Grayling

Perhaps it's a man thang

cappuccino

Good luck with your move. Great idea to wait till Spring time there

Lion in Winter

Congratulations on deciding what you want and how to get it.

The future is unwritten....

WEBlue

Words of wisdom every soon-to-be-expat parent should strongly consider...but few do....

quoll

Equally, we always expect our kids to stick with us forever and often they bugger off to somewhere completely new (or whence they originated). Once you give kids the notion that moving is adventure then they will take their own paths in life!

Good on you G - Groundhog day just about describes it in my book too - ambling inexorably towards the nursing home and being well prepared for the inherent boredom en route.

Cambridgeshire is big and varied - South Cambs has some good villages, positively buzzing with things to do and be part of and we are well accessible to London. Health care around here is excellent IMHO should you need it. Cambridge itself is chockers with things for your diary (check out the town's church railings, laminated posters of concerts, talks, productions, trips, discussion groups etc and then every year we have Science Week with world class science presentations and discussions, film week and various other events. Only downside to Cambridge and the South of the County is the expense and the only downside to Peterborough and the north of the county is the neighbours. Cant help you with a good pub but there are some nice local micro breweries I believe (my friend's son has one) and the coffee is pretty good!

pommybird

For many of us, it takes a move overseas to make us realise that what we were looking for, was back here in the UK the whole time!

Love reading that, every time you write it, so true.....

redgirluk

You're going to my neck of the woods. I grew up in Newmarket born in Ely and intend to return to the Newmarket area this August for good. I am done here after 21 years and look forward to moving back. Good luck to you.

Lion in Winter

Shirtback

I was one of those kids . I suppose I can't blame mine for embracing the notion.

S

Amaike

You must be on serious countdown now. How long have you been in Oz?

WEBlue

Sure, our kids grow up to be their own people, with their very own individual ideas of where they want to live. That's the amazing & wonderful thing about having children--they come with no guarantees & after a certain age the parent has NO control!

When the kids are small & biddable, some parents don't realize this stage is only temporary...and the day is coming (sooner than some parents dream) when our kids grab their fates & run where they will... & all we can do at that point is wish them well.

So true!! Moving countries IS a grand adventure, and for young people it's got no downsides whatsoever. (The downsides come later, in middle & old age.)

Famous 5

I'm not sure how I overlooked this momentous news, but congratulations anyway. I hope all your preparations are going to plan.

There will never be a perfect time to move back to the UK, something we grappled with for a while. Finally, after visiting the UK at Easter last year, we made the snap decision to return and were back 9 weeks later, although our worldly goods were a little slower. Sometimes you just to have to stop thinking and do it.

After never quite feeling that Australia was home, I can honestly say it is fantastic to be back even though we left our first born behind in Oz (temporarily I hope). There are things we miss after 8 years in Australia and we haven't ruled out going back there to live one day, but for now the UK is home: we are enjoying everything it has to offer and certainly don't miss the nagging feeling we used to have that our lives were slightly off kilter.

I hope your preparations are not too stressful, but if things do get to you, focus on the goal - it will be worth it.

Pulaski

Basing your retirement plans on where your children are living is an exercise in frustration and futility. My parents were hell-bent on moving to where my sister was living at the time, which happened to be Norwich. Soon after they retired she moved to London, and a few years later went to France for seven years. Then she went to Easton, PA for about a year, but the situation fell apart and she has now been living in Cheshire for the past couple of years. Thankfully my parents stayed put, where there friends mostly live.

Jerseygirl

A little different from our situation...however I know what you're saying.

We brought our daughter to live this side of the pond...away from her friends and relatives. She has just had a baby...apart from her husband she has no support system here. If the current situation changes...then we will move back to the UK.

In my mind that it very different from the adult children moving away.

Pulaski

Agreed and understood. ...... But it is another way that retirees can end up separated by geography from their grandchildren.