Originally Posted by YankeemovingAbroad

I wonder why people don't try living 6 months in that country of our dreams just to see it the experience would satisfy the erge moving far away, before we up rooting our lives and follow that dream? Some times we have fallen into a rut and simply need to shake things up abit, its easy to confuse that with needing to do something as drastic as leaving our birth nation.

It could certainly answer alot of questions about our perception of a country while preventing future regrets and having to sacrifice jobs,houses and family and friends. I've always dreamt of living in the UK,maybe so much so that the reality could fall quite short of the dream.I've been told by my english co-workers that England will be a shock for many Americans.It is said that even the small things like customer service is far different in the UK. After a great deal of consideration I have made the decision to spend 6 months in the UK and another two months in Ireland.

Hoping my time in both countries will be enough to full fill my life long dream.If after my travel expedition that desire to live abroad is still strong then its time to take the big step.I think alot of times we visit a place for only a short vacation and conclude what it would be like to live there base on that 2-4 week experience.I believe a 3 month stay in normal circumstances is enough time to tell us everything we need to know about a place.

So when I stay in the UK ,plan to live in a short term apartment with out maid or room service, use mass transit just like the locals do. Will split my time up between two areas,Manchester and outer London. Which ever I like the most the plan is to spend the lion share of time in that place. Same with Ireland,Dublin and will see what other areas I fancy.I must say this plan is due in large part because of all the travel information of the members on this site.It is a big help to learn what to do base on what others have already been through.For that reason if you all were near by I'd have to buy the beer. :beer:

Originally Posted by YankeemovingAbroad

I wonder why people don't try living 6 months in that country of our dreams just to see it the experience would satisfy the erge moving far away, before we up rooting our lives and follow that dream? ....:

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

We think one day we will have to return to the UK for exactly the same reasons you did. We also think we will feel exactly the same as you do now. Scarey isn't it? :scared: :scared: :scared:

Originally Posted by dunroving

In future, if I ever consider living in another country (highly unlikely!), I'll look into short-term exchange or visit visas (as an academic, luckily this is an option for me, though very competitive). I think then I will have the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by YankeemovingAbroad

I wonder why people don't try living 6 months in that country of our dreams just to see it the experience would satisfy the erge moving far away, before we up rooting our lives and follow that dream? Some times we have fallen into a rut and simply need to shake things up abit, its easy to confuse that with needing to do something as drastic as leaving our birth nation.

It could certainly answer alot of questions about our perception of a country while preventing future regrets and having to sacrifice jobs,houses and family and friends. I've always dreamt of living in the UK,maybe so much so that the reality could fall quite short of the dream.I've been told by my english co-workers that England will be a shock for many Americans.It is said that even the small things like customer service is far different in the UK. After a great deal of consideration I have made the decision to spend 6 months in the UK and another two months in Ireland.

Hoping my time in both countries will be enough to full fill my life long dream.If after my travel expedition that desire to live abroad is still strong then its time to take the big step.I think alot of times we visit a place for only a short vacation and conclude what it would be like to live there base on that 2-4 week experience.I believe a 3 month stay in normal circumstances is enough time to tell us everything we need to know about a place.

So when I stay in the UK ,plan to live in a short term apartment with out maid or room service, use mass transit just like the locals do. Will split my time up between two areas,Manchester and outer London. Which ever I like the most the plan is to spend the lion share of time in that place. Same with Ireland,Dublin and will see what other areas I fancy.I must say this plan is due in large part because of all the travel information of the members on this site.It is a big help to learn what to do base on what others have already been through.For that reason if you all were near by I'd have to buy the beer. :beer:

Originally Posted by Gezza

I know the feeling. North America is a Better Place to Live than England.
There is no doubt about it. All the arguments against are not strong.
I did exactly the same thing with Canada. One thing however, If you have only been in U.K. 1 year stay here longer. And ask yourself: Whilest you were in US how often did you think of going back to U.K. Like 1 a week or more? And compary it to how often you now think of going there. This should be a good test. :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by chance to be

good idea. you know you'll have lots of people expecting a beer now, dont you! :) enjoy the experience and keep posting
c

Originally Posted by arkon

Top advice, What has amazed me most by our move is the fact that before we comitted to moving to Oz, we didn't even think about trying a different area in the UK first. Mainly because there was nothing wrong with where we were. As for chasing rainbows your bang on because I can't think of any sane and rational reason why we left the UK now. We've chased our rainbow and like all rainbows you can never reach the end of one and there was certiainly no pot of gold at the end of ours.

Originally Posted by arkon

A cunning plan with only one problem, Most people I would think would have to give up their jobs to be able to do a 6 month stint, which personally I think needs to be at least a year to get a decent flavour of the new country. Not many employers would agree to this. But if you don't like your job too much and it would be easy to get re-employment then definately try before you buy.

Originally Posted by ladylisa

In 1999 I travelled around the world for a year. It was a true eye opener for me in many ways particularly that I was one of those people who thought that the UK and being British was so boring compared to being Australian or Canadian etc. It wasn't until I travelled that I realised that to an Ozzie I was interesting and they thought they were the boring one. All throughout Asia and Fiji I was a mini superstar for being British and having a Queen. It made me feel very proud of my heritage. I began to appreciate anything old when I was in countries like Oz, NZ and North America. I remember watching a documentary in Oz about Europe and it really made me truly realise what Europeans have and what is on Britain's doorstep. One of the biggest lessons I learned however was that you could still be unhappy and have gripes or troubles living in another country and that is what in the end took any veneer off of emigrating for me. Thank god for that as I read so many posts on these websites that make me think some people have lost a sense of reality. Emigrating is a wonderful experience it changes you in many positive ways but also the reality is that I still have to go the the supermarket, I still have to pay the bills, I still have to clean my house and I will still have days when I feel a little gloomy. Its a hard enough process as it is to find your niche and learn the ways of a culture that you have no frame of reference, and do it alone. I cant help but think that it would benefit many to try to keep some sort of prospective.

Originally Posted by simongb

I agree with you. You don't know what you have 'til it's gone! For some English people, the thought of leaving the UK and starting a 'new life' in another country/continent is very exciting. They get caught up in the romanticism of it. The reality is very different. One thing I realised about being around other English people (when I go home to the UK) is that we all share a common history-the same TV shows growing up, the same news events that influenced our lives, the same music etc. When I came to the US people would talk about stuff from the 80's that was popular over here and I would be lost. After 14 years I now know what people are talking about when they speak of cultural events from the past, but I only know it intellectually, I have not experienced it, so it's different. The moving abroad TV shows in the UK (you know the ones) are very two dimensional-big house, nice pool, sunshine etc. When you are watching it and it is p***** down outside, you think, 'WOW! I want that', but they don't often mention the other side of moving abroad. The sense of loss, isolation, and now, in my case, having to deal with sick parents who live 3000 miles away. There is something to having family support around you at times like these (I have two sisters and a brother in the UK). That is why I am planning to move back next year and I don't think the streets are paved with gold over there, I am not going for that. One more thing, I think people who have never moved abroad can read this but will still have to go through the experience of emmigrating. There are some lessons in life that you have to experience. You cannot just read them on a website!

Originally Posted by kt.2006

I think it is a great idea to live 6 months in the country that you want to live in before you embark on emigration. However not many people have that luxury. Just like your dream of living in the UK I had always dreamed of living in Australia since I was a child. I had visited Australia 15 years ago ago and loved it.

However we have been in Australia only 3 months now and are both truly homesick and can't see ourselves wanting to stay. Now if we had simply decided to try to live in Australia for 6 months I would not be homesick as I would know there was an end to it and I would be enjoying myself and not worrying about the future.

Based on what I feel now I should not have emigrated but simply come here for a year, had a great time, and gone back refreshed to the UK. Unfortunately I have sold the house and we have no jobs to go back to.

I think what you will be doing is very sensible as you are going to keep your options open, but the very fact that you will not have made the leap will mean that you will probably not feel the same homesickness that affects a lot of people.

Originally Posted by Englishmum

Yes - many people working in the education sector do have more options than most and can take a 'sabbatical' from time to time.

Dunroving - are you aware that there is a scheme for teachers from Commonwealth countries to do an exchange?

When my children were at their C of E village school in Essex (more than a decade ago - 1994 actually!) one of the teachers had an exchange with her counterpart in an Australian school. They basically swapped homes and jobs for one year, taking their families with them and it was a great success. The Aussie teacher is a noted children's book author (Nette Hilton).

http://www.nettehilton.com

I wouldn't be surprised if the Commonwealth Teacher Exchange (or whatever they call it) also is an option for lecturers in higher education as well.