Thinking about moving to England...help!

[sarah54]

My husband and I are thinking about moving to England and need some help.
First of all we live in Canada right now and don't know whether our income will even be able to support us in England. We currently make combined approx. $70,000 (CAD) if we converted this to pounds would be able to live off of this?

Also how much do houses/flats cost in England we would like a two or three bedroom, two bath house/flat.

How much would we need a month to live comfortably in England? Where are the best places to live, we do not want to be right in London but do not want to be in the middle of nowhere either.

Thanks so much!

 

[orange-sox]

All of this will depend on where abouts you want to live, and where you can find work!

What do you both do?

 

[FEDup1981]

What is $70k in £?
And will u still get the same income when u live in England?

To live near London is very expensive, i think you would probably be paying £1,000+ for rental accommodation. If you moved further up north then you would be looking at approx £5-600 a month rental for that type of house/flat.

You'd need to be earning around £2-2.5k a month to live comfortably i think, but then again, it depends where in England you move to.

Sorry its a bit vague! Someone else might be along to give u a better idea x

 

[FEDup1981]

$70, 000 cad, is approx £40,000 so that isnt too bad an income, but then depends where u live x

 

[Chaos]

$70,000 is about 40,000 GBP (give or take) its a good wage, but it all depends on what jobs you do and if there is a need for them at the moment.

Also houses, again depends. North is a lot cheaper than the South. Kent is a nice place to live, it boarders London and you can get in to London by car with in the hour, and there are always trains.

To be honest, not many places are "the middle of nowhere" like in CA or the USA as there is a lot of public transport in the UK and things are a lot closer together.

Houses in England (3 bedroom size) tend to be a lot more compact than the USA or CA. I mean I've been browsing the housing for kent just now and the average 3 bedroom house with a back garden, 1 bathroom ranges from about 250,000 to 300,000 GBP .. thats about 445,682 to 534,818. (I just googled searched "3 bedroom houses for sale in Kent"

Here is a few link I found that might be helpful to you:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/united-kingdom/246319-moving-canada-uk-any-advice.html

(Gotta go boss is coming!)

 

[I want a bump]

Don't bother....it is a dump and getting worse!! We cannt wait to get out of here and move to Australia in 3 years time x

 

[sarah54]

Thanks everyone for your help. I really do appreciate it!

Does everyone feel the same way as I want a bump??? Is it really a dump in England?

 

[I want a bump]

Dont get me wrong there are some beautiful parts of the country - wasnt referring to the actual countryside, etc - it is more what is happening ...ie, taxes, crime, chavs taking over everywhere - it is only my opinion though x

 

[embo216]

Don't bother....it is a dump and getting worse!! We cannt wait to get out of here and move to Australia in 3 years time x

Think thats a little Harsh! I love England and am proud to call myself English

 

[Seraphim]

I love it too!
The grass is always greener on the other side

Some sites to give you a little food for thought:

https://www.monster.co.uk - Job Search Site (will give you an idea of salaries - they have a salary calculator which is great for locations... google some cities and pinch a postcode to tap in)
https://www.reed.co.uk - Another Job Search Site
https://www.rightmove.co.uk - A Home Search Site (for sale or rent)

The type of work you both do will greatly affect where you live, the UK doesn't have blanket coverage for all industries. And location will affect salary...

Your lifestyle will also affect where you want to live... the UK has a lot of coast to enjoy, but combining that with the above can make it costly.

Then there's schools, transport links, and whether you prefer the city or the sticks.

Using me as an example:

I live in Devon in the South West.
I love the countryside and have always lived within a short distance of the sea.
There are 2 small cities in Devon, 1 major rail link, 1? motorway, and 2 major expressways.
There are 2 airports, both quite small (one in each city), the nearest international airport is 2-2.5hrs drive.
Most city jobs can be found here, but at a far lower salary than further up country, and some industries are really poorly represented.
Devon and Cornwall are big leisure/holiday destinations and second home locations for people who earn lots of money elsewhere in the country
If you're good at what you do, you can expect to do well here and still earn a good wage.

Hope that kicks you off.. feel free to come back with more questions

 

[Purpular]

They say Sheffield is one of the friendliest cities to move to. Everywhere in the city is within a 15 minute drive of open countryside whilst being something like the 5th biggest city in England.

Oh, and it's in Yorkshire!

 

[Jemma_x]

I live in rotherham which is 10 minutes from sheffield and ive got to admit that i like living close to sheffield as in the city centre you have everything you could want but then as purpular said you drive 15 minutes out and your in the countryside. I dont know what house/flat prices are like in sheffield but you can look on rightmove.co.uk.

 

[Maffie]

There are good and bad places in the UK but I think that can be said for many countries. I think you have to decide what you want and whether the UK can offer you that. Have you tried doing a home swapping holiday an extended break in the UK may help you decide.

Im currently in Manchester and not a lover of the place as its too city like for me, give me a village and country life anyday.

Rentig and buying vary greatly across the country. I like the website upmystreet.co.uk it tells you lots about an area, from schooling to police records etc etc.

 

[candeur]

I don't think it's a dump over here, ever place has it's good and bad parts. I live in Wales and absolutely love it.
£40,000 over here is a very decent salary.

 

[diz]

I agree with Candeur. It all depends on what area of what city/county you live in.

I live in Denbighshire North Wales. Denbigh it self is a little bit grotty and Rhyl is even wors, but then Ruthin is lovely so is Conwy. We are a 30 min drive away from Chester (a lovely city). Where you can get a train to London in 2.30mins. Close to motor ways - 1.30 mins to the midlands and yorkshire, 3- hours from East Anglea.

The country side is beautiful.

£40,000 wage is good in my neck of the woods.

 

[Chaos]

Hmm I don't think England is a dump. Its like anywhere, it has its shitty areas and really nice areas. I've lived in the North and South and the North is cheaper but I perfer the South. I'm prolly a bit bias tho as I was born in Kent lol. I'm proud to be English. I miss it a lot. I really miss being 5 minutes from the coast too. Alas America is where the husband is haha.

 

[FEDup1981]

I dont think Englands a dump at all. Yeah we have our negatives - like any country, but we have some great positives too.

And i live in Rotherham too, close to sheffield, and i like it here. Been here 7 yrs now. I did live further up north where my family live, but there isnt as much there.

 

[Jemma_x]

I dont think Englands a dump at all. Yeah we have our negatives - like any country, but we have some great positives too.

And i live in Rotherham too, close to sheffield, and i like it here. Been here 7 yrs now. I did live further up north where my family live, but there isnt as much there.

Both rotherham and sheffield arnt bad are they?? you cant go really go wrong

 

[Eala]

Is is specifically England you want? Or are you willing to look at other parts of the UK as well? Your £40k a year would probably go further in Scotland, unless you wanted to live in the centre of Edinburgh

I do find this amusing, as DH and I used to live in Canada (Montreal) and plan on moving back out there (though not necessarily QC again) once I finish my training .

Much as I am very proud to be Scottish, and love my country, if I had to choose between Canada and the UK, it's a no-brainer for me - Canada every time.

 

[Happy]

Same here, I used to live in Canada and would take it over the UK any day. We are hoping to move back in a few years.

I'm just curious can i ask why you want to move here?