Originally Posted by jasper123

ANGIE I came home December 1st 2010, I gave most of my clothes to the salvation army ---- 6 big 30 gallon trash bags full of em,
all I brought with me that were warm were 4 jackets that I liked and had for a few years, they were not heavy just light waist length, the same ones as I would wear in a normal las vegas winter say January and February, it can get down to the 30,s with a strong wind to boot in Vegas in winter,
I also brought 6 nice sweaters, 3 thin and 3 medium thickness, I only brought with me 4 short sleave shirts so I bought a whole bunch of really good quality long sleeve winter shirts in thrift stores for £2 or £3 each, most were like new marks & spencer shirts, also I brought with me 3 pairs of wrangler jeans and 2 pair of levis jeans, (brand name american jeans are VERY expensive in England) a pair of wranglers just avaverage will cost you £45 to £60 here, so my advice is if you like jeans make sure you bring enough with you, and maybe a couple of pairs the next size up ---- just in case you put on a few unwanted pounds with all the tempting old favorites and biscuits, real devon cream black forest cake, & all the rest Hmmmmm
Lovely
And when I came home Gatwick where I was supposed to land was absolutely covered in very deep snow and ice so the plane had to land at Heathrow, the worst winter in 100 years they said,
when I got to my Mums house we were snowed in for 6 days, people couldn't go to work it was so bad ---- and oh soooo cold --- enough to freeze the b---s off a monkey
No dont feel your head with stuff like what clothes to bring, just your normal stuff you would wear say in the west coast of USA or Canada,
I did bring a very old pair of long johns with me, I had em for about 20 years or more that I used to wear in the cold cold winters in Lake Tahoe years ago ---- oh boy talk about cold Brrrrrr for a few days in Tahoe it was 29 below one winter, I would even wear my long johns to bed, never been cold enough to wear them here though,
Good luck,
You must be getting excited already, I know I was when I still had 6 months to go, I was also a little scared of the unknowns that were waiting for me back home, I even went through a pretty bad depression and thinking OH BOY my plane tickets are booked, I have told my Mum and rest of family that Im coming home for good, and I cant back out of this now, what would they think of me, but yes I did have doubts, and yes I did almost back out of it,
I was so scared of not knowing what to expect in U. K. I have never told anyone on here about that before, all I could think of for a while is how can I make this huge change in my life after 36 years in America,
But this is the thing, you quickly get over these fears once your back home,
and you just slip into your new life, its like starting a new Job, you know how that feels --- when you dont know anybody and all you want to do is fit in, you probably wont feel that you belong there for a while not like the locals, but gradually you will bit by bit start loving life here and then you will be thinking why you didn't make the move years ago,
The UK is not perfect by any means --- what place is? ---- but its got an awful lot going for it, and I love it here
Its my Mum,s Birthday today and she is 92, so I have to get off here now and get everything ready for the little family party tonight
Take care,
Rodney.

Originally Posted by ANGIE1956

I do remember 23 years ago going into town on the bus with my two young children and being so cold i could of cried. After waiting half hour for the bus my feet hurt they were so cold. Maybe i just did not dress properly for the weather back then. Who knows i just know i was freezing.

Originally Posted by ANGIE1956

Thank you Rodney, what a lovely post. I do have some winter cloths already as it can get into the 30s here in Florida in the winter, so will bring them with me. I do remember 23 years ago going into town on the bus with my two young children and being so cold i could of cried. After waiting half hour for the bus my feet hurt they were so cold. Maybe i just did not dress properly for the weather back then. Who knows i just know i was freezing.

Originally Posted by ANGIE1956

Thank you Rodney, what a lovely post. I do have some winter cloths already as it can get into the 30s here in Florida in the winter, so will bring them with me. I do remember 23 years ago going into town on the bus with my two young children and being so cold i could of cried. After waiting half hour for the bus my feet hurt they were so cold. Maybe i just did not dress properly for the weather back then. Who knows i just know i was freezing.

Originally Posted by islandwoman120

It can be very cold and damp here at times, and windy too. If you are coming straight from Florida - unless it is the northern end of the state near to Georgia - you will notice the winter. I have good lined rubber boots, made in Canada, Sorel brand, and my feet are always warm. I also have Inuit boots, Mukluks, from Steger Mukluks, Ely, MN, and have worn those inside when it was drafty in December. You could get the warm sheepskin slippers from Lands End. Good shoes here are expensive, unless you live near to outlet stores - Street in Somerset is famous for Clarks shoes. My Sorels garnered many positive comments last winter, as no one else in Frome seemed to have decent winter boots - people were wearing polka dot Wellingtons with thick socks. We did have a bit of snow on and off all winter, and boots were used a lot. You can get very good thermal underwear at Marks & Spencers. I had never been warm when I lived in the UK many years ago, and was determined to be prepared - especially as I had lived in northern MN for years, and have the correct winter clothes for the climate. You rarely need thick down filled jackets, but finding good ones is a trek - even M & S in London had only thin wool coats, and many were polyester blends which are useless. Depends where you are going to live, and if you have to dress for work in a city. My MN clothes would not cut mustard in London, and London clothes are useless in the country. Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by islandwoman120

A little ditty - substitute any northern area you care to:

LEAVING WISCONSIN
It’s springtime in Wisconsin where the gentle breezes blow
About 70 miles per hour and it’s 53 below.

It’s springtime in Wisconsin where the snow’s up to your butt,
And you take a breath of springtime air and your nostrils both freeze shut.

It’s lovely in Wisconsin so I think I’ll hang around.
I could never leave Wisconsin - my feet are frozen to the ground.

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills

Happy birthday to your Mum Rodney

Originally Posted by Celticspirit

Happy birthday to your Mum! I hope she has a lovely party.
Rodney, your writings hold so much insight for all of us........just like you are reading our minds.

Originally Posted by jasper123

Hi Rosie,
--- you would think wouldn't you that a country so cold at times would sell some warm thick quality jackets --- but no way do they here, the winter jackets that they sale here in UK are absolutely garbage,
, I have never seen a down jacket here, but the other day I did see a down pillow

Originally Posted by jasper123

Hi Rosie,
When I came back home in December last year it was freezing for a couple of months and I dont know what I would have done if I didn't bring my lovely down 3/4 length jacket, it is so warm, I agree with you on the British coats and jackets --- you would think wouldn't you that a country so cold at times would sell some warm thick quality jackets --- but no way do they here, the winter jackets that they sale here in UK are absolutely garbage,
I bought my nice down jacket in RENO when I lived there, I have never seen a down jacket here, but the other day I did see a down pillow

Originally Posted by cheers

I see that Canadian currency bills are going to go plastic so as to cut down on forgery/counterfeiting and they said they will last longer.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canad.../ID=2015101268

Originally Posted by Beedubya

For warm clothing you need to go to one of those shops that sell hiking kind of gear, they sell all kinds of warm jackets, fleeces and hiking boots, I can't remember where I bought my jacket from in The Lake District but at times it got too hot to wear.

Like anything it's just a matter of knowing where to look.

Originally Posted by bandrui

Yes I saw that on the news here this week. Not sure how I feel about plastic money . Oh well, it supposedly will save them billions in the long run.

Originally Posted by bandrui

Yes I saw that on the news here this week. Not sure how I feel about plastic money . Oh well, it supposedly will save them billions in the long run.

Originally Posted by cheers

I would think that with it being a plastic material your money will stretch further