Great Places to Live with Kids??

Hi there--I'm new to the board--looks like an amazing resource!!  Hope I'm posting this query in the right place...My husband and I are considering moving our family (4 boys, ages 5 mos. to 8 yrs.) to the UK for a 6-12 month sabbatical, to allow our kids to experience life in another country (and because I'm a complete Anglophile! ).

Since neither of us has a job lined up, we are pretty flexible as far as geography.  The options I'm considering are:
1. Living in London--we'd be close to lots of fun stuff, as well as being able to travel fairly easily, both within the UK and to Europe, and we probably could get by without a car; or
2. Living in a village/suburb relatively accessible to London and/or Heathrow or Gatwick, which would allow us to travel easily, would probably be cheaper, and might allow us to feel more part of a community; or
3. Living in or close to another cosmopolitan area such as Bath or Oxford, which might combine the advantages of London with slightly lower housing prices and perhaps feel less overwhelming.

Sorry this is so undefined; I suppose we're lucky to not be tied down to one area.  I'd love some advice or comments about places people with kids have really enjoyed living, especially feeling part of a neighborhood/community and liking the schools--the oldest two kids, at least, would be going to primary school.

I thank you for your thoughts in advance.  If we actually pull this off, I know I'll be returning to this forum again and again with questions! 

I would say live in London if it's only going to be for a short time. There is so much to do and it is a family friendly city.  Not having to worry about a car would be a bonus as well. 

Living in a small community would be difficult because it is not the easiest thing to come in as an outsider and if you're only there a short time, you might find it very quiet and frustrating. 

Bath isn't that much cheaper than London, particularly when it comes to housing. That being said, it's a lovely city and I enjoy living here, but I'm also an adult who enjoys the historical aspects and great pubs. I don't have kids, but from what I've seen it's not so kid friendly here. Other than numerous parks, a cinema, and a leisure centre, I'm not really sure what else there is to do with kids. I don't have a car and have been able to get around town fairly easily, but I don't get to go to any farm shops or see some of the little villages outside of town because of transportation. Bristol airport is not that far away and it has links to most major cities (including direct flights to Newark, NJ) and is much easier to navigate than Heathrow or Gatwick. I agree with Mrs. Pink about London, but also realize that enjoying the sites of London with a family of 6 isn't going to be cheap! I was there last weekend and I thought it was expensive when I was only paying for one!

Airmom has a young son and lives in Bath, so hopefully she'll be able to chime in.

Good luck!

Edited to add: It also depends on what your kids are used to. If my young nephews (who live in rural PA) had to spend more than a weekend in London, I'm pretty sure there would be a meltdown.

Well, I live in Oxford, and although I don't have children, I do work in a preschool and with local Brownies, so I'll chime in!

I would say that Oxford is a good place to have children. Where I live (a middle class victorian terraced neighbourhood) there are a lot of young families, and the local school is considered quite good. We have a lovely park with a pond, and I see lots of children cycling through the neighbourhood and playing with their parents in the park.

Of course, a lot of this experience depends on where you live, and I'd research the local primary schools to find one that fits you and your children well. The greater Oxford area is actually quite large (as villages have gotten swallowed up), and has a lot of diversity in character.

Some more points to consider:

Lots of things to see, and some very good free museums.

If you have a car, it's easy to slip out into the countryside and see the villages.

Lots of people from all over the UK and the world, as there's not just the University as a draw, but also science laboratories, etc. As a North American immigrant, I am not an oddity or curiosity, here.

Outside the city centre in nearby villages (walkable, bus, short drive) there are child-friendly pubs that have playgrounds or hire bouncy castles in the summer.

Housing is expensive here.

The shopping in town isn't considered great, for whatever reason.

London is 1 to 1.5 hours away, and a day visit is easily do-able.

I'm drawing a blank, but if you have any questions, please ask.

Okay consider me the nosey one.. 
I think its fantastic that you want to give your kids and yourselves the experience of living in another country.. Are you set on England? The UK is bigger than England:).. Okay so I live in Scotland and am partial to it .. LOL
My other nosey query, and by all means tell me to mind my own business,i won't be offended lol is:
What visa/permit etc are you planning on obtaining to stay here for 6 months to a year?
Enquiring mind here ..
Good luck on your queries. Just ask away we are a pretty freindly crowd in here.
Take Care
Kaylesh.

Just saw this thread.

Austenfan, we took two sabbaticals in Bath--a 6-month in 1995 and a 1-year in 2001-02--and loved it so much we ended up moving here last year! It is expensive, but the university has reasonable housing for visiting faculty (or used to...still do, I think). Bath has plenty to offer families: good schools, some wonderful parks, a children's theatre, great places to walk nearby with family friendly pubs, and easy access to fun things to do in Bristol.

Of course, there are great places for families all over Britain, and it would depend more on your or your husband's field of work.

The people I know who lived in London, and then moved to Leeds highly recommend their choice.  They think whatever sacrifice they made as to the degree of cosmopolitan-ism (?? ) & or broader diversity of the arts that the sheer size of London affords -- the balance of work/life that they have here in Leeds made it a worthwhile decision for them & their young children.  It ticks your criteria (except for the London part of it).

Wow, thanks so much for all your responses.  Really, really helpful.  Re the visa: we have some friends who did this last year actually stayed 11 months on just a regular tourist visa.  They left the UK 2 or 3 times to travel--once back to the US.  I think they just got their passports re-stamped each time.  But I understand we could stay at least 6 mos. on the tourist visa??? (Sorry-wrong thread for that question.

You can stay for six months on a visit visa.  If you say when you enter that you are planning to stay longer, you risk refusal.  If the Immigration Officer thinks you intend to overstay or work, or are not really just visitng, then you risk refusal. I don't think that what you plan on doing is as easy as you think.

Vicky

Vicky,
Just curious, is there a special visa for people coming here to work at a university on sabbatical? So many people do it I figured there was, but now it sounds like they just come on tourist visas which seems pretty risky.

Yep, academic visitor visa!

Vicky