Hello everyone - Looks like I'm moving to London!

Hey there! I'll try to say a lot of stuff very efficiently. 

Who we are
Me: 36 yrs old, MBA student @ Oxford, did 6 yrs of IT consulting/project mgmt, now switching to "social impact," aka business that aims to do good first, profit second (but definitely still for-profit). I am an improv comic and a slam poet as well as being a computer geek.
My lovely fiance: Masters in Art History, works in museums, but has been over here in Oxford with me on a US passport so she can't work. Been volunteering in all of the university museums, tho. She's amazing, knows everything and we make each other laugh, and I am lucky.
My daughter: About to go back to the US with her mom for a few months, after hanging out here for a term (3 months). She is whip-smart and a ballerina and has a great sense of humor, and once again I am lucky.
L
ike many I am here because I have questions, in this case due to a sudden job offer. My intent has been to live (with my fiance and daughter) and work in London. Luckily, it's solidifying faster than I thought. Unluskily, I am caught without having done much research.

The big questions
I am in the final stage with this offer, talking about a salary range, and I have very little idea how to turn that into an idea of quality of life around London (within the M25). I have a lot of questions, and will be going through these boards and everywhere else, but any pointers you can give me on any of it would be wonderful.

Question 1. Getting from pre-tax income to monthly spendable amount. I'll be reading up on tax law (including the feature article up on this site), but pointers to how to do that math or look out for pitfalls (dual tax, etc.) would be great.

Question 2. What kind of allowances or help a US citizen working and domiciled here can get. Things like housing or child allowances. I know EU citizens get them, but I have lots to learn here.

Question 3. Deciding upon and applying for good secondary state schools for my daughter within the M25. I've been reading up on this a lot, but I am sure there is something I can do more targeted than just reading dozens of prospectuses going down the GSCE charts. I am especially confused about admissions for a kid who is going into year 10, since most of them talk about year 7.

Question 4. Housing around London. We'll be renting, and we're fine with being a bit further out (up to 30 minutes into central London, say). We want a two bedroom with a garden and a decent kitchen, probably furnished, and we really like the arts and a place that has a little bit of an edge or a scene to it. So we're looking for "cute, sleepy bedroom burb" without the "sleepy" part. London is giant, and I feel like it's going to take me months to get a sense of the neighborhoods. Any suggestions for areas to look at? Good online flat-finding web sites (I've been using RightMove mostly)? Sanity checks of what my price range should be?

Question 5: Thoughts on whether americanexpats[dot]co[dot]uk is worth the fee?

I hate coming in with lots of questions, and much of this has been asked a million times I know. I'll keep looking on my own, and I look forward to getting past the "gimme" phase and into just sharing stories and advice myself.

Thanks for providing this meeting place!

-- Kit

Oh! And we're all from sunny South Carolina. 

-- Kit

Is she here as a tourist?  Because she can't work OR volunteer as a tourist.

I can't speak to the rest of your questions as I don't live in London.

Look at:

Www.listentotaxman.com

To figure out your take home pay.

As a visa holder you will have no recourse to public funds so you are not eligible for any housing or child allowances.

You've figured out that London is huge. Get a tube map and a map of London and the figure out your budget. Outdoor space comes at a huge premium. The farther away you get from Central London the cheaper things get.

To check out neighborhoods:

Www.upmystreet.com

And as bookgrl said, your fiance should not have been volunteering if she was here on a tourist visa. This may cause her problems in the future.

Thanks for the welcome and the links. I'll be looking through them.

I know I came in with a barrage of questions, which I now feel was a bit rude. I'll take the detailed stuff to the appropriate forum of course.

I'll look up the law regarding the volunteering. This is a bit confusing to us, since she been volunteering through Oxford, and to our knowledge they've done this a number of times before, in addition to being a large public institution with hundreds of volunteers, and hence "should know better". But we'll look it up.

Thanks again,
Kit

Welcome to UKY!

I know I came in with a barrage of questions, which I now feel was a bit rude. I'll take the detailed stuff to the appropriate forum of course.

Nah, we all come in with a plethora of questions.    No worries, this is why we're here.

I'll look up the law regarding the volunteering. This is a bit confusing to us, since she been volunteering through Oxford, and to our knowledge they've done this a number of times before, in addition to being a large public institution with hundreds of volunteers, and hence "should know better". But we'll look it up.

Unfortunately, you can't always leave it up to institutions to know what is and isn't allowed per immigration rules.

For example, we've seen plenty of people who used the NHS as visitors because NHS staff told them it was okay when the rules clearly state that using the NHS as a visitor is not permitted except in cases of emergency.  Ultimately, the responsibility falls on you to understand and abide by the terms and conditions of your visa.

From the UKBA:

How do I qualify to travel to the UK as a visitor?

Immigration Rules Paragraphs 41 - 46

There are many categories of visitors. A visitor is someone who generally intends to be in the UK for a short period, for example, to visit friends and family, to do business, to do a short course of study, to have private medical treatment. The information given here aims to deal with the various categories of visitors coming to the UK.

In general, you must show that:

    you want to visit the UK for no more than six months;
    you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;
    you have enough money to support yourself during your stay in the UK without working or needing help from public funds. See more on 'Public funds' under 'More advice and information';
    you do not intend to take paid or unpaid employment.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/inf2visitors

Emphasis mine.

Volunteering counts as unpaid employment.

Question 1. Getting from pre-tax income to monthly spendable amount. I'll be reading up on tax law (including the feature article up on this site), but pointers to how to do that math or look out for pitfalls (dual tax, etc.) would be great.

The taxman calculator linked to earlier is great.  I recently started my first job in the UK, used it to estimate my taxes, and it's been almost dead on accurate.  Big thumbs up for it.

Question 2. What kind of allowances or help a US citizen working and domiciled here can get. Things like housing or child allowances. I know EU citizens get them, but I have lots to learn here.

As gretel mentioned, you would not be entitled to public funds.  See this list for what does and doesn't count as public funds:

Public funds include a range of benefits that are given to people on a low income, as well as housing support. These are:

    income-based jobseeker's allowance;
    income support;
    child tax credit;
    working tax credit;
    a social fund payment;
    child benefit;
    housing benefit;
    council tax benefit;
    state pension credit;
    attendance allowance;
    severe disablement allowance;
    carer's allowance;
    disability living allowance;
    an allocation of local authority housing;
    local authority homelessness assistance;
    health in pregnancy grant; and
    income-related employment and support allowance.

Public funds do not include benefits that are based on National Insurance contributions. National Insurance is paid in the same way as income tax and is based on earnings. Benefits to which a person is entitled as a result of National Insurance contributions include:

    contribution-based jobseeker's allowance;
    incapacity benefit;
    retirement pension;
    widow's benefit and bereavement benefit;
    guardian's allowance;
    statutory maternity pay;
    maternity allowance; and
    contribution-related employment and support allowance.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/while-in-uk/rightsandresponsibilities/publicfunds/

Question 4. Housing around London. We'll be renting, and we're fine with being a bit further out (up to 30 minutes into central London, say). We want a two bedroom with a garden and a decent kitchen, probably furnished, and we really like the arts and a place that has a little bit of an edge or a scene to it. So we're looking for "cute, sleepy bedroom burb" without the "sleepy" part. London is giant, and I feel like it's going to take me months to get a sense of the neighborhoods. Any suggestions for areas to look at? Good online flat-finding web sites (I've been using RightMove mostly)? Sanity checks of what my price range should be?

My top tip (both from previous forum advice and personal experience) is that decent flats in London go quickly.  I mean very quickly.  If the flat is decent, it can go in the first viewing, so most likely, flats that you see advertised online will not be available because there may already be a deposit put down.

The best thing to do, IMO, is to call up local letting agents in the area you're looking to rent, and have them show you what's available that day (call as early in the day as you can).  If you see something you like, be ready to put down a deposit right then and there, or the second viewer may take it.  Seriously, my flat and the flat above me went to the first viewers.

I have just my personal experience to share here, and it may or may not be an accurate snapshot of what to expect, but I live in a 1 bedroom flat with a front garden and back garden.  My commute into Central London is by bus then Tube, and the entire process takes about 1 to 1.5 hours.  I pay £900 a month not including council tax or any utilities (water, sewage, gas, electricity, etc).

The flat above mine is £950/month - again, not counting council tax or utilities.

Question 5: Thoughts on whether americanexpats[dot]co[dot]uk is worth the fee?

No idea here; never heard of them.