HighSpeedGrandma

Hiya everyone!
Fantastic to see you remember me. I love this place. British Expats I mean, not THIS place I am sitting right now. Although I do love that too. It's my flat!

In brief I returned to the UK after 21 years in the US. Loved the first 10-15 years in the US but became more and more 'homesick' the older I became.
In 2010 circumstances offered me a chance to leave the US for a while and go to Hong Kong, and then another change of circumstances offered me the chance to come back to the UK. Lots more to it than that, but that's the basics.

I am still happy here. Happier here than I was those last few years in the US, where I was 'happy but something was missing'. That's the only way I could describe it. I was not 'unhappy' in the States, but as I said, there was alway something missing and I wanted more and more to come 'home. But I couldn't because I had nowhere to live, no money, no job.

Since I returned I have redeveloped my life. I have a flat (rented, can't get a mortgage at my age, (57), and had no money even if I could). I have a job I enjoy, surprisingly. It's low paid but not stressful. I have a car. I have all my prescriptions filled monthly for free. No medical worries. Great group of co workers and friends and I enjoy Brit tv in my downtime and strolling to shops and the beach. When the weather permits.

If you listen to the news it's all doom and gloom. Budget coming up. High fuel costs, high food costs. Horse meat in our food. Country taken over by 'foreigners' and benefit scroungers. Thugs, knifings, burglaries ( experienced one of those last year when I was living with my daughter!) but at the end of the day it's 'home'. I am a Brit. I feel like I belong and my heart is here. Won't bore you with more. How's everyone here? Any questions and I will be happy to answer them. I am usually at work every weekend, but have this afternoon off, so am making the most of it catching up!!

cheers

I remmber the name but nothing else.

Questions. How did you get insurance for the car? Did you go for a test for your license?
I've read that insurance is expensive unless you go through an insurance agent.

WhoFan63

Hi again Sue... if you don't mind me asking, how did you do it? Feel free to PM me with any advise..LOL I turn 50 in October and even though I know it's going to be difficult, it's not put me off the idea of going home. I too will be renting, but I won't be able to get a place of my own until I build up some 'credit' in the UK such as work references etc etc as I have no history in the UK. I left the UK when I was young and moved to Australia and then moved to the US in 2003 when I got married.
It's hard to know where to begin and I so want to be in the same position you are in now !

HighSpeedGrandma

Hi Cheers.
First year back I phoned several places for insurance and it was astronomical. I had bought a car for £1100, and the insurance quoted to me was £1600. Ridiculous. So I went online and found insurance for, I think around £800 which was still astronomical, but not quite as much! Couldn't get anyone to accept the driving record from the US so I was starting with zero no claims discount.

I never once went through an agent. When my insurance came up for renewal I had changed my car, because the first one died on me, and the insurance company wanted to increase the insurance by a crazy amount. So again I went online, to Comparethemarket.com and obtained insurance for around £500. Pay for it monthly at £40 per month

HighSpeedGrandma

Hiya. Do you have a specific area you want to return to? Do you have any money available to rent anywhere? Do you have a date in mind? What sort of work would you be seeking?
The main reason I was able to come back was because my daughter was able to offer me her spare bedroom. Her boyfriend got a job in London and he moved out of their flat. Not permanently, but it gave me enough incentive to get back here and look for work and see how I liked it. Ask anything. I really don't mind.

WhoFan63

I'd love to be in a quieter area with beautiful scenery, like being able to look out over the English countryside , but realistically I need to be somewhere commutable to a bigger city for work reasons, because I need to go where the jobs are. I was born in Lancashire, so initially I'm going to be going near Bolton (Lostock), where I can stay at a B&B very reasonably until I get myself settled. I thought once I'm there I can look into a house share situation. I have enough funds to last me 6 months, but because I wouldn't be working immediately on my arrival most private rental properties would want 6 months rent up front, so that's a no-go option for me right now. I've been in the medical industry all my life, clerical/secretarial work for hospitals, labs, doctor's offices etc etc, so clerical work is what I will be looking for. Of course I'm willing to try anything and luckily I am a quick learner so a change of career isn't out of the picture either.
At the moment I'm just waiting for my UK passport to arrive, so am anticipating an April 2nd or April 9th departure. Naturally I can't even book my ticket until my pp arrives..LOL

cheers

So where do you live in the UK? Sorry if you already told us.

Any tips for buying a car?

Fish n Chips 56

Hi Sue, I remember your name, HSG, the Hong Kong detail helped me remember more about you.

You do sound happy and that is the number one thing in life, good for you.

scot47

What is this modern obsession about being accessible around the clock ?

HighSpeedGrandma

Well you are on the right track. And you have more money than I did when I came back. I had very little. Main incentive to finding work was staying at daughters and couldn't live rent free.
You have a B&B address so couldn't you sign up with temp agencies for work to get money coming in, while you look for something more permanent? There are all kinds of jobs available if you are willing to work. As long as you have an address you can then get a job and a bank account etc. I was working as a payroll supervisor in the US. Had worked in accounting, HR and admin type work for 20 years. But the competition was really fierce when I came back and I couldn't get an office job that paid what I wanted. In hindsight I should have accepted lower paying jobs but at the time I thought I would hold out for the right job then I could settle into it! Shouldn't have done that. Should have taken the office jobs offered, then worked my way up.

I initially thought I wasn't getting interviews because I was not up to scratch in UK payroll and accounting programmes. Finally after receiving another "Sorry, your application has not been successful at this time"...email I sent a reply and asked them if they'd kindly tell me what I was doing wrong with my CV, or what the issues were that they had.
The reply I got was that they felt I was 'over qualified' for the jobs I was looking for and they felt I would get bored!!! Here was me thinking I was way under qualified and that's why I wasn't getting the interviews.

I decided to try something completely and totally different to what I had done my entire working life. Firstly out of financial need, I needed a regular income, and secondly because I decided I was bored with office work.
So I trained as an HCA, or Health Care Assistant and worked for an agency at first.
Now I work in a residential nursing home. Training for my NVQ 3 while working. Would never have said I would like this work, but I really enjoy it!

Basically, if you have somewhere you can stay when you first get back here and you have enough money to get you started, it's easier when you're back than what you fear it's going to be like. I was amazed that within a few months of being back I had my new update UK driving licence, a car, a job, a bank account and the beginnings of a credit rating. In December this past year I moved into my flat. I love it. Completely independent now, living alone and like I said new friends who really do have a lot in common with, sense of humour wise and childhood memory wise.

HighSpeedGrandma

Hiya. I am in Bournemouth. There are tons and tons of cars out there. I looked on Auto Trader, in the local papers and did a search online for reliable car dealers. They've changed a lot since I came out to the States and are no longer, for the most part, the rogue's I remember. And there are ALWAYS people selling their cars for millions of reasons. I have a 2004 Kia Picanto. It's tiny, economical with a 1 Litre engine and costs just £3O a year for road tax!

WhoFan63

I thought I would need a 'permanent' address in order to get a bank account? I also have an Australian drivers licence instead of a US one and thats easy enough to transfer over, but once again I would probably need a permanent home address instead of using the B&B one correct? Looking at temp agencies was one of the things I had on my 'to do' list. So long as I can get enough to live off until I get more settled, then I just need a foot in the door.

HighSpeedGrandma

As far as I know there is a "passport bank account" for those that have no 'permanent address' Not absolutely positive. When I talked to a bank when I came back they were very helpful and told me I needed something with 'proof of address' like a bill for something to prove I lived there. They did not say it had to be a 'permanent address'. Just an address that proved I was 'living' in the UK. Honestly can't remember all the details but I was very surprised at how easy it was because I had heard nightmare stories. Everyone told me not to come back because of all this hard stuff I would have to endure. Everyone was very helpful.

WhoFan63

Well I can always pop into the bank and ask them. I could probably get something from the B&B to show I am staying there in case that would suffice. Is it hard to get training to be a HCA? I had thought about that too as a career change, because I love people and I get along with almost everyone..lol. I didn't know whether I was too 'old' to start a new career like that, or if I'd need certain qualifications. I was going to start looking into it when i saw your post.

sallysimmons

We're paying £300 a year and it's about to go down because we're moving to a more rural area. We didn't use an agent - just an online comparison website. We had no problem getting 9 years of US no claims accepted.

HighSpeedGrandma, it's great to hear from you and I'm glad you're happy! How's your husband doing? Did he stay in the US?