geeandtee

It's looking more and more likely that we are going to have to return to the UK because of immigration issues (appeal denied...very bad news)

For those of you who are already back there, where's a good place to go in terms of:

Relatively affordable housing;
Half decent employment prospects;
Decent schools?

I really have no idea where to start. I'm a town planner and my husband can pretty much turn his hand to anything but, mainly golf course maintenance, landscaping, general laborer. My son is in 5th grade so I have no idea where he would fit into the UK system.

Any suggestions/pointers/ references to other threads would be greatly appreciated.

Mummy in the foothills

I search online for jobs and go wherever that takes you. I myself prefer the north, I don't care that it's warmer in the south, (so they say)
5th grade is age 11 isn't it? Won't he be starting high school in UK this year? or maybe last year of Juniors.
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/
www.monster.co.uk
http://www.i-resign.com/uk/home/
If you have a rough idea of the area you can do a google search for the local papers and look at jobs/rentals that way.
Good luck.

dunroving

Sorry to hear that - US immigration has to be among the toughest to break through.

What is your definition of "relatively affordable housing"? A 5-BR detached for 400k, or a 3-BR terraced for 140k? Hard to give advice without a clearer idea of what market you are in ... are there certain areas of the UK that suit you better? Any real no-go regions for you? Where are the grandparents living?

geeandtee

House price wise, realistically about 100k max, at least 2 beds.
I'd rather live in a market town and in terms of geographical location, north of Watford. I'm thinking Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincs, N.Yorks.
Not keen on very urban areas.
Sadly, my parents live here...that's the real kicker about all of this. OH's parents are dead, so living near his siblings isn't really an issue. He's not at all happy about returning to the UK. I can deal with it, not sure he will.

cathy22w

I just moved to the Midlands near to Melton Mowbray - got a decent job, and am renting a cottage in a tiny village. All lovely. And doesn't seem so expensive. They have livestock markets and all sorts going on there. lol. Cool place to be.

sans

Oh its just got to be Lincolnshire expecially North or North east Linc's ...Known for its cheap housing and lovely gardens

quoll

So sorry to hear that Geeandtee - when you dont want to move that must be a real kicker.

I guess the usual suggestion would be to go where you can best get a job and I have no idea where that may be for you both. I look at the Cambridgeshire property website on a regular basis but L100k isnt going to get you too much (unless you fancy Wisbech and they seem to be giving houses away up there!). They do say that Lincolnshire is the cheapest county to buy in but how much work there is around there I have no idea.

Good luck with whatever happens next!

geeandtee

It looks like LincyLand is a good bet. As it happens there are a couple of jobs in Sleaford I can apply for.
Yea, Wisbech....I know it well and can understand why they're giving houses away there The heart of Fenland/Deliverance country...all those isolated villages in the middle of dark and foetid marshes, the winter wind blowing off The Wash. Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here.

Thanks, Quoll. We have been royally screwed by USCIS and I'm tired of jumping through hoops only to end up falling deeper into a pit. I think it's time to cut our losses and get the hell outta Dodge.

FlangeMcGravity

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/

I've spent hours on this, just getting an idea of where's affordable. Loads of fun!

geeandtee

Does anyone know what happens re credit history in the UK?

I don't know that we'll be able to pay off what we owe here, e.g. credit cards, home equity loan.

I don't want to walk away from the debt, but we may not have any choice. Does it affect our UK credit rating?

penguinsix

I'm sorry to hear your appeal has failed. I would pay strict attention to the dates on when to leave and whatnot--you don't want to get a travel ban slapped on you for an overstay. Would make vacation travel very difficult in the future.

One other resource is the US expats in the UK site. They might have some suggestions about how to help your son adjust from the US schools to the UK ones. The posters there also are actively scouring the entire UK for some decent Mexican food, so you might get some leads if any turn up.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

hillbillywillie

Declare chapter 7 bankruptcy and head back to Blighty.

geeandtee

We took the 2 cats that we're taking with us, to the vets this afternoon for microchipping and rabies jabs, so the process is now underway. We now have to try and find homes for two dogs and another cat. We have a couple of people interested in the car (which is fully paid off, thank God). I'm going to check out about containers tomorrow because we'll be taking some stuff back.

Now that we know, I feel better about things and I just want to get on with it. Really, I've decided the only thing that will be hard is not knowing when I'll see my parents again, if at all. That is really, really hard to bear.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loathe USCIS right now. I hope the nameless, faceless box-ticking little bureaucrat who dealt with our application is infested with the fleas of a thousand camels, develops virulent boils and loses all their hair overnight.:curse:

jonfrank123

It will not have any impact whatsoever on your UK credit rating.

mikelincs

No, proper Lincolnshire, not those bits that left, then returned, we moved to just north of Lincoln, still relatively cheap to buy, although we are renting, lovely scenery, especially round the wolds, lots of nice small market towns like Louth and Market Rasen, and of course Lincoln, with all the facilities you could want.