British Expats

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- Moving back or to the UK (https://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/)

- - Update (https://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/update-389303/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scout

Dunroving........the further up the valley you head from Caerphilly the cheaper the houses........but stay on the train line.

55 pounds a month for water is too high for Caerphilly Council. Call and check on that. Ours is only Â£30.64 a month. Tell your sister to avoid the Tesco in Ystrad Mynach........cause they want your life story at check out......also Valley Vets in Ystrad Mynach is great if your furbaby needs a check up and they have Emergency Vet services 24/7 for the nights and weekends (it's pricey though for the Emergency Services).

i agree with the vet in ystrad mynach. also from a female point of view there was a gorgous south african there when we had to take our cats in ;)

and yes the tesco there is like the main hub in the valley 'grapevine' lol

dunroving please make sure you get the right chippy in nelson. this is verry important... go to the one on the same block as the co-op that has a big red sign - DO NOT go to the other further down the road! you will know you are in the right one cos there will be a huuge queue.. the other one is empty. for a reason.. actually, for many reasons.

good luck with HR at the uni. the whole uni is an organisational nightmare, they were forever losing essays, results, student details etc etc etc not good that it hasnt improved in 6 years :eek:

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoe13

i agree with the vet in ystrad mynach. also from a female point of view there was a gorgous south african there when we had to take our cats in ;)

He's still there. :D Makes going to the vet less painful....at least for me. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoe13

Luckily, the vets in Caerphilly seem pretty good. I had to take Suzy in because she rubbed her nose bloody in the space of less than a day after something triggered an allergic reaction. They were very professional and I must say a lot less expensive than my vet in the US. They asked me to take her back in the next day to see if the treatment was working and didn't even charge me for the second visit! But I'll take on board the recommendations, especially if I move up that way. I'll also be sure to go to the right chippy!

Funny what you say about losing assessments - I seem to get an email every couple of days to do with either assessments going missing or turning up somewhere they don't belong! So far I have been very, very disappointed with the (dis)organization and casualness of things. As someone said previously, at least I have my foot in the door (i.e., am now back in the country and have a job). As sick as I am of moving I am definitely keeping an open mind about other positions that might come up.

Jack Welch (CEO of GMC, I think) said in his book that HR is the most important department in any organization and I have to agree. One of my colleagues, very reasonable chap, told me last week that everyone in the School has had a falling-out with HR at some point or other. I can believe it. It's been a struggle dealing with them from day 1 (i.e., from the point of me applying for the position onwards).

I keep reminding myself that life is about more than the job. Trouble is, I'm in a profession that I love and in fact my job IS a large part of my life, and I'm used to going to work with a smile on my face, working evenings and weekends because I love the work (conducting research, writing papers and books), etc., so it's hard for me to say "It's just a job".

Just getting ready for a 2-hour hike. Cloudy day but no rain (so far!) and temperatures perfect for walking. Then I'm off to B&Q to get a lawn mower as my grass is looking a bit shaggy and weedy, and a shop at Asda. Curry and a can or two of Boddington's for dinner. I'll be right as rain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunroving

mmm asda curry in a hurry - nice. what school in the uni are you working in dunroving?

enjoy the hike :scared:

Quote:

Originally Posted by dunroving

I have been looking at houses not far away - Nelson, Ystrad Mynach, Quaker's Yard, etc.

Wow, seeing all those name places again doesn't half bring back a lot of happy memories :) My aunt lived in the new estate in Ystrad. She moved from Hengoed at the top of the hill near the primary school to Ystrad when they built the new housing so that she was closer to the shops. It really is beautiful around there :)

Hope you manage to find a property you like soon. Maybe you could look at the ex council houses in the area - I know they are not everyone's taste but they are generally bigger and cheaper with bigger gardens.

Quote:

Do I sound bitter?

I would say probably the biggest thing I have had to get used to is the price of frigging houses. I mean, I knew it all along, but the reality of looking at houses that are half the size, on a plot that is one quarter of the size, for about 3 times the price in the US is killing me. I have to work really hard not to get angry that prices have gone up so much and so quickly since I was here last, while prices where I was in the US have done nothing. I've really had to bite my tongue a couple of times recently when people here were bitching about their mortgage (I'm talking about people living in 400,000 pound houses with a 10-year old mortgage for maybe 80,000 pounds). Get a clue, people! Be thankful you are not starting out!

No, you dont sound bitter ;) I know exactly what you are going through..have a look over here what houses cost...I live in Pinner/London :rolleyes:
I'm sick of people telling me how much they paid for their house 10 years ago and how much money they made....
I'm quit happy here and everything came together so far...but the one thing which is so very important to me to fully settle is so far out of reach....and I dont want to buy a crappy mid terraced for 300k.

Hope everything keeps going well for you....no were is perfect :)