Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Come to New Hampshire no sales taxes :)

PAT M...So happy to hear you are home but know exactly what you are going through with your home. Could you rent it out ? or have summer rentals.....

My husbands surgery was scary...He went into the local hospital for the agioplasty and they did do it but did not clear out the blockage as it was at the opening to the main artery and close to the secondary one. If part of the blockage had broken away it could have blocked all his arteries and they said they did not feel comfortable doing it. So the moved him by ambulance to the best heart hospital in the area. He came out of the first procedure and within 20mins had been sent to the other one. They told me to go home and they would call me. If they felt the procedure would be to dangerous they were going to do open heart surgery. They called me two hours later everything was done they had put a stint in and he was back in intensive care feeling fine. He can come home tomorrow. What a relief:amen: They said he will feel much better. He was what they called a walking heart attack.....Symptons....slight cough, going out in the cold made his chest hurt and waking in the night with pains in the chest but not bad ones also carrying in the shopping bags. None of the more talked about symptons...Take note:ohmy:

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Quite something!
Sounds like they transferred him by ambulance in the middle of the operation.
Home tomorrow and get mended.
I wish him a speedy recovery.
Cheers

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

That was scary, good outcome though lucky man. It'll be good to get him home tomorrow.

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Hi PatM, great to hear from you and glad you're happy.

One suggestion I'd have if you don't mind my butting in, is to not rely on posting your CV online but actually get out and ask about jobs. I've done a lot of hiring in my time and those websites are pretty much useless. Much better to walk into agencies, shops and offices and just ask if they're hiring. Lots of times the answer will be yes. Good luck!

Trotty, what a shock! I'm so glad he's recovering now.

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

If your near Portsmouth cheers dont forget to look me up :)

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

trotty the op sounds scary, but so glad the outcome was good, I can just imagine your relief when you got that phone call,
My friend who moved from Vegas to Seattle Wa ----- well when he was 62 and still living in Vegas, he went to the doc for a usual check up, the doc sent him to have a stress test, you know when you walk on the treadmill with wires attatched to you,
well the result was not so good, so that triggerered a series of other tests that they ordered for him at the hospital, so anyway the outcome was he had to have a quadrable by pass which literally saved his life,
The Docs said his arteries were so blocked that if he didn't have the Op he would have probably been dead in 6 months,
I remember his symptoms, all he had was a cough that sounded like bronchitis, but it did not go away, and as we were walking one day I noticed how out of breath he was getting with just a short walk, very unlike him because he was always a healthy person, non smoker/drinker. normal weight, enjoyed excersise,
anyway he is now 70, so that was 8 years ago, and feeling quite fit, he still works 3 days a week, but is thinking of retiring for good shortly,
anyway it turned out that a year after my friends Op, his Brother who is a Senator in Washington DC also had the same quadrable by pass Op just one year later, so it is possible that some cases are hereditary,
Anyway good news of your hubby, look after each other,
and however your life works out for you Avril, whether you come home or remain in U.S. with your family, at the end of the day the only thing that is important is for you and your husband to be well and happy.
And the same thing applies to us all really doesn't it.
Rodney.

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

This "persistent slight cough" symptom that was mentioned in a couple (or three, maybe?) posts is worrying. An old friend comes from a family with heart disease in the genes (dad died at 55 of a heart attack, I think).

He has become overweight and inactive and when I have spoken with him, every time I'm struck by this incessant slight cough he has (that actually is a little irritating as the listener - I just assume someone would get it looked at, or buy some cough syrup or throat lozenges or soomething). Maybe next time I talk with him I''ll ask about his cough ...

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

That's one of the things they say to look out for, if it's persistent then it needs to be sorted, as well as possible heart conditions, it could also be an early symptom of Ca lung.

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

What is the best way to send money for our cottage deposits in the UK?
I think Sally is the expert but she is busy I think.
Cheers

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Thank you Fish for the good wishes.

Trottytrue so glad your husband is OK, I wish him a speedy recovery, how scary for you. As regards your suggestion of renting our house out, we had considered it but it just would not be worth it, a rental income of Euros 500 monthly, (yes that cheap for a large 3 bed detached house, now why didn't we rent before buying, silly mistake) which would be taxable and we would be liable for all the repairs and maintenance, just not worth the worry. Summer rentals would mean we would have to remove all our personal possessions and ornaments, pay to have someone to prepare the house for holiday guests and clean up after them, we are here over 1,700 miles away, so again we decided against it. We have a nice gardener looking after the garden and taking in the post for us and generally keeping the outside of the house looked after, so we are very lucky.

Sallysimmons, thank you for your suggestion, I will try that. I fancy working for the local hospital, in an admin or housekeeping role, everything is "online" these days for NHS jobs, but I will definitely try walking into the agencies and shops and ask if they are hiring.

We love our Freedom Passes and hardly use our car, my husband passed his topography test and got the certificate, we can send off his application on Monday. A lot of people ask why a map reading test is needed but if the sat nav conks out you would want to know that your driver could read a map at least I suppose.

Would I encourage anyone to live in Italy or Tuscany if their heart was set on it, well only if they have the means to try it out by renting for a year first, if only we had done that. We have our son and his girlfriend in Umbria (a beautiful region next to Tuscany).

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Yes - we left our kids back in the US. And we certainly missed them! With Skype and all the other communication methods at our fingertips, it was pretty easy to keep in touch - but we would have a few tears at Christmas time when we realized we were so far apart. We were fortunate to be able to get an air-miles flight back to the US for my Wife each year which was great. It also meant she could go on a shopping spree for clothes etc. (since Asian stores only seem to stock clothing in small, very small and really tiny sizes.)

So moving to the UK is going to be a lot better - a mere 9 to 10 hour flight instead of 24+.

I am lucky enough to have a job to go to - so we will be moving to Surrey. We are not from that area - and I have had several heart attacks when looking at the price of property! We will be renting.

Only four weeks to go!

All the best

Tahiti

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Thankyou all for your kind wishes. My husband is home but he has lots of instructions and follow ups. I am not sure what our next step will be he has to be on a pill a day for the stint otherwise it would close up again. They gave us pictures of the before and after. I dont know how he managed with artery almost closed. They did say he might lose the cough which at times I found very annoying.:ohmy:

I will post on my update on going home in a couple of days.

I think this is a good lesson for those of you trying to make your minds up or thinking of waiting. All I can say is dont do it go as soon as you can it isnt worth waiting and maybe losing the chance to go back home.

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Trotty it's great to hear the op went well and hubby now back home. Best of wishes for his recovery. The two of you have been through it health-wise.

I do hope he recovers swiftly and you do manage a smooth and happy transition back to the UK as per your heart's desire, or you reach a place where you are happy to let the dream go, and to stay in the US near your daughter....

in other words, after following your story for so long, I so much want you to be happy, wherever you are!
Hard for the ever-torn expats that we are......

Your wise words to us all, don't hesitate, move back as soon as you can if that's want you want, etc, are very valuable.

Tina

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Well done Mr Trotty, get well soon

Re: OVER 50's & 60's Chit-Chat & Daily Catch-Up Thread
 

Well, friends, the end of our stint in France is in sight and at last my very long-standing desire to live in the Uk, or to be based in the UK, can become reality!

And we have some questions. All of which have probably been answered already somewhere in the forums (fora?), and you will probably all shout at me.

I'm sorry. Somehow I don't really pay attention to the answers until the questions are immediately relevant! I have saved some info I have found here over the last few years..but of course rules and regs have changed too.

Since we are in early 60s (him) and late 50s (me), my over 50s and 60s friends are the ones to ask.

We are a USC/UKC couple married for 30+ years. Husband will be retired from full-time employment.
I (UKC) have a green card but haven't become a USC (despite everyone on this thread urging me to!) and probably won't, unless they change the wording of the oath.
We have three adult children who have grown up in US but who are unsure where they will end up--one currently in Europe, another will very soon be in Europe for a while, third still in US.

The basic question is, do we move to UK lock stock and barrel?
Or are there good reasons to try and keep a foothold--eg a tiny property- in the US as well?

Specific questions:

1. If you no longer have a physical address in USA, can you keep a bank account there?

2. If I no longer have a physical address in USA, am I laying myself open to Green Card Abandonment, even though I am married to a USC?
I do plan to visit the USA at least once a year to keep the green card valid.
When it expires, will I be denied a new one, if I have no current US address?
If I'm denied and we later want to return to live (unlikely in my mind, but you never know!) could I easily get another one, on the basis of marriage to USC?
(I know, we can't read the future, no-one can know how the US rules may change.)

3. Should my husband apply for the UK spouse visa (obviously I've been reading--or trying to!!--the UK border website guidance etc)?
Or should he just remain a visitor, which means (as I understand it) leaving after 6 months (at most) for a visit to the US--which if our kids are there we would do anyway--and then coming back for another six months max? I guess this would depend on good health and circumstances permitting...risky and precarious, perhaps.

3. Re spouse visa: I think we meet the financial requirements for retirees. And we have a place to live in UK.
He would have full access to NHS; without spouse visa, he would need private health care insurance. So NHS is one huge advantage of spouse visa.
Re work, he may want to work part time and of course he can't as a visitor;
another advantage to the spouse visa.

4. I know many 50s/60s USC/UKC couples on this forum have upped sticks and moved completely to UK. Sold everything, closed bank accounts, etc.
But are there any who go back and forth, and have a property in both places?
And if so, which country do they consider their primary residence?
Or is the real question: which country does the taxman consider the primary residence??!

Any input would be helpful, or feel free to ignore me if these questions are too daft. At some point we probably ought to consult a tax/retirement specialist who understands both systems, anyway.

Obviously, we don't have to decide right away, DH can be a visitor in the first instance. But of course an application for a spouse visa must be done from the US, you can't switch from visitor to official spouse while in the UK, so it would need some planning.

Thanks,
Tina.