We finally decided...where to start!

I became a member a couple of months ago after finding this great site.  I haven't posted anything for awhile but have been checking in periodically.  Well...after coming back from visiting my husband's family, they're in Oxford, Eng, in June we have finally decided that we should move.  We have given ourselves a deadline of a year, so by roughly next July we would like to be "established" in England.  It seems that if we don't set a timeframe it is too easy, for us at least, to procrastinate.

The question is where to start?  My husband's company seems to have a lot going on in Milton Keynes so that may be a possiblity.  We are hoping to get a position that will help us with moving expenses but if we don't that won't stop the move. Any thoughts on headhunters or job ops.  My husband is in the IT field.

We figure life is too short to keep saying "well maybe next year" or "when the kids are a little older" or "when the economy is better!!".  We know that the grass is always greener but if you don't give it a try what is life for.

I would appreciate any information, advice or thoughts!

First of all, congratulations! How exciting to finally have adecision made! The time will FLY by, I promise. As for the job, IT seems to be the place to be if you want a job over here as an American... atleast that's what it seems like to me anyway. I've no experience with headhunters or anything like that either, but I'd guess that the easiest thing is to push with his current company to relocate him, esp. because they'd pay for a lot that way too. Good luck and congrats again!

Thanks Marlespo!  Just thinking of everything we need to do makes me realize how fast time will go.  Realizing that we will need to start thinking about putting the house on the market in Jan/Feb!!!  Then we are trying to decide when to look for a new job for him because it could happen fast or take awhile.  Though we do have the option of just going and finding a job when we get there (because my husband is a British citizen) but would much more prefer to have a job for him to go to!  My brain is simply ready to melt just trying to figure out visas!!!

I became a member a couple of months ago after finding this great site.  I haven't posted anything for awhile but have been checking in periodically.  Well...after coming back from visiting my husband's family, they're in Oxford, Eng, in June we have finally decided that we should move.  We have given ourselves a deadline of a year, so by roughly next July we would like to be "established" in England.  It seems that if we don't set a timeframe it is too easy, for us at least, to procrastinate.

The question is where to start?  My husband's company seems to have a lot going on in Milton Keynes so that may be a possiblity.  We are hoping to get a position that will help us with moving expenses but if we don't that won't stop the move. Any thoughts on headhunters or job ops.  My husband is in the IT field.

We figure life is too short to keep saying "well maybe next year" or "when the kids are a little older" or "when the economy is better!!".  We know that the grass is always greener but if you don't give it a try what is life for.

I would appreciate any information, advice or thoughts!

Hello!  Couldn't help but send a little note.  I'm in the process of accepting a job in Oxford now and plan to move in Nov/Dec.  Do you know Oxford well...and do you like it?

Good luck to you & your husband in your upcoming move...and ALL that work to get moved!  I'll be going through the same thing!

Janet

Janet,

Oxford is a great city.  From what I am told it is a bit on the expensive side because of its location to London and the University.  The transportation is great (park and ride, buses etc).  It takes about an hour by bus to get to London from the center of Oxford.  My in-laws are in Yarnton.  I still haven't figured out the whole village/city thing.  It doesn't take very long to get into town from the park and ride.  Not too long ago they stopped allowing cars into the center of Oxford, only disabled parking.  So when you go into town there are people everywhere and only buses, who drive like madmen.

I wish you all the best in your move.  We are starting to get all of the information and misc together that we will need.  It makes my head hurt!!   We are hoping to move no later than next June.

Good Luck,

Kathy

Janet,

Oxford is a great city.  From what I am told it is a bit on the expensive side because of its location to London and the University.  The transportation is great (park and ride, buses etc).  It takes about an hour by bus to get to London from the center of Oxford.  My in-laws are in Yarnton.  I still haven't figured out the whole village/city thing.  It doesn't take very long to get into town from the park and ride.  Not too long ago they stopped allowing cars into the center of Oxford, only disabled parking.  So when you go into town there are people everywhere and only buses, who drive like madmen.

I wish you all the best in your move.  We are starting to get all of the information and misc together that we will need.  It makes my head hurt!!   We are hoping to move no later than next June.

Good Luck,

Kathy

Thanks for the comments, Kathy!  One of the things I like best about Oxford is how easy it is to get around on foot...or by bicycle!  I've never seen so many bikes parked at a railway station in my entire life!

Good luck with your move, too!

Janet

hi kathy!

good luck with the move! milton keynes has a nice new housing area near the lake, though i don't know how good the transportation links are. i DO like the mall and the x-cape(sp?) entertainment complex, it seems to be THE place to hang out on the weekends (movies, restaurants, couple bars, ice skating, rock climbing).

if you just want a cursory look as to what jobs are out there for IT have a look at www.jobserve.co.uk and www.totaljobs.co.uk . the former is for IT and the latter has a wide range of jobs.  the agencies that list there are a good place to start.  

janet, as for oxford, i have had a quick look around since my husband's company moved out there a couple of months ago.  yes, the city centre is indeed very expensive but on the outskirts the house prices are still pretty reasonable. but beware, there are a lot of 'not-so-nice' places around.  my husband's company is located on an industrial park near kassam stadium (SW of the city centre), and they issued notices to employees that some housing estates near there are best avoided during non-daylight hours.  so when hubby goes work there he takes the back road route through some tiny villages to enter from the opposite side.

have a look at places with train stations nearby, if you don't mind commuting. there are some really nice places around.  one thing i do (since i don't drive) is take a bus ride through neighborhoods so i can have a good look around at the people and the place.

we found a place to park for 2 hours for free on weekends about a 10-min walk into town centre, which is fine for us if i'm craving a cup of coffee while in the area, or a nice lunch out.  otherwise we use the park and ride, which is no hassle.

good luck to both of you! although i want to end up back in the US i have no regrets about living over here...broadened my horizons!

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