2 Teachers Considering Moving to London

Hello,  I have a boat load of questions.

My wife and I are both school teachers in the US.  We have been on vacation to London twice and love everything about it (from a holiday perspective of course.)  One of the biggest reasons for wanting to move to London is that we hate driving and the public transportation there is a dream come true.  No car payments, insurance, gas, tags, maintenance, or repairs.  Just walk to the local underground and get anywhere in the city in about 20 minutes for a reasonable weekly or monthly fee.

I've done some research and found that London school teachers start at around £30,000 and they welcome foreign teachers.  There would be two of us bringing in this income.  I've found flats in Hammersmith on the net for £165 a week, which seems easily done.  In the US, rent is rent and that would be all I pay.  In London, would the £165 a week be all or is there tax or other unseen amounts to pay?  Usually, how big is a one bedroom flat in London?  We've both lived in a one bedroom here for two years with our 3 cats comfortably.  Are they around the same size as a US one bedroom apartment?  What are our chances of finding flats that don't mind animals?  The same as the US?

I'm just doing research at this point, but any answers you can give me on the subject would be appreciated.

renters in the UK pay council tax, which is different from the US (where the landlord pays all taxes associated with the property.)  So that's the "unseen amount" that an American wouldn't necessarily expect.  The rate of council tax varies by property, depending on what "band" it's in- you can do a search though to see what the rates are for each band in the areas you're interested in (sorry, don't know a link off the top of my head.)

Welcome to the board! 

Off the top of my head, 165 for Hammersmith seems low, and I would wonder what those places are like. 1 bedrooms do vary quite a bit...we live in North London (zone 2), and our one bedroom is relatively spacious and has an outdoor area...however, the 1 bedrooms in neighboring areas where we ultimately would prefer to live were much more cramped. While our current area is not bad, we definitely had to make a decision between space and neighborhood.

Coming from NYC, I was used to having most of my bills included in my rent (heat is included in NYC by law, and my landlord also included water). Most rent prices you will see here are exclusive of utilities, so you might want to look into how much those will run you.

My husband and I live in a one bedroom flat and I think it is probably the smallest flat I've ever lived in. It works for us though and we are very happy with it.  It's about 475 sq ft, which I think is a decent size one bedroom here in London, but maybe I'm wrong about that. Our council tax is 120 GBP per month, with two months free.

Welcome to UKY! I found this site extremely helpful before I moved over and afterwards too. 

I'm sure I'm telling you anything you didn't know, but make sure you do some research on the school before you accept a job.  You can find reports on them here:
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/

Thanks for the info guys. 

Also, we're from Texas and used to like $4 a lb ribeye steaks and the like.  How expensive and hard to find is beef in London?

I don't have any advice for you, but welcome to UKY!

Welcome !

A few things to think about when considering a move to London - be prepared to find the cost of living more expensive in the UK - especially in London, it's one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world. I can't speak for all of them, but I would expect flats in general to be smaller than you would find in the US - unless you get lucky with a large flat (which will be more expensive), the rooms may seem cramped compared to the spacious living you get in the states.

In terms of utilities, although some landlords do include utilities in the rent, you should be prepared to pay for gas, electricity, phone and possibly water, as well as council tax and a TV license on top of your rent.

Thanks for the info guys. 

Also, we're from Texas and used to like $4 a lb ribeye steaks and the like.  How expensive and hard to find is beef in London?

You can buy beef from any supermarket or local butcher, although I doubt you'll find a lb of steak for $4 here - it's going to be around $10 a lb or more for decent quality steak.