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Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Old Jul 20th 2014, 12:02 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

My only regret is that I didn't move back sooner!
Loving it back in the UK. Beautiful countryside, nice friendly neighbours, cheap food and good services.
Only shock is the council tax!! But then again we're not paying for an expensive city garage spot so that offsets it.

Come from a third world and I am spending less in the UK! So many 1 pound offers in the supermarkets for daily items! Bread 75 pence!! Wonderful. We were paying almost 2.50 in Uruguay and not as half as tasty!!
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 2:33 pm
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We are living in London and food is still cheaper than I the Bahamas. Depended where you shop!
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 3:52 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

This is really helpful people. Thanks for the comments. Its hard to decide what to do when you are stuck in the middle of it. I do miss the english countryside and the food and the sense of humour. Something that is totally lost in other parts of the world. Thanks again
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 3:53 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by alfista1
My only regret is that I didn't move back sooner!
Loving it back in the UK. Beautiful countryside, nice friendly neighbours, cheap food and good services.
Only shock is the council tax!! But then again we're not paying for an expensive city garage spot so that offsets it.

Come from a third world and I am spending less in the UK! So many 1 pound offers in the supermarkets for daily items! Bread 75 pence!! Wonderful. We were paying almost 2.50 in Uruguay and not as half as tasty!!
Where are you living in the Uk?
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 4:59 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

6 years in Calgary, nearly 3 years back home, only regret, we went to Canada in the first place !!!
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 5:03 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by LostBrit99
Where are you living in the Uk?
Lichfield, Staffs
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 5:33 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by alfista1
Lichfield, Staffs
Lichfield Staffs? I am green with envy. Lichfield is lovely. Staffordshire - not a terribly well known county but some great towns and countryside.

Have you been to the museum in Stoke? Really well worth a visit. It has the most incredible pottery collection. And I do not mean cups and saucers.
Stone is a lovely little town too. Gosh I am envious.
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Old Jul 20th 2014, 7:03 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by bigglesworth
Lichfield Staffs? I am green with envy. Lichfield is lovely. Staffordshire - not a terribly well known county but some great towns and countryside.

Have you been to the museum in Stoke? Really well worth a visit. It has the most incredible pottery collection. And I do not mean cups and saucers.
Stone is a lovely little town too. Gosh I am envious.
Yes it is lovely. My parents moved here 20 years ago from Wirral.
We found a house just 3 blocks from them. Got greeted by 2 neighbours within the first 2 days of arriving! An elderly neighbor had already given gifts to my son. Real community spirit here and everyone says hello when walking past each other.
Haven't been to the museum no. But there are many great parks and canals to visit. Close by is Tamworth, Drayton Manor and other places.

Huge culture shock for my wife as the town is dead after 5pm!
Was so quiet around the neighbourhood it felt spooky at first but now its just a delight.



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Old Jul 20th 2014, 7:10 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by LostBrit99
One teen wants to stay here and the other one doesnt mind although I think she would prefer to go to University in English and not Spanish even though she is totally bilingual. I think it would be a huge shock for all of us the change though. But there is something pulling me.......?????
There is something pulling you, and that's memories. A lot depends on your own personal situation. For example do you have the funds to move back to the UK and if so do you have the funds to buy or rent a property. Also a lot depends on age and health. You will often find that most people that post on here very rarely have anything negative to say. There are many faults here as there is in any country, but for me it was the memories but in reality the memories were just a figment of my imagination. During my 30 years in the US my then wife now ex had vacationed in the UK twice a year and you do not see the realities until you live here. Yes, you can buy some things for a pound but not of the better quality, and you certainly can't get the basics in pound shops, some may disagree. For me I believe it's more expensive in the UK, once again depending on location.

Can you work, if so at what, that is if you can get work. The working class in the UK find it very hard to make ends meet. Unemployment is high. Can you drive, can you afford to buy a car, if so can you afford to to run it, Insurance, ect. If you do get a car consider paying 7-8 Dollars a gallon, true the UK gallon is a little more than the US gallon. Rent depending on area can be as low as 400 GBP but for the most part you do not get much for that. Council tax that you have to pay even if you rent. If you buy a TV it is registered at the point of sale and then you have to get a licence 145 GBP per year.

The weather is rather temperate in the UK. Headline in the paper
" Britain swelters with 80F " In the winter, once again location, is just misery day in day out overcast wet, windy. Electric/Gas very expensive.

As I said I use to visit the UK twice a year for nearly 25 years and you do not see how it is when living here. This is not the England that I left in 1982. I have been back now pushing three years and for me it was the biggest mistake I could have made.

Regards
John
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 11:14 am
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Smile re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Me too! I've been living in Sydney for 21 years now, just over half my life and all of a sudden I am obsessed about moving to Bath or Bristol. Sydney is a great city but I don't want to live in a city forever and I don't feel any connection with the Australian landscape and have no desire to move to suburbia either. The cost of living here is up there with London and our massive mortgage for a modest house in the inner city means we can't afford much else. My plan is to spend the next 5 years working hard and paying off this hefty mortgage and then taking my kiwi husband and daughter (plus baby due end of this year) back to the uk. I have always been concerned about leaving the weather and lifestyle of Sydney behind and how I'd cope with a uk winter after so long, but the reality is I never go to the beach because I'm scared of the massive waves and hate the sand, I spend 6 months of the year indoors because it's too hot, Australia is wasted on me! And it's time for a change. I do feel like I'd need to go back cashed up though, the wages seem lower than here is Sydney and I don't think England is a good place to live if you are skint?

I'm also really interested to hear how people are getting on after returning after a long time overseas.

Sorry to hijack your post and not answer your question btw, this is my first time on any forum and I'm still finding my feet, just saw your post and felt similar.

Last edited by SydneyCider; Jul 21st 2014 at 11:19 am. Reason: Additional comment
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 1:32 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by London1947
There is something pulling you, and that's memories. A lot depends on your own personal situation. For example do you have the funds to move back to the UK and if so do you have the funds to buy or rent a property. Also a lot depends on age and health. You will often find that most people that post on here very rarely have anything negative to say. There are many faults here as there is in any country, but for me it was the memories but in reality the memories were just a figment of my imagination. During my 30 years in the US my then wife now ex had vacationed in the UK twice a year and you do not see the realities until you live here. Yes, you can buy some things for a pound but not of the better quality, and you certainly can't get the basics in pound shops, some may disagree. For me I believe it's more expensive in the UK, once again depending on location.

Can you work, if so at what, that is if you can get work. The working class in the UK find it very hard to make ends meet. Unemployment is high. Can you drive, can you afford to buy a car, if so can you afford to to run it, Insurance, ect. If you do get a car consider paying 7-8 Dollars a gallon, true the UK gallon is a little more than the US gallon. Rent depending on area can be as low as 400 GBP but for the most part you do not get much for that. Council tax that you have to pay even if you rent. If you buy a TV it is registered at the point of sale and then you have to get a licence 145 GBP per year.

The weather is rather temperate in the UK. Headline in the paper
" Britain swelters with 80F " In the winter, once again location, is just misery day in day out overcast wet, windy. Electric/Gas very expensive.

As I said I use to visit the UK twice a year for nearly 25 years and you do not see how it is when living here. This is not the England that I left in 1982. I have been back now pushing three years and for me it was the biggest mistake I could have made.

Regards
John
John - Do I have you mixed up with another poster? If so, my apologies. But is my recollection correct that in the US you had a couple of houses? You had a very good paying job? More than one car?

I've often observed that migrants who have managed to attain a very high standard of living in the US miss those creature comforts when they go back to the UK.

As I said previously, my apologies if I have you confused with someone else.
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 4:51 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by rebeccajo
John - Do I have you mixed up with another poster? If so, my apologies. But is my recollection correct that in the US you had a couple of houses? You had a very good paying job? More than one car?

I've often observed that migrants who have managed to attain a very high standard of living in the US miss those creature comforts when they go back to the UK.

As I said previously, my apologies if I have you confused with someone else.
I'm not sure if you have me confused with another poster, sometimes the thread gets confusing sometimes.
Yes, I did have a couple of houses in the US. I still have a house in Northern Virginia in which my 39 year old daughter lives in. When I retired
(to early in my opinion ) my then wife being a little older than me wanted to retire once again to early. We also bought a holiday apartment in Delaware of which we rented out, the rent did not cover the mortgage so that became an issue, Delaware have rent controls. My then wife and I cashed in my 401K and bought a house in Henderson Las Vegas. And with bad tax advice had a big shock from the IRS. My then wife stayed in the house in Henderson and walked out of our 30 year marriage after living just 9 months in the Henderson house. And she just buggered of back to the UK. So divorce took place and had to sell the Delaware and Henderson properties and lost a bundle on both.
Now I live in the UK a move I wish I had never undertaken should have moved back into the Virginia house.

Regards
John
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 6:09 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Sydneycider, I dont mind you hijacking my post. I am ears to all opinions.
My head is so confused that its a relief to hear other peoples views.

I have the money to rent in the Uk and buy a car and get set up but to buy a house in the Uk I would have to take out a loan and I am almost 50 so that could be impossible.

I have enough cash to buy a house in Ireland which is another option for me.
I do like the culture there and as for the weather, well, thats part of life I guess.

I dont go out here because its 38c most of the time, hot and humid and it zaps me and so I have no life really even though I live in beautiful surroundings, you cant live on the beach all day and working in this heat is painful, very painful on my body lol.

I am seriously considering Ireland too.

As for high car insurance and tv license, yes that really irritates me because things are so much lower priced here and there is no tv license.
So free here in comparison yet I have no pension and I feel I need to get back to the Uk soon otherwise I am going to be living in a box under a bridge somewhere when I am 60.

It would be so much better if I had parents but they died
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 8:49 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by London1947
I'm not sure if you have me confused with another poster, sometimes the thread gets confusing sometimes.
Yes, I did have a couple of houses in the US. I still have a house in Northern Virginia in which my 39 year old daughter lives in. When I retired
(to early in my opinion ) my then wife being a little older than me wanted to retire once again to early. We also bought a holiday apartment in Delaware of which we rented out, the rent did not cover the mortgage so that became an issue, Delaware have rent controls. My then wife and I cashed in my 401K and bought a house in Henderson Las Vegas. And with bad tax advice had a big shock from the IRS. My then wife stayed in the house in Henderson and walked out of our 30 year marriage after living just 9 months in the Henderson house. And she just buggered of back to the UK. So divorce took place and had to sell the Delaware and Henderson properties and lost a bundle on both.
Now I live in the UK a move I wish I had never undertaken should have moved back into the Virginia house.

Regards
John
I did remember you had suffered a divorce. That can be so, so very debilitating sometimes.

I guess when I have read your posts, I've wondered if it's really the UK you are unhappy with. Or if you are just generally unhappy due to all the bad stuff that has happened to you. (I wouldn't blame you one bit for being unsatisfied).

And I only bring that up because these advice threads can be so emotionally wrenching. It's hard enough to cipher out what makes a person happy. When we ask someone else "did something work out for you" - well that's such a loaded question.
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Old Jul 21st 2014, 8:59 pm
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Default re: Any regrets about moving back to the UK?

Originally Posted by SydneyCider
Me too! I've been living in Sydney for 21 years now, just over half my life and all of a sudden I am obsessed about moving to Bath or Bristol. Sydney is a great city but I don't want to live in a city forever and I don't feel any connection with the Australian landscape and have no desire to move to suburbia either. The cost of living here is up there with London and our massive mortgage for a modest house in the inner city means we can't afford much else. My plan is to spend the next 5 years working hard and paying off this hefty mortgage and then taking my kiwi husband and daughter (plus baby due end of this year) back to the uk. I have always been concerned about leaving the weather and lifestyle of Sydney behind and how I'd cope with a uk winter after so long, but the reality is I never go to the beach because I'm scared of the massive waves and hate the sand, I spend 6 months of the year indoors because it's too hot, Australia is wasted on me! And it's time for a change. I do feel like I'd need to go back cashed up though, the wages seem lower than here is Sydney and I don't think England is a good place to live if you are skint?

I'm also really interested to hear how people are getting on after returning after a long time overseas.

Sorry to hijack your post and not answer your question btw, this is my first time on any forum and I'm still finding my feet, just saw your post and felt similar.
I like that sentiment about not feeling any connection to the landscape. I feel the same way too here in Florida. (Not that there aren't other way more attractive places in the US, but in general, I don't feel anything no matter where I might be.) Similarly, the US national anthem leaves me cold, but whenever I hear the British one, I cry like a baby
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