Dear all
I am floating on a cloud today..... Interview lined up in London (spoke to them on the phone yesterday), tickets booked, estate agent contacted and appointment made, at last Ive finished my 20 year sentance and I can escape the US!!!! :-)
But I know this is only the begining, already have many questions, decissions (Which dog do we leave being a difficult one)
First question of many:
We have a Roth IRA, is it better to take it out and suffer the penalties and the reinvest in the UK, or wait until we retire and then have it transfered to the UK (any tax or penalties)
Thanks all
Rob

Sorry cannot answer your question but have to ask why do you have to leave a dog behind. Do you have too many to take with you? If I dont ask I know someone else will as there are tonnes of discussions on this forum about pets

Its something we dont want to do, but we have 3 dogs and 3 cats.
Shipping and other related costs is $1200 per dog
The size of house we can afford to rent will be to small for 3 dogs
My sister loves the dog we are thinking of leaving, he will have a great home

Oh thats shame for you. At least you know your dog will be in safe hands. Good luck to you on your move back. I hope it goes well for you.

Your tax and Social Security position may depend on whether you are a US citizen or not.

Jeremy

Thanks
I am a Naturalized US citizen now, but as a Brit, still have a British Passport etc

You will still need to file for US tax returns when you return to the UK, although you may not have to pay much (or anything). You should talk with other US expats in the UK about tax issues.

On the other hand your Social Security should be a lot safer because you're a US citizen.

Jeremy

[QUOTE=Triumphrob]
I could have been reading my own message when i read yours. My house is sold, the plane tickets bought and we have had to chose which dog to leave behind.... awful decision but we also knew that we could not find a rented house in the UK for 2 big dogs and also the cost!!. So the labrador that we brought out with us 5 years ago is coming back along with the cat but the german shepherd we have had to find him a new home. He went last week to a very good friend who i know will love him like we do, but it was awful to make the decision and say goodbye, the house seems really quiet without him bounding around. So we are down to 3 weeks to do and then we are on our way and we can't wait. Good luck with your planning and your journey I know what you are going through.

We have decided to leave our small savings and our 401k plans rolled over into an american bank temporarily. the penalty in interest for drawing the monies out early can take away much of what you have, so better to roll over until hopefully the exchange rate improves or at least until you can roll over into maybe an international account that can transfer to british account. just to withdraw it would have penalties but if you can transfer or roll over to British bank you would be better off. (hope that makes sense).
I'm really happy that at least you know your other dog will be loved and in good hands. still, it has to be hard. Have you worked out when youll be leaving then?

I'm really happy that at least you know your other dog will be loved and in good hands. still, it has to be hard. Have you worked out when youll be leaving then?[/QUOTE]

After the interview / rental house trip at the end of April, we will pick a date. It will be at least 6 months to get the dogs through DEFRA procedures so I spose October will be the earliest.... seems a bit sureal right now!!
Thanks

Out of interest can I ask why you felt it was a 20 year sentence? Did you always hate it here?

No, I loved it for the first 10 years.

Oh. What happened then? Just got fed up?

2 things:
Miss the UK a lot, for all the reasons ive posted before (People, Sense of Humor, Pubs, History, Countryside etc etc) even though Im aware of the higher cost of living.
US is not the place it was, at least to me. Dislike the arrogance, backstabbing, blandness, superficial friends, humidity and bugs. Realiised all the material stuff like nice house, pool, cars and toys arnt that important.
Rob

Yeah no kidding, post-911 USA sucks - people are too patriotic (too keen on war, dislike foreigners, believe everything the government or corporations say....), have no sense-of-humour and friends are very superficial. In my 4 years here, I really only have one friend I would piss on if she was on fire

And yeah, although pool, cars etc. are cool, they don't matter as much as being with family and in a country with some history/culture.

As far as the 401K goes - that's exactly why I never bothered with one, it's basically putting off paying tax on the gamble that the money will be worth less in the future (unlikely with the current exchange rate).

God I can't wait to get back to the UK, today I'm actually considering taking a $7000 hit on selling my car just to get out quicker!