MrMuffin

We had a last few hiccups but finally after about 2 1/2 years of steps and hurdles crossed, we are flying back to the UK tonight and will arrive down in Cornwall tomorrow afternoon. We're all excited. Very excited. My wife and I are super tired from the final frantic last few days.

Thursday was the worst when the movers showed up to pack the Upakweship container for us. The three guys did a walk through of our stuff that was all boxed up, wrapped, and waiting to be loaded in various rooms of the rental house. They went outside for a smoke and a huddle then the lead guy came inside and said... quote... "You really think we're going to get all that **** in that 20 ft container? You've got to be kidding, right?"

I can't tell you the stress I was under at that moment, trying to think what the **** I was going to do. But I took a deep breath and suggested that I make a 'nice to have' pile and that would wait until last to be loaded.

Bless them, they managed to fit almost everything in. The container was packed floor to ceiling all the way through. We had to say goodbye to our dining table and six chairs, a TV cabinet, a twin bed headboard and rails and a small desk. None of which we were terribly attached to and they have now made some friends very happy.

Now today is final suitcase packing up at the hotel, saying goodbye to a few friends who are coming over, and then ferrying off to the airport tonight.

It's been a wild and wonderful journey, America. I've been here since 1988 and it's had it's ups and downs. But I met my wonderful wife and have since been blessed with the best two kids I could ever imagine. I got my citizenship a year or so ago so we have an easier path back if needed (kids are dual passport holders and my wife is a USC with Tier 2 ICT). So we'll see what happens in the future.

Mum's making a Sunday roast for us as a welcome. Lots of hugs to come both today for goodbyes and tomorrow for hellos. It's all good.

Thanks to all on here for the love and support and I'll stick around to offer whatever help I can to others. If you have a question don't be shy.

Good luck everyone!! Happy New Year!!

Jerseygirl

How exciting! Everything has been packed and shipped and you're about to board the plane to Blighty.

I look forward to hearing more from the other side. Good luck.

dunroving

Congratulations!

I had to smile (sorry!) when I read what the loader said ... I can just imagine it in a Boston accent ... figuring out what will go in a 20-ft container isn't straightforward, and it's easy to forget about "little" bits and pieces that add up to more space needed.

Looking back in 5 years (or even one year), losing a couple of pieces of furniture will seem like small beans.

Good luck on the trip! treat yourselves to champagne on the flight across!

NiHao

OMG I can imagine how stressful that was! So exciting for you to be heading home, Bon voyage!!!!! Look forward to hearing all about it!

feelbritish

Safe journey home. Have enjoyed reading all about your plans and reading in the future how you settle into Cornwall. Ooh a Sunday lunch hey? Can't get more British than that!

CAdreaming

Good luck. Safe travels

formula

You probably already know this, but just checking you are aware that your wife will need to switch to a spouse visa when you/you and her together/she, can meet the financial requirements. A Tier 2 (ICT) visa doesn't lead to settlement and time on that visa isn't counted towards her 5 years to ILR.

robin1234

Odd isn't it. People in Boston have got to be the rudest mother****ers in the world, but once you get past that, most of them actually seem to have hearts of gold. That's always been my experience anyway!

dfjordan

having US citizenship is going to mean you will have to continue filing tax returns, and complying with all those other hassles. Better to get rid of it.

Cambridgeman

Congratulations and the best of luck to both of you.

curleytops

Congratulations MrMuffin, I'm guessing you're well on your way to Cornwall by now. All the best

Bnet36

So very excited for you! You survived the move and now to settling in which should be more fun than anything. Please keep up posted on your revelations as you rediscover Blighty!

Best of luck!

MrMuffin

Hiya Formula and yes, thanks. We are planning on doing the application for the spouse visa now we're here. We'll leave it for a few months. Luckily my wife makes good money so the financial end won't be an issue with joint salaries etc. We are going to get a few months of rent under our belts before doing it. And yes then she'll be on the 5-year track to citizenship rather that just being here on the 5-year ICT which doesn't help... other than getting her here which was obviously huge. Great stuff and thanks for pointing that out! Cheers, M

MrMuffin

So yes we mad it yesterday! It was a long journey especially with the 4 1/2 hour drive down to Cornwall but it was worth it. We had fab weather yesterday and it became more rainy down here but that's fine. It's still in the 50s F... positively balmy compared to what we left in the North East USA.

We went out and purchased school uniforms for my daughter (6) who is starting school in Year 1 Wednesday. We did a mid year transfer and had no problems at all with the county council and we were successful in getting into the school we wanted. Also I went today and signed up for a SIM only plan for my iPhone. I have had a contract with AT&T for the past few years and it's now rolled over to month to month. So when we were at the airport I checked on the status and made sure I was all paid up then cancelled as of 24 hours later. I then went to a provider here today and got the new plan sorted. I can't believe how inexpensive the plans are here especially when you already have a contract-free phone! So for just 15 UKP a month I now have unlimited phone and text and plenty of data. Brilliant! I was paying easily 5 times that in the States for the same kind of service. And it's a great way to build credit. I had no issues passing the credit check... they confirmed my new local address, bank info and USA credit all within about 10 mins.

Later this week we're going to try and figure out a car. We're borrowing a family car right now. We sold ours for cash in the USA and wired over the money so we're hoping to buy something about a year old with low mileage by putting down a good sized deposit and then getting financing for the rest to again build credit. The other thing we did successfully was to transfer our Amex accounts from the USA to the UK and the new cards are en route.

So all good so far. I'll check in again in a few days. All the best to everyone!

Snap Shot

Excellent, well done. There's a beer somewhere with your name on it !