[Mark1966]

Originally Posted by maverick83

It will be London Central with an estimated income of around 60 - 75k. For starters we will look at renting and then purchase once we have a fair bit of savings for a deposit.

Areas we are looking at includes Upminster as we have friends there so would prefer to be closer to a support system at the beginning. For schools - we are looking at Govt schools.

You will need every penny of £75k if you want to buy in London, if you are quoting $75K you have no chance.

You should be OK within a commuter radius of 35 miles on an income of £75K but you wont be getting an M6 anytime soon, but I would have thought you will be able to squeeze a 3 series.

Good luck with the move.

[beanbaguk]

Originally Posted by Mark1966

You will need every penny of £75k if you want to buy in London, if you are quoting $75K you have no chance.

You should be OK within a commuter radius of 35 miles on an income of £75K but you wont be getting an M6 anytime soon, but I would have thought you will be able to squeeze a 3 series.

Good luck with the move.

Indeed. Also keep in mind if you do live in the commuter radius, the travel costs are horrific. Few drive into London as you will have to pay a daily congestion charge along with parking, fuel and other costs.

An annual train and London tube pass from somewhere like Windsor (lovely place btw), will set you back about £3,616 per year or £4,380 if you want zones 5 and 6 on your tube pass.

You can work out the cost of that here:

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/servic...ticket/tickets

However, you can get much better value for home prices living outside London as has been mentioned. If you're single, I would try and stay within London, but if you have a family, it's much better outside and schools will be invariably better.

If you have a family, the "M4 corridor" is your friend. You have the option to drive in if you need to and there are mountains of travel options including easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick.

(Just for the record, I grew up near Reading and my old man commuted into London daily).

[Firaxis]

As I live in the UK there's a bit of confusion in places on this thread, I'll start with taxation rates:

So you will be given a code e.g. 1080L

You won't get taxed anything up to 10,800 pounds for e.g., anything then up to 32K is taxed @ 20 %. Then anything over that is taxed @ 40%..

You will pay NI (National Insurance) contributions of roughly 2%..

That's all there is too it (unless you're contracting) I did own my own company at one point and that's a different ball game all together.

As for European cars, looking around this forum for lease deals. They definatley are cheaper here than in the US, someone spec'd out a 340I which came to 38K GBP and over here you'd be closer to 30 / 32K GBP maybe slightly less / more dependant on the time of year.

Thing is London is not a nice place to drive, the closer to the centre the worse it gets and I'd be inclined to avoid it or move somewhere outside of London if you love cars.

On the other hand if you want an American car here, it'll cost you a fortune comparitively..

[maverick83]

Just an update... Relocating in July. I think I have my mind up on either a 4 GC or 320i LCI. We will be looking to stay outside of London - Romford area - with a daily train commute to London Central. Wifey will also take a job at approx £32000 p/a so we should be fine.

I have been toying around with the thoughts of owning a 335d but they seem quite expensive!!

I will check in closer to the purchasing time for some recommendations... ?

[maverick83]

Hi guys, thought I would update this thread, being in London now for 7 Months. We ended up settling in Kingston Upon Thames, which is far better area than Romford/Upminster for schools, and my commute is not too bad either.

So - do I have my 335d yet - NO... Unfortunately not, I have settled however on buying a second hand car cash for starters as I found that cars here are very cheap to buy second hand vs South Africa in any case.

When selling my 2014 320d M-Sport in SA, I couldn't settle the finance agreement yet as the deal was fairly new - however did manage to get a VERY VERY good price for my car. As for the shortfall, I had to pay that out of pocket for both my car and my wife's 2013 118i... That is what set me back the most - not to mention the fact that I couldn't sell my house as the property market sucks in South Africa.

I ended up with a tenant in my house - with a shortfall on the bond as well.

If I didn't have to send so many pounds to SA I would have owned that second hand 340i by now :-)

What I have realized in the time we've been here is that I would not drive more than 200 miles a month, so that has changed my mind a bit as well.

So far - London and Kingston is absolutely GREAT, and was the best choice ever!

Now to sell that bloody property in SA and settle the outstanding debt there and I will have a 340i or 335i ActiveHybrid in my garage - at least have one of those - soon!

[sahajesh]

Originally Posted by maverick83

Hi guys, thought I would update this thread, being in London now for 7 Months. We ended up settling in Kingston Upon Thames, which is far better area than Romford/Upminster for schools, and my commute is not too bad either.

So - do I have my 335d yet - NO... Unfortunately not, I have settled however on buying a second hand car cash for starters as I found that cars here are very cheap to buy second hand vs South Africa in any case.

When selling my 2014 320d M-Sport in SA, I couldn't settle the finance agreement yet as the deal was fairly new - however did manage to get a VERY VERY good price for my car. As for the shortfall, I had to pay that out of pocket for both my car and my wife's 2013 118i... That is what set me back the most - not to mention the fact that I couldn't sell my house as the property market sucks in South Africa.

I ended up with a tenant in my house - with a shortfall on the bond as well.

If I didn't have to send so many pounds to SA I would have owned that second hand 340i by now :-)

What I have realized in the time we've been here is that I would not drive more than 200 miles a month, so that has changed my mind a bit as well.

So far - London and Kingston is absolutely GREAT, and was the best choice ever!

Now to sell that bloody property in SA and settle the outstanding debt there and I will have a 340i or 335i ActiveHybrid in my garage - at least have one of those - soon!

Good choice with Kingston - used to live in Teddington near Fulwell station. Lovely area around K/T, lots to do and plenty of decent places to eat out too.

Good luck with things for you both

[225]

op. Having moved back to the ul a few years ago I would recommend not signing up for a pcp deal until you are settled. It will be counted against a mortgage application and you would need a few months proof kf address and credit history first.

There will likely be things you need to buy in the short term as well, deposits for rental places etc etc Plus you need to see what cash you have after the first few months take home on a job.

Failing that of course stuck a couple of grand in and buy a 340!

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by Lobb

Welcome to Blighty.

Don't forget to leave your wallet open, so the forum can empty it for you.....

Exactly this!

Welcome, sorry I missed this thread last time around - I would have tried to talk it out of coming to the sh!thole we call home

Anyway, we're planning a dyno day on 13 May which is about 45 minutes from Kingston...

Add your name to he list for a run at £35 or just come along to say hello to a few forum members...

[maverick83]

LOL!!!