Immigrating to the UK

We're looking at £1350 pm for 3 full days and 2 half days per week term time for the next 18 months.
Thereafter, 3 full days will be covered and we will pay for the remaining 2.

Jirre that's more than my rent, good luck :/
 
Apologies for hijacking. Any truth to this? Keen to hear from those that side.



I know tons of South Africans that emigrated to the UK since Covid started for a “better life”.

They put a brave face on it but without exception not a single one of them, not one family, is by any objective measure living a “better life”.

They are all far more miserable than they were here, and just about the only benefit they have is the odd cheap weekend somewhere on the med.

They can barely afford heating after paying ridiculous prices for accommodation, have to wait days to see a GP, their kids have to carry decoy cell phones because they get mugged so often, can’t drive anywhere without getting massive fines for ridiculous reasons - plus congestion fees, and working in a corporate is more like being in school than working as an autonomous adult.

It sounds like hell, but as they will tell you at least they don’t have to worry about getting hijacked (while their kids are getting spiked in nightclubs and some yobs are hacking out the headlights of their car in the street outside).”
Well everything described here sounds like someone who moved to London and forgot that living in a big city is not as glamourous as the movies would have you believe.
Live outside London and rent is not too bad (its still high, but its manageable). If you live in London (or greater London) and expect to drive then you will be pauing congestion and ULEZ. The issues with the NHS are well-known before you even move here. I consider it my hospital policy, and just like in SA if I want to see the GP NOW then I will pay out of pocket.
And I work in a corporate environment (over 1000 employees) and its a great work environment, not what is being described there.

That tweet sounds like someone who cannot leave and is therefore trying to make it out like that the grass is dead on the other side. The grass is never greener, its just a different shade of green.
 
At those costs it becomes a question of whether the parent earning the least should work or become a stay-home parent.
We were considering that and also why it's taken so long for my wife ot start working.

Other employment options would have required 5 full days from the start and for our older kid to be placed in before and after school club which would have taken our monthly expenses up to about £1900 for childcare.

She now found a job that is remote, flexible to do school runs and pays well enough to at least have a decent amount left over to make it worthwhile.

A previous offer she received would have been office based and the commuting + childcare costs = the salary she was offered pm so would have made no sense at all.
 
Apologies for hijacking. Any truth to this? Keen to hear from those that side.



I know tons of South Africans that emigrated to the UK since Covid started for a “better life”.

They put a brave face on it but without exception not a single one of them, not one family, is by any objective measure living a “better life”.

They are all far more miserable than they were here, and just about the only benefit they have is the odd cheap weekend somewhere on the med.

They can barely afford heating after paying ridiculous prices for accommodation, have to wait days to see a GP, their kids have to carry decoy cell phones because they get mugged so often, can’t drive anywhere without getting massive fines for ridiculous reasons - plus congestion fees, and working in a corporate is more like being in school than working as an autonomous adult.

It sounds like hell, but as they will tell you at least they don’t have to worry about getting hijacked (while their kids are getting spiked in nightclubs and some yobs are hacking out the headlights of their car in the street outside).”

“I know a guy who knows a guy who moved to the UK and hated it, ergo, everyone who’s moved there has hated it”.
 
We're looking at £1350 pm for 3 full days and 2 half days per week term time for the next 18 months.
Thereafter, 3 full days will be covered and we will pay for the remaining 2.

That’s expensive.

Ours is £1k a month, full day sessions, 5 days a week. Meals and consumables included.

We pay £800 now with government help.
 
So all of it is a lie?

Tell me they lived in London without telling me they lived in London (re: insane property prices and ULEZ costs for driving in the city).

Number ONE mistake everyone in SA looking to come here makes - and I’ve said this countless times - is thinking that London is the UK. Anyone who’s been to the city often enough, or still dumb enough to live in close proximity (like me), will be able to attest to the fact that London is NOTHING like the rest of the country. Yes, people can earn more here, but it’s because everything costs more, so a higher salary doesn’t even always equate to a better QoL.
 
Tell me they lived in London without telling me they lived in London (re: insane property prices and ULEZ costs for driving in the city).

Number ONE mistake everyone in SA looking to come here makes - and I’ve said this countless times - is thinking that London is the UK. Anyone who’s been to the city often enough, or still dumb enough to live in close proximity (like me), will be able to attest to the fact that London is NOTHING like the rest of the country. Yes, people can earn more here, but it’s because everything costs more, so a higher salary doesn’t even always equate to a better QoL.

I’m looking to move companies next year and most likely will be traveling to London a couple days a week via train. Would never live there.
 
I’m looking to move companies next year and most likely will be traveling to London a couple days a week via train. Would never live there.

Yeah, we go to dorpies and other towns and cities, and it’s literally like being in an entirely new country sometimes.
 
Yeah, we go to dorpies and other towns and cities, and it’s literally like being in an entirely new country sometimes.
I have not been anywhere north of London. Hoping to visit more places around England and Scotland in the next year. Some beautiful countryside here.

Our current main goal is to save for a deposit for a house.
 
Tell me they lived in London without telling me they lived in London (re: insane property prices and ULEZ costs for driving in the city).

Number ONE mistake everyone in SA looking to come here makes - and I’ve said this countless times - is thinking that London is the UK. Anyone who’s been to the city often enough, or still dumb enough to live in close proximity (like me), will be able to attest to the fact that London is NOTHING like the rest of the country. Yes, people can earn more here, but it’s because everything costs more, so a higher salary doesn’t even always equate to a better QoL.
Louder for the idiots in the back!!!

London is NOT the UK. Its a city with lots of cool things to see, but its still a city which means its expensive and loud.
 
Apologies for hijacking. Any truth to this? Keen to hear from those that side.



I know tons of South Africans that emigrated to the UK since Covid started for a “better life”.

They put a brave face on it but without exception not a single one of them, not one family, is by any objective measure living a “better life”.

They are all far more miserable than they were here, and just about the only benefit they have is the odd cheap weekend somewhere on the med.

They can barely afford heating after paying ridiculous prices for accommodation, have to wait days to see a GP, their kids have to carry decoy cell phones because they get mugged so often, can’t drive anywhere without getting massive fines for ridiculous reasons - plus congestion fees, and working in a corporate is more like being in school than working as an autonomous adult.

It sounds like hell, but as they will tell you at least they don’t have to worry about getting hijacked (while their kids are getting spiked in nightclubs and some yobs are hacking out the headlights of their car in the street outside).”
Its some peoples truth. You can see a lot of facebook posts relating to this.
 
Apologies for hijacking. Any truth to this? Keen to hear from those that side.



I know tons of South Africans that emigrated to the UK since Covid started for a “better life”.

They put a brave face on it but without exception not a single one of them, not one family, is by any objective measure living a “better life”.

They are all far more miserable than they were here, and just about the only benefit they have is the odd cheap weekend somewhere on the med.

They can barely afford heating after paying ridiculous prices for accommodation, have to wait days to see a GP, their kids have to carry decoy cell phones because they get mugged so often, can’t drive anywhere without getting massive fines for ridiculous reasons - plus congestion fees, and working in a corporate is more like being in school than working as an autonomous adult.

It sounds like hell, but as they will tell you at least they don’t have to worry about getting hijacked (while their kids are getting spiked in nightclubs and some yobs are hacking out the headlights of their car in the street outside).”
Complete and utter cr@p. I like to say there are some grains of truth but it actually less than that. Sure you might wait for a GP appointment. BUT in the last year I have had an Op on my elbow from first appointment to op was less than two months. All for free (expect for the tax I pay), hospital stay, MRI, Physio. My son has also had braces and all the follow ups.
 
Complete and utter cr@p. I like to say there are some grains of truth but it actually less than that. Sure you might wait for a GP appointment. BUT in the last year I have had an Op on my elbow from first appointment to op was less than two months. All for free (expect for the tax I pay), hospital stay, MRI, Physio. My son has also had braces and all the follow ups.

I took my son to A&E on Sunday due to some concerns we had. We were dealt with, within 10 mins. In and out and on our way home.
 
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