We have a lovely home in New England, I have a great job (work mainly from home can relocate with ease) love the weather have many friends - but have never really totally settled here in the US and we still pine for home (UK)..

If it weren't for the tragic exchange rate we would have moved back some time ago (in our sixth year)

Financially we will take a hit for sure (already have done) - but figuring we could wait forever for this to resolve itself.....

Any tips on how to move back without permanently going to a place of financial ruin

Have you had a look at www.uk-yankee.com?

Thanks Elvira - I will check that out.
Best
Alan

Do you have to move back (ie, is your visa running out), or do you have green cards that allow you to stay?

There is a reasonable chance that once you are back in the U.K. you will miss your lives in the United States ("expat curse").

Nope in fact we got our Green cards in record time - 6 months start to finish!

I think there are things we will miss - but we can always visit :-)

You can always visit, provided visa regulations and your circumstances don't bar you.

But once you lose your Green Cards (which normally happens pretty quickly when the holders leave the U.S. to live elsewhere) your chances of ever coming back to live in the U.S. may be zero.

The exchange rate is really bad and the good feelings of being "home" may soon dissipate once you take stock of your financial situation.

Take a look at the posts made by "dunroving" as he was in a similar situation to yours.

Why not just try to visit the U.K. more? If finance isn't a problem, can you get extra (unpaid) leave from your job to allow this?

Christ on a bike. Do you ever just mind your own business?

Some people want to move back to the UK and be happy. I know that offends your paper thin Aussie skin, but them's the facts. Deal with it for chrissakes

I think it is a good idea to use unpaid leave - not thought of that one before - it gives an extra option. You could call the trip a holiday!

Was it really necessary for you to be so rude? It's not the first time you've made a comment like that.

Where abouts in New England...
The thing I find I get up here is cabin fever...and its not like we get snowed in or anything...but glad now I never ended up any more north than I am now...

If you have everything here...maybe a trip home would be good....my daughter did that after 3 years of homesickness...and could not wait to get back here...she still does not like the area...but we have a place in FL that keeps us all sane...
If you can work from anywhere maybe try relocating within the US first...

Perhaps if he didn't parrot out the same condescending diatribe with each and every post and learns to post something new, comments like mine wouldn't be needed. And judging by the PMs I got it seems a few others feel the same.

Three words: Pot ... kettle ... black.

Though some may not like the responses given by JAJ, I feel if you actually take the time to read them and understand what he is saying there is a lot of valuable information there.

I know I have been wrong in some assumptions I have made and after investigating things further, after some prods from JAJ's posts, I see I could have made some real mistakes. I for one value JAJ's posts and thank him for them.

How many people have gone back and for one reason or another moved away from the US again? I think all that JAJ is saying is that there are consequences for leaving the US and here are some points to consider.

Moving back to the UK is a shock to the system and the pocket book. The exchange rate only impacts the money you are taking across and not the salaries you'll be earning, etc.

Really consider what made you leave the UK and why you want to go back. Will being there really make you happier, or just provide a different set of problems?

Is there any chance you could go back for a couple month vacation before doing anything permanent? That way you could almost get a feel for what it would be like before going back.

I think what Triboy has a problem with is the doom and gloom JAJ seems to put across. I understand that there are huge implications for leaving a country without securing your ties first, but my situation is an example of why citizenship is not for everyone.

1. I only came to this country because I fell in love with an American man, not for the country itself.

2. I had no other reason to come here. My life was fine in the UK, I wasn't escaping for a "better life".

3. I've given it my all here, and now I want to go home. I've been here 5 years, and know deep down I'll never be happy here, for various reasons, and I'll never be able to change them (policies, etc).

4. I don't have a massive wad of cash to pay for citizenship. When I go back, I'll be practically broke and relying on family members for a roof until I get a job. Not everyone even has that luxury.

5. I don't see the point in investing even more time and money in a country I don't want to live in ever again. EDIT: I know that some of the processing times may have reduced, but whose to say the USCIS won't change things again and have people wait forever? Took me 5 months just to get my new permanent residency card in the mail after the conditions had been removed.

For those who are desperate to go home, know what they want, and are positive they'll never want to move back to that country again, it's depressing to hear someone's comments about how everything is so rosy anywhere else other than the UK. We've all come from there, we know how it is, so why keep putting it down all the time?

Not trying to start a war, just my 2c.

Let me see, that would be ... 0.95 p at today's rates (Now there's some doom and gloom - sorry!). Most of my cash is still in USD if it's any consolation.

I know I've appreciated the opportunity to receive viewpoints from both sides when making my decision to come back (and now struggling with that decision). And sometimes people do seem to have a bias ... or paint doom and gloom (for wherever, be it UK or US, both of which seem to be having their fair share of D&G currently) ... but as long as it's well intended and not rude, I don't know why certain people get their panties in a wad every time JAJ opens his mouth.