Finding your new home in the UK
By Gemma Raw
Relocating to the UK for a new working life as a social worker or a healthcare professional is a big decision. The first question, after deciding where you’d typically like to work, is almost always ‘where will I live?’
How will you find accommodation? What’s a good area and what’s not? How much will the rent be? And how far away is work?
Well, we can help you answer all these questions as we’re more than just a recruitment company; we help you with every aspect of your relocation.
So, where will you live?
The answer to this question largely depends on what type of role you are applying for. If you are applying for a clinical role within a hospital, you can expect to be offered free hospital-owned accommodation to get you started. For social workers, it’s different as local authorities do not have allocated accommodation, so you will need to find a private rental.
Where you wish to live, though, is up to you and is something we always ask any international applicant before we find a great role. For example, if you prefer the peace and quiet of outer-city living, we wouldn’t look for something in the heart of London.
How do you find somewhere to live?
As we’ve mentioned, it depends on whether you’re a healthcare professional or a social worker, so let’s explore each.
International healthcare professionals
Most hospitals will offer free accommodation for the first few weeks of your move to the UK to give you time to settle in and find your week. After this point, you may be able to continue living in hospital accommodation for an agreed rental fee or choose to rent private accommodation.
It's worth noting that hospital accommodation can vary quite considerably depending on its location, although you tend to have your own room with a shared living area.
Normally, hospital accommodation is close to your workplace, meaning you will not have far to travel. But, of course, in densely populated cities such as London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester, the NHS will have accommodation covering quite a large area.
So, before you arrive in the UK and settle into your hospital accommodation, we’ll give you the information you need on travel links. The UK’s public transport network is very well connected, though, meaning you’ll have lots of options to get to work without any trouble. Planning routes for different times of the day can be helpful if you work various shift patterns.
International social workers
Finding somewhere to live is different for international social workers because there’s no available government-funded accommodation. It completely depends on the employer and their offer, but you’ll usually be allocated a relocation budget to help you secure private accommodation and pay towards your first month’s rent.
This may seem quite daunting, but that’s where our pastoral team steps in once we know where you will be working.
First, we take the time to find out what you’d like from your home, as private accommodation comes in all shapes, sizes and designs. For example, you may want a flat, but you want one that has access to outside space. Or perhaps you are moving with your family and would like more than one storey. You may also need space for a prayer room or somewhere to study. Likewise, you may have some specific preferences about your surroundings. For example, you might want to be in the heart of everything and a catchment (area) for a good school.
We take all these things into consideration when we look for a rental property for you. There may be a couple of small compromises, but for the most part, we find you just the right place as we’re well connected with local lettings agents.
The most common types of accommodation are flats, studio apartments (for single occupants or couples), semi-detached and terraced houses. The further you move from the city, the more living space you can expect from your rental home. Also, depending on what you choose, rent can vary quite a bit. For example, the closer to the city you go, the more expensive it will be. Not all cities are the same, however. Renting in London, for instance, is more expensive than renting a property up North. To save money, consider sharing your rental property with a friend or colleague.
Managing the rental process
As you’d expect, the rental sector is highly regulated in the UK, meaning that there are set rules that must be followed. This includes arranging a tenancy agreement and paying a returnable deposit, both of which we can help with. Before you sign your tenancy agreement, we will take a look and make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of the contract and that the correct tenancy period is referenced before you sign. Although, it is worth keeping in mind that you are legally the tenant and therefore responsible for meeting your obligations and so it’s always worth reading the fine print of the tenancy agreement before signing.
As part of our assistance, we will ensure that your first month’s rent is also accounted for (taken from your local authority relocation allowance).
Helping you settle into your new home
Once you know where you’re going to live, you’ll want your home to be move-in ready. In the UK, a fully-furnished home typically includes all your white goods (washing machine, fridge-freezer, tumble-dryer etc…) and some basic furniture but you might need a few extra bits and pieces. That’s where we can help, and if there’s some relocation allowance remaining, it can be used to purchase some items you may need.
We can help you with all this – you simply choose what you would like (for your budget), and we order it.
Similarly, we can arrange for your utilities (gas, electric and water) to all be active and registered under your name so that everything’s ready for your arrival.
If you need help with finding a local GP, we can help with this too. To register, all you need to do is take along a copy of your passport, VISA and proof of address to your GP surgery.
If we’re helping you relocate other family members, we can also assist with things like finding a good school near your new home and identifying nurseries.
Genuinely, nothing’s too much of an ask. As an applicant, we’ll always encourage you to reach out to us if you need help with anything.
Start your journey today
Whether you’ve only just started to think about moving to the UK or are further along in the process but haven’t found the right job, you can register with Sanctuary International, and we’ll be in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you!
