Immigrating to the UK

One more thing. We are looking at property(flat) in the £200k to £220k range. 2/3 bedrooms.

We wouldn't be able to afford a property here of more than R2.5m even on our combined salary. She was approved for a mortgage of £220k just on her salary.
 
Health wise we left SA just in time.

Soon after getting pre settled status my wife and I had to go for total bloodwork tests. A few days later my wife had to go for a mammogram.
Then in the post we both received a parcel with a poo sample kit which we posted off. A colonoscopy is done if blood is found in the sample.
This is a requirement for all people over a certain age and free. All our chronic medication is also free of charge and delivered to our home. How good is this?

Two weeks ago I had an SVT event (tachycardia) and was rushed to a cardiac unit of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where they rebooted my heart to convert it to normal. Spent 2 weeks there and had a camera stuck in my wrist to my heart to check my arteries and blood vessels. Had all the scans and ultrasounds you could think of. Ate 3 great meals a day off a menu all for free.

In SA when I had a similar SVT event I lay on a gurney in the passage for 8 hours and when it self converted I was sent home without any explanation. I had to pay R7k for the ambulance and R300 for the use of the gurney.
 
So my girlfriend and I have/are deciding that we should move to the UK in around 18 months time, enough time so that she has about a year's worth of post-articles experience for her CA (SA), which can then be converted (or something along those lines) to the British equivalent.

My question is what would everyone recommend on where to look at moving? We enjoyed London while we were there a couple weeks ago, and know that salaries here would typically be higher, but also know that it's an expensive and fast paced city.
 
jman said:
So my girlfriend and I have/are deciding that we should move to the UK in around 18 months time, enough time so that she has about a year's worth of post-articles experience for her CA (SA), which can then be converted (or something along those lines) to the British equivalent.

My question is what would everyone recommend on where to look at moving? We enjoyed London while we were there a couple weeks ago, and know that salaries here would typically be higher, but also know that it's an expensive and fast paced city.
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Difficult question to be honest. We (expats on MyBB) all have different opinions and experiences. "London" is a blanket term for Greater London - I live in the SW far away enough from the actual city to not want to regret living here, but close enough to hop on a train if I want to go to gigs or football matches. I work in the other direction in Berkshire, even further away, but easily accessible.

Dave lives up north in the sticks (FYI - everyone knows as soon as you pass Watford, you're in the Naarth). I have no clue what it would be like to live or work up there with the other wildlings, but apparently it's dirt cheap. We have an office in Willerby - may request a transfer just for the hell of it.

Also, I think we can all agree to avoid somewhere like Birmingham - it's ****. Would not recommend.

Wherever you choose, remember that popping over for a couple of weeks for a visit is vastly different to living and working here. I think a lot of people end up making that mistake - they're usually the ones who don't last more than a year.
 
Where to move is a tough one. Do you have any friends/family in London and anything stopping you from moving anywhere else in the UK.

I used to work in London years ago, then moved out to the North (Manchester) and love it out here. Went back to London a few months ago to visit friends and would hate to work/live there now. Too busy, too expensive, taking the tube daily would kill me.

Job wise there are lots jobs in London and better pay, but then everything else is more expensive as well and you have more people applying for the jobs, so I guess it evens out. I have a 4 bed house, double garage. Would hate to know what it would cost down south. Much more greener up here, a 30 min drive and you are in Chesire or Wales, beautiful countryside.

UK is not a big country, you could take a drive and within a few hours be almost anywhere. There are some guys here that even live in London and travel up to Liverpool for the week to work and then travel back. Company pays travel/hotel so they are happy and pay is good. Not for me though.

As @The Voice said, avoid Birmingham like the plague. Heard plenty scary stories.

So difficult to answer. Its like Jhb/Ct/Dbn, all have their pros and cons. You could really live anywhere in the UK give the right circumstances (Except Birmingham :)
 
Lol thanks guys. Yeah pretty open ended question. So anywhere except Birmingham, got it, ha. I thought London (or greater London for that matter) would be a good place to start off and then look at other places thereafter. My sister recently moved to Leeds but I hear it gets really cold there. Suppose I have 18 months or so to decide
 
signates said:
One more thing. We are looking at property(flat) in the £200k to £220k range. 2/3 bedrooms.

We wouldn't be able to afford a property here of more than R2.5m even on our combined salary. She was approved for a mortgage of £220k just on her salary.
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What's the interest and morgage term if you don't mind sharing? Also, what kind of deposit do you need to put down?

As I have been mentioning past few months, family and I should be landing mid to end November. We will likely rent for about 2 years before starting the process of buying. Want to get a feel of the different regions before buying. We are looking at a more village vibe south of London.
 
AdrianH said:
What's the interest and morgage term if you don't mind sharing? Also, what kind of deposit do you need to put down?

As I have been mentioning past few months, family and I should be landing mid to end November. We will likely rent for about 2 years before starting the process of buying. Want to get a feel of the different regions before buying. We are looking at a more village vibe south of London.
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https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/index.php?posts/23802691

Post #481
 
jman said:
Lol thanks guys. Yeah pretty open ended question. So anywhere except Birmingham, got it, ha. I thought London (or greater London for that matter) would be a good place to start off and then look at other places thereafter. My sister recently moved to Leeds but I hear it gets really cold there. Suppose I have 18 months or so to decide
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I really enjoy (central) London, but I am definitely not a fan of the tubes at rush hour. Personally, I would take advantage of the fact that you don't have kids, and move within walking distance to wherever you manage to find work (and hopefully you and gf both find work within walking distance if you both work). The reason that kids come into it, is that a multi-bedroom, larger flat and especially a house can be prohibitively expensive, for the average Londoner, while for a single person or couple, the options from a large 1-bedroom to a small studio are usually quite doable, especially if you're more (socially) active and won't be spending that much time in the apartment.
 
cguy said:
I really enjoy (central) London, but I am definitely not a fan of the tubes at rush hour. Personally, I would take advantage of the fact that you don't have kids, and move within walking distance to wherever you manage to find work (and hopefully you and gf both find work within walking distance if you both work). The reason that kids come into it, is that a multi-bedroom, larger flat and especially a house can be prohibitively expensive, for the average Londoner, while for a single person or couple, the options from a large 1-bedroom to a small studio are usually quite doable, especially if you're more (socially) active and won't be spending that much time in the apartment.
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That's a good point actually, while we're still young and have no kids with reasonable income, we can enjoy London for a bit and then consider other areas thereafter. Would be awesome if we worked in the same area and could walk to work
 
jman said:
That's a good point actually, while we're still young and have no kids with reasonable income, we can enjoy London for a bit and then consider other areas thereafter. Would be awesome if we worked in the same area and could walk to work
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Yeah, don't get me wrong: London is great. Lots to do and see. Anything you fancy, it's here. But as others have said (and I can vouch for), it costs a lot more - as in a-double-room-costs-as-much-as-house-up-north more. But I guess if you're able to earn a lot, you can spend a lot. Just bear that in mind.

I lived in central (SE1) and southwestern (SE16) London when I was here the first time over 10 years ago, and had a blast - because I was over 10 years younger. This time round, I'm older - been there, done that, like things a bit quieter, a bit more spacious, so that's what I'm looking for. In a couple of years time, the plan is to move even further southwest, possibly near the coast, or maybe I'll take that journey past The Wall...

If you're young and up for the challenge, by all means, make the capital your home!
 
The Voice said:
Yeah, don't get me wrong: London is great. Lots to do and see. Anything you fancy, it's here. But as others have said (and I can vouch for), it costs a lot more - as in a-double-room-costs-as-much-as-house-up-north more. But I guess if you're able to earn a lot, you can spend a lot. Just bear that in mind.

I lived in central (SE1) and southwestern (SE16) London when I was here the first time over 10 years ago, and had a blast - because I was over 10 years younger. This time round, I'm older - been there, done that, like things a bit quieter, a bit more spacious, so that's what I'm looking for. In a couple of years time, the plan is to move even further southwest, possibly near the coast, or maybe I'll take that journey past The Wall...

If you're young and up for the challenge, by all means, make the capital your home!
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Interesting. One usually associates SE16 with South East.
 
I want to live in a village. When we arrive late November, we will be in Cuxton close to Rochester for the first few months. Hope its nice.
 
SkippyRamirez said:
Quick question to you guys over in the UK.

Is there any demand there for a data engineer?
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If you work in any field that is remotely related to programming, you will have far more job opportunities in the UK than you do in SA.

But yes I do see adverts for data engineers. The banks and Bloomberg will love you. Maybe Amazon too. Or Apple. Take your pick.
 
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