worry about visas etc. lucky sod
This thing with Brits or anyone else for that matter (for me the Americans), not understanding why we move back is going to get old quickly.
Presumably you are all British so you didn't have to worry about visas etc. lucky sod
This thing with Brits or anyone else for that matter (for me the Americans), not understanding why we move back is going to get old quickly.
Good update from Tratcliffe and nice to see some good news on your journey
Jan 4th 2015, 7:20 am
#4
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 41
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Yes Bnet36 I am British but raised in Canada, my wife is Canadian but qualified as British through her dad. And our kids through me even though they are all born in Canada, so we did indeed luck out... Otherwise I do not think we would have been able to do this move with the restrictions of a visa.
It still doesn't feel real most days, I just can't believe my family will be here in 6 says.
It still doesn't feel real most days, I just can't believe my family will be here in 6 says.
Jan 4th 2015, 8:19 pm
#5
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 369
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
You really did luck out, this visa process is horrible.
Very happy for you all and I hope you love living in England as much as we all do!
Very happy for you all and I hope you love living in England as much as we all do!
Jan 4th 2015, 9:14 pm
#7
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,540
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Yes Bnet36 I am British but raised in Canada, my wife is Canadian but qualified as British through her dad. And our kids through me even though they are all born in Canada, so we did indeed luck out... Otherwise I do not think we would have been able to do this move with the restrictions of a visa.
It still doesn't feel real most days, I just can't believe my family will be here in 6 says.
It still doesn't feel real most days, I just can't believe my family will be here in 6 says.
Jan 4th 2015, 10:10 pm
#8
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: Just outside Calgary
Posts: 513
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Just out of interest, how old are your children and how are they accepting the move? I have a 15 year old who is resisting! Also have 12 & 9 year olds.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Jan 4th 2015, 10:49 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 41
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Mine are 12 & 9 and are really looking forward to it.
They might be sad about certain things but overall I think they will really enjoy it here.
At least that is what we hope.
Thanks for the encouragement BE.
They might be sad about certain things but overall I think they will really enjoy it here.
At least that is what we hope.
Thanks for the encouragement BE.
Jan 6th 2015, 7:12 pm
#10
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2008
Location: Rural Virginia
Posts: 1,076
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Hi all,
Sorry haven't been on in awhile it's been a whirlwind.
But here is where we are at;
I came to the UK on October 6th, by myself, leaving my wife and kids in Canada until I could figure out if this move was doable and I could find work.
Before arriving and upon landing I went to work applying for everything and anything that sounded like a good fit. I had an interview my first week here and at least 1 every week after. I had a few rejections and questions about WHY I am here from Canada. I think people have a real hard time understanding why we would do this move.
Well, it took 2 almost 2 months but I got offered a job the beginning of December and started Dec 8. I will be based near Leicester, but spent the last 4 weeks in training down in Ipswich and driving back to Derby for the weekends. Even worked up to the 24th and then through to the 31st.
This did not leave me any time at all for house hunting.
We are renting not buying, and it is very very very difficult to find a reasonably priced, 3 bed that accepts children and a dog. Most letting agencies wouldn't even help me and some said just pay £5000 upfront and we will get you in this really bad house that no one else wants. But finally found an agent and landlord willing to rent to us with 1st month + security deposit and got the keys yesterday to a beautiful little bungalow in Barrow-on-Soar.
My wife and kids are planning to fly out this coming Friday to arrive Saturday. Cannot wait to see them in person again. 3 MONTHS IS WAAAAY TOO LONG.
Then we need to establish ourselves here. Working on getting at least beds in the house this week and hopefully a sofa and kitchen table, but the holidays have made getting stuff delivered difficult and working fulltime makes it hard to even figure things out. But my wife is the best and will tolerate my failure to provide furniture.
The dog is supposed to leave either Friday or Saturday for Paris as it is much much more affordable. I just don't have the kind of money they want to do it direct. But I am so nervous about this. Has anyone ever driven to Paris to pick up a dog? I'd love to hear from you. I am scared it will be complicated, afraid they will keep her documents making it impossible to enter the UK. Never drive in France and no idea where I need to pick her up or how much they will charge me to get her out of customs. Anyone?
I will try asking on another forum to see as well.
Next week hopefully life returns to some normalcy with everyone under the same roof again. Albeit with little to no furniture or possessions (boxes will arrive later by sea ) maybe 6 weeks?
Take care BE.
Sorry haven't been on in awhile it's been a whirlwind.
But here is where we are at;
I came to the UK on October 6th, by myself, leaving my wife and kids in Canada until I could figure out if this move was doable and I could find work.
Before arriving and upon landing I went to work applying for everything and anything that sounded like a good fit. I had an interview my first week here and at least 1 every week after. I had a few rejections and questions about WHY I am here from Canada. I think people have a real hard time understanding why we would do this move.
Well, it took 2 almost 2 months but I got offered a job the beginning of December and started Dec 8. I will be based near Leicester, but spent the last 4 weeks in training down in Ipswich and driving back to Derby for the weekends. Even worked up to the 24th and then through to the 31st.
This did not leave me any time at all for house hunting.
We are renting not buying, and it is very very very difficult to find a reasonably priced, 3 bed that accepts children and a dog. Most letting agencies wouldn't even help me and some said just pay £5000 upfront and we will get you in this really bad house that no one else wants. But finally found an agent and landlord willing to rent to us with 1st month + security deposit and got the keys yesterday to a beautiful little bungalow in Barrow-on-Soar.
My wife and kids are planning to fly out this coming Friday to arrive Saturday. Cannot wait to see them in person again. 3 MONTHS IS WAAAAY TOO LONG.
Then we need to establish ourselves here. Working on getting at least beds in the house this week and hopefully a sofa and kitchen table, but the holidays have made getting stuff delivered difficult and working fulltime makes it hard to even figure things out. But my wife is the best and will tolerate my failure to provide furniture.
The dog is supposed to leave either Friday or Saturday for Paris as it is much much more affordable. I just don't have the kind of money they want to do it direct. But I am so nervous about this. Has anyone ever driven to Paris to pick up a dog? I'd love to hear from you. I am scared it will be complicated, afraid they will keep her documents making it impossible to enter the UK. Never drive in France and no idea where I need to pick her up or how much they will charge me to get her out of customs. Anyone?
I will try asking on another forum to see as well.
Next week hopefully life returns to some normalcy with everyone under the same roof again. Albeit with little to no furniture or possessions (boxes will arrive later by sea ) maybe 6 weeks?
Take care BE.
Jan 6th 2015, 7:18 pm
#11
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 41
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Hi Otto,
williamhbrown.co.uk they are bigger than I realized.
Take care
williamhbrown.co.uk they are bigger than I realized.
Take care
Jul 18th 2015, 4:33 pm
#12
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 315
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Update from Me (the wife):
We've been here 6 months and love ALMOST everything about England. The kids have adjusted amazingly and have learned all the "lingo" (biscuits instead of cookies, banahhhhnas instead of bananas, trousers instead of pants, etc) though I still struggle with trash vs rubbish among others. Our landlady has decided that she needs to sell the lovely house we're renting after only six months (to pay for her mother's care in a nursing home), so we're on the lookout again to find a new home.
Which brings me to the only thing I hate here... Hypocritical, prejudiced landlord and agents. A survey done in 2010 found that almost two thirds of people in the UK have either a dog or cat, yet NO ONE will rent to us, even with the references we now have. I got blasted here last autumn for finding hapoy homes for our two cats, but I regret now having not found a home for our lovely pooch over in Canada where she'd have some rights. We are facing true homelessness here, despite having a steady income, agent references, pet reference, and even neighbours to vouch for us as being excellent. What are we told? Yes, the landlord MIGHT consider a pet, but TO BE HONEST, we won't even let you see it because there's been a lot of interest from the NOT pet owner population... So we're smited before even having fair chance. An article I read quoted your humane society type agency as stating that peopleare being FORCED to surrender their pets that they love and are responsible owners of because otherwise they will see their families living on the street.
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
We've been here 6 months and love ALMOST everything about England. The kids have adjusted amazingly and have learned all the "lingo" (biscuits instead of cookies, banahhhhnas instead of bananas, trousers instead of pants, etc) though I still struggle with trash vs rubbish among others. Our landlady has decided that she needs to sell the lovely house we're renting after only six months (to pay for her mother's care in a nursing home), so we're on the lookout again to find a new home.
Which brings me to the only thing I hate here... Hypocritical, prejudiced landlord and agents. A survey done in 2010 found that almost two thirds of people in the UK have either a dog or cat, yet NO ONE will rent to us, even with the references we now have. I got blasted here last autumn for finding hapoy homes for our two cats, but I regret now having not found a home for our lovely pooch over in Canada where she'd have some rights. We are facing true homelessness here, despite having a steady income, agent references, pet reference, and even neighbours to vouch for us as being excellent. What are we told? Yes, the landlord MIGHT consider a pet, but TO BE HONEST, we won't even let you see it because there's been a lot of interest from the NOT pet owner population... So we're smited before even having fair chance. An article I read quoted your humane society type agency as stating that peopleare being FORCED to surrender their pets that they love and are responsible owners of because otherwise they will see their families living on the street.
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
Jul 19th 2015, 9:20 am
#13
The Brit is back
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: NS, Canada 2007-2013. Now....England!
Posts: 2,211
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Update from Me (the wife):
We've been here 6 months and love ALMOST everything about England. The kids have adjusted amazingly and have learned all the "lingo" (biscuits instead of cookies, banahhhhnas instead of bananas, trousers instead of pants, etc) though I still struggle with trash vs rubbish among others. Our landlady has decided that she needs to sell the lovely house we're renting after only six months (to pay for her mother's care in a nursing home), so we're on the lookout again to find a new home.
Which brings me to the only thing I hate here... Hypocritical, prejudiced landlord and agents. A survey done in 2010 found that almost two thirds of people in the UK have either a dog or cat, yet NO ONE will rent to us, even with the references we now have. I got blasted here last autumn for finding hapoy homes for our two cats, but I regret now having not found a home for our lovely pooch over in Canada where she'd have some rights. We are facing true homelessness here, despite having a steady income, agent references, pet reference, and even neighbours to vouch for us as being excellent. What are we told? Yes, the landlord MIGHT consider a pet, but TO BE HONEST, we won't even let you see it because there's been a lot of interest from the NOT pet owner population... So we're smited before even having fair chance. An article I read quoted your humane society type agency as stating that peopleare being FORCED to surrender their pets that they love and are responsible owners of because otherwise they will see their families living on the street.
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
We've been here 6 months and love ALMOST everything about England. The kids have adjusted amazingly and have learned all the "lingo" (biscuits instead of cookies, banahhhhnas instead of bananas, trousers instead of pants, etc) though I still struggle with trash vs rubbish among others. Our landlady has decided that she needs to sell the lovely house we're renting after only six months (to pay for her mother's care in a nursing home), so we're on the lookout again to find a new home.
Which brings me to the only thing I hate here... Hypocritical, prejudiced landlord and agents. A survey done in 2010 found that almost two thirds of people in the UK have either a dog or cat, yet NO ONE will rent to us, even with the references we now have. I got blasted here last autumn for finding hapoy homes for our two cats, but I regret now having not found a home for our lovely pooch over in Canada where she'd have some rights. We are facing true homelessness here, despite having a steady income, agent references, pet reference, and even neighbours to vouch for us as being excellent. What are we told? Yes, the landlord MIGHT consider a pet, but TO BE HONEST, we won't even let you see it because there's been a lot of interest from the NOT pet owner population... So we're smited before even having fair chance. An article I read quoted your humane society type agency as stating that peopleare being FORCED to surrender their pets that they love and are responsible owners of because otherwise they will see their families living on the street.
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
Good to hear you are (mostly) happy and settling in well.
We have a rather large dog which we brought back from Canada with us. We found that a few houses we were interested in did not accept pets, but we spoke to the agents and explained our dog is (was) 6 years old, fully house trained, doesn't scratch wood/walls/furniture and is very well behaved. We also offered to pay more deposit to cover anything which he may do. We were kind of glad that the ones who said no, did, as we lucked out with a fab 4 bed house in a great area.
I find the best way is to speak honestly with the agents, offer to speak to the landlords if necessary to put their minds at rest and maybe offer more money to seal the deal.
People shouldn't bad mouth you for having to give up pets when you are desperate to house your family. Sometimes we have to make hard decisions in life and it is crap to give up beloved pets, without being slaughtered for doing so, but ultimately our (human) family have to come first. I would ignore them if I were you.
Good luck and hopefully you will find a house for you and your dog.
Jul 21st 2015, 11:12 am
#14
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 603
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
Update from Me (the wife):
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
All that to say, love the country, but hate the hypocritical people here ... Some of which are on this board ... Who attacked me last autumn to tell me what a horrible person I was for suggesting giving my beloved pets a fair chance. Thanks for the encouragement and the pressure to bring my lovely dog so some probably landlord can adopt her when we have to give her up so that our non-fur babies (you know, the kids) won't be taken from is when we live on the streets with them. Just sayin'.
Other than that, England is wonderful.
It seems to me that you are suffering from selective memory as there were posts advising you before you even left Canada to re-home your dog because we knew that in your situation, of very little cash funds AND no car (both greatly limiting your choice of rentals) you would come up against exactly the kind of problem you have. We tried to help and you chose to ignore the advice. People gave you their honest opinions both for and against, it was only you and your husband that could make the choice. None of the replies you received were hypocritical.
Hopefully you will soon have luck with a new rental and it is good to hear your are loving your time in the UK.
Jul 21st 2015, 11:27 am
#15
The Brit is back
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: NS, Canada 2007-2013. Now....England!
Posts: 2,211
Re: Back 3 months... Sort of
There was nothing "hypocritical" about the opinions and advice that some BE members gave you regarding whether or not to bring your dog with you from Canada.
It seems to me that you are suffering from selective memory as there were posts advising you before you even left Canada to re-home your dog because we knew that in your situation, of very little cash funds AND no car (both greatly limiting your choice of rentals) you would come up against exactly the kind of problem you have. We tried to help and you chose to ignore the advice. People gave you their honest opinions both for and against, it was only you and your husband that could make the choice. None of the replies you received were hypocritical.
Hopefully you will soon have luck with a new rental and it is good to hear your are loving your time in the UK.
It seems to me that you are suffering from selective memory as there were posts advising you before you even left Canada to re-home your dog because we knew that in your situation, of very little cash funds AND no car (both greatly limiting your choice of rentals) you would come up against exactly the kind of problem you have. We tried to help and you chose to ignore the advice. People gave you their honest opinions both for and against, it was only you and your husband that could make the choice. None of the replies you received were hypocritical.
Hopefully you will soon have luck with a new rental and it is good to hear your are loving your time in the UK.
I guess if people were trying to offer support by giving a realistic situation about renting with a dog, then that is a different matter. It is hard to do and we were very lucky we were in the right place at the right time, and I drive, but it can be done. I have a friend who rents with 2 large dogs and I know she offered a larger deposit too.
Last edited by Lorry1; Jul 21st 2015 at 12:35 pm.