jasper123

DD I would recommend both of you to become USC'S before you come back home, I was living in U.S. for 36 years, I'm a UK citizen born and bred, and in US always only had a green card, so when I finally made up my mind to come home I was sure that I wanted to come back but I was really scared of the unknown, so I just wanted to have the security of being able to return to the U.S. if things did not work out for me at home no matter how many years passed by, the USC application cost had gone up over the years and it cost me $645 at the time in 2010 which was the year I came home, it took around 6 months from start to finish and when I became an American Citizen I felt good, and it gave me peace of mind, i mean you don't know how your going to feel after a year or two or more, things have changed a lot in the U.K. especially since 1974 when I left as a young man, I'm now 71 and retired, and coming home worked out great for me but then I had no uncertainties to go through like trying to find a Job and accommodation, I'm single and came home really to look after my Mum who is now 97, I live with her in her house which she owns, so we pay halves of everything like council tax/utility bills/food etc etc and so it worked out good for us both, as mum grows older she needs more and more care, but I really love looking after her, and I love being home, Iv'e been home now for almost 6 years and I often ask myself is there anything that I miss about my old life in the U.S. and the answer is always a confident NO!!!!

I have no regrets on living in America, I had a happy life. and I think a good life too, but that was then and now is now, what I believe is that on the whole the UK is a much better country to live in when you are at retirement age, especially after you become quite settled like I am now, and after getting used to all the differences, the thing I love is that I don't need a car to get around, everything is smaller and much closer together over here, I walk to the shops in 10 or 15 minutes, if I want to go to the beach which is 3 miles down the road I hop on a bus with my free bus pass

------ unless you are in a privileged position in the U.S. and you are extremely comfortable or even well off, i.e lots of money in the bank, nice mortgage free house, nice new convertible, good health insurance that you could easily afford, then if you can tick all these boxes and more maybe then I think living in a nice sunny state like California for example with a nice year round climate not too hot or cold, with a lovely house smack on the beach, so every morning you wake up to the sound of the surf gently coming into shore, and the lovely smell of sea air coming through the open window, and to top it off being retired too, and your biggest decision of the day would be to have lobster or filet mignon for dinner, and if you can't make up your mind just say oh heck lets have both well a lot of people would say hmmm absolute heaven!!!
take care,
Rodney.

MrMuffin

It's up to you but I've read on here a lot that it's best to get USC before leaving for a couple of reasons. It's a get out of jail for free card just in case plans change and you need to get back to the US. (Think about the future... perhaps one of your kids moves there and you want to join them, or like me, your wife's parents are still there and she can't stand the UK anymore). Plus there's social security that I can claim. But in your case you're both UKCs so maybe it doesn't apply.

What I meant by falling foul was that at the time I was unaware that the immigration rules had changed. Before being married to me for several years meant that my wife could join me problem free in the UK and she could get a UK passport pretty quickly, but that all changed to the current requirements which as we all know are much tougher on non-euro spouses.

MrMuffin

Just wanted to say that twice last week I picked up the kids from school and took them to the beach for rock pooling. Absolute heaven. I love it here!

Work is going really well and I'm getting a new promotion. Very exciting!!

I hope everyone is doing well.

We're trying to buy a house right now. Argh!

fulwood

It is good to hear everything is going well. My main concern about moving back is finding a job as I need to work. Love your updates!

Mummy in the foothills

That sounds idyllic.
Good luck with the house buying. That is a whole new ballgame. I find buying houses in England and Wales to be a most stressful drawn out process it really needs and overhaul.

MrMuffin

Agreed. We tried to 'manage' the situation the best way we could but now we're stressed out and scared. Tomorrow is the day we find out if it will really happen or not for a bit. EEK!

jasper123

Yes MITF I wonder why it takes so long in the UK, in the US from start to finish a house can be bought and ready to occupy in as little as 3 weeks, but in uk it takes many months to get to the final stage where contracts are exchanged, I think in the US the red tape and paper work is simular, but it seems to me that in the uk when you buy not just houses but many things where a lot of documents are involved we here in uk seem to take the longest road possible from A to B but in the US it seems they take a much shorter and more direct route and seem to make the whole process look much easier and straight forward

Richard8655

Nice post with good thoughts. Yes there are advantages to keeping US citizenship for flexibility in being able to freely return.

But there are lifelong tax implications when holding US citizenship. US law requires all US citizens to file annual tax returns regardless of where they live or the nature of their dual citizenship or permanent residency overseas. Low worldwide income/age combination is the only exception. Many expats have renounced their US citizenship for this very reason. Did you factor that into your dual citizenship planning?

(Also gentle hint for shorter sentences rather than paragraph length for readability.)

jasper123

I file my taxes every year on line free with turbo tax, takes me 20 minutes and its done, there's never any money owed to me or by me, my income is low, I only get a modest state pension, and I live a nice easy uncomplicated life, just how I like it!!!

And who the hell are you to lecture me about shortening my sentences, bugger off you snotty nosed upstart.

Richard8655

Many expats have more complicated finances requiring more complicated tax returns than you. To keep up with year-by-year tax law changes is a burden for them, and easier to either renounce or not acquire US citizenship.

Downton Gabby

Mallory