Lineabove

Hello.

My name is Mel (or Melvin as my Mum calls me.)

When I was 2 years old, my family immigrated to Canada. I am now 59.

The reason I have joined this site is I am a British expat exploring the possibility of returning and finding employment in England after a lifetime in Canada.

Why ?
1. Because I have remained British and never pursued Canadian Citizenship. My mother and I had a pact that we would both seek Canadian Citizenship at the same time and it was only within the last few years she fessed up and told me that she promised her grandfather when she left England that should would remain British.
Also, I do not believe in dual-citizenship.

2. I have a new found yearning to come "home".
My older brother visited England a while back and he is in a similar situation as myself. When he arrived in England was going thru HM Customs, he showed his British passport and the officer said "Welcome home". I wonder if I would be so lucky.

3. A change is as good as a holiday.
I know it would be difficult for me to find employment in my field (especially at my age) but I am willing to put all options on the table. I would be happy to earn enough to pay my rent and ordinary bills. Have even been watching the Royal Household web site for new job postings...

4. If I was able to find gainful employment I would enjoy the balance of my time to familiarize myself with the wonderful and beautiful Country England is.
(I have read many negative posts about the UK in general but I feel that all countries have the good and bad.)

5. I have not abandoned England... life just gets in the way and it is time to "make good".


Thanks for reading.


Cheers

bakedbean

Hello Mel and welcome to the forum

I see you've done a few posts on the board already but, if you haven't already seen it, do check out the Moving Back to the UK section. You'll find a fair few people in the same position as yourself, so you can chat away and maybe find some answers to your questions.

Just also wondering.....I know that job situation is bad just about everywhere on this planet and we all know that us seniors do not always get a look-in, might be worth thinking about starting your own small business, maybe a consultancy....just a thought.

Hope your plans work out

Rete

Hey Mel

Not an expat but the wife of one ... that counts for something (a little anyways) in this group. Welcome aboard.

So you want to leave Canada and return to the UK. We have just the site for you to visit and ask all of those pesty questions and get hands-on experienced answers from expats like yourself returning home.

Shame that you aren't taking up Canadian citizenship. You can hold both British and Canadian citizen (dual passports). It would be help on the very off chance that things don't work out for you in the UK.

BTW my hubby is a Canadian with US citizenship as well. So it can be done.

Lineabove

Hi Rete,

I do know that dual citizenship has advantages but I look at this as an "all-in" decision. If I finally decide to make the return move to England it MUST work for me as I will have no other option. I actually like it that way.

Cheers

Lineabove

Hi Bakedbean,

Nice to meet you and thank you for your kind words.

I have spent the last 24 years on a self-employed basis and looking at a consultant type employment in England may work out.

Cheers

Sue

Hi and welcome to BE!!

You seem to be finding your way around ok, but if you get stuck don't hesitate to give me a shout

Sue

Lisbeth Foye

Hi Mel

Good luck coming back to the UK. I would just say that, depending on where you want to go, there's always work to be had. I returned to the UK from Holland a few years ago (at a ripe old age) and found work easily.

If it's something you really want to do then you should do it and don't let anything stop you - and yes, there's good and bad wherever you live.

Good luck
Lisbeth

Rosemary

Hello and a big welcome to BE.

Excellent information can be found in the BE Wiki, not forgetting the Living and Moving Abroad forum that will help you, another set of great help is the permanent threads at the TOP of each forum, they are very pertinent to that particular forum and makes sensible reading.

Moderators deal with any problems that arise such as inappropriate posts, spammers etc, you will find their names at the bottom right hand side of each forum's index in bold font.

Please contact me if I can give you any further help.

Rosemary

holly_1948

To be honest, at age 59 I think you are almost certain to suffer ageism and be unable to earn money. Self employed or not. Unless your field is something really specialised, perhaps tax accounting for wealthy Canadians who live in UK or something like that.

On the other hand if you have even a modest pension there are parts of UK where the living can be really inexpensive if you are without much funds. Much cheaper than Canada. You will qualify for NHS health after six months - or sooner depending on a lot of complex stuff. That is for routine stuff, you will qualify for emergency medical treatment (broken leg in a car accident or whatever) immediately.

Stay well away from London unless you have a paying position arranged in advance. (Or are wealthy)

lgabriel73

Welcome to BE. Follow your heart and if it tells you England is the place to be then I say go for it. Not sure what field you are in but hopefully you can carry on the consulting work across the pond!

izzi81

Hi Mel, this is definitely the place to find out information

I was wondering, have you visited the UK at all? You said you moved away when you were 2, and are now 59, have you seen the country first hand? I would say to anyone planning to move anywhere that visits are really important, because a place is never the same as what you see online or hear from people who have holidayed there. Plus there's a wide variety of types of places to settle, visiting would give you a better feel of the options.

If you're going to go with no safety blanket (ie citizenship) I'd definitely suggest a few visits, and don't treat them like holidays, do as many 'normal' things as possible!

morayeel

check out whofan63. She went back after many years in various countries and has settled in really well. I think she left the UK when she was 12? and returned at 50 and is thriving.. Good Luck to you with whatever choice you make.