Dubyeeee
 

Well, after 14 years in the sandpit, we said good-bye to Dubai.

Saturday we landed in Heathrow and then arrived at our temp accommodation for three weeks whilst we're having work done to the house we bought. I'd share updates, but it's not that exciting, a (seemingly) lovely older lady lived in it until passing away and we're currently knocking down walls and stripping layers of wallpaper to make it more pleasantly habitable for when our container arrives in about two weeks.

I've been into the office in London and am working from home a lot this week, but will be in regularly, lucky to transfer doing the same job for the same company, just better timezones as lots of work in Europe and with the US leadership. My wife and son are settling in, we've got him a library card already and access passes to the local big attraction. Seen the in-laws a fair bit and absolute god-send to have local family help to take the little man.

Seeing my Sister, Dad and Mum all over the long weekend and can't wait. My Sister and Mum haven't seen our son in a long while, so both very excited.

So far - yesterday was miserable weather but today is beautiful.
We don't really have warm coats, so need to buy, we also don't really know what 13 degrees means, is it jumpers? Is it shorts? is it trousers and t-shirts? We're figuring it out. Wife asked me how she should fill up the hire car with the boy inside, does she lock it and walk in to pay or take him or how does it work? I laughed, too long in Dubai with someone doing it for you!

Quite bored of being in temp accommdation. 10 suitcases in a 2 bed English cottage is painful. However, it's the last step before being in our very own home. The final move can't come soon enough, but not so quickly the work's not done!

Will share any things we find interesting or funny, so far we're just too excited with the pork selections and the fact there's booze in normal super markets. Went to the pub to meet her Dad and his partner, got little man sausage and chips, few pints, coffee and a wine...80 quid with a tip. Felt like being back in Dubai.

Appreciate this may be read by virtually nobody and will be mostly very boring, so please forgive me if it's a good place to just document and share some of this journey....it's a bit chaotic at the moment and an outlet might be useful.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

It’s a good idea to write down or remember the things that are different, amusing or scary in the first few weeks, because they soon become normal and you forget the differences! We recently returned after 15 years in Canada and struggle sometimes when people ask what’s different. Going the other way, and moving to a much larger and busier town, the thing I struggled with to start with was to find the right place to buy things and because things were spread out more, you didn’t just stumble across them! In the UK, you know the supermarkets for example, and which suits you, the same with clothes or shoe shops - but in another country, the brands are different and the ranges don’t match up.
B and Q translates to Home Depot, although in my experience Home Depot is superior in terms of range, stock and helpfulness of staff. There’s no direct replacement for say M&S, if that floats your boat.
And it’s reassuring to get back to knowing how things work, without having to ask people, on things you don’t do very often, like selling or registering a car and many things to do with driving. In Canada, the system is broadly similar but different enough to confuse you, when you think you know what to do.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

I enjoyed reading your post. My husband (British) and I (Canadian) just moved from Ontario to Lancashire in January. Presently living with SIL while waiting for our house purchase to move forward. Many things are different while being somewhat similar. Lots to learn and quite enjoying settling in and have family around. Happy days.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

Welcome home DB. Hope you're having a lovely weekend with the family. It will be exciting to move into your new home and hopefully will help you to settle back in.
We move to Cheshire on Tuesday, after approximately 20 months in south Derbyshire. I'm hoping to feel more settled then. I still miss aspects of living in New Zealand which surprises me, as I was the one who pushed to return!

Re: Dubyeeee
 

Great update, my own return is still recent enough to remember the sheer delight of things like buying booze in supermarkets, and wearing a coat!! Been back from Australia 2 years now, and still loving it.

Like your comment about what does 13 degrees means :D Its not as simple as it sounds! If thats air temp of 13 degrees, it can still FEEL as cold as 3 or degrees cos of the wind chill factor. My flat faces south, can be as warm as 20 degrees on the balcony (3 days ago) in the sunny bits, 13 in the shade, but go out the back of the building where the NE wind hits and it felt about 5 degrees!! You soon get used to carry a jacket and taking it off and on frequently, though for the rest of this spring, coming from the heat of Dubai, you'll probably need a big coat while the rest of us are in shirt sleeves! Get a shower coat too - light but waterproof for the days of sunshine mixed with showers!

Hope you keep on enjoying it!!

Re: Dubyeeee
 

What knows he of England, who only England knows?

Some things you will enjoy more than you ever did. Other things you will appreciate or assess as you never would have. Yet more things you will see through permanently changed eyes. You can't go back. But you will move forward to your next adventures. That's what life's for. Welcome to the green and pleasant land.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

:thumbup:

Re: Dubyeeee
 

I enjoyed reading your post. Welcome home.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

So, we're about 10 days in, which we timed beautifully to enjoy a long bank holiday weekend - it went through all grandparents, Friday lunch with my Dad, Saturday with my Mum and Sister, Sunday with Mother-in-Law and family, Monday with Father-in-Law. All very pleasant but none of it anything other than time spent with family. I was on strict no-working instructions, no stressing, no faffing. It was good.

We're still awaiting shipping, due to land on our driveway end of next week - conveniently I'm staying in London most of next week for a work thing, but will be back in time to help. Think we're going to overbook the temporary place to just make sure we have somewhere nice and liveable. Our builder is a family friend but I was right to not be sure when he told me the Greek tiler who turned up on a bicycle to price our bathroom would be in before we move. It's pushed a few days and means we'd be showerless, so think we'll extend our temporary place and just not tell anyone...keep the pressure on. The builder likes to joke with me that I'm an office boy and not clued up on what's what and 'how things work in this game'....I did jokingly, but half seriously point out that I might not know how to put a kitchen back together, but I could probably be more organised and have had stuff ordered last week and be harrassing every man and their dog to get shit done. But still, my wife reminded me it'll be ready when it's ready and we want it done properly.

Done a bit of car searchng, hire car only lasts another 2-3 weeks, but surprised at how expensive things are and an approved used garage of a big brand assured me they don't negotiate on prices listed - they're algorithm based and that's that. I couldn't be more disappointed to not get to play that game and dance the fun dance. He even told me they don't take cash, so now I have to deposit the money from our car sold in Dubai to a bank, probaby get a few questions, but hopefully easy enough. Talking of banks, I need to open one, I think Thursday morning's job is a trip to two and see who wants my business more.

On banks and money, I'm also noticing that we are spending a fortune - not so much frittering as my Granny would say, but on things that matter, I just wasn't expecting 6k on carpets in week two, but there we are. We've worked hard to save and if you can't have pure wool carpets after 14 years in the Middle East then why were you there skidding on tiles anyway?

London today, grey, miserable, wet, chilly and it's bloody wonderful. Lovely walk from the station to office. Spent the weekend gaps between family getting our steps around the UNESCO site on our door step, the gardens / landscape / park are just beautiful. 9.5km done on Sunday morning was unplanned but glorious. Yesterday was sunny and blue and cloudy, we're really not up to speed on what to wear for 13 degrees still, but doesn't help we're diving in and out of 12 cases dotted upstairs and down. This weekend may be a trip to buy some coats though, we're sharing one rain mac and otherwise, we have jumpers. All good fun.

The young one is adapting, he has the odd funny night still and took a while to settle into this place, but we've promised him one last move to our home and when we do, he has his proper bed back. He's been incredible on the whole, yes some challenging moments but he's jujst turned 21 months and deals with being in new places, with new faces so much better than we perhaps even realise. He's just joy to be around and seeing him with the grandparents and his cousin makes every dirham and pound spent worthwhile.

I've not sent my wife totally mental yet, but I know she was looking forward to me being out the house today and in London. I have to remember we can only push some things so hard and so much, but also that we can't just do everything. I need to work as well, and whilst the stress of a new job isn't an issue as I've just changed where I do my role from, I've got shed loads on at work and need to give it some priority again now. The place we live is local to where my wife grew up, so she knows it and knows people, but we're determined to not get sucked into that. It's all still very new for me and that's fun, but notice she met a friend who was excited she 'was back home' and it sent her eye a bit twitchy. It's hard to get excited to see people who haven't changed in nearly 15 years, so we're focusing on establishing a new circle, again will be easier in the new home and more settled, takes time. Nursery and eventually school will help a lot, but one of our neighbours has a similar aged child, so we look forward to maybe meeting them soon. Fingers crossed they like drinking (I assume they do, they're parents).

I'm averaging pork two meals a day, it's filthy cheap and lovely. We did a mini-shop in a town-centre M&S the other day and I did wince at the cost, but we're still in temporary mode so we forgive ourselves. When we're settled it'll be nice to find some routine after 8-9 weeks moving and changing homes.

We keep buying wine and beers in the local Coop just because we can. Not really drinking it yet, but the excitement is too much.
I ordered 870 nespresso pods because I couldn't find ours and assumed we'd drunk the stock in the cases. We opened his small Brio train set box and found a dozen, we found another 15+ scattered in a case my Dad had brought and now we're drowning coffee (could be worse).
We track our ship daily, it's currently just at the top of Portugal / coming round Spain. Rotterdam then London to go.
I'm surprised at how expensive some things are, but also happy at how cheap other things can be. The boy eats berries like he's breathing and in Dubai they're outrageous, here they're really reasonable.
We're amazed at how much pre-prepared food there is and whilst we're taking advantage (curry set from M&S tonight) we are conscious we don't want to slip into this and stick to preparing meals properly ourselves. There's very little of this in Dubai,it's just coming in but looks homemade still vs really processed / packaged.
Driving is enjoyable, we average one near miss or idiot moment every 10-15mins in Dubai. The general road politeness is great too. Zero crabs in a bucket mentality on the edge of the Cotswolds it seems.
Working style here is nice too, people aren't desk slaves and seem to work and leave. Covid still deserves thanks for the hybrid work and allowing me to do an hour on the train home instead of sitting at a desk until the clock ticks over. Also, 37.5hr week is amazing. Last contract in Dubai was 50.

I'll keep thinking of more things, but thanks for the welcomes and wishes.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

:goodpost:

Re: Dubyeeee
 

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Re: Dubyeeee
 

I'm in London most of this week, staying over as lots of dinners and boss in from the US of A.

Some more things I'm noticing, feeling, seeing;

• I notice that I still think in dirhams, I convert back to it and assess on this basis. 20 quid still feels a lot of money, but 100dhs is not, despite being broadly similar.
• Standing on a street, drinking beer, in London, on a sunny spring afternoon / evening is honestly one of the greatest things.
• Guinness at the Devonshire is as good as people say, they deserve the credit.
• Fish and chips in a gastropub should still come with fat chips, not skinny fries.
• 'Facetime' with colleagues is more valuable than a hundred teams calls.
• Train commuters are weird, but I LOVE the general politeness and quirks of the commute. The rituals, the unwritten rules (i'm still learning).
• Sunshine in this country makes everything better and people better.
• I paid income tax for the first time in nearly 15 years, god knows what my tax code means and it was only a half-month, but I'm sure it'll be figure itself out.
• I paid into a workplace pension for the same first time. Feels nice and work contribution is generous, so over the next few years I'll be pushing this hard and seeing how we go. Again, another exciting one.
• 7 quid + seems to be the accepted price of a pint nowadays, London or Cotswolds.
• Work style seems to be to come in and work - 9 and it's just got busy, 5pm and it's emptying out. Come in, get shit done, get out. Very much on board with this.
• The 'misery' of the UK and 'broken Britain' is all a bit dramatic, place is buzzing with people going out and doing things, enjoying life. Not that there's no issues, but think perhaps Reddit's normal position is possibly a bit extreme on the negatives and struggles.
• 43 quid in Pret for lunch for us as two adults and a baby is extortion.
• Bicester village is OK until lunchtime, when Pret robs you and the bus loads / train loads arrive. The Barbour shop is hugely disappointing.
• I still need to buy a coat, even though it's sunny this week.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

Would this be Pretty Manky?

Re: Dubyeeee
 

Oui.

It's OK, the sarnies are fine and do the job, the price is not cool though.

Re: Dubyeeee
 

Slightly overdue, but we've been back a year and a few weeks now, some more updates, apologies it's not well structured but as much for myself to reflect a bit as anything.

House has been great, a few issues with it being 65+ years old, including getting the chimney sorted so my office ceiling didn't leak, but it's all part of the fun.
We have tried to resist the urge to keep dropping money on projects with outsiders, everything seems to cost two grand, but last splurge was hard landscaping in the garden for about 1600 quid and it was money well spent.
I enjoy doing tip runs, even if we now have to book it in advance and they're a bunch of hitlers on site....I still like it.
Summer is coming back, this last few weeks have been utter bliss with the daylight - although finding myself still working at 7pm because it's light is a bit annoying.
Winter, on the other hand, was fun but long and a bit weird. Pregnant wife meant fewer long country walks towards the end, but all in all it was OK. The one downside is the daylight issues. Darkness was not a friend and found it long at the end of January....we've agreed money to spent on winter sunshine is something we'll have to prioritise.
Eating out is unpleasantly expensive, and it still surprises me just how you can end up north of £120 in a pub with one person drinking only a couple of beers, one person on softs and a kids meal.
Have bought and sold a car, it was the wrong one for us, even though I loved it, but a diesel engine was not the play for 2miles to the station. Now have a woke plug-in hybrid and it's lovely, should have bought this car when we arrived, but such is.
Things are really well set up and run in many ways - apps, websites, tools for all sorts. Most things are easy enough to talk to someone for and solve problems.
Trades / suppliers into the home are all so happy to take cash, works really nicely most of the time. Local recommendations seem to be valuable and bumping into the decorator in the pub and having a chat is a win for the 'settling in to life' feeling.
Went to a local Dads meet up for a few beers, 8 of us. 4 French, 1 Portugese and the rest Brits....felt really nice to be around international folks, even if French mostly.
Baby 2 is due in 3 days, so the experience of delivery will be different and not include a two night stay and afternoon tea, but interactions with the NHS so far have all been excellent based on the people we've met and spoken to. The hospital looks awful inside and out, but the people really give a shit, even if the JR in Oxford is one with a terrible maternity reputation.
We have a place in the local nursery from September for the older, that was a stress that now feels silly, he's going to absolutely love it there and it's a small community school with the nursery added on. We get no funded hours at all, so this is the first time we will have him out for this kind of thing and can tell he's going to love it, and really benefit from it.
Family being nearby is the biggest win, I see my Dad loads even though he's 80miles away, her family are all within 20mins and we see them enough without being overrun, our virtual / mental 'moat' is still important. We really value the privacy of sharing what we want to share and welcoming people in when we want. A few doorstep moments but nothing too bad. I am expecting more surprise visitors over the coming weeks with the new arrival but I'm under instructions that I will embrace more people being around. Let's see.
I've enjoyed getting to football again, enjoying watching sport and we're spending much more time outdoors than we ever did in Dubai through the year.
I miss tax free money, I miss my shirts and bedding being cleaned, pressed and delivered, I miss having a cleaner twice a week (once a fortnight here), and I miss a few friends in the UAE but most head this way to visit so luckily have seen some. I miss not having to think at all about the weather, but I'm very much enjoying seasons. In a few months I'll miss A/C but will have to invest I think.

Otherwise, we're thrilled with the first year. I'm happier than I've been in a few years I think, my wife is too and our son just loves the garden. When number two arrives, I think we'll be even more settled and 'complete' as a family, so right now, even in advance of this I feel enormously lucky.