LA to London

Hello All!  My name is Joyce and I'm new to this site.  The company my husband works for wants to relocate us to London in 1Q04.  I have been researching like crazy...London seems so different from Los Angeles!  Our site visit is in 3 weeks.  We have 2 little boys, ages 2 and 3.  I'd appreciate any info you all could share about preschools -- when does school start in London?  How old do you have to be (my 3 year old just started preschool here in the States).

Also, I have looked and looked, but I cannot seem to find any info regarding blacks in London.  Is race a big issue in London?  The UK overall?  Are there racial tensions in certain areas of the city -- areas we should avoid?  Will we be easily accepted or will we experience problems?  Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Lastly, how do you all with children get around?  Here I have a mid-sized SUV, which I thought was too small and was going to upgrade to a big ole 8 passenger SUV.  Do they sell SUVs or minivans?  Are car seats the same in the UK?  Can I bring ours from home?

Enough for now.  Thanks and I'm looking forward to chatting with you all!

Hi Joyce welcome to the site.    Yes they have vans really that they call people carriers.  They will look much smaller than your SUV though but really with all those little streets to navigate you will appreciate NOT having your SUV.  lol  

I have a site you might find helpful.  Its called www.upmystreet.com it basically works by using a postal code.  But it gives you information on schools, crime, housing prices, you can look for cars and jobs all on this site.  Perhaps the people here or those looking to move your family can give you some postal codes to use in your search.  

I hope this helps.  Keep looking here though I'm sure you'll get lots of information as your move is coming very fast.  

Hi! I'm afraid that I can't answer any of your questions but there will be others here that can.I just wanted to welcome you to the site.I have spent months trying to research our move(in April) and this is the first site that provided tons of info and potential new friends!

Hope to "hear" more from you soon

Welcome to the site Joyce!  What a great adventure you're about to embark upon!  I'm sure you're feeling equal parts terror and excitement....perfectly normal, but don't worry...you've come to the right place!

In my experience, skin color is *MUCH* less of an issue here in the UK, but especially in London.  This is a very cosmopolitan city and it is full of all sorts of different people.  You won't have any trouble here at all.  Black and whites tend to mix completely easily.  

There are racial tensions here, don't get me wrong.  But from what I can see, they aren't based on color...some religions and nationalities are not as accepted as others, but as an American, people will see beyond your color immediately.  

I can't answer the questions about cars or kids...I don't have either!  But you'll find that transportation and the way people get around here is one of the biggest things to get used to.  You really don't *need* a car in London!  Honest.  

Best of luck in everything and hope to see you around more!  

welcome and much luck to you on your big move- esp with the little ones it will be a stressful yet exciting time!!

I agree with wishstar generally- London is so huge and culturally/racially/ethnically mixed that racial tensions get lost in the mix.  There are sort of ethnic/cultural areas- there are Jewish neighborhoods/Indian, Turkish, even some "American" areas.  I think it has similiar racial problems as any large city in the states. No worse-not a huge amount better.  

I dont think you'll miss your SUV when you see the narrow streets- you'd never maneuver it- much less park!!
many of my friends with two or more kids have small wagons or minivans- they are the more compact styles you see in the US.  As far as I know- I am pretty sure the car seats are exactly the same as in the US- I can double check this.

pretty sure kids start nursery- preK at 3-4 years here. any ideas on what area of London you'll be in?  day care centers for 2-3 yr olds are usually hard to get into- waiting lists!!

let us know other ways to help- good luck!!
Mary

Thanks for all of the replies!  Glad to meet all of you.  Over the past 2 weeks I have found this site to be immensely useful!

We aren't sure yet where we'll live...when the company sends us out for our site visit the first week of November, we are supposed to meet with estate agents.  I'm hoping they take us around to see different areas.

As part of the relocation package, the company will give some sort of housing assistance to help equalize the cost of living, thereby insuring that we can live in London the same way that we live here in CA.  All that being said, does anyone have any suggestions on where we can find a 2500 sq ft detached house in the London suburbs?  Seems like there are so many flats!  And with 2 kids and a dog (and all of our junk) we need some space and a yard.

Some towns where the other expats from the company live are Chelsea, Kensington, and Hampshire I believe.

Hi Joyce

Hampshire is a county outside of London but is commutable. You will be pushing it to find a detached house anywhere in London I'm afraid! Outer south west areas like Chiswick, Wimbledon and Richmond might appeal, in north London try Hampstead, Belsize Park, Islington. Good luck and let us know where you end up!

Liz

Welcome Joyce!  As Liz said, detached houses in London proper will be harder to find, and very, very expensive.  Areas that I know other American expats live, and have detached houses with small gardens (back yards), albeit hugely expensive, are Fulham, Hammersmith, Wimbledon, and Richmond (all part of Greater London, I believe.)  In Kensington and Chelsea (a bit closer to central London) houses are even more extraordinarily expensive and hard to find (detached houses, that is.)

We don't live in London, but in a small village in Surrey county - about 30 minutes by train from London Waterloo station (central London.)  Surrey is the county just SW of Greater London.  Hampshire is a bit farther out from London - it's west of Surrey.  TONS of people live in our area and commute to London daily - it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.  In fact, I can be in central London just as fast from out here (Surrey) via the train as some friends who live in Wimbledon coming in via the Tube.  We chose this area because my husband's company is located in Surrey (Guildford.)  I think it's a great area - close to the city (London,) yet a bit more rural and relaxed.  Our village is lovely - looks like a traditional "English village" - several very old pubs on the High Street, lovely green where the local team plays cricket in the summer, quaint old church, nice people.  Kind of the best of both worlds, IMO.

One site that was helpful when we were exploring where to live last year was http://www.findaproperty.com/
You can search by all sorts of different criteria on that site - I found it very good.

I agree with the other posters about large SUVs - you don't see as many as in the States!  You will see some, but many of the streets and roads are very, very narrow.  Parking spaces are much smaller and narrower, too, and parking ramps have much less room to manuver.  I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the States and am very happy with my little VW Bora here.  

Is the company having a relocation consultant work with you?  They can be very helpful - several people I know have worked with relocation consultants and were very glad they did - saves you from having to do so much of the work, and there is a huge amount of work in planning an international relocation.  I know - we had to do most of it ourselves last year!

Another good resource is a book published by the Jr. League of London called Living in London
http://www.jll.org.uk/UserArea/StaticPages/LivingInLondon.asp
Lots of useful information about Living in London and the UK.  I have found my copy indispensible!

Good luck!  You'll have a much better feel for things once you get over here and can actually LOOK at different houses, areas, etc.  It's an exciting opportunity to live in the UK!  We've been here for a year (one year tomorrow!) now with a job-related move, and are settled in and really enjoying our life here.    

Stephanie

Thanks so much Stephanie for all of the great info!  The findaproperty web site was immensely helpful.  I definitely want to live in an area like you described...a more rural, relaxed atmosphere but close enough to the big city to enjoy it when you'd like.  That is how it is at our current house.  We are 50 minutes outside of Los Angeles, in an area where there are nice houses with a bit more land and it is quiet and pretty rural (there's a huge farm down the street).

Is Middlesex a good place to live, do you think?  How long would a commute be for my husband back into central London?  Is Middlesex near where you live?  It seems very nice and the houses aren't outrageously priced like in Kensington and Hampstead.

To answer your other question, yes, we will be working with a relocation agency.  Haven't met them yet...I guess we'll get more details once we arrive for our site visit which is from 11/1 to 11/6.  I'm sure the agency will be a great help with finding houses, I just would like to get a feel for what's available before we get there.

Thanks again for everything and hopefully I'll talk to you again soon!

Joyce

Hi...I see that you have gotten a god response thus far but just wanted to add my welcome to everyone elses. I wish you the best of luck in your move to London!

Thanks so much Stephanie for all of the great info!  

Is Middlesex a good place to live, do you think?  How long would a commute be for my husband back into central London?  Is Middlesex near where you live?  It seems very nice and the houses aren't outrageously priced like in Kensington and Hampstead.

Joyce

You're quite welcome!  Middlesex is more west of London - the part of Surrey I live in is SW of London.  I'm not really familiar with it (Middlesex) - I think it's also referred to as Western London on the findaproperty.com website.  I was at a school near Feltham (Western London) today - it was more congested than in our area, but seemed OK.  I've found that the closer you get to London, the more congested and less rural-like the communities are, although they are still more suburban then central London.  It's hard to say, though - areas can change very quickly.  The village we live in, Ripley, is very quiet and quaint.  Parts of Woking, which is very near, are very crowded and congested.  You just have to look around, I'm afraid.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I know there is a big American community in and around Cobham and Esher, Surrey.  The American Community school is located in Cobham.  Both are w/in half hour commuting (train) of central London.

Here's another website that we used when we were looking at areas to live.  It only covers Surrey, and only part of Surrey, but it has some good info as well.

http://www.thegoodmoveguide.com/start.htm

Good luck!

Stephanie

Sorry!  I don't mean to sound like a pusher for Surrey, but it's the only area of the country that I am familiar with and have lived in.  From what I've been able to gather, all the areas around London are much the same - more suburban/rural; yet still close to London.  Kent is very nice (SE of London,) Berkshire and Buckinghamshire (W of London,) Hertfordshire (N of London) and Essex (NE London) are all counties immediately surrounding London.  Lots of areas to choose from.  We were in a village near High Wycombe (Buckinghamshire) this weekend and the area was lovely, yet still w/in a decent commuting distance to London - about 1/2 hour, I think the folks we were with said.  

HTH,
Stephanie

Our site visit is in 12 days!  The relocation agency has set up 2 days of house hunting with estate agents.  The company suggests that we rent instead of buy since we'd only be in London for 3 years.  The areas they suggested are Wimbledon, Richmond, Kew, Kingston Upon Thames, Twickenham, Hampstead and St. John's Wood.  Should be very interesting.

So, what's the weather like out there?  Is it very cold already, or is it more fall-like?  It's still sweltering here in Southern California...the climate change will definitely be a major adjustment for us!

It's turned pretty chilly here in the last few days ... we are expecting frost tonight I believe! So bring lots of warm gear. Good luck with your househunt, if it was me, out of those areas I would go for Hampstead, very cute houses, very leafy and quite historical, also a bit more of a "community" feel than a lot of London suburbs.

Yep, I'm with Britwife there...Hampstead is lovely.  

Bring lots of layers...the weather here is unpredictable and cold when you're wandering around, then hot if you venture onto the tubes.  

Best of luck on your visit...sounds exciting!