Reading Rekkie

So, those of you not yet “in the know”, my work is relocating from Prague, CZ to Reading, UK (pronounced Redding). (No, the romance of the city was not part of the selection criteria…)

As of next week (2nd Feb), I will be officially working in the UK. 

We have had our heads in the sand for the last few months, not really facing up to the reality of the move.  So, being the late Woods that we are, who always leave things to the last minute, we began our exploration of life in Reading; choice of schools; cost of housing; relocation costs; and all the diligent things that one does before embarking on a life changing move, about 2 weeks ago…

This last weekend, we made our first trip to Reading and Colin prepared the itinerary for the week-end, lining up houses to visit and schools to interview.  Fortunately, the UK is very open about the performance of their schools and they are evaluated regularly, with all the results available to view on the web (www.ofsted.gov.uk).  The admissions process is handled by the council, and is a real mission to navigate, as you must live in the catchment in order to apply for the school.  So, after receiving the list from the council of the schools where there was space, we then went and did all the homework about the suitability of the schools.  I was very pessimistic… (good schools are generally full, with waiting lists; schools with vacancies … ?).  We were fortunate though in that a couple of the schools with vacancies were ranked as “grade 2” schools (above average, but not outstanding), which we could live with.

So Friday night we set off on easyjet and spent Saturday touring the area, with agents lined up for viewings throughout the day.  Our earmarked suburbs were South Earley and Woodley, both within 40 minutes of my office.

House number 1 in Redhatch road was on the top of our shortlist, (the house on the left) right up until our last house that we viewed.

Surprise, Surprise, the current tenants were South Africans, so we had a good kuier in the kitchen.  This house was reasonably close to the school, but not really walking distance.

Another house we saw in the area (talk about skinny):

The next house, I texted my folks about as we were on our way:  20 Walmer Crescent – We lived in Walmer in PE, so a nice co-incidence.  Also, the neighbouring street was Willowside – we lived in Willowvale in JHB!

This was our nr 2 favourite (or nr 1 depending on who was answering). 

We discovered, on talking to the owner, that there is a brilliant primary school 50 yards from the house (Willow bank Junior - which we had not known about), so this was a real score.  Unfortunately, there was only place for Sarah, and although we pursued the options with the council until the 99th hour on this one, there was no guarantee that we would get them both in until Sept.

Then, the last house we saw on Monday evening, was the one I walked into, and knew it was our house:

Walking distance to the school that has space; in a cul-de-sac; walking distance to the shops and bus stop; direct bus to my office; 4 bedrooms; yard out back; and furnished as well :)

This is the primary school, which has a very homey and cosy feeling to it, and the ofsted results are also good.

So, in the 4 days, we interviewed 3 schools; viewed 10 homes; met the council; applied to the school of choice; and agreed an offer to Let!

Now, our big move date is the 14th of February (a mere 2 weeks away), and somehow within that time, we need to pack up a house;  collect the moving van from Reading; drive it back to Prague; pack up the van; drive it back to Reading; while I am working in Reading and the girls are in school in Prague…  Anyone feel like a holiday in Prague / Reading to help us move and babysit?