Looking to relocate - Advice please!!

**Patty**

Well, i'm probably not the best person to ask since some 15 years ago i moved out of the Uxbridge/Hounslow/Ealing area & came to the cloudy old midlands as i didn't fancy bringing my children up in London.

I have to say, it was the best move i ever made BUT.....the job market is entirely different now & a decent job is not so easy to come by.

What about renting a cottage for 2 weeks & having a kind of stay-cation...? You could use the time to look at jobs & properties for sale.....don't do the normal holiday-stuff.....just pretend you actually are living there....talk to the locals in the shops/pubs...etc. If nothing else you'll know whether to sink or swim.

GlynD

Northern Ireland is a fantastic place to live and bring up kids. I'd be inclined not to live in Belfast or one of the larger towns however. We live in a village which has nothing except a shop and a post box but within three miles in four directions we have larger villages and towns - even a major shopping centre.

It's so quiet and there's very little crime (outside Belfast and Londonderry). People are friendly in a way that the English find hard to believe. Your only problem then would be visiting family.

Edit: BTW - in this area £200k would buy you a three bedroom bungalow with substantial gardens, maybe up to 1/2 acre. We used this site http://www.propertypal.com/ to relocate from Scotland to Northern Ireland. We also have a good solicitor over here for conveyancing.

Edit: This one's lovely http://www.propertypal.com/10-derryhale-road-portadown/155077 and I'd be inclined to offer £140,000 at the moment. Even if you have to go up to £160,000 that would still leave you £60,000 for moving expenses and a new Mercedes. It's the same estate agent we used to move here and I know they'll be straight with you when advising you on what offer you should make.