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[suetibu]

Hi, I am considering a post-doc fellowship in Cambridge. My salary range is 29K-31K.

My husband is looking for a job, but worst case scenario is 30K enough to live on?

Also, if he does get a job, we are interested in buying a used car. Is this easy for US citizens?

Thanks,
S

[notaprof]

Are you talking pounds or dollars?

[suetibu]

Pounds

[expatinuk]

Buying a used car is fine.... getting a UK driver's license is difficult. The test is very difficult. You will be able to drive on your US driver's license for a year... but you need to start studying for the test as soon as you can. You will have to take a written test... then a driving test. The driving test is 45 minutes long and the pass rate is approximately 33% of test takers. I strongly suggest that you have some UK driving lessons before you take the driving test.

As for living in Cambridge on 30K... you won't be able to live in the city for that kind of money. If you're willing to commute you should be able to squeeze by.

[sueenglish]

Hi

Cambridge is very expensive, but does the college (is it a college post-doc?) have any flats for rent? Me and my OH rented a college flat which was so much cheaper than private rentals. I'd certaintly speak to the college and/or the university accomodation office!

Good luck
Ps Chesterton is nice and cheaper.

[lurkergirl]

I don't know Cambridge prices, but my SO and I survived just fine in Oxford on a little less (maybe about 25K the first year).

Also, if you stay less than 2 years and are sure of that staying the case, you can get exempted from tax, which helps a lot (though we didn't).

[secretweapon]

Yes, it's possible; I'd say it's a bit tight but doable.  It just depends on your standard of living and what you're used to.  If your husband is not picky, he is certain to find some kind of job, and even an extra 500 a month will make a big difference in your quality of life.

[empyrean_aisles]

I'd advise you to spend at least a few months living in Cambridge before you decide for sure whether you really need a car. Depending on the part of the city where you live (=where you have to find a place to park it) it can be more of a liability than a blessing. This is a city where everyone - from small children to very elderly ladies in skirts - is on a bicycle, and if you can do without the car you will have more spare cash to do interesting things like take short trips to Europe.

30K I would say is *just* doable, if you find (as others have suggested upthread) college accommodation, and if you don't want to have a wildly consumerist lifestyle. If you can't get college accommodation, I suggest finding somewhere by the river so you have a nice cycle ride into the city centre on a nice safe canal path.

Enjoy it. It will be fun. Go and listen to beautiful choral music at evensong in a different college each evening, and make sure you visit the Cambridge Cheese Company.

[buglet]

Oh, if you can swing it financially, go to Cambridge.   My husband did his undergraduate work there, and we visit several times a year for alumni gatherings...just a lovely place.  Learn to punt and go to Grantchester and visit the Orchard.  Or you get around on the river on one of those cool new paddleboards.  Visit the Pepys Library and Magdelene and have a chat with Dr. Luckett, or visit Kettle's Yard.  And did I mention the spring blossoms in the Backs? 

Ok, I'll quit being annoying enthusiastic...but go to Cambridge

[babbinacara]

 and make sure you visit the Cambridge Cheese Company.

On 30K per year, you're not going to the overpriced Cambridge Cheese Company, where standing in the doorway and inhaling deeply will cost you 5 quid.

Say hello to Asda.

[sandgrounder]

If you are attracted to living in England for a while, then I'd say go for it. It definitely is doable and many in Britain get along fine on much less. I do think though it depends whether Cambridge appeals really to you both, or whether it's not ideally where you'd want to be at all had the job market worked out better. I took a much worse paid postdoc than the one you're contemplating, because I really wanted to live in that country and city, although I lived very frugally indeed, it was a fantastic time in my life in every way. But if there's not that interest in the country and it's kind of a last resort for both you and your husband then living on a tight budget might not have much charm...

[hegemony]

The key is asking whether the college has housing for postdocs.  I would guess they do.  I am actually typing this from Cambridge postdoc housing, and it's small (as is nearly all housing in Britain) but lovely.  If the college can't supply it, ask how most of their postdocs get housing.  The university also has an Accommodations Service which could be useful: www.accommodation.cam.ac.uk/. 

Why would husband not get a job?  Spouses can work legally in the UK.  He might have other reasons for not working, but it might solve your financial squeeze if he could work.

I'd definitely recommend Cambridge if you have the flexibility of mind to live abroad.

[suetibu]

Hi, Cambridge is my FIRST option. Always wanted to live in UK and explore it and this would be great oppty..And Cambridge seems absolutely perfect for us.

My husband is looking for a job, but mindful of the global recession, it is necessary to know whether worst case, we could still live..

1) Can someone please explain the 2 year tax exempt US-UK treaty? We will be there only for 1-1.5 years and it would be lovely if I knew how it worked..

2) Also does one buy used cars on financing/credit like in the US? Or do you pay upfront?

Thanks,
S

[expatinuk]

2) Also does one buy used cars on financing/credit like in the US? Or do you pay upfront?

I've never found that car dealers have financing the way there is in the US. You go to the bank and arrange for a loan... and it's usually a personal loan and not one that is held with the car as security. Since you want to live in Cambridge where having a car is a waste of time I imagine that you want a car to tool around to see the countryside while you're here. You might be better off by just renting a car when you want to do that. Using a car to go and visit any of the cities in the UK is again a waste of time... take a train. You would need a car to convieniently get to smaller towns and to explore. But you won't be doing that every weekend so if  you make a plan you can just rent a car for those times.

This would save you money on car upkeep and insurance.

[hegemony]

I would guess that 99% of Cambridge postdocs do not have a car.  It truly is not necessary in Cambridge, and indeed can be kind of a liability, like having a car in New York.  As someone else said, you can get to any major city you need to by train, and if you want to tool around the countryside, renting a car is much cheaper.  If you're really determined to have a car, try living for the first six months without one, and reassess at that point.