Thank you so much for saying that!!

It's super daunting. I moved here basically right after uni so have never lived in the UK as a *proper* adult. And am still young enough that I have years of work ahead of me before retiring, so many things to take into consideration. I read through the stories on here where people update, but a lot are people of retirement age returning (which is of course useful, but I imagine the logistics and mindset do differ), or people who lived in UK as a couple before returning, but this will be the first time living there for my H. I'm sure my children will be keen to blame me if they don't like it! lol. I really appreciate people offering their thoughts, encouragement and experiences.

Wow! Congratulations!

I'm in a similar position Stelly
I've lived in the US since 98. I am going through a divorce, and I am so tired of being alone and having to start again. Having no family here is and has been very hard. So I have made the decision to move back to UK within the next 12 months (hopefully sooner)
I keep wondering if I will be able to get used to the British weather again, the NHS system, having to start from zero with obtaining any kind of credit, like getting a mortgage etc.

Yes, I'm scared of the change. So seeing everyone's posts who have successfully transitioned is really helping me. So thanks for posting this thread. I look forward to seeing more comments

I did exactly that this morning.

It was - a lot. And it took the lump sum severance pay I got when I was laid off from my job due to covid. So like Rasta Mouse, it made a bad ting good.

I am in the exact same place right now, it's like your thread title was my question almost!

I'm like you that I have live abroad most of my adult life (in Cyprus not the USA) and now with family and no idea how to settle. It took so long to get established here and starting over again seems daunting especially as I have two babies to care for. What is keeping me strong is the amount of support we've been offered by friends and family in the UK who really want us home. Also reminding myself of why we decided to leave in the fist place. Excellent education, free healthcare, better public services, not living in a banana republic

All the best on your journey ahead!

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Well, I wish you luck with it! We're going over early this summer to check out places we might want to live in (there's no way I'd go back to super crowded Hampshire where I'm from and my family are). After that we plan to have a discussion with the kids and see if we might rent a place from Dec/Jan with a view to getting the kids into school there and the 3 of us testing it out, while my husband tidies up our house here (including de-1980s-ing the kitchen!) and keeps working at his job which is more lucrative than most of the things we see advertised for him in UK. Only once we know kids and I can hack it back there will we look to uproot him and bring him over. At least, that's the plan now. We have to see if we can get through two weeks of holiday, lol. Last time we visited in summer there was a heatwave for 4 days in the SE and all 4 of us HATED being without AC and swore never to live there. Then we drove up to the NW and entered another climate altogether and saw a kid wearing a snowsuit, lol. You never know!

If I can be any help as someone to bounce things off, please reach out. I'm in NJ.

Thank you! It's crazy isn't it? My halfway point (where I've lived more days of my life here than I did in the UK) is in 2 weeks! I'm so used to it here, it's terrifying thinking of going back and having people automatically assume because of my accent that I know what I'm doing! I don't even have a Nectar card
Do your family all have UK passports? I feel like I'd be more enthusiastic about this process if I didn't have to deal with the paperwork for my husband, I've read such horror stories of people getting rejected or caught up in bureaucracy...
Good luck to you too! If you want to chat, please ping me any time.