Returned from a visit to the UK - here are my thoughts.
Oct 13th 2007, 4:49 am
#1
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 456
Returned from a visit to the UK - here are my thoughts.
Hello Everyone,
Firstly an apology for not being online for a while.
As a recap, I was thinking about moving back to the UK from the US with my Indian wife, I'm a UK national. We were going back to the UK for a visit at the back end of August.
Anyway we went back and had a wonderful time, though stressful with visiting all the relatives. Basically driving around all the time and everyone wanting us to come over for dinner. Within a day or so it didn't even seem like we were visiting and we had been there all along.
A couple of things that I didn't like compared to the US.
1, The roads are a lot tighter than I remember.
2, Parking is near impossible anywhere in or around London.
3, It does rain!
4, Even though all the family is there, there is the family politics that don't really come across on the phone.
5, Everything is so expensive.
6, Revenue raising speed cameras.
7, Traffic
Some of the specific points we did like,
1, My family is over there. Sitting down with them and just watching the TV, or playing cards, or complaining about the weather, is something that cannot be described.
2, My wife's mother can travel to the UK a lot easier than going to the US.
3, My family is over there.
4, I don't feel like a 'alien' as I do in the US.
5, Bacon sandwiches.
So with that said what's the score now? Well my wife said that she would not have a problem about moving to the UK, especially as her aunt only lives about 20 minutes away from my mum and Dad's place. Also to be honest it would make it a lot easier to go back to India during the 4 weeks holiday I would get in the UK compared to the 2 weeks in the US.
So what are we going to do? I don't know! My major complication is still that I get the feeling that finding work for a design engineer is pretty difficult. I spoke to a recruitment agent and he said that it was getting harder, but still there were opportunities. I don't know if that was just his saying come and talk to me when you are a possible cash cow.
Another complication or uncomplication depending on your viewpoint is that I have just got my approval for my and my wife's greencards.
I suppose the thing to do would be to just sit tight for a bit and complete 4months stay in my current job role as is required by my greencard and then revisit the situation.
It still comes down to the fact I want to go home and be near my parents but worry about the future of engineering in the UK.
Once before I returned to the UK from the US years ago and worked for a company that shut the site down after a year. Three years contracting and then I was back in the US. That's my real fear, I just want to settle down now.
thoughts and thanks if you made it this far through the post.
Firstly an apology for not being online for a while.
As a recap, I was thinking about moving back to the UK from the US with my Indian wife, I'm a UK national. We were going back to the UK for a visit at the back end of August.
Anyway we went back and had a wonderful time, though stressful with visiting all the relatives. Basically driving around all the time and everyone wanting us to come over for dinner. Within a day or so it didn't even seem like we were visiting and we had been there all along.
A couple of things that I didn't like compared to the US.
1, The roads are a lot tighter than I remember.
2, Parking is near impossible anywhere in or around London.
3, It does rain!
4, Even though all the family is there, there is the family politics that don't really come across on the phone.
5, Everything is so expensive.
6, Revenue raising speed cameras.
7, Traffic
Some of the specific points we did like,
1, My family is over there. Sitting down with them and just watching the TV, or playing cards, or complaining about the weather, is something that cannot be described.
2, My wife's mother can travel to the UK a lot easier than going to the US.
3, My family is over there.
4, I don't feel like a 'alien' as I do in the US.
5, Bacon sandwiches.
So with that said what's the score now? Well my wife said that she would not have a problem about moving to the UK, especially as her aunt only lives about 20 minutes away from my mum and Dad's place. Also to be honest it would make it a lot easier to go back to India during the 4 weeks holiday I would get in the UK compared to the 2 weeks in the US.
So what are we going to do? I don't know! My major complication is still that I get the feeling that finding work for a design engineer is pretty difficult. I spoke to a recruitment agent and he said that it was getting harder, but still there were opportunities. I don't know if that was just his saying come and talk to me when you are a possible cash cow.
Another complication or uncomplication depending on your viewpoint is that I have just got my approval for my and my wife's greencards.
I suppose the thing to do would be to just sit tight for a bit and complete 4months stay in my current job role as is required by my greencard and then revisit the situation.
It still comes down to the fact I want to go home and be near my parents but worry about the future of engineering in the UK.
Once before I returned to the UK from the US years ago and worked for a company that shut the site down after a year. Three years contracting and then I was back in the US. That's my real fear, I just want to settle down now.
thoughts and thanks if you made it this far through the post.
Oct 13th 2007, 10:12 am
#2
Ping-ponger
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Dreich Alba
Posts: 12,013
Re: Returned from a visit to the UK - here are my thoughts.
Hello Everyone,
Firstly an apology for not being online for a while.
As a recap, I was thinking about moving back to the UK from the US with my Indian wife, I'm a UK national. We were going back to the UK for a visit at the back end of August.
Anyway we went back and had a wonderful time, though stressful with visiting all the relatives. Basically driving around all the time and everyone wanting us to come over for dinner. Within a day or so it didn't even seem like we were visiting and we had been there all along.
A couple of things that I didn't like compared to the US.
1, The roads are a lot tighter than I remember.
2, Parking is near impossible anywhere in or around London.
3, It does rain!
4, Even though all the family is there, there is the family politics that don't really come across on the phone.
5, Everything is so expensive.
6, Revenue raising speed cameras.
7, Traffic
Some of the specific points we did like,
1, My family is over there. Sitting down with them and just watching the TV, or playing cards, or complaining about the weather, is something that cannot be described.
2, My wife's mother can travel to the UK a lot easier than going to the US.
3, My family is over there.
4, I don't feel like a 'alien' as I do in the US.
5, Bacon sandwiches.
So with that said what's the score now? Well my wife said that she would not have a problem about moving to the UK, especially as her aunt only lives about 20 minutes away from my mum and Dad's place. Also to be honest it would make it a lot easier to go back to India during the 4 weeks holiday I would get in the UK compared to the 2 weeks in the US.
So what are we going to do? I don't know! My major complication is still that I get the feeling that finding work for a design engineer is pretty difficult. I spoke to a recruitment agent and he said that it was getting harder, but still there were opportunities. I don't know if that was just his saying come and talk to me when you are a possible cash cow.
Another complication or uncomplication depending on your viewpoint is that I have just got my approval for my and my wife's greencards.
I suppose the thing to do would be to just sit tight for a bit and complete 4months stay in my current job role as is required by my greencard and then revisit the situation.
It still comes down to the fact I want to go home and be near my parents but worry about the future of engineering in the UK.
Once before I returned to the UK from the US years ago and worked for a company that shut the site down after a year. Three years contracting and then I was back in the US. That's my real fear, I just want to settle down now.
thoughts and thanks if you made it this far through the post.
Firstly an apology for not being online for a while.
As a recap, I was thinking about moving back to the UK from the US with my Indian wife, I'm a UK national. We were going back to the UK for a visit at the back end of August.
Anyway we went back and had a wonderful time, though stressful with visiting all the relatives. Basically driving around all the time and everyone wanting us to come over for dinner. Within a day or so it didn't even seem like we were visiting and we had been there all along.
A couple of things that I didn't like compared to the US.
1, The roads are a lot tighter than I remember.
2, Parking is near impossible anywhere in or around London.
3, It does rain!
4, Even though all the family is there, there is the family politics that don't really come across on the phone.
5, Everything is so expensive.
6, Revenue raising speed cameras.
7, Traffic
Some of the specific points we did like,
1, My family is over there. Sitting down with them and just watching the TV, or playing cards, or complaining about the weather, is something that cannot be described.
2, My wife's mother can travel to the UK a lot easier than going to the US.
3, My family is over there.
4, I don't feel like a 'alien' as I do in the US.
5, Bacon sandwiches.
So with that said what's the score now? Well my wife said that she would not have a problem about moving to the UK, especially as her aunt only lives about 20 minutes away from my mum and Dad's place. Also to be honest it would make it a lot easier to go back to India during the 4 weeks holiday I would get in the UK compared to the 2 weeks in the US.
So what are we going to do? I don't know! My major complication is still that I get the feeling that finding work for a design engineer is pretty difficult. I spoke to a recruitment agent and he said that it was getting harder, but still there were opportunities. I don't know if that was just his saying come and talk to me when you are a possible cash cow.
Another complication or uncomplication depending on your viewpoint is that I have just got my approval for my and my wife's greencards.
I suppose the thing to do would be to just sit tight for a bit and complete 4months stay in my current job role as is required by my greencard and then revisit the situation.
It still comes down to the fact I want to go home and be near my parents but worry about the future of engineering in the UK.
Once before I returned to the UK from the US years ago and worked for a company that shut the site down after a year. Three years contracting and then I was back in the US. That's my real fear, I just want to settle down now.
thoughts and thanks if you made it this far through the post.
Oct 13th 2007, 3:07 pm
#3
Pamela 1
Joined: Dec 2006
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 257
Re: Returned from a visit to the UK - here are my thoughts.
We have just had 5 weeks in UK, starting in Glos, our home County then went to Suffolk, Dorset and Devon.
Parking is a nightmare anywhere, not just London. Everywhere jammed with cars parked and traffic horrendous. Parking spaces much narrower compared to N. America.
Expensive because of the exchange rate. If we didn't keep converting, we found some things reasonable in price. We ate for lunch a number of times and had excellents meals for $10.00. In Pound we thought it very reasonable.
To go live and find a place would be expensive because what we pay in dollars they pay in Pound.
We met up with 2 cousins I had not seen in 45 years and it was great. We don't have any family there as such, my husband's sister whose communication with us is virtually zero.
If we went back after 35 years, and it would be a consideration, affording a home would be our greatest snag. We would have to find some work of some kind to build up sterling funds. We may just have to be content visiting for a few months at a time.
Parking is a nightmare anywhere, not just London. Everywhere jammed with cars parked and traffic horrendous. Parking spaces much narrower compared to N. America.
Expensive because of the exchange rate. If we didn't keep converting, we found some things reasonable in price. We ate for lunch a number of times and had excellents meals for $10.00. In Pound we thought it very reasonable.
To go live and find a place would be expensive because what we pay in dollars they pay in Pound.
We met up with 2 cousins I had not seen in 45 years and it was great. We don't have any family there as such, my husband's sister whose communication with us is virtually zero.
If we went back after 35 years, and it would be a consideration, affording a home would be our greatest snag. We would have to find some work of some kind to build up sterling funds. We may just have to be content visiting for a few months at a time.
