Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

Farrah....I've lived in Holland...n I know shopping there sucks. not much variety. But u know what, for that you can always go to uk. ...book easyjet in advance from rotterdam n go there. or may be take stenaline (ferry) if you have more time.

avtually we went there in summer to check out....n moved later in december....but i must say there are just sooo many things you discover about a place only when you start living there....
one of my hubby's friend moved to uk after living in holland....n he was like if someone would return half the money i spent for moving...i'll move back to holland. Personally i dun like holland that much but everytime i came back from uk to holland i actually felt and appreciated the fresh crisp air you never get in london. But well, you might like to expeience it yourself...which is alright but quite expensive :)

Hareem I lived in north east london.

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That really was your problem then and a huge one.

I’m sure lots of places in Europe are nicer (albeit boring and small in comparison), especially when you have children.

But the UK and especially London changes dramatically, even from neighboring areas.

For example, I have a colleague who’s from the south of Italy. He said Walthamstow was the most depressing place he had ever set foot in. Whereas when he came to my area he couldn’t believe how peaceful and green it was.. and that’s saying a lot considering I’m not far from Croydon, home to the guys from the Peep Show.

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

North East London

That says it all. :D

Golders Green in NE London is a nice area though.

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

^Golders Green is NW.. The W makes it all better.

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I have lived in London England and New Jersey/ NYC TriState area. Now, I primarily live in Houston.

How about sharing a little bit about yourself, such as what field of work interests you and your husband? What kind of social activities interest you? How much money do you have to invest? What size house do you need? Are you planning on having children? What kind of schools do you want to send them? Do you have any special medical needs? I think, all these things can play an important role in making this kind of decision.

A lot of people have said they like Houston. However, keep in mind that although, property prices are low, property taxes can be high, depending upon the size of the house you decide to live in. The good deals are on the cheaper properties. For example, one can move into a modest 2,000-3,000 sq.ft single family house for less than $200,000 and pay around $6,000-8,000 per year in taxes. This would be in a nice clean middle/ upper middle class, deed restricted community with walking trails, manicured lawns, lakes, tennis courts, swimming pools etc. One can expect commuting time to downtown of between 20 to 30 minutes, living in such communities. Also, Houston is great for Energy and Medical sector professionals and business owners. Two bed room condos are about $1,000 a month in these nicer communities. Therefore, it is not impossible to retire, buy a few rental properties and live modestly in Houston on $500,000.

Some negatives in Houston, include things like most Texans are ultra conservative/ neo con Christians. There are racist attitudes among some Texans towards blacks, Mexicans and now Muslims. The public transportation is almost non existant. So, personal transportation is a necessity. Living in million dollar houses in the suburbs of Houston, can cost around $40,000 a year in taxes. Texans love playing cowboy, that includes going to ranches, horse back riding, ATVs, rifle/ pistol, shotgun ranges and hunting, quail, ducks, doves and deer etc.

On the other hand, the Pakistani community is large, wealthy and influential in local politics. Pakistani restaurants are abundunt.

Another city one may wish to consider moving to is Los Angeles. The recent correction in the R/E market has created opportunities to enter this market at an affordable price.

regards,

bob

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

islamabad better than any of uk

any day

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thanks bob for the great info … i think the questions you’ve put forth are quite important … but i dont think i have answers for all them yet … for those that i do …
i dont know if it should be a worry for me to move somewhere keeping my workfield in mind (i’m in the creative industry … graphic design etc) … it’s my husband who might have a problem … he works in the local govt environment sector atm … and environment is a quite a big thing in the netherlands … so it’s great for him …
we arent party animals who go out a lot .. but we like dining out and are quite social … we like giving parties at our home once in a while, have friends over, go over to a friend’s … so we want to be in a place where we can make nice friends, where people are receptive ..
definitely want children … but about 3 or 4 years down the road … and with schools … just a good school really … idk
no special medical needs :slight_smile:
husband has issues with places like LA/California … though he dreams about texas … :rotfl:

so .. yeah :smiley:

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you must be joking!

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try exploring it i kid you not its nicer in islambad

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She must be, as the question was best place to live, UK or US. Last I looked at the map, Islamabad was in Pakistan.

On the question, other then Edinburgh, I would recomend Bristol. Realy leafy city, a bit studenty, great night life.

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

So I'm going to make my suggestions based on: what family have told me living in the USofA and what I know being a Brit.

I'd recommend the UK-our weather is nice if you like building snowmen and to be honest when we do have a summer its lovely!

Education: every kid can have an education up to 18 free-so no real excuses to drop out of education completely. Plus we now have Foundation degrees which students do in 2 years and can spend a further year at uni to gain an BA hons (or similar depending on subject of course).

If you want to live in an area that is literally a community away from Pakistan there is plenty of areas you can choose from-there's selected communities in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and a few other areas too.

If you want to live somewhere pretty and green but be within a 20 minute drive/train journey to a desi area may I make the suggestion of Stafford? Very nice and green! Your close to the ghetto that is Stoke-on-Trent and your also close to my personal fave Birmingham.

Facility wise-I'm not sure 100% of what the US can offer but in the UK of course you have Mosques (some purpose built), Islamic study centres etc etc. Yes, there is Islamaphobia but then that's the story across many parts of the world.

Lifestyle wise-I work part time and can earn what a lot of my friends who did not go to uni earn in a full time job, I'm blessed Mashallah in that respect.

I know Afia didn't like the experience of living here-horses for courses.

What I can say is all schools in the UK should carry a Anti bullying policy and must adhere to it. If a parent has an issue they have a lot of power to keep on at the school, go to the PTA, media etc. For a free education system the UK cannot be faulted, it is quality, and what you make of it.

Our post gets to us on time?

We've had a few issues when we've had to speak to the police and I can honestly say they were the nicest geezers around, no really I'm being sincere. They were polite, informative and did their job. Not sure what the forces are like over the pond.

Not all kids are part of gangs-hate to say it but will...a big part of this culture is about our desi parents addresing the issue rather than blaming everyone around them.

UK transport system-I use the train service and like it. I've just national express coaches and they are great too. I use the public buses and they seem good too. I love Manchester and Heathrow airports-there's something special about going on a plane journey.

Do you like theme parks? You'll love Alton Towers.

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

West London…my old neighbourhood :naak:

There will be pros and cons to whichever place you choose to live in. What works for person X may not necessarily work for you. You just have to find out for yourself. Oh and obviously there are some no-go areas which most people over here have already listed…

Are you in NL at the moment? I like it there…why do you guys want to move?

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:disgust: a thirteen year old advocate of a dead city comes alive

NL is nice … but it feels so small … i dont feel like going out at all cuz it’s just one place to go all the time. one city center, and bloody small. not a lot of options … plus, i am beginning to get friend-sick :frowning: … i want nice friends … i am trying to make an effort, but apparently rotterdam only has so much to offer!
but anyways … perhaps it’ll be different in a year or two … we’re still just casually talking … no hard decisions made :slight_smile:

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Then, I get the feeling you are going to like Houston. You can get all this and at a reasonable price, in a city with a strong economy.

regards,

bob

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

^ you know in holland bob is a person who decides to not drink one night and drive the others safely back home :D .. 'Bewust Onbeschonken Bestuurder' ... 'Deliberately Un-intoxicated Driver' ..

just wanted to put it down :P

p.s. thanks for boiling it down to houston ... will def check into it :D

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farah , shopping may not b great there , but i so wish i could move back to holland.

i had such a sweet life there , nothing beats the clean air , greenery , lots of places to go out too , the pakistani community and all the events.

i never knew of racism and bullying until i moved to england , and i lived in holland for 11 years …

things may have changed there now due to all this terrorism and stuff , but i dont know.

there is just something about holland. maybe it is the fact that its so small …

sounds silly but all the dairy products in holland are amazingggggggggggggggg , i would eat plain yoghurt mixed with sugar so mcuh

i cant even touch yoghurt here…

all meat and veg taste better to me in holland

and hey i heard primark and stuff has opened , and whilst i was there , there were shops for great shopping like C&A , some naff naff ( or have i got it completely wrong ) place and vroom and driesman , and others whose names i cant remember

even normal areas in holland are sooooo prettyy

dont get me wrong i understand that the UK is better probably opportunity wise , but u can beat it with the quality of life in holland man

those were the days where we would play until late on het pleintje …

ok i will stop now.

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Re: Best place to live in the UK/USA ..

^ hahah … yea .. i do admit dairy is brilliant here … and the air the wonderfully crisp and fresh .. and its amazingly green too … quality of life, even as of now … is pretty good … no racism seen so far … but you found vegetables BETTER here??? NO WAY yaar … vegetables taste like plastic here … tomatoes are a serious concern!!!
and yes for shopping there is c&a and v&d h&m (why do they keep names likes this?? :hmmm:) … but thats the problem … there are perhaps 6 shops in total … and thats what yo’ve got to work with .. and they all carry the same thing … if purple is the color of the season .. then wow! EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE is purple!!!
but it’s true that it’s the opportunity that bothers me … m not so young … dutch aint so good (or maybe isnt even there) … so yeah … it’s a problem ..

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yeah the veg rockssss , migth have changed nowww.

farrah that may the problem , u said your dutch aint so good ? if you dont mind me asking how long have you been in holland ??

dutch is not so hard to learn if its all around you 24/7 and i also know that there is a lot of english around in holland too , with every dutch sign there is english underneath written ..

however lets talk abt the good points of england

opportunities - they are also limited now due to the recession… but dhoond nay se to khuda bhi mil jata hai

good shopping - london does have very good shopping , with the addition of the recent shopping centre westfield it has become more fabulous..

food - hmm foods okay , a lot of chicken and chips shops which contribute largely to our waist size …

large asian community , southall for that apna feel

but after all that sometimes london can be very lonely , especially if you dont have family

you will find that people have their whole khandaans here so there is limited meetings outside of khandaan , i found in holland it was the opposite

or it might be that the above is just my experience.

education is good and the language is a real asset

the pound gives great value all around the world but not much difference with the euro now…

so all in all UK is quite good

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It sounds like you don't know London at all if you think the shopping has got better because of Westfield and all we have is chicken and chips, in most lists it's in the top 10 cities for food.

I do wonder where some of you people lived or hung out.

But I do think Farrah should consider elsewhere in Europe.

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stoppit , im sorry if not every has been around the whole of london like you or dined out in all the fine restaurants .....

and ive lived in london for 10 years so please stop wondering , everyone is entitled to their own opinion ...

maybe you can give an A-Z guide of london ...... coz seems like none of us has ever set foot in london despite living in london rolleyes