lf1

I don’t know where the time has gone, but we arrived back in the UK 6 months ago today. We lived in Canada for just over 30 years and while we had a very comfortable life, something just seemed to missing. The more often we travelled to Europe and especially Britain we realized that we were living on the wrong continent. As beautiful as Canada is, it just wasn’t what floated our boat. We came to the conclusion that everything we loved was in the UK and easy access to mainland Europe being an added bonus.

We are still in the honeymoon period and feelings can change from day to day, but on the whole I don’t regret our decision for a minute. I seldom think of my former life. For me, there have been times that I have felt displaced, but perhaps that can be attributed to living in an area where I don’t (didn’t) know anyone and living in the country vs. the city. Those feelings were more prominent in the first few months and haven’t occurred recently. I am still adjusting to having my OH around the house and that has been quite an adjustment and we are still working that out. I have been fired from the kitchen (YAY) and he is now doing all the cooking and related cleaning up. He has been told that the utility room is my domain and that I will always be in charge of washing and ironing. Thankfully, my iPad works in the utility room, so I can watch the telly whilst doing the ironing.

Before I left Canada, I identified some things that could be challenges for me. For example, I was a bit concerned about the lack of blue skies which are abundant in Alberta. So far, the weather has not been a problem and I just cherish every moment when the sun shines. When I first started thinking about moving to the UK, one of the things that put me off was driving. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to do it, but, I took some lessons and I am gradually building my confidence. I have always believed that you need to be a much more skilled driver in the UK than in North America. In NA, you just point and shoot on the wide roads. Here you need to be much more skilled in driving in tight spaces and dealing with things that I never encountered in the city e.g. horses, farm vehicles and don’t get me started on the pheasants.

We are living in a village and it is a marked contrast from living in a city. I lived in the same house for over 20 years and knew my neighbours on either side, one across the back and that was it. There was not a sense of community. In the village we have constantly been on the go and some weekends I have been relieved that we don’t have anything planned and can have a quiet night in. I have joined the village choir and I absolutely love it. I love learning new pieces of music and learning to read music at a very basic level. I haven’t done something like this since I was a child and I can’t fully express how it makes me feel. I have tried many things before e.g. golf, curling, baseball and they were just another chore to me. I never feel as though I am dragging my feet when I set off to choir practice and that is simply because I am doing something I love and not something that other people tell me I should love.

One of things I love about the choir is that there are no auditions. Everyone is welcome and for the first time I feel I am part of a team. In the corporate world I heard about “teamwork” all the time, usually attached to a sports analogy and saw little evidence of teamwork, more back biting than anything. In June, there is going to be a concert to commemorate the Battle of Flodden and I, along with other members of the choir, am signing up for the mass choir event. Can’t wait.

Now, if a year ago, you had told me that I would be in the village Panto, I would have laughed. However, I was, as an Ugly Sister, dancing to Beyonce’s, Single Ladies and Gangnam Style. Who knew????
Curleytops, if you are reading this, you will be pleased to hear that my knitting needles were put to good use for my hairpiece. I have spent the last few weeks knitting snakes. LOL!!!! We had a great time, although I think the wine in the dressing room helped us along the way. OH is now one of the Quizmasters at the local pub and that has proven to be another good way to meet people. One thing I have learned about village life is that no matter what the event, there is always a raffle. I didn’t budget for that so I will need to rework my numbers.

All in all, it has been a good move for us. I am so glad to have found BE as it has been a great source of information and support and I still enjoy coming onto the forum to catch up. Good luck to everyone who is planning the move back home and also to those that plan to move abroad.

curleytops

Great post! So glad to hear that you're both settling in well and that the knitting needles came in handy Thanks for sharing your experiences, your village sounds great

between two worlds

Yes this is great to read! So good to hear you've both settled in well and I love the description of village life.

cheers

OK! Thanks for the update. Like you I would hate to audition for a choir. A roommate of mine joined the Bach Choir in San Francisco. He was of French background and he was always looking for opportunities to snag a damsel.

Glad you are liking being back.

Which general area of Scotland are you living? You are renting?

I have been getting a feel of property in the Borders because of the railway is being restored to that area. I could go for that area.

Tell me about using your iPad in the UK. Is it easy? We would like to use ours for the month we are there.

Cheers

lf1

Cheers,

We are in a village near Kelso. The train won't do much for us as either way as we will have to drive 25-30 mins to Berwick or Tweedbank (the new station) but I suppose we could always leave a car at the station to travel to Edinburgh.

We bought our place and so far so good. As for your iPad, before we moved permanently, I bought a sim card from TMobile and got internet access on a Pay-as-you-go basis. Worked just fine and I never had a problem with access, even in the country. Hope you have a great trip.

Pombat

Hi lf1,

I'm so glad to hear how well you've settled! I can't believe it is 6 months since we all (britwhore as well) sailed into Southampton on the QM2!!

We are also thoroughly enjoying being back. We have returned to live in our old house, so it has truly been a home coming. Having said that, we were away for 13 years so there have been some fairly major changes in the UK as a whole and in our neighbourhood in that time. The major concern for us was getting our kids settled into school, and fortunately that has gone really well. I don't know if we have just been particularly lucky, but I can honestly say that we could not have wished for a smoother transition for them.So for anyone worrying about uprooting older kids (ours are 12 and 14), it can be done

We have reconnected with old friends but have also started to make new friends, primarily through the kids being at school. I have gone back to college myself so I am meeting lots of great people there as well. The best things for us is being close to our extended family. Being able to pop in to see our parents or siblings for a cup of tea anytime is brilliant. The only downside has been adjusting to the wet weather, but we are coping with that and, like you, cherish every day when the sun is shining.

lf1

I know the time has just flown by. I am so glad to hear that you are settling in so well and especially the children. That must be a weight off your mind. Did you do some renovations to your house?

lf1

Thank you both and don't forget the kettle is always on and the wine always uncorked and chilled!!

Pombat

We are finally about to start building work. Our city council took forever to grant planning permission because the allocated case officer went on long term sick leave. Nobody at the council seemed to notice until I rang up to ask why we had not heard anything by the determination deadline. .
By the time a new officer was allocated and the process started again from scratch, our preferred builders were busy. We are due to get started within the next few weeks. So we'll be living in a building site for a few months but it should be worth it in the end!

cheers

Did you have to get a mortgage on the new home? I've read that mortgages in the UK have to paid off by the time a person is 65??

Lorry1

If1 - WOW I can't believe 6 months has gone, I remember all the posts before you sailed home on the QM2.

Congrats on settling in and glad you are enjoying village life. Good luck for the future

lf1

Cheers, I don't know anything about an age limitation, maybe it is something recent. My MIL had a mortgage beyond the age of 65 and took out her very first mortgage when she was in her sixties.

lf1

Thanks Lorry1. Not long until you go? If I remember correctly, you are sailing too?

windsong

It's a great post Glad you are enjoying being home. There's nowhere else like it

cheers

It was something I read on a forum some time ago so I needed to verify if it was true.