Move to Scotland for free training, prescriptions, education...?

chipolatta

Comms69 wrote: »

1: Scotland is still in the UK...
2: if you don’t want your kids to start life in debt there’s plenty of time to save the money and pay for their education yourself

Hi Comms69,


Number1 - aye

Number2 - ha ha ha (x1000). Plenty of time to save money - but not when you earn about half the national average wage! I'm saving chips and uneaten gravy mate, saving cash is not an option at the moment or forseeable future!
But if I did save, lets see, 3 kids x uni fees x 4 years (if they are stubborn enough to want to get a masters) = over £100000.
If I start saving that bit of gravy that they don't eat now, add it to a compounding interest ISA that gives 0.25% if we are lucky in the future......... they'll have to live to infinity before I let them choose a suitable course (which maybe mathematics)... :rotfl:

chipolatta

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Open University fees are £5,904 in total for an honours degree part-time over 6 years. If their personal income is £25,000 or less, or on certain benefits, they could qualify for the Part-Time Fee Grant and funding to cover 100% of course fees.

Hi Owain Moneysaver,
Oh, really, just hold on then, that changes a lot! This applies in England? I can almost guarantee their income would be less than £25k, thats not hard up in the North! I'll have to look into this thanks.

:j

Spendless

chipolatta wrote: »

Hi SpendlYess,
I think you should change your mindset too, as paying back a loan over 30 years means that after graduating, earnings have remained low to have dragged it out so long!? Or having it written off after 30 years - so get a degree and then waste the next 30 years on such a low income that you don't have to pay it off just to have it written-off. Nah, I don't go for either option.
Studying anywhere doesn't mean the graduate will become a high earner. Seems that most of my neighbours kids who have gone to uni in the last 10 years-or-so have graduated with huge debt and either are unemployed and living down the street again, or landed the best job they can in a call centre earning below the threshold which is needed to start paying their loans back. Too many useless courses out there. Too many unis making too much money from these useless courses and kids that don't know what to do next.
But, on the other hand, my kids dont know what to do and will probably end up in a uni for a few years, so might as well not fall into such deep debt while doind it?
Chipper

I don't think you're grasping this. Your neighbours kids aren't paying anything back if they aren't earning enough, so they don't have this huge debt they graduated with to pay back, only if they start earning over the threshold will they start to pay a % back. You'd be pretty daft to not take a better paid job if offered purely because you don't want to pay any of your loan back.

chipolatta wrote: »

Hi Owain Moneysaver,
Oh, really, just hold on then, that changes a lot! This applies in England? I can almost guarantee their income would be less than £25k, thats not hard up in the North! I'll have to look into this thanks. :j

If you can guarantee that their income would be less than £25K then they won't be paying anything back. That's the income threshold it starts at.


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes/

chipolatta

Spendless wrote: »

I don't think you're grasping this. Your neighbours kids aren't paying anything back if they aren't earning enough, so they don't have this huge debt they graduated with to pay back, only if they start earning over the threshold will they start to pay a % back. You'd be pretty daft to not take a better paid job if offered purely because you don't want to pay any of your loan back.

If you can guarantee that their income would be less than £25K then they won't be paying anything back. That's the income threshold it starts at.


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/students/student-loans-tuition-fees-changes/

Yep and.......... yep

Sncjw

Open uni fees are not 5k in total.

Studying part-time for an honours degree at a rate of one 60-credit module a year, would cost £2,928* per year and take six years to complete. At today’s prices, the total cost would be £17,568. That’s about two thirds the cost of an equivalent qualification offered at a campus-based university

Comms69

chipolatta wrote: »

Hi Comms69,


Number1 - aye

Number2 - ha ha ha (x1000). Plenty of time to save money - but not when you earn about half the national average wage! I'm saving chips and uneaten gravy mate, saving cash is not an option at the moment or forseeable future!
But if I did save, lets see, 3 kids x uni fees x 4 years (if they are stubborn enough to want to get a masters) = over £100000.
If I start saving that bit of gravy that they don't eat now, add it to a compounding interest ISA that gives 0.25% if we are lucky in the future......... they'll have to live to infinity before I let them choose a suitable course (which maybe mathematics)... :rotfl:

But if you can’t afford to provide three kids with the life YOU want, why should the taxpayer do it?

Not trying to be funny; kids can have a great life, rich or poor. But it’s down to you and the other parent to provide that.

As for earning 14k a year. What are you doing to change that?

annandale

I live in Scotland. Never had an issue with phone signal. A pint in the wrong pub will cost you? I was in Edinburgh last yesterday. Its 6.10 a pint in some pubs. In my town its around 2.50.I expect that's the same in England. Different prices depending on where you go.

Yes it's a bit wet and a bit colder but it's not the ends of the earth.

As for job prospects. There are people all over the UK out of work.

I'd say property is quite cheap up here. You can still get an ex council flat for around 30-40k in my home town (again there will be variations depending on the town and city you go to). The average new build 2 bedroom house would be around 100-125k.

Id take issue with the word freebies. Scottish people pay taxes as well and the Scottish government gets a block grant back from the income it gives to the Treasury.

Tuition fees and maintenance loans are not the same thing. Scottish students get free tuition. They still need a loan for living costs.

You also get an ITA in Scotland if you earn less than 22k a year. Which gives you 200 pounds in the form of a voucher to do a course.

Water charges are not on a par with England I believe. You pay your council tax and that is it. No further water charge on top.

As for free training. There's no such thing. If you live in Scotland and go to university you don't pay tuition fees for an undergraduate course.

All children in primary 1-3 get a free school meal as well. People on low incomes also qualify for a 100 pound voucher towards achool uniform.

All of the stuff that Scotgov are doing to try and make Scottish peoples lives better. England could do as well.

Its the right thing to do as far as I'm concerned. Free eye tests are a huge thing as far as I'm concerned.

The Scottish govt also pay dhp for bedroom tax if someone is on a low income and there are no bedroom tax evictions up here.

And yes. We pay slightly more for alcohol due to min pricing but not in pubs and if you drink wine the price has gone up by a pound on the cheapest bottles of wine.

It's around 3.20 for a large glass of wine in my local (cheaper than wetberspoon) so if people are pub drinkers there's no difference.

I pay 60 pounds a month for my bus ticket and that takes me all over the first Glasgow network. A local one is cheaper. Around 48 pounds.

annandale

Places are not rationed at Scottish universities any more than anywhere else. There will be courses that are more difficult to get in but that will be the same all over the UK.

MovingForwards

Ok, had a little think about this and have established you live north of the midlands, at a guess Yorkshire way? Possibly further up near cumbria or tha kind of region (or to the right).

Do you own or rent your property? If owned how much equity do you have to be able to move that up here? Are you happy to move into a rental and spend what equity you have on rental fees? Whilst looking/securing work. If renting now do you have a deposit, possibly 6 months rent to secure the rental and give breathing space to find work.

Have you looked at areas in Scotland which appeal?

Then looked at rental/sale prices and what you get?

Have you looked at transport links?

What type of work do you do? Same for your OH.

How many kids do you have and how old are they? Asking this as kids do not always adapt to moving away from friends after a certain age.

What have your kids said they "want to be when they grow up"? Not all jobs need a degree and there are plenty of apprentice jobs so learning the job on the job and having day release to study (or internal study).

Open Uni does offer many courses and degrees, they can be done in sections, they have their own company for loans which are paid off as you go through the course and can be done round a day or evening job.

Aside from the freebies tempting you, what do you expect to gain by moving up here?

Is it better quality of life you want?

Is it a work/life balance?

Is there a hobby which you think will be more fullfilled up here?

What are your longterm dreams and wants and how can Scotland fullfil it over England or Wales or Ireland?

You say about windfarms and please do not take this the wrong way but working 40+ hours in a job you do not like, just to try and keep whatever the wage is, to fund the lifestyle you have knowing you HAVE to keep going is tiresome if you are maxed to the hilt and have no way of dropping to a lowerpaid job which would make you happy as every penny is needed.

Again, not to put you off, just to give you things to think about.

Enterprise_1701C

A block grant from the money they give to the UK government? Sounds like you STILL think Scotland gives more than it takes Annandale ? Check fullfact.org





I would not advise moving to Scotland. At the moment they get subsidised, but if they ever manage to be cut free then life there could get VERY expensive, and things like university fees will skyrocket, they only manage to subsidise their way of life because of the money they get from the UK. And if you look at the graph it does not look very promising.