MrBritUSA

I have been living in the USA for over 25 years now. But as of lately I would like to go back to England. I guess my home sickness is catching up to me. I miss England, the food, the people and the English more grounded way of life. I am tired of living in the US (Sorry America)
I am still a UK resident. I never became a US citizen, just a green card holder. I am now 44 years of age.
My problem is I would not know where to start if returning to the UK / London.
I would not want to burden my family as they all have their own families to deal with.
I believe I could raise around 20K US to go home with. But would expect this would not last long.
Would I be eligible to receive any type of benefits / Housing etc, until I got on my feet.
I know these are some tall questions to ask but I have been away so long I am unsure of what to expect and how to go about it or where to start.

Mummy in the foothills

First get your US citizenship, that way if you get there and it was all rose tinted glasses, you can legally move back to US.

You say 20k is that $ or £ if £ then that would be a good amount to live on for a single person for close to a year. If $ then maybe you would be good for a few months or more (depending if you live with family for a while) and you'd have to expedite your job search as soon as you get there.
Your family may be very pleased to see you come home and want to offer the spare room for a few weeks till you find a rental of your own

moi

Get your US citizenship first - you can then always come back if it is not what you expected. You do not have to give up your British citizenship or British passport etc and the costs are reasonable.
Not sure about UK benefits.

moneypenny20

You've never lived in the UK as an adult so your memories may not bear any relation in current fact, don't burn any bridges and the UK isn't going away, it'll still be there so get US citizenship and then sort everything else out. It'll also give you more time to save. Do a search on here, the subject of what you may or may not be entitled to comes up a lot!

Also you need to see if you'd have any problems getting work. Whilst there are horror stories coming out about employment and things being tough, for many, there are no such issues. 20k could last you forever if you found work immediately, on the other hand you could go through it quickly if there's no employment for you for ages.

I'd check out the areas you 'think' you'd like to live in. If you have family there you may want to live close or you could want more space and not be able to afford to live where they do. Check out the real estate sites and see what's currently available to rent - it'll give you a basic idea of what's out there although pictures and real estate speak often bear no relation to what a place is really like

Good luck.

nun

Just a quick correction. You are not "UK resident". You are a US permanent resident as you have a Green card. I assume you are in fact a UK citizen and if so you can come back to the UK and be eligible for benefits just like any other UK resident.

A couple of posters suggested that you get US citizenship before you leave. That has both advantages and disadvantages. If you have investments, pensions etc in the US or family and you might want to return some day, then get US citizenship. If not I wouldn't bother as you'll avoid the hassle of having to file US taxes and comply with US foreign account regulations.

SanDiegogirl

Presume you are a UK citizen with a current UK passport so no visas to worry about.

If you want to go back to the UK then you need to have enough resources to be able to rent and apartment, possibly buy a car and be able to pay your bills for a few months in case you don't get a job straight away (very likely).

I doubt that 20k US dollars is going to last you very long so you need to be pretty sure that you are going to get a job as soon as possible.

What profession are you in now? The economic climate is tight in the UK so why are you choosing to move now?

With regard benefits, as a single guy (you don't mention taking a family with you) you are not likely to be eligible for very much. You WILL have access to the NHS though as a legal resident.

Having lived in the US for 25 years, I hope that you don't have rose tinted glasses about living in the UK.

BristolUK

$20,000 US is almost £13,000.

That's equivalent to about 18 months worth of JSA and Housing Allowance (depending on where one lives) so it's not that bad.

To add:

Of course, if you aim for London the money won't go so far; rents are so much more there.

You need to be accepted as habitually resident in the UK to qualify for JSA and the housing allowance and you'll get a reduced rate of JSA because of the capital. But it (the capital) will last longer so that's okay.

Best not to apply to soon. Try to get accommodation sorted first. That'll make it so much easier for the claims and then you'll have an income while looking for work.