thatman

Sorry - No Harvey Nicks in Nottingham - not when I was last there which was about 2 months ago.

Good house prices if you go to the right areas - West Bridgford and Wollaton sides of town or out into any of the surrounding country side.

3 go mad in Adelaide

Ah, maybe it was the Birmingham store I was thinking of, sorry! I was in hotels in both Birmingham and Nottingham with my job shortly before moving over here and obviously got myself a little confused! (This does happen occasionally) Shopping is still really good in Nottingham though!

Jules Europe

I suppose the combination of blonde hair and sun is a factor in this

bubbles08

hi,well i lived up north for first half of my life,then moved down south.
so i have friends up and down the country whom are all friendly.!
i have to say ,on the subject of Liverpool we love it there.IT actually has thousands of vistors who love it too!!
this year it is the .....City of Culture...............they are spending millions on it.Like any city it has its bad areas but if you go outside the city there are some lovely houses.Nightlife is great!!!!!!!! people are lovely.
!We are moving back to Bedfordshire ,where i lived before i came to Oz ,but we going to open a business inHertfordshire.
Bedfordshire,you will find is cheaper than Hertfordshire.
It is only 45 mins from London on the train.the countryside is stunning with lots of villages.In your price range you will find a lovely place.
Our business will be in Hertfordshire,in a place called Hitchin.a lovely market town,which has real character.If you look it up on the web you will see it has lots of restuarants and bars,
Have you googled an area to see what the surrounding area is like.
why dont you rent first to see if you like an area .good luck

3 go mad in Adelaide

I'm not blonde

YankeemovingAbroad

Thank you bubbles for those very helpfull tips.Will be renting before buying is the plan.I did notice that Bedfordshire is less expensive than Hertfordshire which is great because the more land the property has the better.It still amazes me how close many areas of the Uk is to London.Someone once said that Texas is nearly the size of the UK.I like the travel convience of living in a smaller country.It took me three days to drive from North Carolina to Los Angeles.Will not forget that experience.I wonder does that also mean the road traffic in the UK is normally backed up on most thru ways?Also what is the speed limit on the main highways?

BTW,what in your opinion are the best cities in Hertfordshire.You like Hitchins in Bedfordshire,any other recommendations for that county?

Thanks

Jules Europe

Well that leaves us 2 choices then...........Brunette or redhead

Jules Europe

After coming from the USA I think you will find EVERYTHING is within easy reach in the UK, driving from London to Birmingham is like about 2 hours depending on traffic. Traffic congestion is a big problem though in many parts of the UK due to the high population density etc. Bear in mind though the train service is very good between cities and is the quickest way to travel.

Can`t remember the current speed limit but there are like cameras absolutely everywhere, catching people that speed and the fines I know are quite high etc..... So forget putting your foot down to get somewhere in a hurry.

backagen

Speed limit on motorways is 70mph, although you'd never guess it on most motorways because the MAJORITY of cars usually travel at well over 80mph, and a significant minority at 90 or even 100 mph.

Unfortunately although there are cameras everywhere, they don't seem to stop this problem.

It's very clear that the message about speeding being dangerous and unacceptable has not sunk in like it has in Australia, which I find sad.

I have some good friends in UK who are very respectable, professional people but they think it's perfectly ok to do well over the speed limit on a regular basis.

sans

Or grey

Jules Europe

Being from a country where we have some of the highest death rates on the roads in Europe, due to people constantly speeding, the message hasn`t sunk in here either, so its just not the UK. I myself fully applaud the high fines and penalties for people that break the speed limit, because without any doubt speed kills and ruins so many lives and families. Here in Spain over the years I have seen several crashes, where bodies were being covered up blood everywhere etc Not a nice sight.

notacrime

I currently live in Edinburgh, have lived in San Francisco, Connecticut, Zurich and London.

Edinburgh is no San Francisco in terms of acceptance and diversity, but there's definitely multicultural flavor here. It is diverse in a different way to SF, a reflection of the history and geography of each place (SF has a large East Asian and Latino population, wheras Edinburgh and Glasgow have a large South Asian and Eastern European population.)

As for weather - since you have decided to live in the UK you are accepting a certain type of weather no matter where you live. For all the time spent discussing the weather over here the reality is that it's very boring. It is temperate and varies only a little from place to place.

Many people joked to my wife (Californian through and through) that if she survived the first winter she'd be fine. She survived the first winter no problem, it was the following 'summer' that really sucked the life out of her. (Keep in mind that even in Northern California the rain stops in May and doesn't return until October.) She's happily embracing the winter again now.

If you do decide to move to Edinburgh we have a decent US expat community. Many of them came out of the woodwork in September and October when we held voter registration drives. There's a softball league here too, and an excellent Mexican deli that also sells things like Ranch dressing and canned pumpkin.

Let me know if you're going to be in Edinburgh, I'd be happy to meet up for a beer.

another bloody yank

Do not be shocked if in Scotland people walk up to you wide eyed and try to rub the black off of you.

Jules Europe

I didn`t want to be rude...............Its just not my style

sans

Wasn't ment to be rude Just teasing i'm sure she'll take it as ment