reeni

been back in S Yorkshire since Feb 1, 2011

It has been brilliant!! Now things are getting a little more settled I can say it is awes-mazing (quoting one of my kids words)

The people are friendly, perhaps thinking i am a little crazy for coming back from Canada. But I just tell em - I love it here and how great I think it is. Oft the response is them thinking i AM crazy -but then i see them stand a little straighter and look proud of our country and little town.

The kids love their school, not the best one in the area, but they are fitting in and in all the top classes. The oldest is back with the kids he grew up with. I think that makes all the difference.

Freecycle has been amazing too. Funny for as cheap as us Yorkshire people are... they are willing to give away alot of good stuff.

Despite the fish and chip diet :-P.... i have lost a 2 whole dress sizes!! just from walking everywhere... I seem to do that more here. The air is great, the weather is lovely... and i am happy.

Moving back was the best move yet. I hope that everyone who gives it go - has the luck I have had.

xx
reeni

johnh009

Everyone says "why did you come back" but ask them if they have ever lived in Canada. At the best, some of them have visited Niagara Falls.

Jerseygirl

When I'm in the UK and anyone says they'd love to leave 'this dump' etc...I always ask if they've ever lived anywhere else...the answer is always no.

sallysimmons

Oh how great to hear from you! I have been wondering how things were going for you. It's great to read such a happy update

SomersetGirl

So funny you should say this, some people I was talking to just today told me they had been to Canada last summer and absolutely loved it. They had been to Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake and to a huge 5 bedroom cottage on the lakefront north of Toronto.

Jerseygirl

Lakefront home north of T.O....where would that be...surely not Lake Ontario?

SomersetGirl

I think it may have been Georgian Bay.

Jerseygirl

Thanks...I was comparing a Toronto lakefront property on Lake Ontario.

johnh009

Of course, and if you came to the UK and only visited Dorset or the Sussex coast, you would also have a slanted view. We have some Russian friends from St. Petersburg which is quite a nice city. They have a daughter who is doing a course in Bournemouth and she likes the UK so much she wants to stay. They should send her to do a course in Middlesborough next. But, to her credit, she sees many of the positive aspects of the UK which many who live there do not.

sallysimmons

Amen. I think this is a gift all returning ex-pats can give their families and friends. I have a friend who returned from Spain after years living there. She's dating another friend of mine and taking him all over England exploring. He has a whole new appreciation because of her enthusiasm and love of the country. Brits, and I say this with the greatest possible affection, need to pull their heads out their asses once in a while and look around.

corinamac

Check out Snaith, it is really lovely with a wonderful community feel, we came back from Oz and settled straight back in. Good High school too.

SomersetGirl

or maybe pull their heads out of their TVs and newspapers for a while to get a reality check!

johnh009

The biggest thing they do not understand is how healthcare works abroad. In the UK, for 104 pounds per year, you can get unlimited free prescriptions at point of service. And even this fee is waived for some. They assume the whole World works like this.

sallysimmons

That's true and because of that, they can't understand the nagging fear that lies at the back of everyone's mind here in the US: "what if I get really sick and the insurance company won't pay?" Or if you don't have insurance, just "what if I get really sick?"

johnh009

Even when I lived in Canada, they had a credible health care system along the lines of the NHS. The problem was with your medications. If you did not have a job with a drug plan, then you would have to buy your medications at market prices. Depending on your needs, this could be very expensive.