[SA Mom]

Hi

Just wanted to say Hi! We've been living in County Louth, Ireland for just over 2 years and have 2 young kids.

Lynda

[Stuart]

Hi There ;

I am having trouble getting responses from people on this forum .... Seems there are not as many as I thought :-(

Would you mind providing your opinion on one of my previous posted messages, as below :

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Hello There :-)

Why is this forum so quiet ?.

I know there are a lot of people emmigrating to Canada, hence the activity on the SACanada site, but surely there are just as many people looking to emmigrate to the UK ?.

I have been an active member on the SACanada site for quite some time now and unfortunately I am in the position whereby I cannot apply for a Canadian PR visa just yet. I have all the work experience whilst my wife has the qualifications but has 6 months to go on the experience side :-(.
After 6 months we shall definetely apply for for PR visas (having honeymooned in Canada last December - British Columbia is amazing), pending no changes to the current emmigration points system, but have decided to head to the UK in the interim.
Aus and New Zealand, without job offers, are also not viable options due to points requirements.

Luckily we are both British passport holders so do not have any emmigration steps to take to go to the UK apart from organizing a job and a place to stay.

I am in the Business Analysis field, with more than 7 years experience, and my wife is in the hospitality industry in a managerial position, so from what we have heard we should not have a problem in securing good jobs in the UK.

We have decided, quite some time ago that it is time to leave South Africa because; it no longer feels like the country we know as home, it has become a place where we are discriminated against daily, treated like immigrants even though we were born here, cannot bear to watch further destruction of the country by the incompetent corrupt government and most definetely do not want to bring our children up here.

It is extremely sad to think that we will be leaving all our family in SA but we have to make hard decisions now for the future of our children. In any case, if SA continues like it is, it won't be long before the whole family is forced to move out of SA anyway.

I would like to hear from everyone, whether living in the UK already or those looking to leave, what investigations etc have found re : the grass being greener on the other side :-).

For example :

- What salary is considered a good one ?
- Is it feasible to only have one person working whilst the other stays at home ?.
- What is schooling etc like in the UK ?. (This is our one concern about staying in the UK to raise children)
- How stable are race relations etc in the UK ?.
- What is the job market like ?.
- What are nice areas to live in ?. (We definetely prefer countryside to big city)
- What is the transport system like ?.
- Is it possible to travel a lot from the UK and really enjoy the strength of the pound ?. (We are avid scuba divers and have just caught the skiing bug :-), so what possibilities exist there ?)

If we could we would emmigrate directly to Canada but are definetely thinking that living and working in the UK, with the option of extensive overseas travel, is much better than sitting and hoping SA does not turn quickly into Zim 2 and our hard earned rands become worth nothing :-( .... Rather have pounds.
We are looking at emmigrating to the UK next year in June.

I would like to hear everyone's opinion and would appreciate any advice that they have to offer.

Thanks ;

Stu.

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Thanks very much ;

Stu

[Paisley]

Welcome to SAEU - SA Mom!
I have been in Ireland for 8 years now - Kilkenny. Hope to see you around here. Stuart it is very quiet here as I think not many people knows about htis forum. SA in Europe are so far and thinly spread and can live in isolation. The only group I think that group together is the people from the UK. We should spread the word a bit!

[Jen]

Hi there SA Mom and Stuart!

Stuart, this forum is very new and hopefully will take off if we keep trying!
Cant give you much info on the uk, but have you considered moving to Ireland?
We have been here for three and a half years and have no regrets on leaving SA,
We have settled in well here and from meeting a number of people who have moved over from England, Ireland seems to have a better lifestyle than the uk, the schools are better, in general a better option than the uk. SAw an interesting survey today - link to follow -the global peace index = Ireland ranked 6th SA 116th!! the uk is ranked 49th, Canada is 11th and Australia 27th! click on the individual country to get the figures that make up the score.

http://www.visionofh.../rankings/2008/


Jen

[Sambo]

Hi Lynda,

Welcome!! I've also got two little girls 4 and 19 months.

Are you a working mom? I've just given up my day time job to be a full time mom and must say I'm loving it!!

Regards

Sambo

[SA Mom]

Hello everyone

So sorry for the delayed response, we have had a suddenly development and may be being transferred so I have been spending a lot of time on our Australian sister site!

Stuart - I am in Ireland so thing will be quite different to the UK but I did live there for 5 years so will give some of your questions a bash! Bear with me though 'cause I did leave there a brand new mom and it was nearly 5 years ago!

What salary is considered a good one ? This would depend on your level and where you are intending to live. Where abouts are you looking?
- Is it feasible to only have one person working whilst the other stays at home ? Yes, so long as you are prepared to sacrifice! We did this and it worked for us. Childcare can be very expensive to it can even work to your advantage to have one parent at home.
- What is schooling etc like in the UK ?. (This is our one concern about staying in the UK to raise children) - I'm not going to tackle this one!! Our daughter was 4 months old when we left and we lived in London. The schools were also a concern for us!
- How stable are race relations etc in the UK ? I would say pretty good. Personally I would worry more about class issues than race issues with the yob types causing more acts of violence than different ethnic groups having bad relations.
- What is the job market like ? Again, we have been away for too long to comment but here in Ireland it's pretty stable and good (anyone genuinely wanting to work can find a job) which leads me to think it's good there too.
- What are nice areas to live in ?. (We definetely prefer countryside to big city). This is tough. Personally I like the Cornwol/Devon areas and then the Lake District and surrounds but I am not sure how strong the job market would be in either.
- What is the transport system like ? Good. You'll be blown away at first and then come to be annoyed by the endless delays but on the whole it is really good.
- Is it possible to travel a lot from the UK and really enjoy the strength of the pound ?. (We are avid scuba divers and have just caught the skiing bug :-), so what possibilities exist there ?) Yes! Trips to Egypt, UAE etc for diving can be very reasonable and a big holiday for some sun and sea is a must.

Sorry I can't be of more help but if you do need anything, I'll give the questions a go!!

Hi Paisley - I agree!! I run a forum for South African moms (see my sig) and will def mention this site!

Jen - sorry working my way through and just saw your comment. I'd agree with your advice to Stuart. We much prefer Ireland (sorry everyone!! But we do!) Where about are you?

Sambo - Hello! I am an 'in-between' I guess I am a SAHM 'cause I am home all day with the kids but am trying to set up a parenting forum (plug plug!!) for South African moms which is still brand new so is far away from actually being a job but I do sort of work if that makes sense! I used to work full time too and giving it up was the best decision I ever made (I have a 17mo boy and a nearly 5 yo girl)

Look forward to chatting with all of you.

Lynda

[Dedré]

Hi SA mom. Welcome to the forum. Sorry for my late reply. Always happy to see a new face around here. Good luck with all your plans.

[Jen]

SA Mom, on May 31 2008, 11:17 AM, said:

Hello everyone


Jen - sorry working my way through and just saw your comment. I'd agree with your advice to Stuart. We much prefer Ireland (sorry everyone!! But we do!) Where about are you?


Lynda

HI Lynda, sorry for the delay. We are in county Galway. Very happy here. there was an interesting figure in the papers here recently. With reference to the census of 2006 - the largest number if immigrants to Ireland are from the UK. That must say something.
The majority that I have come across all say the quality of life, schooling etc are better in Ireland.
It is funny how things change, at one time the Irish were moving to England, now the move is the other way!

Jen

[Lourein]

Hello There,

From Lourein and Nikita living in Swords, Co Dublin.