Re: Perspective.
 

No , I have not been to the US for some years now ;
it's a hard life in the U.K. , unless you are seriously rich , IMHO .
May look good on the outside , if you visit for a short while ;
not everyone of us is well equipped for swimming in a pool of sharks and for survival of the fittest only .
Liberal capitalism is not about human evolution , it's about rich getting richer and about the others working more and longer ( if they can get the work ) for ever less money and in ever less secure enviroment .
Not to say that you won't love it in U.K. , sometimes even I have a nice time there .

Re: Perspective.
 

Wow, I've lost count of how many times I have heard it said. I have never and would never say that Australia is shite, if we couldn't go back to England I could still live here and be mostly happy.

Re: Perspective.
 

I have said many times that 2 or 3 % difference seems to some to make the difference between as you say being lucky to find a job and there being loads of work. There is even one bloke who loves saying how everyone in the UK is worried about losing their jobs, complete nonsense but some seem to thrive on it. Our friends are still working, still going on holiday, still driving their cars, in fact they appear to be living life as normal.

Re: Perspective.
 

You don't have to tell me - I live in the USA, bastion of capitalism :lol:

My impressions of the UK are not just those of someone just looking from the outside in. All my family and friends are there and we're close.

I do agree with you that having money makes life better but that applies everywhere in the world. Seriously Ray, there is so much that most Brits don't realize they have over there. Free healthcare being only the tip of the iceberg. The US is a harsh place that's for sure.

Re: Perspective.
 

How do you know? You don't live here. If you and your husband weren't self-employed (and therefore will not have to look for jobs when you move back) you might not be looking through those rose-coloured glasses of yours. Jobs are NOT easy to get and the majority of those who have become unemployed and are lucky enough to find jobs, are taking jobs well beneath their expected income level. I speak from personal experience and from the personal experiences of people here whom I have known over the past 11 months.

Re: Perspective.
 

Jobs might not be easy to find but of course most people are working. (she didn't say they are all working in their ideal well loved high paying jobs, just jobs) unemployment is at about 8% so "most people" ie 92% give or take for retired and stay at home parent are working.
It's not like here where they say we are at close to 20% unemployment and that doesn't count the whole section who fell off the roles when unemployment ran out. So here 80% give or take for retired and stay at home parent and a huge amount who fell off the roles, It's more like 75% or so are working, even that is "most people" have a job

Re: Perspective.
 

This the key. When you are heading back to the UK, for some reason it seems to be a lot harder & unsupported, than heading out to the other side of the world, without any support network.

When I left UK, 10 yrs ago, nobody questioned our move to Oz. Yet, everybody seems to have an opinion on us returning to the UK even though it is back to what we know & amongst our own support network of family friends. Is like going up the river the wrong way. Am actually challenging anyone now that calls me mad/crazy etc & most don't have answers. Is like they are pre-programmed to put the UK down, even those that haven't even been there!

It is a place we really took for granted with so much that was under our noses that we just didn't see or didn't want to see, when we were justifying our move to leave. I am not say it is perfect & could winge & moan about all things wrong but it is home & that is that.

Spoke to a lady in her 60's a couple of years ago. Left Uk in 70's from Essex To Oz because she wanted a better life for her boys, more open space & better opportunity & now her boys are older & she goes back travelling around the UK every year & said she realises now, that she didn't actually need to leave the UK for what she wanted. Was there all the time!

Takes a tremendous amount of courage, determination & optimiism (more than leaving the UK) & a well researched plan. Those that want to, will make it work. I believe you can achieve anything with the right mindset/attitude. Those that have succeeded in life are generally the one's who were told "it's not possible or it can't happen" but rather than fall at the first hurdle, went against the grain & made it happen. Good luck to all those heading "home""

Re: Perspective.
 

I work in the careers field, a lot of my clients are in the UK, and I'm very involved with the industry over there. That's how I know.

The problem with anecdotal evidence is that it is just that. I tell you all my family and friends are doing well, you tell me you know lots of people who are struggling. None of it means anything in the larger scheme of things. The employment stats (time to fill positions, unemployment, underemployment etc) are the way we can gain perspective on the national picture.

Of course it's a bad situation when you are one of the people looking for work but that doesn't change the fact that the majority of people in the UK are working, so the way some Brits talk ("good luck ever finding work" is an exaggeration). Indeed, as a new immigrant, you were able to find work in about 6 months if I remember? That's pretty good. The average job search in the US right now takes 43 weeks (much longer than yours) and our published unemployment is almost 10% (it's actually nearer 20% if you take into account the people who have stopped looking). Even then, most people have jobs! 80% of the employable to be precise. Roughly the same applies in the UK because you also have uncounted people in your stats.

Neither am I looking through rose-colored glasses. Yes, I have taken the initiative to run my own career, but I am certainly not immune to downturns. The poor economy has been a real struggle for us and will continue to be in the UK.

Of course, none of it might matter anywhere if this US debt deal doesn't get done - we might all be living in cardboard boxes 6 months from now :lol:

Re: Perspective.
 

Amen!

What worries me is that even some of the people who have moved back seem to get negative quickly despite having nice lives. Perhaps I have to seal myself in a hermetic bubble to stay my usual happy self :lol:

Re: Perspective.
 

ha! ha! maybe the answer!! I wonder (will tell you in a few weeks!) whether what happens is that you live & breath the move for such a long time, that once you get back, it all becomes a bit of an anti-climax! think they say it takes 12-18 mths to settle & maybe the reverse culture shock is inevitable..... I think, you just got to know how to deal with it/combat it when it does! (for me, I will go for a walk in all that lovely GREEN countryside... or go to a pub & have a halfer lager!! or go & get a dose of history somewhere or just simply jump in the car & go & see a family member or close friend, just because I can!!)