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***Calling all London nesties***
Hi there and thanks in advance for your help...
I am British but have been in the U.S for the last 5 yrs. We have the opportunity to move to London for 1-2 yrs and I think we're going to do it but we have some stuff to think about first and I was hoping you guys would be able to help me out with some concerns I have.
Regarding immigration: I'm a little unclear as to which visa we would need to apply for. If I'm correct, it's the settlement (vis marriage?) visa. My husband will also need to work out there, so that's where I'm confused... Do we apply for a settlement or work visa?
Secondly... what is the job market like over there? I've heard it's pretty bad, as it is in the U.S but he plans to apply for a lot of different things and hope that he will find something. He works at a grocery store here and would probably start out by looking for a similar thing over there. We're just concerned about how many job opportunities there are. Is he likely to find something within a month or two if he's applying to several places a day? He really wants to find something within walking distance, and avoid the tube. Does that seem likely?
We would be living in Clapham. Can you tell me about Clapham? I am especially curious to know what kind of free things there are for kids (my kids will be 1 and 2 when we move). I recently heard about children's centres, where apparently there are free activities for kids to do all day. Does anyone know what the one in Clapham is like?
Any other advice? I will be a stay at home mum. The only reason we can afford to do this is because my husbands brother and his wife have invited us to come and live with them, rent free, in their 5 bedroom house (since his company pays for it). I miss my family over there and think this is a great opportunity but we're definitely worried about the job situation since DH's job is pretty good over here.
Thanks for your help!
Re: ***Calling all London nesties***
I would suggest that you head over to UK-Yankee. It's a great board that will answer all your questions. Many of us here didn't move over for the reason you are talking about, so may not be able to answer your questions fully enough.
Here's what I know. There is no thing as a work visa any longer and you wouldn't go for that anyway. You need a spouse visa. The UKY people can point you to the one you need (there are a few depending on when you got married).
It's may take him a long time to get a job - the recession has hit London quite hard in some ways. There are tons of Americans on UKY who took up to a year to get a basic job. As the native person, you may actually have a better chance at getting something (yes, there can be some discrimination against foreigners). But if your DH is trying, then do get him to apply through an agency as well as through help wanted adds...there are job agencies for almost everything I've found.
Clapham is one of the places I'd live if I was south of the river - it's very family and young, good parks, etc. I don't know about activities. You might want to figure out what borough it's in and do research on the borough's website.
Best of luck in the decision making!
I don't know enough to help on the visa situation or really even the job situation. There is a large ASDA in Clapham Junction, which is a grocery store, so I would recommend trying there. Like Pineapples said though, I would recommend using an agency as it seems to be the way most of the hiring is done over here.
Clapham is a nice area and has lots of available transport. There are some really pretty parks, lots of shops, and lots of restaurants that are all easily within walking distance.
Clapham is part of the Wandsworth Council. Here is the link so you can check it out. http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/site/index.php
If you look through there you should be able to find activities for children.
Hi and welcome to the board. I definitely recommend going to the forum suggested, they were really helpful with all my visa questions. Just so you know, there have been a lot of changes to the visa system here so it's likely things will take a while to get organised. Your husband might have to wait a bit before working so you'd need to take that into account.
I would think with everything going on in the world right now, if he has a good job he wouldn't want to give that up. The recession has certainly hit us here too. And depending on where you're living now, it might not actually be that much cheaper to live in London, even rent free. Transport is expensive, food is more expensive, etc. I would price it all out carefully before making any decisions based on finance.
Would there be an option for you to work and your husband to stay home with the kids? As a citizen, you could work immediately. I'm not sure how long it takes for someone on a settlement visa to be able to work.
I got my job through an agency, they seem to do that more often here than in the states. You could start looking at agencies now and see what's out there.
Good luck!
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks