Originally Posted by TraceyW

Hey, sorry to hear you're having a crap day :( isn't it exhausting, all these feelings and turmoil going on inside? Just hold onto the knowledge you are going home soon, it'll all be over and you'll be back where you belong. Keep your chin up :o

Originally Posted by Dreamaway 10

Sounds as though your really happy.
After reading the last two posts of people now back in the UK I cannot wait to go home.
I am particuarly low today and its so nice to hear that people have made it back and are starting over.
Good Luck may it continue to be good.

Originally Posted by andrewrob

...and all I can say is that I'm loving being back home. After all those years away, its the best feeling in the world being back where I belong. Of course I'm still in 'holiday mode', so to speak (I should be starting work next week). for anybody who remembers, i posted a little bit before, just before i was leaving canada to move home.
Here are few of the things that have really struck me since I've been back...
First off, we live in one of the beautiful, fascinating, historic countries in the world. pretty much anywhere you live, you can take a drive out and within 15 minutes hit some beautiful countryside, historic building, a great pub, idlyic village....its amazing how accesible it all is. we drove down today to Broadway, on the Worcs, Oxon border, and it was great..the village, with rows of golden-hued buildings, mooching round the shops, walks up into the hills surrounding it then a pint and a meal in the pub afterwards....there ain't nothing on earth can beat that. nothing.
our one year old daughter has been settling in just fine. its been easy to get info on the activities around for parents and babies. one of the big concerns my wife had was how much stuff there would be to do for her and our one year old daughter....playgroups, reading classes, swimming activites etc, particularly as we were moving to a small town (Droitwich in worcestershire, for those who know it). it was easy though..we took a trip down to the local community info centre on the high street, they called a telephone and the next day we got an extensive list of activites around the town for parents and children....very helpful.
its great being back somewhere that culturally you feel much more in tune with...the tv programs, radio, picking up the newspaper, whatever it is. Britain is a very vibrant place, lots of stuff going on. And also the great mass of people are friendly, decent people....its a bit rough around the edges at times, but there's a vibrancy to life here which is fantastic.
Being back amonst family is great too, of course. it was our daughters first birthday last weekend and we had a big get together to see everybody....it was good to see people, but also sad in a way, because it was a reminder of all the times that have been missed when i was away.
so life is very very good so far. I could ramble on a bit here, but you get the idea. its early days, and we'll see how jobs and work and the future unfold, hopefully for the best but the time away has really opened my eyes to my own country...not that I was unhappy when i moved away, or didn't love it anyway, but being overseas can really sharpen your appreciation of this damp little island. I'm not blind to some of the problems Britain faces, but nor am i blind to what a fundamentally great country it is either, a country i love very much and which i'm very glad to call my home again.

Originally Posted by andrewrob

...and all I can say is that I'm loving being back home. After all those years away, its the best feeling in the world being back where I belong. Of course I'm still in 'holiday mode', so to speak (I should be starting work next week). for anybody who remembers, i posted a little bit before, just before i was leaving canada to move home.
Here are few of the things that have really struck me since I've been back...
First off, we live in one of the beautiful, fascinating, historic countries in the world. pretty much anywhere you live, you can take a drive out and within 15 minutes hit some beautiful countryside, historic building, a great pub, idlyic village....its amazing how accesible it all is. we drove down today to Broadway, on the Worcs, Oxon border, and it was great..the village, with rows of golden-hued buildings, mooching round the shops, walks up into the hills surrounding it then a pint and a meal in the pub afterwards....there ain't nothing on earth can beat that. nothing.
our one year old daughter has been settling in just fine. its been easy to get info on the activities around for parents and babies. one of the big concerns my wife had was how much stuff there would be to do for her and our one year old daughter....playgroups, reading classes, swimming activites etc, particularly as we were moving to a small town (Droitwich in worcestershire, for those who know it). it was easy though..we took a trip down to the local community info centre on the high street, they called a telephone and the next day we got an extensive list of activites around the town for parents and children....very helpful.
its great being back somewhere that culturally you feel much more in tune with...the tv programs, radio, picking up the newspaper, whatever it is. Britain is a very vibrant place, lots of stuff going on. And also the great mass of people are friendly, decent people....its a bit rough around the edges at times, but there's a vibrancy to life here which is fantastic.
Being back amonst family is great too, of course. it was our daughters first birthday last weekend and we had a big get together to see everybody....it was good to see people, but also sad in a way, because it was a reminder of all the times that have been missed when i was away.
so life is very very good so far. I could ramble on a bit here, but you get the idea. its early days, and we'll see how jobs and work and the future unfold, hopefully for the best but the time away has really opened my eyes to my own country...not that I was unhappy when i moved away, or didn't love it anyway, but being overseas can really sharpen your appreciation of this damp little island. I'm not blind to some of the problems Britain faces, but nor am i blind to what a fundamentally great country it is either, a country i love very much and which i'm very glad to call my home again.

Originally Posted by andrewrob

First off, we live in one of the beautiful, fascinating, historic countries in the world. pretty much anywhere you live, you can take a drive out and within 15 minutes hit some beautiful countryside, historic building, a great pub, idlyic village....its amazing how accesible it all is. we drove down today to Broadway, on the Worcs, Oxon border, and it was great..the village, with rows of golden-hued buildings, mooching round the shops, walks up into the hills surrounding it then a pint and a meal in the pub afterwards....there ain't nothing on earth can beat that. nothing.

Originally Posted by andrewrob

...and all I can say is that I'm loving being back home. After all those years away, its the best feeling in the world being back where I belong. Of course I'm still in 'holiday mode', so to speak (I should be starting work next week). for anybody who remembers, i posted a little bit before, just before i was leaving canada to move home.
Here are few of the things that have really struck me since I've been back...
First off, we live in one of the beautiful, fascinating, historic countries in the world. pretty much anywhere you live, you can take a drive out and within 15 minutes hit some beautiful countryside, historic building, a great pub, idlyic village....its amazing how accesible it all is. we drove down today to Broadway, on the Worcs, Oxon border, and it was great..the village, with rows of golden-hued buildings, mooching round the shops, walks up into the hills surrounding it then a pint and a meal in the pub afterwards....there ain't nothing on earth can beat that. nothing.
our one year old daughter has been settling in just fine. its been easy to get info on the activities around for parents and babies. one of the big concerns my wife had was how much stuff there would be to do for her and our one year old daughter....playgroups, reading classes, swimming activites etc, particularly as we were moving to a small town (Droitwich in worcestershire, for those who know it). it was easy though..we took a trip down to the local community info centre on the high street, they called a telephone and the next day we got an extensive list of activites around the town for parents and children....very helpful.
its great being back somewhere that culturally you feel much more in tune with...the tv programs, radio, picking up the newspaper, whatever it is. Britain is a very vibrant place, lots of stuff going on. And also the great mass of people are friendly, decent people....its a bit rough around the edges at times, but there's a vibrancy to life here which is fantastic.
Being back amonst family is great too, of course. it was our daughters first birthday last weekend and we had a big get together to see everybody....it was good to see people, but also sad in a way, because it was a reminder of all the times that have been missed when i was away.
so life is very very good so far. I could ramble on a bit here, but you get the idea. its early days, and we'll see how jobs and work and the future unfold, hopefully for the best but the time away has really opened my eyes to my own country...not that I was unhappy when i moved away, or didn't love it anyway, but being overseas can really sharpen your appreciation of this damp little island. I'm not blind to some of the problems Britain faces, but nor am i blind to what a fundamentally great country it is either, a country i love very much and which i'm very glad to call my home again.

Originally Posted by Always21

Welcome home! I have been saying exactly the same thing since I've been back about how accessible everything is. The countryside is amazing; there are footpaths and bridleways everywhere and there are always other people enjoying it even when it's cold. I know the US had amazing countryside too but it just didn't seem to be as open. Also on the topic of accessibility, we went to a couple of exhibitions in London last week. We walked right into the Royal Institute of British Architects (which is not just a museum) and had to find the exhibit ourselves because nobody spoke to us... no security checks or anything! That just wouldn't happen in the US!

Why didn't we appreciate the idyllic little villages and the history before we left, eh? I went shopping in Guildford so many times growing up but never visited the castle which is just one block away from the high street! I have corrected that now.

Good luck with the job when you start. I've had one job which didn't work out since being back, but I start a new one tomorrow! 45 mile commute. :scared: