Offered move to London... (lease, mortgages, house)

[Mr Blue Sky]

... A permanent move that is.

My posting here (London) ends in October and i'm due to return to my regiment for a couple of years before ending my career at the training establishment, this was the future as I saw it. Except, now i've been offered the chance to continue my current role until I retire from the army in 5yrs time. There was also mention that there would be another/similar position for me at the end of those 5yrs which would give me a guaranteed future.

My wife has looked into what she could do if we stayed and she's very positive about what she's found. Amazingly my daughter seems to love the idea too... most odd, although a good school probably helps.

I'd have to find somewhere to live as this property was leased just for the length of my posting and something bigger would be good anyway. We quite like the area (Bermondsey/Southwark) so we may well rent or maybe buy around here but we'd need to look into mortgages and we've no idea how French nationals do that over here. I'm sure the embassy can help with advice on that anyway. We'd also need to sell our house in France or continue to rent it out but these are things that can be sorted if/when we make the move.

I know that just because the last 18months in London have been a good it doesn't mean that the next few years will be but it's a reasonable indication don't you think?

This is more of a musing than a question but if anyone has any thoughts that occur on anything relevant please post them. I'm hoping that along with the embassies help my wife and I will have most things covered but better to be safe than sorry.

[Bamford]

Best of Luck Blue Sky

[Jezer]

I'll second that.

[Mr Blue Sky]

Originally Posted by Bamford

Best of Luck Blue Sky

Originally Posted by Jezer

I'll second that.

Thank you, both of you.

It looks very much like we'll be staying in London, though there are a few issues to iron out with my wife's transfer to the Consulate in London. Apparently this is the first of it's kind [edit: I've been told by she who knows that her transfer isn't the "first of it's kind" it's the "first of it's kind with the new system"] and a couple of governmental departments are being a little dense so she may have to travel back to 'help' them. It's a 20 e.mails rather than one 5min phone call that would solve it kind of thing. The other matter could have been my daughter and her further education but we have that sorted too.

So, all looking good at the moment.

[Mr Blue Sky]

All done and dusted.

Paperwork signed (me) transfer accepted (wife) and college education sorted (daughter).

Sadly it means I've had to take the first part of my leave here in London rather than in Montreal as we'd planned but we're off to the West Country for 5 nights in a bit so not all bad.

[Jezer]

Originally Posted by Mr Blue Sky

All done and dusted.

Paperwork signed (me) transfer accepted (wife) and college education sorted (daughter).

Sadly it means I've had to take the first part of my leave here in London rather than in Montreal as we'd planned but we're off to the West Country for 5 nights in a bit so not all bad.

Thanks for the update and I hope that all goes well.

What's planned for the West Country?

[Mr Blue Sky]

Originally Posted by Jezer

What's planned for the West Country?

A driving tour with night stopovers at various points. We'll stay at small guest house/B&B (with luck) or Premier Inn/Travel Lodges if need be. We'll travel in the morning then spend the day in the area, then sleep and leave early (so we can stop when we feel like it to look around) and then do the same the day after.

The rough route is:
Early morning straight to Bournemouth. Then along the south coast heading to Exeter and then on to St Austell the day after. We'll then head along the coast to visit Penzance/Lands End before heading up to stay in Bude. After that it's a short trip along the north coast to Lynton as we want to spend a day on the coastal footpath. The final stop will be in Wells before heading south then back along the A303 (spending the day in Salisbury) then home.

As with all driving trips things may well change but as it's just my wife and I (daughter is back in France with relatives for the summer) it doesn't really matter.

[Mr Blue Sky]

Another update..

I'm back on Corsica and my wife and daughter are soon to be back in Lyon due to the vagaries of the diplomatic services, our London adventure is over. The tenancy on the house has been cancelled (very understanding landlord) and car returned to VW (not so understanding but sorted in the end) and my Wife, Daughter and dog are traveling home as we speak in a very loaded LWB Landie that I went back and collected from Lyon earlier in the week.

Someone decided that the Military Attaché's Office was over staffed (they were right) and we were given a months notice. As I was due to be here (Regimental HQ) at this time anyway and my wife had a weeks leave we've done it all 3 weeks early.

My wife will start back at her station next week and my daughter will return to her old school. All it took was a few phone calls. The joys of temporary moves. As my daughter went to a French certified school in London it hasn't affected her education (same syllabus), my wife got a leave of absence to take her new posting in London and I just went where I was told slipping back into our old lives should be pretty easy.

I'm just glad we decided to keep our house near Lyon and it was tenant-less at the moment (we did holiday lets).

Life goes on.

[Jezer]

Many thanks for the update and I hope that all goes well.