UK vs USA/ London vs New York? (mortgage, credit)

[hutch5]

I had originally posted this thread in the NJ and NY forums but having discovered this one, I think more people might be have the international experience and be able to give their opinion.
I wonder if anybody could help us with this dilemma. We are a family with 3 children (ages between 1 and 12). My husband has the possibility to choose between a job in London (35.000 British £) or one in Manhattan (95K). In both case we would live in a town outside the big city and the children will be going to State schools.
We have been living for 10 years in England but we have never lived in the States.
I wonder if anybody has had experience of living in both Countries and can offer his/her opinion.
Which of the two places is best to raise the children? Which nation is still holding on a few values? Which one of the two is the most secular? Which school system is best? Which country offer a better quality of family life? Which one can offer better opportunities to the children?

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

[hutch5]

It's me again.
I've just noticed that there has been a similar thread going for a while and I have been reading some pages with interest.
What I have not seen mentioned though and that's what I am interested in is the opinion of people who have lived in the two countries with children. Since my main concern is the well being of my children I really would like to be able to make the best choice for them regarding schools, opportunities, values, family, generally growing up in a healthy environment. I know how the UK is. For the States the information I have comes from movies and news and I would like to think that it is not an accurate picture.

[glxyman21]

Hmm...well to compare, the suburbs surrounding New York City are very expensive, average property price around $1,000,000 for a small house. But places like Greenwich, New Caanan and Darien, Connecticut. Westchester and Rye, New York and towns in Northern New Jersey..These are some of the most posh post codes in the United States, but the towns are really beautiful. 35,000 pounds doesn't seem like a lot for living in a suburb of London (about $70,000 U.S.) did you think you can manage on 35k? Will you be working as well?

[hutch5]

I will probably go back to work part time as I was doing before having our last child. The thing is here in England we already have a house with a very small mortgage but if we stay here we would have to move to a 4 bedroom house 'cause of the the extra child and many visitors from abroad. We live in Chelmsford which is 30 minutes by train(on a good day) from Liverpool street.. In the States I would imagine we would try and live in a town with a similar distance from Manhattan.

[glxyman21]

Well you would have to lookin Fairfield County, Connecticut. Westchester County New York, and Bergen County, New Jersey. there are towns that are within a 30-45 minute commute depending on your price range, but don't expect cheap housing, but most communities are really nice. If you can afford it Rye, NY and Greenwich, CT are really nice, but also high class towns.

[lovechild]

I live in Stamford and its a short 40min train to midtown. You can get a 3 or 4 bedroom house for around $500K or more, depending on your budget. Schools are good here, and there a few private schools as well. I have 2 girls and there are plenty of family things to do here. Plus its on the Long Island Sound. Really nice beaches and parks.
Rockland county is nice if you don't mind the Tappan Zee bridge which can be a nightmare.

Originally Posted by hutch5

I will probably go back to work part time as I was doing before having our last child. The thing is here in England we already have a house with a very small mortgage but if we stay here we would have to move to a 4 bedroom house 'cause of the the extra child and many visitors from abroad. We live in Chelmsford which is 30 minutes by train(on a good day) from Liverpool street.. In the States I would imagine we would try and live in a town with a similar distance from Manhattan.

[hutch5]

Thank you guys for your input on the housing market, I am sure we would need help should we decide to move to the States but at the moment we are still considering the options and our choice will depend a lot on whether we think the move would be good for the whole family and especially the children. And this bring me back to my original questions.
Is it better the "devil" we know, should we stay here or would a move to the States be an improvement in the life of our children, not just economically (that seems obvious seen the difference in salary).

[momma4]

Originally Posted by hutch5

Thank you guys for your input on the housing market, I am sure we would need help should we decide to move to the States but at the moment we are still considering the options and our choice will depend a lot on whether we think the move would be good for the whole family and especially the children. And this bring me back to my original questions.
Is it better the "devil" we know, should we stay here or would a move to the States be an improvement in the life of our children, not just economically (that seems obvious seen the difference in salary).

I certainly understand your concerns as this is a big decision. We are in the reverse situation to you, (American family living in the UK) My 3 children have been mostly educated in the UK so this is my take on things.

I believe you can find good quality UK State schools, just as much as you can find good US public schools. (Yes, you can find really bad ones too, but if you do your research you can eliminate those) The thing you have to remember or think about is that each country has a different curriculum. In the early years, yes they're about the same....reading, writing, math, etc.... but once they get into either "American High School" or "UK GCSE" /A-Level, that's where I found the difference as well as my children did and that's the reason we are still here in the UK.

We tried to move back to the States a few years ago when my youngest was still in high school (GCSE) and for her it was too difficult to adjust to the curriculum. (She's dyslexic so that didn't help) And also my eldest daughter had finished A-levels and wanted to go to University in the US so we went and checked out a couple of Uni's and she discovered that she wouldn't get much credits for her A-levels and it would still take her approx 5 years to get her Bachelor's degree whereas if she went to Uni in the UK she would have basically the same degree in 3 years.

Your children are young and kids are very adaptable. They're at a good age to make a move like this, and what a great opportunity it would be for them. I would say "go for it"! My opinion (and point I was trying to make above) is one should be careful when moving kids during the "High School" or "GCSE" years because this is a very difficult and important time for them.

[hutch5]

Thank you for your encouragment Momma4.
Can I ask you at what age do children start high school in the States? My eldest is currently in year7 in the British school system.

[glxyman21]

Usually around age 14 is when "high school" begins in the U.S., also called Grade 9