Excited but terrifed

Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:20 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by WhoFan63
Hi everyone...I'm just going to rant...so I apologise ahead of time...LOL

As a 49 year old widowed female, about to make a HUGE move to head back to the UK after living in Australia and the USA, I'm understandably terrified. Not because I think I'm making the wrong decision - far from it. This is possibly the best decision I have made in a long time. I'm more concerned that it won't work and I'll end up having to come back to the US..lol.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the US, so please don't think that. I've loved my time here, but since my husband passed away it just doesn't feel like home anymore, and especially more so since I went back to the UK for a holiday last year. At the airport ready to fly back to the US I was so upset and didn't want to get on the plane. Which is what made me decide to head 'home' to the UK. Plus Australia has never felt like home which is why I wouldn't go back there either.

Plus I have found from my time in both Australia and the US that I am definitely a 'cooler' climate sort of person..lol. The Arizona heat is killing me, and I was definitely healthier and fitter while in the UK, even for that brief amount of time. I don't whether it's the altitude or just the climate in the UK, but my skin was healthier, I had more energy and I didn't have as many headaches as I've had since I moved to the US. Which was all proven by the fact I could leave my holiday let and spend 6 hours just walking around..LOL

The hardest part is my age I think. I will be competing with all these young ones all vying for the same job. Thanks to loosing my job here in the US just before I went on my holiday last year, I've not been able to get another job. That's mostly due to the fact there are no jobs in my area, I don't have a car and without one it's impossible to get anywhere, especially as the local transportation system sucks. I'd have to walk an hour to catch a bus, and what would take normally just 30 minutes by car to get into town, takes 2.5hrs by bus.

I won't be able to rent a place on my own for at least a year, because I don't have a work or credit history in the UK, and won't have enough funds to simply pay 6 months rent in advance to a landlord. So I've organized a house share until I can get myself settled. I've chosen an area which I liked and one which has great transportation links (actually Zone 5 of the London underground/train service) I don't mind buses or trains or long commute times so travelling an hour to get to work doesn't bother me, although the cost might after a while..lol. I've actually decided to go back to the same area where I stayed on my holidays last year, because I really loved the area...great shops...great parks for those nice long walks etc.

Plus the reason I chose the area itself, rather than go totally out of London to somewhere North or South, is because of the job situation. Rightly or wrongly I'm presuming there would be more jobs available that are in my job skill range. I've been in the medical industry all of my life, as Unit Secretary at hospitals, medical receptionist, data entry etc, so by registering with a temp agency or two and trying really hard to network myself I hope it won't be too long before I'm once again getting an income and being a productive member of society so to speak. I'm open enough to going anywhere for a job and I think that will help.

So all I am waiting for right now is my new UK passport to arrive and I'm all set !

So I am terrified...lol. But excited ! I've tried desperately to get a job here, in order to supplement the funds I'm taking back to the UK, but no luck, and the longer I stay the more I am using up my savings. Luckily I am staying with friends right now or else I would be in a right pickle..lol.

Ok, rant over with.. If anyone has any words of wisdom or support they would be gratefully received....lol
I have just been rereading and rereading your post, Whofan! Our situations are very similar. I have been out of work, too - no health insurance, etc., etc. If my pets were prepped and if I found a house share that would accept them, I would be no worse off in the UK - right now! - than I am in the USA. In fact, I would be much better off because I would have health insurance and I wouldn't need a car to survive. This means that all I would need to do is find a house share, get my pets prepped and pay for flights - with a little in reserve to cover me until I found a job there. You have really got me thinking now!

My business partner said this to me a few weeks ago and it went right over my head!
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:24 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Agreed, larrabee. Career and financial prospects were two of the primary reasons I finally decided enough was enough! In Barbados, the salaries are so much lower and the cost living so much higher than in the UK. Thinking about what I could've achieved by now - comparing myself (realistically) to my friends who remained here - can be quite depressing:/. Wish I'd moved back sooner, but my main motivation for staying overseas so long was that my daughter was born there and had her friends, school, etc.

Windsong, I was trying to remember the name of the houseshare site I had used. However, memory fails me! It was excellent though and I found a lovely gated community flatshare within a matter of days. I'll ask my roomie when he gets back next week (currently away), as he ought to remember which site he posted on.

I'm currently looking (well, not actively - but need to get my skates on!) for a house to rent before my daughter and dog move over to join me in July. It's my daughter's GCSE year, hence the heart wrenching decision to move over 8 months before her. It just so happened that I was offered a job whilst still working/living in Barbados but I was needed as soon as possible. Bittersweet. So, I am also in the position of looking for a landlord that will accept pets...but that's pretty easy here in the UK, Windsong. We Brits LOVE our dogs!
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:27 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

I actually found mine on www.easyroommate.com or .co.uk. They have pictures and let you know what kind of housemate they're looking for and if they allow pets
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:29 pm
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....Just saw your rent query, Windsong. IMO £500 - 600 a month for a share is way overpriced. I'm sorry if you said this already and I missed it, but which area/s are you looking at? If not Central London, you can easily pay less for a share, but still of course depending on your full requirements (e.g. If bills are included in the rent).
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:30 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by larrabee
Congratulations on your decision to go home!!!
I tend to think that it takes much more bravery to go back than it does to make the move away in the first place. (otherwise I'd probably have gone home after my first year in the states!)
All the very best of luck with your move and in your new life.
This has been my experience, too. All my friends in the UK have done much better than I have done here.
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:31 pm
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Hey windsong, I tell you what, when I get a place of my own you can come share with me because I LOVE dogs and will be getting one of my own once I have my own place
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:33 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by Debbie-Antoinette
....Just saw your rent query, Windsong. IMO £500 - 600 a month for a share is way overpriced. I'm sorry if you said this already and I missed it, but which area/s are you looking at? If not Central London, you can easily pay less for a share, but still of course depending on your full requirements (e.g. If bills are included in the rent).
Hi Debbie I was just browsing around the Spareroom web site and started with Somerset. The three main areas I would look at are Falkirk area in Scotland, North Yorkshire and Somerset County in England. I am really quite flexible actually - even if it was somewhere else, so long as it is not in a densely populated area. I like fresh air, small villages and nice countryside to live in - all within an hour's train ride of a city.

Actually, I would like to rent a house, flat or cottage of my own but always considered the cost would be astronomical. I also don't know how much I need to earn over there to survive - for example, I believe one's take-home pay in the UK is about 50% of gross earnings, what percentage of net income should rent take up, etc. I am a bit in the dark.

Last edited by windsong; Mar 3rd 2013 at 9:37 pm.
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:34 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by WhoFan63
Hey windsong, I tell you what, when I get a place of my own you can come share with me because I LOVE dogs and will be getting one of my own once I have my own place
You are ON!!! I am truly serious. Finding a place where I can take my two cats and two little dogs (all totally adorable and loveable) is my greatest worry because I will not leave them behind. Location is secondary. I can always find a job because I have a good education and good skills - as well as a new business that I can run from anywhere.
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:41 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by windsong
You are ON!!! I am truly serious. Finding a place where I can take my two cats and two little dogs (all totally adorable and loveable) is my greatest worry because I will not leave them behind. Location is secondary. I can always find a job because I have a good education and good skills - as well as a new business that I can run from anywhere.
We'll keep in touch then Depending on where I get a job of course I may move closer or stay in the area I will be living in when I get there (Winchmore Hill). But we can work that out later
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:43 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by WhoFan63
We'll keep in touch then Depending on where I get a job of course I may move closer or stay in the area I will be living in when I get there (Winchmore Hill). But we can work that out later
Yes, please stay in touch! I am VERY interested - especially to share with an animal lover
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:46 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by windsong
Yes, please stay in touch! I am VERY interested - especially to share with an animal lover
I just read your earlier post about the areas you were looking at. I too would love to live somewhere like that, but because of the job situation I need to be somewhere close to transport and close to where the jobs are. I'd love to live further out, away from the maddening crowds so to speak, somewhere I can take long walks in the beautiful countryside, but it all boils down to employment. But no harm in hoping !
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:49 pm
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Originally Posted by WhoFan63
I just read your earlier post about the areas you were looking at. I too would love to live somewhere like that, but because of the job situation I need to be somewhere close to transport and close to where the jobs are. I'd love to live further out, away from the maddening crowds so to speak, somewhere I can take long walks in the beautiful countryside, but it all boils down to employment. But no harm in hoping !
Yes, for me, too. The places I mentioned would be ideal but jobs have to come first - and an easy way to get to the jobs. It's one of the reasons I am flexible, too
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:53 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by Debbie-Antoinette
Thankfully, I was able to secure a job before I moved over.

I truly wish you all the best and please feel free to pick my brains if you think I can be of assistance.
Hi Debbie...one thing I would like to pick your brain about is the job situation. You mentioned you were able to secure one before you moved and I'm wondering how you did that? Did you go to certain web sites etc?

I had thought about trying that myself, but then I found that some employers want someone to start immediately (which I wouldn't be able to do), plus I have to explain to each employer that even though I am currently in the US, I am a British Subject, have a UK passport so I can live and work in the UK. It just seemed easier to me (rightly or wrongly) that I would get better results if i did it all from the UK, where I can go face to face with employers and sell myself LOL
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:55 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Originally Posted by WhoFan63
Hi Debbie...one thing I would like to pick your brain about is the job situation. You mentioned you were able to secure one before you moved and I'm wondering how you did that? Did you go to certain web sites etc?

I had thought about trying that myself, but then I found that some employers want someone to start immediately (which I wouldn't be able to do), plus I have to explain to each employer that even though I am currently in the US, I am a British Subject, have a UK passport so I can live and work in the UK. It just seemed easier to me (rightly or wrongly) that I would get better results if i did it all from the UK, where I can go face to face with employers and sell myself LOL
Strange you should mention jobs because I mentioned earlier to day in this thread -

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=789184

- that we need a thread for finding jobs so we are now discussing where it should go
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Old Mar 3rd 2013, 9:56 pm
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Default Re: Excited but terrifed

Hi Windsong. Lovely areas that you're looking at! I'm biased though as I was born in North Yorkshire, and half grew up in Scotland (godparents are Scottish). However...objectively speaking, as scenic as they are, with the possible exception of Somerset, the job markets are generally (depending on your field of course...but 'generally') worse the further outside of London you go. Salaries are considerably lower 'up North' as well. But some - not all - consider this is balanced out by the related lower cost of living.

If your are willing and able to pay £600 for a share you can definitely afford a cosy one bedroom bungalow or house outside of London. Take a look at Zoopla and Rightmove. I'll post the links for you in a minute. The only problem might be the one that most (all?) of us face, which is the immediate lack of a recent UK credit history. I've only just established a credit score - having moved back in November last year. According to my bank this is extremely quick as sometimes it can takes "years" :/! Nightmare.

You're right about taxes being horrendously high. Mine aren't 50%, although it does quite feel as if they are.... There's an online tax calculator that can estimate your take home pay if you input some figures. I don't recall where I located it, as it was before I left Barbados, when I was job hunting and working out how much I would need to survive. I found it through google though so perhaps you could run a similar search?

As for how much of your net income rent should take up, I'd say that depends on your individual circumstances. I think you'd need to work that out based on your other commitments. Also bear in mind that pet insurance can be quite hefty here. And forgoing it doesn't bear thinking about as vet bills are sky high (compared to Barbados at least). So you'll need to factor that in given you have several pets. Hope this makes sense (am speed typing) and is useful.
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