I stumbled on UK Yankee earlier today while trying to figure out the UK education system. I was vaguely aware public schools weren't public schools but I'm only starting to understand all the differences now that we're contemplating a move. I have many questions, but first an introduction:
About Me/UsWe are Americans, comprised of my wife, daughter (10.5yo), son (8yo), and myself. My wife and I are both attorneys, she works at a large tech company in California and I'm heavily involved in politics and technology.
Large moves are not foreign (haha) to us. After college, I moved from California to Virginia for law school where I met my wife. We settled in DC for 15 years before she took a job at the aforementioned tech company. That necessitated the relocation from the DC-area to the San Francisco Area about 6 years ago. Now that same company is contemplating sending her to London for the foreseeable future.
She and I are excited about the potential move. During law school, she did a semester at Cambridge and loves the UK. My political career has typically included international relations, albeit I've only ever lived in the US.
One last item of introduction before my questions--I consider myself very funny, my wife generally disagrees. Anything written below that can be considered sarcasm should be considered such.
Initial ConcernsWe're both planners, and have many initial concerns. Obviously there are the logistics concerns, but many of those will be handled by her company (e.g. visas). I think our primary concerns are rather pedestrian and concern: Work, Taxes, Schools, and House. I'd love any insights others are willing to give or links to other pages on the forums (I've begun to muddle through the forums).
IC1. WorkAssuming my wife gets a Tier 2 Visa for an international company transfer, then I believe this entitles me to a spousal Tier 2 visa that grants the right to work in the UK (Please disabuse me of this notion if I'm wrong about this). Smashing. In the short term, I will like to "commute" from London to Chicago for a week each month to finish a project there while looking for gainful employment in (ideally) the government sector within the UK or at the US Embassy or other international governance body (e.g. NATO etc). Any suggestions or tips on this would be appreciated--I've already created a CV due to work within the university setting, but other significant differences from US-based job searches would be welcome.
IC2. TaxesAt first blush, UK taxes appear higher than US taxes, but I think that might be incorrect. We obviously have Federal, State, and Payroll taxes in the US. I believe that the UK simply has the national tax. Is that correct? If so, even the top bracket of 40% is likely lower than Federal+State+Payroll rates back here. I also know that we will have to file taxes back in the US as well. What I'm curious about is whether others have found taxes to largely balance out or if there was a surprising tax burden that made your UK move much less of a wise financial decision. Love to learn from your mistakes
Also, how are stock compensation treated by the UK? In the US they're treated as income on receipt and then an additional tax is levied on profit when you sell them. Does that work the same in the UK? Or are you annually taxed on stock holdings (e.g. a wealth tax)?
IC3. SchoolsThis is arguably the stickiest wicket for a potential move. My daughter (10.5yo) is currently in the US 5th grade and would be starting middle school next year. My son (8yo) is in the 2d grade and also has an IEP for speech enunciation without a learning component. Both kids attend our local state-run elementary school. I have a thousand concerns/questions here:
a. If we go the UK Independent School option, are both kids right for prep school or is our daughter likely too old for prep school and would need to apply to secondary school?
b. Are boarding schools still a thing? Or can our children, whom we're generally fond of (usually), continue to live with us?
c. I looked over the ISEB website and the examination syllabuses include multiple foreign language elements--our schools do not begin foreign language until high school--is this required to attend an independent secondary school in the UK?
d. Can you even get into a prep school between Autumn and Winter terms?
e. California elementary school largely ignore spelling, and assume this will be picked up in time. My daughter's spelling is much improved (the system works!) but my son's 2nd grade spelling is atrocious. Should we assume that he'll be kicked out of school and begin working on the docks, or is there still hope for higher education?
f. My daughter is a gifted writer but stubborn about maths (she refuses to memorize her times tables, and California education is lax on this point). Assuming that her secondary entrance exams are taken in the 6th grade Autumn (her 11-12 year old school year), would it be wise to hire a tutor to quickly bring her up to UK speed?
g. Anyone who has gone through the US Public Elementary to UK Prep School transition, I would highly value your experience as well as stories about what did and did not work for your family.
h. If we elect for state-run schools, how would you compare them to US schools? I completely understand and accept this is a very broad question as one can hardly generalize about London's collection of state-run schools much less all of the US. There will be good/bad everywhere. My understanding is that state-run schools have a tiny geographic element and might also have an admissions process? Are these schools underrated or would attendance consign my children to an instant cockney accent and staring role in a 21st century Oliver Twist?
i. Anything else we're failing to consider?
IC4. HomesWe're currently renting in the Bay Area. We attempted to buy a home last year, but decided the Bay Area prices were too insane and we opted out of the market. Going rate for a 1200sqft home was approaching $2M USD. So London seems affordable! We're contemplating buying a home in the UK. This is likely the least important question because you learn a lot going through the process.
Did anyone here buy a home in close proximity to their move?
General rule of thumb in the US is 5+ years makes a home good investment, is that also the case in the UK? How easy/difficult is it to sell a home on leaving the UK?
A credit score and assets are the primary factors to getting a US mortgage. Does the UK have a similar process? How quickly can you establish a credit rating for such a mortgage?
Assuming schools are our top consideration for location, where would you look to live?
We're both a little concerned about learning to drive on the left side of the road. We've also lived in NYC and DC where we sold our cars. Would any expats here recommend going car-less and living close to public transport? Or, if education is our primary concern for location, would you advise living outside the city and learning to drive on the left?
General Questions1. What's the deal with cricket? Is the batter on defense or offense?
2. My wife and son are allergic to dairy. Will they starve?
3. Having done the move would you recommend putting possessions into storage and/or selling them, or would you go through the hassle of a trans-globe shipment of things like couches and beds?
4. What was the biggest expense that you didn't expect to encounter?
5. How often are British soldiers being quartered with you? Given our third amendment, I assume it is at least once a fortnight? Surely that is the source of the term--making your house a fort once every two weeks.
6. My wife says I talk/write too much. Was this too much?
