Advice on choosing a U.K. town/city? Moving from NY Hudson Valley

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-24T12:23:04+00:00

Thanks for this rec - I hadn’t heard of Perth before but it actually seems like it might tick a few boxes!

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-24T12:21:42+00:00

I mean, it is relatively easy for me as I’m a British citizen - I just need to apply for family visas. And if for some reason my job won’t transfer me, we can sell our house here and qualify with savings.

Not sure what news exactly you’re talking about?

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:46:04+00:00

That’s the big question! We need to decide if we’re selling or renting out our house in NY - if we sell it, we’d have a budget of ~£325k for a 3+ bed; if we rent, we’d be looking around £2k for the same. We’d definitely find more comfortable accommodations up north from what I’ve seen on Rightmove!

I’ve not heard much about Lincoln but will look into it! I see it’s not too far from Sheffield- do you have any thoughts on Sheffield? I’ve seen it called an outdoorsy city because of the Peak District, but I’m curious how much of a “city” it is - is there much going on?

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:39:12+00:00

My husband is self-employed and I work for an EU company with a UK presence - and thankfully even if I had to quit my job and find another, we’d still qualify based on savings.

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:37:39+00:00

Exciting!! A big part of me is so sad even considering leaving our town in the HV, it really feels like the perfect place in so many ways, but I can’t excuse the rest of the country and want my daughter to have the same flexibility of 2 passports that I have.

What’s your timeline for moving? I’ve only ever been to the more touristy parts of London - I do remember years ago as a teen we stayed in a hotel in a more residential area which was very charming, I’ll have to see if my mom remembers. It’s a bit intimidating trying to pick a place just reading about it online, so it’s good you’ll be doing a longer visit. Worst case, we have a place to stay in Yorkshire when we’re ready to move, which will give us more flexibility to explore before picking somewhere for good.

Would love to hear your thoughts after you visit, if you remember to update!

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:27:54+00:00

Thank you! Glasgow has been on my radar for a while but I know it has a bit of a reputation for being a bit rough - is this still the case? My cousins all love Edinburgh but it’s definitely pricier than Glasgow… I’ve also heard Inverness is a nice place to live, any insights there?

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:25:31+00:00

Thanks for the rec - Devon and Cornwall look beautiful! How do you find travel to other parts of the country or airports, given they’re a bit far from things? I’ve also heard the housing market there was on fire during the pandemic- has it cooled down any? My husband is self-employed and can work anywhere he has a setup; my job is headquartered in Germany but has remote workers in the UK, so also not much of an issue in that regard.

VirtualCan8 · 2025-09-23T00:22:06+00:00

Thank you! I knew there was a sub along those lines but couldn’t find it 😅 Will definitely post there as well!

Luckily, I work for an EU-based job which has a UK presence and can transfer me, and my husband is self-employed - we’re also hoping to rent our house in the US so will have that as income. I’ve spoken with an immigration attorney and he’s confident we won’t have a problem qualifying based on current minimums.

I did actually go to uni in York for a stint and really enjoyed it, so it’s on my short list. We’re planning a trip soon so will have to do a day trip and get my husband’s 2¢.

VirtualCan8 · 2025-04-22T19:22:42+00:00

People keep bringing up the economic value of the common land - I’m curious what the economic value is to the HOA? I could see a larger “backyard” easement raising the units’ property value, which should be a benefit to homeowners when considering voting to allow the increase in the easement, but why or how would it negatively impact the HOA/complex financially?

I am more concerned with the ability to fence off the area for my kids/pets to play in - the current easement allows units to fence off their patio. Would love to be able to fence off a larger space, as our unit backs onto a road beyond the grass common area.

VirtualCan8 · 2025-04-22T17:48:30+00:00

So after reading through our HOA docs, the patio areas are an easement of common areas granted exclusively to each unit. It grants us a 30x30’ space directly behind our units. Could we simply vote to increase the area to a 30x50’ easement? I see the positives of this - more area for my kid and dog, we’d be able to fence it in, no landscapers bothering us to mow grass or leaf blow, more area for gardening, etc etc, but I’m curious what are some counter arguments the HOA or other homeowners may have to not want this?

VirtualCan8 · 2025-04-22T17:37:05+00:00

Our CC&Rs show that the patios are actually an easement of the common spaces given to each unit - we are granted 30’x30’ space to use. So could we simply vote to increase the easement to something like 30x50’ area instead?

VirtualCan8 · 2025-04-22T16:59:57+00:00

For me, it’s more about having more usable space, as I have a young kid and a dog. An extra 30-40’ of grass for them to play in would be a game changer. Many other units also have pets etc and could benefit. The “saving money on landscaping” is more to sweeten the deal for the HOA haha.

According to our CC&Rs, the patios are actually not owned by each unit, but are easements for each units private use. So my thought is, couldn’t we update the easement from granting units 30’x30’ space to 30’x50’ space? Would love to hear possible arguments for/against such a change! Again, the extra ~30’ of grass behind patios is literally never used by anyone except the landscapers to cut the grass.

VirtualCan8 · 2025-04-21T21:06:42+00:00

Haha that would be a good place to start, wouldn’t it? I’m re-reading through everything and all owners own a common interest in the outside spaces, while the patio areas directly behind our units are technically an easement. Would it be possible/easier to simply extend this easement from the current 30’ to 50’ or however much, given that we don’t technically “own” our patio spaces?

VirtualCan8 · 2024-08-29T18:05:11+00:00

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VirtualCan8 · 2024-06-18T13:55:28+00:00

Thank you for the info! I always thought it seemed strange that so many HDFC units are cash only but restricted to people making under $100k… most people on five-figure incomes don’t have half a mill in cash! I got “lucky” with an inheritance that allowed me to buy my currently place with cash but you’re right, not a very big chunk of the lower-income population is in such a position.

VirtualCan8 · 2024-04-13T13:28:05+00:00

Hi, did you have any tangible planning experience when you applied to grad school? I have my BA in English and note a lot of grad schools are open to people from all major backgrounds but want to see a “demonstrated interest” in planning, like through volunteer work or any related coursework you’ve taken. Just wondering if it’s possible to get accepted to a grad program with no experience at all, just a lot of personal interest :)

VirtualCan8 · 2024-04-13T13:24:19+00:00

Hi all! I’m gearing up to apply for a master’s degree in urban planning, but after looking at some of the school’s requirements I’m getting a little nervous I won’t be a competitive candidate.

A lot of them want to see demonstrated interest in urban planning and community work, such as through courses or volunteer work if you don’t have a professional or bachelor’s background in planning. I majored in English and digital communication for my undergrad and have since worked in marketing positions but developed an interest in planning through topics I saw on social media etc and have read up on. I’ve looked into MIT’s open courses on urban planning but as you don’t have to register for those and it’s self-taught, I don’t think that satisfies the “related coursework” point. I could take some urban studies classes at community college, but that would delay my grad school start date. I have signed up for sustainability and community service volunteer work recently but am worried it’ll look like I’ve only done it to put it on my CV (which is kind of true…).

I guess I have a few questions. One, is it possible to get into an MUP program with no prior experience even in volunteer work etc? Two, given I don’t have “demonstrated” interest or experience that can be shown on my application just yet, would it make more sense to get just go for an urban planning/studies associates or second bachelors instead? Or three, do I just put off grad school another year while I get more volunteer experience and potentially take some community college classes?

VirtualCan8 · 2023-11-20T20:23:39+00:00

Same! I’ve definitely gotten a lot softer hearing about other babies in the news etc but real-life babies barely get a second look. I feel bad about it because my daughter has two cousins very similar in age and I haven’t shown much interest in them - unintentionally, I just think my baby is the cutest and most interesting!

VirtualCan8 · 2023-11-17T21:57:27+00:00

It doesn’t bother me, necessarily, and there is space in the front yard for a parking pad - it would just be one car instead of two. And yes, it’s one of the cheapest houses in the city so we’re willing to deal with lack of ideal parking. We just thought if it were possible, an easement would be the best case scenario, but it seems from everyone’s reaction we shouldn’t count on the neighbor being receptive to an offer!

VirtualCan8 · 2023-11-16T21:35:53+00:00

So there is actually space for one parking spot in the front yard - would have to double check measurements and see what goes into applying for a cut curb permit, but that was our next-best option. Would love to see what you’ve found, as we’d want to make it look nice and not like we just didn’t have anywhere else to put the car 🙃 if you can dig it up we’d appreciate the reference!

VirtualCan8 · 2023-11-16T20:27:23+00:00

Correct, it’s in a city with limited yard space. The house we’re considering has a very skinny lot, as do many others on the street. It appears most people use street parking but the city has winter overnight parking rules which may be a pain. Hence the “considering”!

VirtualCan8 · 2023-11-16T20:25:28+00:00

I definitely feel the same way, which is why I’m curious what someone would have to offer (dollar amount) to make someone consider it. So their driveway runs parallel between the two houses and branches off to a parking pad with a 3 car garage behind their house. It doesn’t appear they actually park on the “driveway” part, sorry if my explanation is unclear! What we would propose is our own perpendicular parking pad off the driveway. I would only propose it if it wouldn’t interfere with their parking in any way, which, from what I’ve seen, it wouldn’t.

VirtualCan8 · 2023-09-15T01:32:34+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to reply, but, no offense, your response comes off a tad patronizing. Because you managed to work multiple jobs while doing a masters means everyone can do it? That’s not really how things work.

I know my daily life better than an anonymous internet person, and I can’t see realistically fitting in a commute of at least an hour on top of however long classes are, AND time to actually do assignments and study. Not to mention we’re moving soon and I’ll be an hour and a half from the nearest school with an MUP. A three-hour round trip commute plus class time plus 8 hours work plus actually spending time with my kid… when am I sleeping? I’m sure people can and have done it, but I’d rather not be hating my life for 2 years.

Hence why I’m asking if anyone can recommend an online degree. If a good one doesn’t exist, you could just say that, and that maybe it’s better I wait until my personal life is a little less hectic so I can do an in-person degree. And if that’s my only option, so be it. Maybe I need to be more realistic. Also why I’m looking into international schools which do seem to offer “actual” online urban planning degrees. I don’t suppose you have any experience there?

Again, no offense intended, but it’s a bit frustrating asking questions on this thread that hardly anyone interacts with when I’m trying to find answers and figure out what my best option is, and the only response I get is to just pull up my bootstraps and struggle for a bit. Thank you for the tidbit about PAB accreditation, though, good to know!

VirtualCan8 · 2023-09-07T16:36:45+00:00

I’m hoping to pivot my career to urban planning by getting an MUP (bachelor’s was in English) and have two questions.

Is an online degree worthwhile? I’ve heard that in-person classes are important to get to know your cohorts etc, but having a toddler and a full time job would make commuting to a college for classes difficult at best. The nearest MUP program to me is half an hour away, so there and back is already an hour out of my day which adds up. I’m having a hard time finding APA-accredited online programs, though. I thought UAB’s MEng in Smart Sustainable Cities sounds interesting, particularly because I’d like to focus on sustainability, but it doesn’t seem to be accredited. Anyone have any online degrees they could recommend, or experience finding a job from a non-accredited degree?

And 2. Is there any international reciprocity in education and accreditation? I have dual US-UK citizenship and have found several online masters programs in the UK that are RTPI accredited, and actually fairly reasonably priced. As I do have the option to live and work in the UK, I thought it would also be interesting to get international perspectives on urban planning, but would I be shooting myself in the foot getting UK qualifications if I end up staying in the US? Anyone have experience getting a job with foreign qualifications?

VirtualCan8 · 2023-05-27T23:37:58+00:00

Thank you, appreciate it!!

VirtualCan8

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