From Princeton to London

Hello!
My wife and I are planning on moving to the UK this summer, as our daughter will begin attending university in York starting in September.

We've lived in New Jersey for most of our lives. My wife is an EU citizen (kids as well), which affords me the right to work in the UK - according to info I found on the UK Border Agency website.

Our biggest concerns with planning are: my finding a job, finances (assessing cost of living, tax considerations for US expats, etc), understanding the neighborhoods in the London area (safety, family friendly,etc).

As far as work goes, I will be the one earning a living. I am an experienced E-LEarning Instructional Designer. Based on my research to date, it seems that I should be able to find work in a reasonable amount of time. I am, however, concerned if there are any tax implications I may need to worry about, that will impact my net earnings.

Also, can you all provide any insight into the neighborhoods in the London area? I am choosing London because of the availability of jobs. So I just want to know what areas would be good for my family (we have a 7 year old as well).

FInally there's cost of living. What's the best way to assess the cost of things like: rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, etc? Can you all share your experience with these?

Thanks...

This is a really good recent thread about planning for living expenses.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=78922.0;all

West London is a pretty well-liked area, specifically the Ealing area.  It's a bit more affordable than central London (£1500/month for a 2 bedroom) and has good transportation links into the city center.  Family friendly as well.

Hello and welcome! Can't offer any advice as I lived in Scotland, but I love seeing NJ folks on here! I'm from Hunterdon County originally, so I spent quite a bit of time in Princeton in high school and college! I still get down there every once in a while to go to the Record Exchange.

Good luck with the move! 

Hello!
My wife and I are planning on moving to the UK this summer, as our daughter will begin attending university in York starting in September.

We've lived in New Jersey for most of our lives. My wife is an EU citizen (kids as well), which affords me the right to work in the UK - according to info I found on the UK Border Agency website.

Yes, you can work once you have an EEA Family permit.  In order to get an EEA Family permit, your wife the EU citizen must be exercising her treaty rights in the UK. Exercising treaty rights means she's not only living but also working in the UK.  She's going to have to have a job before you can apply for an EEA Family permit which will then give you the right to work.

There are a couple of other ways to exercise treaty rights.  You should explore the UKBA website further for information.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/eucitizens/documents-eea-nationals/

Exercising treaty rights means she's not only living but also working in the UK.  She's going to have to have a job before you can apply for an EEA Family permit which will then give you the right to work.

Not necessarily - there are about 6 different ways that she can be exercising her treaty rights, not just by working.

To be exercising treaty rights and be able to sponsor a non-EEA family member, she has to show that she meets one of the following requirements:

-    employed or self-employed
-    studying
-    economically self- sufficient (meaning that you have sufficient funds to support you without requiring public funds)
-    a jobseeker
-    retired
-    someone who has had to cease working in the UK owing to permanent incapacity.