Where is the best place to live? The good & bad as we are relocating from Australia

Jonbvn

sunshinetours wrote: »

Don't underestimate the weather as I mentioned earlier though coming from Aus


Average annual rainfall
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/7100_1km/Rainfall_Average_1971-2000_17.gif

(Notice how much wetter the west side of the country is than the east - hence my previous comments on Cornwall/Devon etc)

Having been brought up in Cardiff, I can see why my father always complained that we lived in a p1sspot.:p

Doucam

I was born and brought up in Dartford, Kent but moved from there in 1998 to Scotland, which was ok, but I couldn't wait to leave, so last year we moved down to North Yorkshire, it was the best move we made.

It is lovely here, lovely towns, with big cities close by for work, study and most importantly for me - shopping!

And of course there are the moors and the dales, we are right on the moors, our back garden backs on them, it is fantastic.

The schools here are really good as well, and it has a really low crime rate.

sharloid

I'd say Lancashire.

Zazen999

No offence; but have you been here for a few weeks in the middle of winter?

I'm from 'abroad' and UK has it's good spots but cor blimey, I wouldn't move here as an adult.

Months after months of cold miserable wet weather through to spending the summers in a cardi!

[That's a 'cardigan' - a huge warm knitted piece of clothing that you can't leave home without in the UK]....except on about 10 days a year.

chewmylegoff

you don't need to pick somewhere that has a good university to put your kids through. most people tend not to go to local unis here, at least not in my experience.

(i) the better unis are pretty competitive and you can't guarantee getting a place at the local one, so you have to go where you can get a place [for instance, the suggestion earlier in this thread that you could live in oxford so your kids can go to oxford uni is not in keeping with reality because even if they got the best grades possible, the statistical odds of them actually getting a place at oxford uni would still be very slim, therefore it would be silly to locate in oxford because it has a good university]. Furthermore, medicine is very competitive and it would definitely be a case of applying to several medical schools and hoping to get a place at one of them rather than moving near to a medical school and just applying there.

(ii) people tend to deliberately look for somewhere away from home, as they want semi-independence from their parents by that age [i.e. they want you to pay for everything, but don't want to live under your roof anymore except in the holidays!]

(iii) the standard of courses run by universities can vary wildly from subject to subject - and some universities are recognised as being good (or poor) choices for specific subjects. thus, having a good university close by doesn't guarantee that it will be good for the specific subject your children eventually decide upon.

don't forget that this country is much smaller than oz, and if you live somewhere vaguely central you can get to most parts in a couple of hours on the train (assuming that it hasn't been replaced by a pathetic bus service during indefinite engineering works).

pusscat

I am not going to try and tell you that moving is not for you -it's your decision.....

I would go for the North of England. York is a beautiful old city, has a big rail industry and is fairly easy to commute to Leeds/Hull/West Yorkshire/Manchester

The city is very safe compared to most, and there are wonderful villages and small market towns within easy commuting distance.

York has a couple of Universities, Hull and Leeds both have great Medical Schools and there are Uni's there too.

Leeds Bradford, Humberside, Doncaster and Manchester Airports can get you to Europe in double quick time.

House prices in York are expensive, they are also pretty pricey in the "golden triangle" (Leeds/York/Wetherby) but head out towards the Wolds to the East of York (in the county of "the East Riding of Yorkshire" and the prices are much more resonable. If you head to teh south you have Howden and loads of villages, head nortt and you have Driffield, Scarborough and Bridlington - all on the coast.

Yorkshire is much more friendly than "down south" people just talk to you - we know all of our neighbours and pop round for coffee.

I have attached a few links for you!

As you can tell, I live near York and love it - I was converted from a Southerner many years ago......

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=OUTCODE%5E2908&maxPrice=550000 put in the postcode YO42 or YO43 for the areas closest to York

http://www.visityork.org/

http://www.yorkshire-wolds.com/

Few small market towns picked at random http://www.marketweighton.org/
http://www.holmeonspaldingmoor.co.uk/ http://www.pocklington.gov.uk/
http://www.howden-online.org.uk/

Hope you find what you are looking for!

Puss
xx

savemoney

York is a lovely city its and its in a good location for larger cities like Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield for airports

Its not that far from Peak district, Yorkshire dales or indeed the coast where I live in Scarborough.

Yorkshire folk are very friendly too

I love York always have, but city life isnt for me prefer fresh Yorkshire air straight off North sea

Fliss_M

I must 3rd that point on Yorkshire hospitality. Whilst born and bread, a friend of mine comes from London. We met as we travelled on the same train to and from the city for work. It shocked him when he first got here that people talked to others on the train who they saw often. He was used to the tube, where you keep your self to your self and thats that. Yet from that train we have an amazing friendship.

Bananabelly

I am from Australia and lived in the UK for nearly 6 years. I loved it as a young adult, but always thought I wouldn't want to bring up a family there, and I mean no offence to anyone.

Housing is much more expensive there and takes a huge chunk of your wages (and houses are much smaller). My ex was a teacher in a decent area (and had taught in Australia first) and the schooling is mostly about meeting targets and being politically correct, and less about what kids actually learn - I would say schooling is better in oz, although for intelligent kids it may be slightly better in the UK (as oz is so focused on sporting prowess).

The other thing that really struck both of us is how different the lifestyle is for kids. They are essentially stuck inside for 6 months or more of the year because of the weather (and darkness) in the UK, and also because so many houses are near main roads, etc. In terms of activities I would say the lifestyle for children in Australia is far far better.

Having said that, from the UK it is easy to take them to Europe for a weekend and experience a different culture, so it might have its payoffs, but day to day life is different.

Another point, and again I don't want to offend anybody, but it can be difficult to make friends in the UK. People are more reserved and it takes longer to get to know them. However once you do it is genuine and rewarding, but you might find it hard going for a while.

Someone touched on this I think, but be careful with universities as I am not sure your older two (in particular) would qualify as UK residents for that (I remember something about being resident for 5 years before you could qualify??) so you would potentially be looking at paying overseas fee-paying student rates.

And like others have said, don't underestimate how bad the winters are! Grey, grey, grey....february might be the shortest month but it feels like the longest when you haven't seen the sun for 4 months! Or look at it this way - I am from Melbourne, which at times gets credit for terrible weather, and yet when I went back I thought the weather was fantastic there (and still do! Its all relative).

Basically I doubt very much that you could continue your current lifestyle but if you want to sacrifice that to be able to travel then hey go for it, and good luck

C_Mababejive

Bananabelly wrote: »

I am from Australia and lived in the UK for nearly 6 years. I loved it as a young adult, but always thought I wouldn't want to bring up a family there, and I mean no offence to anyone.

Housing is much more expensive there and takes a huge chunk of your wages (and houses are much smaller). My ex was a teacher in a decent area (and had taught in Australia first) and the schooling is mostly about meeting targets and being politically correct, and less about what kids actually learn - I would say schooling is better in oz, although for intelligent kids it may be slightly better in the UK (as oz is so focused on sporting prowess).

The other thing that really struck both of us is how different the lifestyle is for kids. They are essentially stuck inside for 6 months or more of the year because of the weather (and darkness) in the UK, and also because so many houses are near main roads, etc. In terms of activities I would say the lifestyle for children in Australia is far far better.

Having said that, from the UK it is easy to take them to Europe for a weekend and experience a different culture, so it might have its payoffs, but day to day life is different.

Another point, and again I don't want to offend anybody, but it can be difficult to make friends in the UK. People are more reserved and it takes longer to get to know them. However once you do it is genuine and rewarding, but you might find it hard going for a while.

Someone touched on this I think, but be careful with universities as I am not sure your older two (in particular) would qualify as UK residents for that (I remember something about being resident for 5 years before you could qualify??) so you would potentially be looking at paying overseas fee-paying student rates.

And like others have said, don't underestimate how bad the winters are! Grey, grey, grey....february might be the shortest month but it feels like the longest when you haven't seen the sun for 4 months! Or look at it this way - I am from Melbourne, which at times gets credit for terrible weather, and yet when I went back I thought the weather was fantastic there (and still do! Its all relative).

Basically I doubt very much that you could continue your current lifestyle but if you want to sacrifice that to be able to travel then hey go for it, and good luck

There you are...An aussie whos been here and agrees with me!

Great to hear how people from other countries assess life in the UK.
Sounds like a great place for kids..!