New York wife/Irish Husband (dual citizenship) with 8yr old relocating to London (for sale)

[twho62]

Hello - we are moving in 2011 to London. I have lived in New York City and have traveled the world, but have not gone to London. Now my Irish husband is getting a job in London. For various reasons we are leaving the states...We will be finishing my child's school year (she is in 2nd grade)

We have EU passports, so we are okay on that end.

My concerns are finding affordable living (yeah, I know it is expensive - I have also lived in expensive NYC and Boston), great education for my 8 year old daughter and beginning a good life at almost 50 in the UK. We have a lot of Irish/British friends here in Boston, but it has been a long time since they lived in Europe.

Are there great areas you would recommend? Where my American daughter can blend in with great education?

Can I email people for information/websites?
Thank you

[Chris82]

Originally Posted by twho62

Hello - we are moving in 2011 to London. I have lived in New York City and have traveled the world, but have not gone to London. Now my Irish husband is getting a job in London. For various reasons we are leaving the states...We will be finishing my child's school year (she is in 2nd grade)

We have EU passports, so we are okay on that end.

My concerns are finding affordable living (yeah, I know it is expensive - I have also lived in expensive NYC and Boston), great education for my 8 year old daughter and beginning a good life at almost 50 in the UK. We have a lot of Irish/British friends here in Boston, but it has been a long time since they lived in Europe.

Are there great areas you would recommend? Where my American daughter can blend in with great education?

Can I email people for information/websites?
Thank you

I'm 27 and single, so probably not the best person to ask when it comes to great schools. However, i would stress that affordable areas and excellent schooling (assuming you mean state education and not fee paying?) don't always go hand-in-hand in London and competition for places in good schools is fierce.

What would your budget be? Where in London will you and your husband be working? Do you want a house with a garden or are you more suited to apartment living? If you could give us more information on these issues, people should hopefully be able to give you some good suggestions.

Without knowing answers to the above, i'd suggest looking into Ealing, Clapham/Wandsworth, Chiswick, Putney (the last 2 are a little more pricey) but i have no idea what the schools are like. I have always lived around SW London, so others maybe better suited at giving you advice on areas in North London.

A good website is UK's number one property website for properties for sale and to rent

Best of luck

[chicagojlo]

If there is a reasonable chance you may return to the US you might want to consider entombing your child in one of the American schools over there.