Moving to UK in August - where should I start my search?

If I were in your position (with one year to spend in the UK with your income, your family size, and working from home) I would rent a furnished period cottage in a beautiful location in or near a market town in the countryside in the south of England, not far from a railway line.

If I were in your position (with one year to spend in the UK with your income, your family size, and working from home) I would rent a furnished period cottage in a beautiful location in or near a market town in the countryside in the south of England, not far from a railway line.

This sounds exactly what we are after.  Can you tell me what a "market town" is?  And how to find them?  Within an hour of London would be fine with us. We also had heard good things about Brighton, but no one has commented on Brighton so far.  Maybe I should start another thread?

I am just flabbergasted at the money talk.  Maybe CA has prepared us well for the sticker shock of the UK.  We earn more here than we will be making there, and don't have an extravagant lifestyle.  I would rather spend my money on travel than fancy digs in central London.  Thanks for the reality check on this - I gave his boss a big hug at a baseball game last night!

It is a relief to know that we won't need private health insurance.  We are all very healthy (knock wood), but I am a practicing MD here and am used to "cadillac care", but can make do with just the basics for a year.

Thanks for the suggestions, DtM - I will start looking there. 

It is a relief to know that we won't need private health insurance.  We are all very healthy (knock wood), but I am a practicing MD here and am used to "cadillac care", but can make do with just the basics for a year.

You may not "need" private health insurance.  However, if you give up private health insurance you may have trouble qualifying for it or you will only qualify for substantially reduced coverage when you return to US in 1 year.  I would suggest further research before giving up private health insurance no matter how healthy you are. 

If you get a good GP there's absolutely nothing wrong with NHS care.  It takes longer to get major things done than if you have expensive private insurance in the US, but since you'll only be here a year, then you don't really have to be worried about that. 

As far as sticker shock goes, I used to live in southern California, and now I live in the South West of England, one of the more expensive out-of-London places to live, and I really don't think things are significantly more expensive here than in Cali.  Others disagree, but I have a much nicer place to live for less than I would have had to pay there.  The biggest shock is going to be the amount of tax that comes out of your salary every month.  Since you know you'll be paying 40%, you will be able to prepare yourselves for that, but it still can be hard to get used to. 

Brighton was just named the San Francisco of the UK by the Guardian newspaper, basically because it's very liberal and on the coast.  It's also very touristy and studenty, however.  The trouble is that you're not likely to know exactly what you want until you see it for yourself.  Is there any way you could stay somewhere temporary for a month or two, and get a feel for things before you settle in?  It would be a shame to choose somewhere sight unseen and then be stuck there if you don't like it.   

If I were in your position (with one year to spend in the UK with your income, your family size, and working from home) I would rent a furnished period cottage in a beautiful location in or near a market town in the countryside in the south of England, not far from a railway line.

Wouldn't it be fun to choose? If I could work from home, I'd so choose to live even further in the middle of nowhere than I already do!  I'd probably choose somewhere near here, but even more rural, so may an 1/2 hour- hour out, somewhere in very rural Northumberland, or somewhere on a random Orkney or Shetland island.   I would love it to be me and the sheep and 5 people in the village. Heaven. 

This sounds exactly what we are after.  Can you tell me what a "market town" is?  And how to find them?  Within an hour of London would be fine with us. We also had heard good things about Brighton, but no one has commented on Brighton so far.  Maybe I should start another thread?

As said before, Brighton is very touristy and quite young feeling. Its a bit of a party town, although I am sure there are areas of it which are not. When I think of market towns, I tend to think of smaller towns than Brighton.  Within an hour of London, I would think about Farnham, Godalming, maybe Woking.   Or there are villages like Sunningdale or Windlesham that would be lovely and within an easy commute of London and also very close to Heathrow if your husband has to travel at all for work.

Do you have an agent doing the search?

If not, or to get a better handle on what's actually available to rent for a year look at:

http://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/

http://www.right-move.co.uk

Although it's lovely to pick out whimsical villages and such, I would suggest getting to the nitty gritty research. I would not pick out a village first and then try to find a furnished place for rent that is there! IMHO, it's just not how real estate works here! First you identify what you need in a home. You'll have A LOT of decisions to make about how to lodge five children in what are almost always smaller scale homes...even on a healthy budget.

Also, it's good to start looking at the listings because it takes a while to learn 'property' language.

Kind regards, Rutabega

Brighton was just named the San Francisco of the UK by the Guardian newspaper, basically because it's very liberal and on the coast.  It's also very touristy and studenty, however. 

My fiance went to school in Brighton, and this is how he described it as well.  On the coast, very liberal, but also rather tourity and is a bit of a college town full of students.

This sounds exactly what we are after.  Can you tell me what a "market town" is?  And how to find them?

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_town): Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city. A town may be correctly described as a "market town" or as having "market rights", even if it no longer holds a market, provided the legal right to do so still exists.

So they are basically towns located in the countryside that traditionally hold markets and are 'centres of local activity' in rural areas (they will usually have a central market square). The closest market town near where I live is Chipping Sodbury (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chipping.sodbury.street.arp.750pix.jpg).

There are also Wikipedia pages listing the market towns in different counties in England: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Market_towns_in_England 

Wouldn't it be fun to choose?

Yes!    When you're not tied to a job commute you can be so much more flexible in your search!  I'm a bit jealous to be honest.

OK, here's a random example which I came up with on a quick search for "furnished property to rent" using Gloucestershire (where I live) and four bedroom house as criteria.  Tetbury is a market town.  When I suggested I would live in or near a market town it was because then I could do most of my day-to-day errands on foot.

http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=1&pid=4835263

That's the kind of thing I meant, except that given the freedom to choose any town I would spend ages examining every potential house.

Since your eldest wants to go to school, that really needs to be an important consideration in your choice.  It can be very difficult to get a place in good secondary schools, especially in London commute area.  If you go further out you may find it easier.

My DH and I make a lot less than what your DH will be making in our combined salaries and we own a house in London.  Seriously, you can live in London for that sum very comfortably.  And if you live in London you don't need a car.  Our mortgage is similar to the cost of many large flats in the suburbs of London so you'd be fine.

Wouldn't it be fun to choose? If I could work from home, I'd so choose to live even further in the middle of nowhere than I already do!  I'd probably choose somewhere near here, but even more rural, so may an 1/2 hour- hour out, somewhere in very rural Northumberland, or somewhere on a random Orkney or Shetland island.   I would love it to be me and the sheep and 5 people in the village. Heaven. 

I'm with phatbeetle! The more remote the better! Although, I'd opt for southwest rather than Northumberland. I do love my sunshine. Also, I need to be near a nice sandy beach with good swimming. But we all have our priorities. 

Yes, on your husband's salary you could live very comfortably in London. The question you need to ask yourself is do you want to. Some people would jump at the chance, but I wouldn't do it for anything.

If, as you said, you'd be happy being an hour or so from an airport, then that covers a good chunk of the country. Plus, as others have said, rail travel is easy and very practical as well.

It sounds like a fun search! Enjoy it!

Facts about the UK.

The north of the UK is the coldest: south is the warmest.
The wettest part of the UK is the west side: the east of the UK is the driest.
The county with the most sunshine is Kent (in south east). Kent is known as "The Garden of England".

I would look in  Kent, Sussex or Surrey if I were you. All in the south east, dry, warm, have some pretty villages, but easy access to London.

Kent has 2 of the 3 Eurostar stations to Europe (Ashford and Ebbsfleet - but don't live in Ashford). Ebbsfleet has the better rail service. Canterbury is very old and pretty with easy access to Ashford International for the Eurostar to Europe. Not so close to London though, but close to the sandy beaches of the south cost and some quaint fishing villages.

Gosh, exciting times for you and your family!

If you can, I would recommend coming over for a visit, rent a holiday home for a week or two and get a feel for what is on offer.  Having the whole country to chose from is daunting - so many great places!

When we lived in London, we spent a couple of weeks away in Kent (south east of London) and found really good cottages to rent with this company: www.freedomholidayhomes.co.uk.  Kent (and the neighbouring county of Sussex) really is a pretty area with London and France on the doorstep, lots of gorgeous countryside and some nice beaches.  Good public transport too.

Have fun planning!