Australia and UK pony peeps, I need some help!

[Katgyrl]

Aussie and UK ponies, I need some help!

So I live in the US, and my husband was just accepted into a program through his work that gives him the opportunity to work in an international office for a couple years! It's pretty for sure we are heading somewhere next spring to summer, we just don't know where yet!

I'm wondering if you wonderful pony peeps would be able to help me out with a little info to help us figure out where we will be able to afford to live and such. The areas his work has offices in that we are looking into are London, Sydney, and Melbourne.

If you don't mind sharing, how much does your family spend on food each month (we are a family of 6: 2 grown ups and 4 younger kids)

Also, what school districts (elementary schools) and/or neighborhoods would you recommend to be in that are good for kids, especially those with special needs? (My 9 year old son has High-Functioning Autism)

We are trying to look into areas that are affordable but not too far away from the city where my hubby would be working. I would love to be more in a suburb (I'm a country girl, not having some kind of a yard would be hard for me!!!), I'm assuming it's a little cheaper to live in the suburbs too, but city living is not totally out of the picture I suppose (my hubby would like to not have to get a car apparently, and he is very much a city boy).

Thank you in advance!! Any info would be much appreciated! I am super excited for this opportunity! It would be fun if I ended up next to some pony people!

[daffodil101]

I live in Brisbane (capital city of Queensland, Australia) so I know a bit about Sydney and Melbourne (but not heaps).  Sydney is known for being really expensive housing-wise (though I guess London is too), median house price is a million AUD.  Melbourne is probably similar, though is supposed to be our 'most livable city'.  I've never been, but it's apparently really awesome in terms of shopping, culture, the arts scene, food, all that stuff.  The weather is also kinda crazy- they say you can expect all four seasons within a day, it's always changing so you have to be prepared!  Both Sydney and Melbourne you have to get a pre-paid card for the public transport system ahead of time, they don't sell paper tickets anymore and people can get caught out and get fined.

Sydney is beautiful, though very congested traffic-wise.  People tend to deal with this by living in self-contained areas, where their jobs, schools and home and social activities are nearby.  Australia cities are very spread out, high-rises and apartments are becoming more of a thing but traditionally the 'Australia dream' is to own a house on a decent block of land with a Hills Hoist in the back yard. Put a few million suburban properties in the space between the mountains and the sea and you get Sydney!

Travel times can be crazy (at least to Queenslanders, where things are a bit quieter!).  For instance I have relatives in Woolongong (technically a separate city but really it just sprawls into one big one) and it takes over 2 hours by train to get to Sydney Harbour.  Traffic is basically a nightmare.  A lot of toll-roads.  Going to visit a friend in another part of town is a big deal.

Prices for food and such tend to be fairly high, though of course it's all relative to where you're from and what you're used to.  Plus you have a stronger US dollar so it should work out okay for you hopefully.  I don't know much about schools, though I've heard there is zoning, ie you have to live within a certain area to send your kids to a certain school, at least public-funded schools, but double check that.

Also, in terms of budgeting, I've noticed a lot of Americans talk about monthly costs.  Here we talk about weekly costs.  Rent, food, pay etc., no one really thinks in months.

Hope some of that is remotely helpful!  Good luck wherever you end up going

[kaoskat]

I can't help but that sounds exciting! Good luck!

[kasin]

Sounds awesome!  Congrats, it will be an great for your kids to experience another country too!

I'm in the US but I used to work for a large company with big offices all over the world and London was one of the most expensive areas we had an office. Australia was not cheap, but everyone complained about Londons prices for housing and how stressful it was looking for a home because the marked turned over so fast that if you looked at a place you needed to decide if you wanted it fast or it would sell. Cost wise I think it's Australia hands down.

Good luck! Really excited for you!

[Taffeta]

I live in London, back and forth, but I can't say anything about school districts or anything like that as I'm a full time mature student and I don't have kids.

London has a lot of different boroughs and education in the UK is nominally run by LEA (local education authority). Cameron's government were talking about changing this entirely but since he's gone I have no idea whether that is still the case now. In the old model, basically, each area has its own way of doing things within the regulations of stuff like National Curriculum. I am pretty sure you can look up information on the schools via league tables online. Just bear in mind that London has a lot of boroughs, and you would realistically want to be looking in zones 2-3 and beyond, I think.

London is insanely expensive. Bear in mind right now you have the advantage currencywise - Brexit has tanked the pound to a really sad level - which may help save some money. But renting in London is very costly, largely because most people in London can't afford the house prices and so can't buy.

Greenwich is one of the less expensive and very nice places - it is less expensive because it is far out from the centre. However, it is very well connected with buses and rail. There are others too though.

Transport in London is decent. People here complain about it all the time, but my family home is rural and trust me, London's transport is decent! There are buses, tubes and taxis. It doesn't make sense to drive. Oyster cards are pay as you go cards which you use to travel and journeys in a day are capped pricewise on both buses and tubes. The buses are cheaper, I think it caps out at £4.50. You can go all the way across the city for the same price as going two stops as it's a flat fare. I think its about £1.60 per trip.

In terms of autism, I can actually advise here. The NAS (National Autistic Society) which is the principle Autism charity in the UK is based in London (actually in Islington, near Angel) and they offer support to schools, to individuals, to students etc. They are well worth contacting if it turns out you choose the UK. There is also a bunch of laws in the UK that are meant to prevent children being disadvantaged in schools because of disability. Obviously in real time that can be different. I worked as a support assistant with teenagers for 2 years and though the intent was there, sometimes there were misunderstandings from staff towards students. However it is more common now for schools to have support assistants employed to help students who have particular needs, and I would think especially in London, given that there are more opportunities for everything in London.

Weather is also a consideration! I don't know what your native climate is like for your area, but it is not an exaggeration to say that London gets a lot of rain. It can, however, be very hot in summer, usually more so than the rest of the country. In the winter, it rarely sees snow - mostly rain - but occasionally there's a little bit. Flooding, snowstorms, etc are more common outside of the capital in outlying areas. The chief feature is generally rain. At any time of the year.

It sounds like your family are going to have fun whichever path they choose - good luck!

[GazeboMouse]

Yup, I back up all the above London info, I don't live there but parents were born there, and I go there for holidays each year! Many people commute in by car, train or coach, even from other countries such as Kent, Oxfordshire and Berkshire, as it works out cheaper.
In terms of Autism support, it depends on your child's level of autism. If the child is used to being in a mainstream school with support, that can be arranged with a lot of juggling, but bear in mind that mainstream Public schools (the free council-run schools, not Private schools), are very large, so some children can be 'lost' in them,  there are specialist Autism units attached to many mainstream schools in England, so the individual London borough or other county's provision would vary. Special Schools vary too, some specialist to ASD and communication disorders, or 'one size fits all disability,  and vary totally. The National Autistic Society and other UK Autism charities would be your best bet for info. I work in a secondary special school, in our city the special schools are co-located next door to a mainstream school so children can have some lessons in the other school if appropriate, all counties and cities vary.