Finally going home
Feb 26th 2018, 7:23 pm
#16
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Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Norwich, Vermont
Posts: 163
Re: Finally going home
Jensmate - I'm so glad to hear you're very nearly here. You have a positive and realistic outlook with regard to what lies ahead for you and you've chosen to live in a lovely area we are both fond of.
I have my own happy memories of your new home. This April 1, coincidentally, will mark seven years since I walked into my own flat on the Leas (Langhorne Gardens) in Folkestone and I can imagine you're looking forward to all those lovely walks over the sea front. Hubby and I were married there and would like to return there to celebrate our 10th Anniversary with dinner at The Grand.
During the summer, we often used to go for early morning walks before the heat of the day came up and stop off at Sainsbury's for our bits and bobs on the way home - no car required. Hubby had a leafy green 20 minute walk to work. It was a lovely time.
I've attached a photo of a sight on the Leas you may have missed - This tribute to the Diamond Jubilee appeared just past the Harvey Monument back in 2012 and I believe it's gone now. It was taken the day of the Folkestone Air Show from our flat window.
I wish you every success and happiness for a new life in Kent. Please keep us posted about how you're getting on
I have my own happy memories of your new home. This April 1, coincidentally, will mark seven years since I walked into my own flat on the Leas (Langhorne Gardens) in Folkestone and I can imagine you're looking forward to all those lovely walks over the sea front. Hubby and I were married there and would like to return there to celebrate our 10th Anniversary with dinner at The Grand.
During the summer, we often used to go for early morning walks before the heat of the day came up and stop off at Sainsbury's for our bits and bobs on the way home - no car required. Hubby had a leafy green 20 minute walk to work. It was a lovely time.
I've attached a photo of a sight on the Leas you may have missed - This tribute to the Diamond Jubilee appeared just past the Harvey Monument back in 2012 and I believe it's gone now. It was taken the day of the Folkestone Air Show from our flat window.
I wish you every success and happiness for a new life in Kent. Please keep us posted about how you're getting on
Are you still in Folkestone?
Feb 27th 2018, 12:03 am
#17
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Joined: Jul 2012
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 189
Re: Finally going home
You're making me jealous. I'm from Dover originally and I have family in Folkestone. Been in the US best part of 20 years and would love to move back. It might happen with a lot of work and some good luck, but otherwise it might just be a walk on the Leas for me once every couple of years when on holiday. Have a dish of cockles for me in the harbour!
Feb 27th 2018, 1:18 am
#18
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Location: Norwich, Vermont
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Re: Finally going home
You're making me jealous. I'm from Dover originally and I have family in Folkestone. Been in the US best part of 20 years and would love to move back. It might happen with a lot of work and some good luck, but otherwise it might just be a walk on the Leas for me once every couple of years when on holiday. Have a dish of cockles for me in the harbour!
Feb 27th 2018, 9:28 am
#19
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Location: A Proud Height, Northumberland UK
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Re: Finally going home
Feb 27th 2018, 4:32 pm
#20
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Re: Finally going home
And don't forget the cream teas in the faded grandeur of the Grand Hotel. We're leaving Folkestone for France in early April, but we've really enjoyed the two years we've lived here.
Feb 28th 2018, 2:10 pm
#21
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Joined: May 2013
Location: Canada BC
Posts: 32
Re: Finally going home
Such a lovely post!
Best of luck in life part III
Best of luck in life part III
Mar 1st 2018, 4:25 pm
#22
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Rural BC
Posts: 256
Re: Finally going home
Gosh to wait for decades is a long time indeed.
Mar 3rd 2018, 2:36 pm
#23
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Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Looe, Cornwall
Posts: 671
Re: Finally going home
As of April 1st and barring any slips I will be setting foot in my flat in Folkestone and officially moving, albeit part time, back into English life.
I've waited a long time for this...decades...during which I've seen my parents and my brother pass on, my little nieces and nephews grow up, raise families and become grandparents themselves and the country change beyond all recognition to the one I left in the grim 1970s.
Folkestone is where I enjoyed my first Knickerbocker Glory and where I walked with my best friend and her parents along the Leas almost a half century ago.
That best friend is still my bestie and we turned back the years two weeks ago with another stroll along the Leas followed by lunch at Rocksalt at the harbour.
The decision to move back and all the planning surrounding the move has not been easy. I have decided to transition by living part time in both countries for a year. This will give me time to acclimatise but still have a foot in both places in case I realize the move the wrong thing to do or if unforseen problems arise..
My friends have generously emptied their kitchens, storage closets and spare rooms to provide provisional furnishings for my flat. If I decide to move back for good, I'll buy my own furnishings and sell my US stuff rather than ship from the US. It will be a new life which will deserve a fresh start. Anyway, My American furniture would crowd a tiny retirement flat!
So, very soon I will be enjoying all of the wonderful times I've missed over the years: knitting groups with my sister and niece; family dinners and get togethers; movie nights with old friends; weekend getaways to Derbyshire; The South of England Agricultural Show and Kentish cherries!
I'm realistic enough to know it won't be all sweetness and light. There will be days when I'll be as lonely in my Folkestone flat as I am in my Vermont apartment; when I'll miss my car ( buses and trains only for me in the UK to save money) and when even a sunny day in the Kent countryside will be unfavourably compared to the open roads, verdant meadows and the breathtaking gorgeousness that is New England in the fall.
But, I'm ready for the challenge.
So begins the adventure.
Life part three.
I've waited a long time for this...decades...during which I've seen my parents and my brother pass on, my little nieces and nephews grow up, raise families and become grandparents themselves and the country change beyond all recognition to the one I left in the grim 1970s.
Folkestone is where I enjoyed my first Knickerbocker Glory and where I walked with my best friend and her parents along the Leas almost a half century ago.
That best friend is still my bestie and we turned back the years two weeks ago with another stroll along the Leas followed by lunch at Rocksalt at the harbour.
The decision to move back and all the planning surrounding the move has not been easy. I have decided to transition by living part time in both countries for a year. This will give me time to acclimatise but still have a foot in both places in case I realize the move the wrong thing to do or if unforseen problems arise..
My friends have generously emptied their kitchens, storage closets and spare rooms to provide provisional furnishings for my flat. If I decide to move back for good, I'll buy my own furnishings and sell my US stuff rather than ship from the US. It will be a new life which will deserve a fresh start. Anyway, My American furniture would crowd a tiny retirement flat!
So, very soon I will be enjoying all of the wonderful times I've missed over the years: knitting groups with my sister and niece; family dinners and get togethers; movie nights with old friends; weekend getaways to Derbyshire; The South of England Agricultural Show and Kentish cherries!
I'm realistic enough to know it won't be all sweetness and light. There will be days when I'll be as lonely in my Folkestone flat as I am in my Vermont apartment; when I'll miss my car ( buses and trains only for me in the UK to save money) and when even a sunny day in the Kent countryside will be unfavourably compared to the open roads, verdant meadows and the breathtaking gorgeousness that is New England in the fall.
But, I'm ready for the challenge.
So begins the adventure.
Life part three.
Mar 5th 2018, 1:32 pm
#24
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Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Fredericton, New Brunswick CA
Posts: 8,309
Re: Finally going home
We know Folkestone very well and spent many a happy day there when we lived in Kent. Really miss the seafood stalls by the harbour. We are seriously thinking of moving back to the UK. I like your idea of spending time in both - this makes really good sense. Keep us posted
Edit: nevermind, checked one of your other posts.
Last edited by Tangram; Mar 5th 2018 at 1:54 pm.
Mar 6th 2018, 4:25 pm
#25
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Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Looe, Cornwall
Posts: 671
Re: Finally going home
Mar 6th 2018, 4:37 pm
#26
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Rural BC
Posts: 256
Re: Finally going home
Same with me in BC its terrible the ways costs have rocketed. I am in Penticton and a house sells in average of 3 days far inflated and there are bidding wars for property.
Costs are lower in the UK now depending on area but possible to get a place semi detached for 150,000PDS impossible here.
Taxes are huge, wages are low, food is rocketing in price, utilities are rocketing.....I know one person who has a child and he does 2 jobs the wife one and their rent is $1400 a month for a dump here!!!!!
My theory is that drug money, and money laundering is responsible for the manic property price rises in Vancouver and surrounding areas. I heard of one Chinese couple who have been chased by Chinese agents on tourist visas who want the $12million they stole from a company, they of course bought a house with it in West Vancouver and the Canadian government won't help catch these crooks. A student was reported to own a $3million house with no income!!!! Go figure there are MANY more cases being reported.
Whats the point of being here.
Costs are lower in the UK now depending on area but possible to get a place semi detached for 150,000PDS impossible here.
Taxes are huge, wages are low, food is rocketing in price, utilities are rocketing.....I know one person who has a child and he does 2 jobs the wife one and their rent is $1400 a month for a dump here!!!!!
My theory is that drug money, and money laundering is responsible for the manic property price rises in Vancouver and surrounding areas. I heard of one Chinese couple who have been chased by Chinese agents on tourist visas who want the $12million they stole from a company, they of course bought a house with it in West Vancouver and the Canadian government won't help catch these crooks. A student was reported to own a $3million house with no income!!!! Go figure there are MANY more cases being reported.
Whats the point of being here.
Mar 7th 2018, 8:13 pm
#27
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Joined: Dec 2017
Location: Scotland
Posts: 120
Re: Finally going home
We left UK just before the big crash. We really enjoyed the first 5 years in BC until the property market got out of hand. Since then everything has sky rocketed so fast. We went back to the UK and realized just how expensive BC had become. I have most of my bills for the 11 years we have been in BC and just about everything has doubled in cost. In the same period my salary went up by 10%. If that happens over the next 10 years in BC who an earth can afford to live here? How people on the average family income get by is beyond me.
Here in the US, the divide between the rich and the poor has grown so much that it’s impossible to imagine how anyone but the very wealthy might achieve “the American Dream.” At the very most, most people grow up, go to college, are shackled with tremendous debt and spend the rest of their lives chained to modern indentured servitude in jobs that don’t pay enough and don’t provide adequate benefits while they pay off student debt and pay through the nose for health insurance (and costs that aren’t covered by health insurance). Far too few people get proper paid holiday and even fewer take that paid holiday when they can. Oh, and when folk get seriously ill or have to enter a care home, a list of peripheral entities suck any savings they’ve managed to accumulate entirely dry (and then place them on a “generous” subsidized program when those savings run out). What a life.
Sorry to vent and weave such a tale of woe, but my goodness, America has really become such a machine; people are cogs and are replaced when they wear out. It’s madness. I’ve been here for the better part of 15 years and it’s undoubtedly worse now than when I arrived.
OP, I’m so glad you’re taking this leap! I hope you find peace in your heart in Folkestone and spend lots of wonderful time with your friends and family! 😊
Last edited by PrairieWriter; Mar 7th 2018 at 8:31 pm.
Mar 7th 2018, 8:22 pm
#28
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Rural BC
Posts: 256
Re: Finally going home
Its good to hear how things really are in other parts of the world so people can get a good idea before they make their minds up to up and leave and then get a shock....so thanks for sharing the info...
Apr 4th 2018, 4:42 pm
#30
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Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Norwich, Vermont
Posts: 163
Re: Finally going home
Thank you for all replies to my posts.
Im finally here!!!!
Well, it's been just over 24 hours since I stepped off the plane home and it's been a whirlwind of activity. I got the keys to my flat, had the carpet people in to measure up, give me a quote and scheduled the fitting; had the electricity account changed to my name; registered with the council to pay the tax on my flat, had a bacon bap, a cuppa and a long, lovely chat with my best mate at a cafe in Hythe; she and I took boxes of kitchen supplies to the flat and now back to her house for Lincolnshire sausages, mash and Brussels for dinner!!
I can't tell you how GOOD it feels to be home!
Im finally here!!!!
Well, it's been just over 24 hours since I stepped off the plane home and it's been a whirlwind of activity. I got the keys to my flat, had the carpet people in to measure up, give me a quote and scheduled the fitting; had the electricity account changed to my name; registered with the council to pay the tax on my flat, had a bacon bap, a cuppa and a long, lovely chat with my best mate at a cafe in Hythe; she and I took boxes of kitchen supplies to the flat and now back to her house for Lincolnshire sausages, mash and Brussels for dinner!!
I can't tell you how GOOD it feels to be home!