LooseChippings

Reporting in now as an "ex" Expat after 30 years near Vancouver. What a roller coaster this has been. In the early days of "ohmygawd what have we done?" BE was an essential emotional crutch as hubby and I struggled to put a home back together in an unfamiliar environment. The bitter winter has ended, the culture shock of the first few months is fading and we've learned to live with irritations like light switches on the ends of little strings, absurdly slow washing machines, tiny cupboards, and a garage too small to house a car.
The flip side is the glory of the rolling countryside, the ancient villages all round, nearby cosy pubs, people's good manners, delicious fresh food, and last but not least, the proximity of family and some dear friends. For those who fear otherwise, we've also had superb service from the NHS. We are here to stay.

Mummy in the foothills

Love it.
Funnily enough some of those irritations are things that annoyed me when I used to go on holiday. So I'm sure they will be bothering me too

NiHao

Love it! Can totally relate to your list of likes and dislikes! Its so good to hear that you are feeling so settled and are happy with your decision to return.

LooseChippings

Not for long, I'm sure - there are too many pleasant distractions!

LooseChippings

Thanks, just as well it is working out, we could never afford to do this all over again. But we're happy to live on bread and cheese indefinitely, especially Double Gloucester, Stilton, farmhouse cheddar, etc.

Perth

Stop, I'm drooling....

feelbritish

Glad to hear you have settled. I often wonder how we would settle in a much smaller house, less electrical outlets, very small bedrooms and a garage that does not house a car! Especially after being here in BC. Time will tell though if we ever get there. When you left did you give up residency or do you still file tax? Hope it all goes well for you. Summer is almost upon us!

Mummy in the foothills

"Little things" that can cause annoyance.
I'm sure my Dh will have plenty to moan about in the garage area. He has an oversize double here with room for a small workshop in the back, he'll have a single in UK with the dryer and freezer in the back. He'll be trying to do stuff. The first alteration will be a lean to utility room on the back of the house (finances permitting) to free up the whole garage and save me walking outside in rain and give a place to put up a clothes horse in bad weather.

feelbritish

We have the obligatory shed at our house in UK but if we move there despite the small garden the greenhouse will also go in

LooseChippings

Hello again, feelbritish, are you still hoping to return next year? You're right that we're spoiled in B.C. with lots of floor space, but we managed to find a house here with an old barn. It now doubles as a workshop, basement and shed all in 1! Incidentally, if you need extra storage, you are allowed to build a pretty big shed here without needing planning permission.

feelbritish

Hi LC no not next year perhaps 2015 but OH is having doubts about returning and no longer wants to discuss it. Time for reversed psychology. Great to find a big barn! We are not sure anyway if we would return to our house. I am so confused about areas and making a mistake. I think it would just be so much easier to just move back to our house and buy a caravan and travel around UK on short trips. At least we know our area, our neighbours and it is a very convenient location! Not on the coast though and I know we will both miss the sea, we are right on the ocean here!

LooseChippings

Sorry to hear that it may not be on the cards for you, but maybe fate will turn things around? We had the rug pulled out from under our feet when my OH's job ended but it had a silver lining since that was our biggest tie to BC. Yes you would miss the ocean, there's nothing to compare with the Island here (I still miss the arbutus) and the cold winds put a damper on things. But vacation property in Spain and Portugal is going for a song now!

feelbritish

Funny you should say that the OH told me ages ago he would prefer Spain!

ElizabethK

I always love to hear how folk get on when they move back after such a long time, and I'm happy when they're glad to have done so

As to the ridiculous slowness of washing machines, why are they sooooo slow I wonder? I don't remember it being that way when I lived there 17 years ago. Also, I can't fathom why they are cold water fill only, it would surely speed things up if the water was hot going into the machine?

Anyway, I can't wait to move back this year although I think a couple of my peeves will be silly Sunday trading hours and having to pay to park almost everywhere, but I believe that being there and loving the fact I can get Heinz Vegetable soup and M&S food rather than drooling about it will make up for any other little niggles I may have

Snap Shot

Glad that it's good for you now after an initial settling period.

I thought a washing machine taking four hours to run through a wash cycle was normal in Britain !

The washing machine I have here in NZ does the same job on the same load of laundry, in cold water in forty minutes for the same end result !

Just what the heck was my old UK washing machine doing for all that time ?

The laundry is just as clean being washed in cold water and saves the expense of heating the water. That's my opinion, don't want to divert this thread into a washing machine debate !