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1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Old Feb 6th 2012, 1:03 am
  #31  
 
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Lightbulb Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by Bar66949
Sorry don't know where to ask this question. If I need records of trips taken outside the UK with my UK passport does anyone know who I would ask? In usa you can get records from border patrol but if going into UK it seems they just look at your passport.
I will soon need to tally up all the trips I've taken out of the US in the past 5 years as I'll be applying for US citizenship; and yes, some of those have been to the UK and Europe where my British passport hasn't been stamped.

The only thing I can think of is to go back through my e-mail account; I always buy my air tickets online (and never delete the airline booking confirmation/online check in e-mails) as a way of finding the travel dates. Perhaps you could do this too?
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Old Feb 6th 2012, 2:15 am
  #32  
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

You could contact border control and public information they can give you all that info or if you do not have some dates you can just estimate. I think that is OK prior others. What I am asking is about my UK passport records. Does the UK have my dates of leaving and entry and where would I get those?
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Old Feb 19th 2012, 1:37 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills
Dh and I did that one year when we went on holiday. I had a £20 note and tried to use it in Tesco. At first I thought I hadn't bought enough and they didn't have enough change in the till, then everyone in line started telling us how if we'd used it last month we'd be fine, but we had to take it to the bank and they would exchange it I was so embarrassed, we had no clue
I had that problem with a £20 note, and had to take it to a bank.

But really stunning me was when I tried to pay for a few things in a supermarket with a £50 note. It was held to the air, intensely scrutinised, and a supervisor called. After much discussion it was accepted, apparently customers don't usually pay with that size note, they have smaller ones or plastic.
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Old Feb 19th 2012, 2:23 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by aries
I had that problem with a £20 note, and had to take it to a bank.

But really stunning me was when I tried to pay for a few things in a supermarket with a £50 note. It was held to the air, intensely scrutinised, and a supervisor called. After much discussion it was accepted, apparently customers don't usually pay with that size note, they have smaller ones or plastic.
I'm just back in Italy from a trip to UK. In the past, I've had the same problem with £50 notes so this time I asked my bank to order me £1,000, some of which in small notes. What I got, was wad of 200 brand new £5 notes. They did not go down well in the shops. (and nor could I fit them in to my purse)

Last edited by 37100; Feb 19th 2012 at 2:29 pm.
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Old Feb 19th 2012, 3:36 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by 37100
I'm just back in Italy from a trip to UK. In the past, I've had the same problem with £50 notes so this time I asked my bank to order me £1,000, some of which in small notes. What I got, was wad of 200 brand new £5 notes. They did not go down well in the shops. (and nor could I fit them in to my purse)
darn if I had know I would have assisted you.
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Old Feb 21st 2012, 3:09 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by 37100
I'm just back in Italy from a trip to UK. In the past, I've had the same problem with £50 notes so this time I asked my bank to order me £1,000, some of which in small notes. What I got, was wad of 200 brand new £5 notes. They did not go down well in the shops. (and nor could I fit them in to my purse)
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Old Feb 25th 2012, 9:24 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Driving in the UK is a doddle compared to most of the US. I lived in Florida myself for 7 years and do not miss the reckless drivers, despite the roads being so straight, flat and wide. I live in Massachusetts now which isn't much better. People drive like arseholes and the stress every day, couple with the fact most of the roads in the northeastern US are inferior to those in the UK, wholly outdated and in some cases, downright dangerous, made worse by drivers who don't give a damn about the law.

Unless things have changed in the last decade, I'll take driving on a (statistically proven) safe British motorway or dual carriageway where drivers generally obey the law to the craziness of US interstates and urban expressways. The east coast is definitely worse than west coast states though IMO.
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Old Feb 26th 2012, 12:12 am
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

I hope you never have to drive in Australia Even after living here 20 odd years altogether I still shake my head almost every single day.
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Old Feb 26th 2012, 12:32 am
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by chris955
I hope you never have to drive in Australia Even after living here 20 odd years altogether I still shake my head almost every single day.
No desire to go to Oz, sorry. I do wish we has British traffic police here. I wish I knew the name of the angry Welsh cop who once pulled me over for accidentally running a red light. He gave me such a bollocking and rightly so. He would have a field day here in Massachusetts with all the dumb twats on roads that make Britain's roads look like Texan or Californian superhighways...no joke.
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Old Feb 26th 2012, 7:22 am
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Don't apologise, we are leaving Oz as well, not just because of the terrible drivers I do miss British cops and being given warnings instead of just an instant fine.

Originally Posted by Ethelred_the_Unready
No desire to go to Oz, sorry. I do wish we has British traffic police here. I wish I knew the name of the angry Welsh cop who once pulled me over for accidentally running a red light. He gave me such a bollocking and rightly so. He would have a field day here in Massachusetts with all the dumb twats on roads that make Britain's roads look like Texan or Californian superhighways...no joke.
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Old Feb 26th 2012, 10:14 am
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Ethelred - I'll PM you back shortly

Well I thought I'd post an update for you all! This is week 4 of working in Switzerland, I am really starting to enjoy it after the first couple of weeks being a bit disorganised.

I have never been to mainland europe before (only to Majorca, Canaries etc) so this is a new experience for me. I have to say that the culture shock of being in Switzerland is nothing like the shock of living and working in the States and more specifically FL.

The roads look the same as the UK (except driving on the other side), the cars look the same, the rolling fields and landscape where I am in Vaud canton looks pretty similar to the UK countryside.

It has made me realise how foreign and alien much of the US culture, attitudes, workplace culture and landscape is.

The first week in Switzerland was bitterly cold, temps around -10c in the day and -20c at night - so that was a shocker but lately it's been improving - around 0c in the day and forecast to warm up this week!

I'm so glad that all accommodation and transport and food is covered. I knew that Switzerland would be expensive but whoa!! It really is like London prices plus 20% more.

At the first posh hotel we stayed at the price of a coke was £4, liquor £20 per drink (!!), elsewhere in regular restaurants a main meal is £25-£30. It makes the UK seem cheap in comparison.

I haven't had the chance to see much of the country as we have to fly back and forth to the UK each monday and friday, so we are only working for 3 days out of the week. It is crazy, but many of us have stated that we'd like to stay over the weekends, but so far nothing has been sorted out. But as we're still being paid for a full week Im happy to go along with it, despite it making no economical sense
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Old Feb 29th 2012, 9:35 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

switzerland is the most expensive country on earth.. so it make sense
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Old Mar 5th 2012, 7:41 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by alicat26
Hello All,

Well I'm here to post my 1 month update.

In brief I left Florida after living there for 7 years - I even ping ponged back to USA during that time, so this is my second time 'back' in the UK.

I decided to leave the US because I missed the UK alot and couldn't see myself wanting to stay there long term. The work situation was a joke. Just low paying, no benefits jobs for people who treated me like dirt. No healthcare, no holidays what so ever. I just felt trapped into working a job that I hated. I applied for many other jobs in the area and couldn't find one. After 2 years of this nonsense I really decided to act and to get back to the UK where I knew I would at least get health care and paid holidays no matter what.

Back in England - For the past month I applied for jobs in CAD drafting up and down the country. I'm a free agent and I was willing to go whereever the work was. I was hoping to find work outside of Sheffield, not because I hate Sheffield, but I have spent most of my life there and felt ready for a change of scenery.

Before New Year nothing moved on the job front. But the day after New Year the phone just rang off the hook from agencies asking about the kind of work I wanted and if they could forward my CV on for jobs they had.

To cut a long story short - I had one job interview for a large confectionary company. I start the job this monday

The job is in Burton on Trent (near B'ham).

The rate of pay is literally x3 what I was making in Florida - for NO benefits what so ever. So to say i'm thrilled is an understatement, I'm so excited!! The role also involves going to work in Switzerland, all expenses paid for 3 months! I wasn't expecting that curve ball, but i'm up for that adventure too.

I'd urge anyone seeking work in the UK to place their CV on CV Library - thats where I got the call for this job and many others.

Aside from the job hunt, I have been out into the Peak District on some walks - so beautiful! Went out walking around Chatsworth House and all the scenery and rolling hills dotted with sheep and deer was just stunning.

I'm loving the changeable weather too. A day can start out cloudy and rainy, then a few hours later it's bright sunshine and clear blue sky. The weather in FL was so stagnant and predictable - nothing rarely changed - no seasons, just hot, and really hot with thundershowers!

I look forward to my new adventure and new start here. I definitely made the right decision!!
Hi
Your story is very positive, we are currently in the process of coming home this summer and I have heard horror stories about the job market. From what you wrote it doesnt' sound too bad. Can you shed any more light on the job market
many thanks
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Old Mar 6th 2012, 7:33 am
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

You really have to ignore 50% of the nonsense you hear and take the other 50% with a pinch of salt. Seriously though everywhere is doing it tough, the only reason the unemployment figures look so good here is because of the mining boom but that doesn't help 95% of the population. All our friends in the UK are working, 2 of the kids of one of our friends have just got jobs.

Originally Posted by mairigraham
Hi
Your story is very positive, we are currently in the process of coming home this summer and I have heard horror stories about the job market. From what you wrote it doesnt' sound too bad. Can you shed any more light on the job market
many thanks
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Old Mar 7th 2012, 5:12 pm
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Default Re: 1 Month Update - Going Great and Loving Being Back!!

Originally Posted by mairigraham
Hi
Your story is very positive, we are currently in the process of coming home this summer and I have heard horror stories about the job market. From what you wrote it doesnt' sound too bad. Can you shed any more light on the job market
many thanks
Hi there,

Obviously the job market will vary depending on what line of work you are in - my line of work is engineering/food manufacturing (office job)....after I got my job the company are continuing to hire for other roles, so it's a good sign.

All I can say is that when I was looking for work, 95% of the jobs were advertised via agencies. Nothing wrong with this - but just to give you a heads up that you may find yourself receiving possible jobs via email from many different agencies.

I also found there were a lot of jobs to choose from because I was willing to work anywhere in the UK. Im sure if you were very restricted on location you could find it harder.

I noticed loads of jobs in London, Reading and the M4 corridor, Leeds, Cambridge and Oxford. I noticed jobs in Liverpool and Wales, Newcastle were offerering £5K-£10K less per year than other very similar jobs elsewhere.

All I have is anecdotal evidence but everyone I know is in work, some have been promoted, some have relocated for better jobs with good companies.....not much doom and gloom despite what the media says.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and good luck with your move back! (I bet the recruitment process will slow down a bit in the summer as thats when people take their holidays).
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