vh3

Hi, I have a curiosity question. Do people every move a second time once they come back to the UK? We have no regret about returning however we may decide in the future that our chosen area may not be our final destination in the UK.

Helen1964

Hi vh3
No such experience personally but I imagine that must happen quite often.
If we move back it'll be to a country we haven't lived in for more than 25 years and it'll probably take us a while to find the right part.
Could you possibly say a bit more about your current area and what it is you're looking for?

durham_lad

I’m sure it will happen to plenty of folks.

In our case we did a trial run within a couple of years of retiring, renting a house for 7 months in a town we knew very well from the ‘80s. 5 years later we made the move and now 6 years on we can’t see us wanting to live anywhere else.

Helen1964

Did you take a leave of absence/sabbatical before retiring in order to test the waters in the UK?
That's a great idea.

Johnboyuk

Possibly, but I think there is generally more movement of people in the UK than what there used to be. In many towns, the local accents have gone. In the town where I live in West Yorkshire, people have moved here for work from all over the country. You hardly hear a Yorkshire accent any more. We have a rail station which attracts people moving here from other areas so that they can commute into the nearby cities of Leeds and Bradford for work. I am not sure how the current trend to work from home will affect the movement of people but I see developments being built where I never expected them to be. I recently enquired about selling my home and many people are now looking for that extra bedroom to use as a home office which could become a permanent fixture in homes and possibly a selling point.

durham_lad

We we’re fortunate to be able to retire in 2010 age 55. The following year we lived for 7 months in a rented house in the Yorkshire market town our kids were born in, with no car, just buses. The idea was to get the place “out of our system” because we believed that although we could go back to somewhere we could never truly return. We absolutely loved it so decided to travel for a few years then set up 2 homes, living 6 months a year in England. We were already living in a rented apartment in Texas (lock and leave arrangement for long periods away) and my sister said she would keep an eye on any rented house we had. That was something that happened in 2011, my “baby” sister visited a couple of times and her teenage daughter stayed with us herself one weekend and it revived all her great memories of the place so in 2013 she and her husband and daughter all moved here. Her daughter then finished her last 2 years at school in the 6th form college here.

We rented a different place in 2016 planning to go back to Texas for the winter but after only 6 weeks we decided to make the move permanent. When we went back to Texas that winter it was to pack up and leave.

Our son followed us a year later in 2017 from Texas and last week our daughter announced she plans to move here before Christmas from California.

vh3

We settled in a very quiet area of Scotland which is close to family and friends. We found a house that we fell in love with and have no regrets as it has allowed us to get re-established back in the UK. We lived in cities for the last 26 years and miss the life that they can bring. We are not sure if we will stay where we are or if the lure of a city will happen. We have no regrets about coming back and are both at peace with that decision.

vh3

I am so glad everything is working out well for you. And that the rest of the family are coming over as well.

brits1

I think a few may try different area after settling for various reasons some might be work related, missing the buzz of a city more than they thought or miss the small market towns villages they may now prefer. I think once you have moved even to a different area I think your more confident to move if you feel a “place” is not 100% for you, we have lived in the same area (a new area to us) since we arrived “back” in 2010 but we are very soon to make a move “down south” something we have been thinking about for a few years.

Moses2013

I'd also say that many people move again and it's just natural when people and places change. Although not in the UK, it's the same for us in the Rep of Ireland and we just recently visited Wicklow and thought we could happily live there. We've been in the west (quite area) over 10 years now and drove past Blessington down to Greystones/Bray. It was great to be next to the beach and you have a lovely promenade/coastal walk, it's more organised with better amenities and the climate in general. Of course other benefits would be that we are closer to ferry port etc. The mood quickly changed when we were walking along the path and a large group of Spanish youngsters came our way without making the effort to move to the side and we did notice people are more stressed. On the way back we were stuck in traffic and it took an hour to pass Dublin, so that was the other side of it. After looking at property prices online, I think we'll stay where we are for now.

vh3

Yes, the grass isn't always greener on the other side which is why we are enjoying the quiet right now. However, we both miss a number of things and where we thought a couple of days in a city every other month would work for us, we now have a pup which makes it more difficult. We would not change the pup for anything however it does mean distances are now thought about in a different way. Being closer to amenities means we can enjoy things and leave him at home for a short time.

We are in no rush to make the decision although we both know we will want to be less dependent on a car as we get older and that in itself will force a decision.

One big thing we have noticed is people here don't retire early (we were lucky to do so) so any activities during the day are with folks a lot older. With that, it brings lots of conversation and they are always glad to hear about our adventures.