Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
#16
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Joined: Oct 2017
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Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Hi, I try not to offer negative advice wherever possible since many people have enough on their plates with planning their lives as it is. I would just say that I tried commuting from Whitstable to London and gave up after a month. Admittedly I was using my car to get to the East side of London, but it was nightmare. Then from Folkestone I would still go to London occasionally with my work and it was worse if anything. My wife often took the train to London and even leaving after 9:30, if she didn't book well in advance, it was pricey. However you choose to commute from Ramsgate you will spend many hours each way travelling, which could mean childcare eating into your income along with expensive and inefficient trains. If you are planning to go to Ramsgate I would start job hunting now around Kent.
Good luck with it all.
Good luck with it all.
#17
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Joined: Jan 2018
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Posts: 26
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Thanks for the advice. I will look into finding work in Kent. Commuting long distances won't be possible as my children are young (10 and 5)
#18
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
I used to live on Planet Thanet (Margate-Broadstairs-Ramsgate), and it has some of the most affordable housing in Kent, but local job opportunities are not great compared to the rest of the South East. York is expensive for Yorkshire, but still cheap compared to equivalent areas in the South East. Schools are good, and if you pick the right bit of York then you are in commuting distance of other towns & cities such as Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate. There are jobs up in Yorkshire!
#19
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Joined: Jul 2003
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Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Hi Holly! Have you been to East Pakistan? That's interesting! Another quick question. If I stay in Ramsgate for 2-3 months and then shift to York, won't I have to change schools again too? How difficult will that be? My uncle in York lives in a tiny house and his wife is ill, so can't live with him. But he can help me to rent a place on a modest budget I hope. My kids will need to adapt to a new country and culture as it is. Don't want to move them from school to school too much.
Thanks so much for your time!!
Thanks so much for your time!!
It's no great disruption for kids to leave a school if they have only been there a short time. Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for. In fact, a new start when they have some experience and know what to expect might be helpful.
Maybe you could do three months in Ramsgate to meet the "habitual residence" test. Then move in with relatives in York and immediately apply to the local council for priority housing due to overcrowding.
#20
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Ramsgate - London can be as short as 1 hr 20 minutes thanks to the new HS train, but it can be longer (2 hours to Victoria) by the old commuter routes. What you may not realise if you haven't worked in London before, is where you live and the route of the trains from your local station can really impact what jobs you take in London. For example, a 1h15m journey into St P sounds great, but if your job is in South London, you will have another hour on top of that to get across London at rush hour. So a slower train coming into Victoria actually may be the better train to take as you could walk or take the bus from there.
I used to live on Planet Thanet (Margate-Broadstairs-Ramsgate), and it has some of the most affordable housing in Kent, but local job opportunities are not great compared to the rest of the South East. York is expensive for Yorkshire, but still cheap compared to equivalent areas in the South East. Schools are good, and if you pick the right bit of York then you are in commuting distance of other towns & cities such as Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate. There are jobs up in Yorkshire!
I used to live on Planet Thanet (Margate-Broadstairs-Ramsgate), and it has some of the most affordable housing in Kent, but local job opportunities are not great compared to the rest of the South East. York is expensive for Yorkshire, but still cheap compared to equivalent areas in the South East. Schools are good, and if you pick the right bit of York then you are in commuting distance of other towns & cities such as Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate. There are jobs up in Yorkshire!
#21
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Rural BC
Posts: 256
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
maybe those in Bradford will be able to assist with the benefits question as well.
#22
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Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Commuting to and from work won't be practical if I have to do school runs when my husband isn't with us. I think I'll have to look at part-time work. Worst-case scenario: If I can get council housing, and if I get the lowest paid jobs, will that cover food and clothes? Does council housing mean anywhere in UK or anywhere in a specific city?
#23
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
#24
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Maybe I'm missing something but why can't you use a childminder or similar? Plenty of mums work full-time and manage with the help of a childminder or before/after school clubs. I really wouldn't be thinking about relying on benefits, that's not going to be an easy life for any of you (not least because if you're an educated person used to working, it would be a huge lifestyle change).
#25
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 364
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Its always worrying (and sad) when people are moving to the UK and their first thought is benefits/council housing.
It should be a last resort to be used in an emergency, not a first plan.
It should be a last resort to be used in an emergency, not a first plan.
#26
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
I'm worried if I don't get a job by the time my savings run out
How do you get benefits and council housing as a first resort from that?
#27
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
I think you have this process back to front. Your first priority should be to secure employment in the UK. You can then move back by yourself, complete six months of work and be able to sponsor your husband to join you in the UK bringing the children with him.
#28
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Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Posts: 26
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Getting a job first seems the right way to go about it.
Found these employment websites on the 'Useful Links' sticky post. Will research them right away. Suggestions to other good job sites will be appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.seek.co.uk
http://www.hays.co.uk
http://www.monster.co.uk
Found these employment websites on the 'Useful Links' sticky post. Will research them right away. Suggestions to other good job sites will be appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.seek.co.uk
http://www.hays.co.uk
http://www.monster.co.uk
#29
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
Getting a job first seems the right way to go about it.
Found these employment websites on the 'Useful Links' sticky post. Will research them right away. Suggestions to other good job sites will be appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.seek.co.uk
http://www.hays.co.uk
http://www.monster.co.uk
Found these employment websites on the 'Useful Links' sticky post. Will research them right away. Suggestions to other good job sites will be appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.seek.co.uk
http://www.hays.co.uk
http://www.monster.co.uk
Good luck.
#30
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Joined: Aug 2013
Location: Eee Bah Gum
Posts: 4,131
Re: Taking a leap! Moving to UK with kids and bare savings
https://www.indeed.co.uk/