I'm not sure if there's anyone still here who would remember me. I would hope that all the people I used to talk to are now also happily settled back in the UK. However, I promised not to vanish from the forum and I've been terrible at keeping that promise, so here is a long-term update which may be a little help to anyone currently agonizing over the decision.

To recap, here is a post I made four days after returning:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=396926

Reflecting on that, I'm happy to report that not a great deal has changed, except I'm not nearly as excited about the British shops! I do still enjoy a look around Tesco and I was sad to see Woollies go, but at the end of the day the shops are just mundane and normal. However, that may be a personal change as I'm just not as interested in shopping any more. Likewise, after my initial excitement of being able to watch British TV again, I hardly watch anything now. I'd rather spend my free time just reading. I must be getting old!

We rented a very small house in Crawley which was only 40 minutes from my parents. However, it was expensive, and we quickly outgrew it as our youngest changed from a barely walking one year old into an energetic toddler. After a year we bought a house in Wales, which we have now been in for a year. Obviously this was not part of the original plan but the housing is so much more affordable than anything in the south east. With prices now coming down it makes us wonder if we should have waited it out, but then we'd still be losing an obscene amount of money on rent. We're 3 hours from my family now but we make the best of it. We generally don't go more than a few weeks without visiting my parents or them visiting us. It's absolutely nothing like being 3000 miles away from them! The countryside is beautiful and the boys love walking up and down the hills... when it's not raining!

That brings me to the good old subject of the weather. The two summers we've had here have been washouts. Surely this year has got to be better? I know it's possible to have long sunny days during the summer... I remember them from before I left. My wife has got used to the weather here though and whilst she does get annoyed with it at times, it certainly doesn't make us want to move back to the US! There are more important things to worry about in life than the weather.

We have done a lot of exploring of the UK on the days that have been nice, and because we always share those photos, people in the US think the sun is always shining here! We weren't able to do as much last year because so much time was spent decorating the new house but I hope to do more this year. I really love it, and revisiting places I haven't been to since I was a child is great.

So, do I miss the US? A little bit. I still miss walking round Baltimore taking photos, which is one thing I said from the start that I would miss. I also miss my job, visiting clients in Washington DC, taking the Metro, the various shops I used to buy coffee and pastries from. I'm pretty bored in my job here on a bland office park two miles from the nearest shops, but it is easy to forget how stressful those client visits in DC were at the time!

My wife went back to the US for her grandad's funeral last March which was sad as she hadn't seen him for a year and a half. We're planning to all go back for a couple of weeks this year, probably September. I'm really looking forward to it and hopefully it will scratch the itch... but I'll also be glad that I get to come home at the end of it.

Hello
good to see your settled at home, I guess every thing that you miss will be a novelty at first then back to normal. bet its good to have your family closer even if it is a bit of a drive.

have a good holiday

Congrats on settling back.
I hope this summer is better too. I'll be there visiting and don't want it to be a washout we have places to visit and things to do

Wow, has it really been 2 and half years! that blows my mind. It sounds like, all in all you are pretty settled and living life, good to hear from you, and I hope you enjoy your trip back.

Nice to see your update

It's so nice to hear from you and thanks so much for coming back to update us. It really helps those who haven't made the move back yet to read how things are going longterm for others.

Have to say it really doesn't seem like 2.5 years.
Thanks for taking the time to post your update and glad to hear things are working out well for you.

Sorry you had to move to Wales, but we all have our crosses to bear I suppose

It's good to hear from you. I am in Baltimore and I remember your posts when you were getting ready to leave for the UK. Glad things are working out for you.
Happy New Year!