Jerseygirl

You managed it after all...so pleased for you...what a nice break from the NYC summer.

Summer is great here...the rest of the year not so much. Hopefully we will be heading to the sun for most of the winter. I miss the area of NJ where we lived...after all we were there for 18 years.

Like you we are still homesick...if only our daughter and SIL would move to the UK. Can't see it happening.

Bnet36

Here here! We are out and about more in the winter than the summer here. Friends and family back home have been posting pictures of picnics in the park, eating their Marks and Spencer sandwiches .. so jealous. It's the simple things.

I wonder how long it will take me before I complain about the weather when I get back. Never I hope.

lf1

Been back two years and I still love the weather. I listen to people around me moaning about the weather and I just smile politely. Just spent a month in Canada, mainly indoors, due to the hot weather which is not my thing.

Sarah

It was SO good to get out of the city for the summer. I have not missed sweating my bum off for months on end at all. My family were all really puzzled at me and my husband getting all happy about grey skies and rain. But it was so lovely! Went to Yorkshire when the Tour De France went through, and I have to say, even though my Grandma would spin in her grave, Yorkshire is just utterly breathtaking. Lancashire is too but driving through the Yorkshire dales and the moors.....I could've stayed for good.
The only thing I missed about the US was iced coffee! Although we did go out to the beach on Long Island this weekend and it was gorgeous.

I hope the winter isn't too brutal for either of us....I've had enough of shoveling snow to last a lifetime.
You'll have to get that daughter and sis in law of yours to move over somehow! Canada is great and everything and tbh I'd live there, especially Vancouver, but there's no place like home

Sarah

I feel like I spend the majority of my time trying to explain to my family just how oppressive living in hot weather can be. I think they just think I'm complaining for the sake of it sometimes. Nothing made me appreciate the rainy climate of England like year after year of humidity and heatwaves in the US.

dunroving

Yorkshire is at the northernmost end of my potential retirement zone (Yorkshire down to Hereford & Worcestershire). I plan to visit an old friend who lives near Skipton at Christmas and do a little recce.

happyglow

Still no regrets here - it's a bit like not having kids, people constantly saying "ooh you'll regret it...." - errr, nope

Loving living in my tiny cave-like stone cottage, messy garden stuffed with wildflowers, insects and birds, with loads of interesting villages, ancient buildings and stunning walks to rediscover. Still working really hard for crap pay but somehow it's fun. Weird.

In a shop yesterday, listened to old woman being incredibly crass with american-accented worker, and was reminded how much I DO NOT MISS constantly being asked the same old boring questions as soon as I opened my mouth.

happyglow

Ahhh, thanks for reminding me - must have some today. I make it with ice (obviously), espresso and soy milk, and maybe a dash of maple syrup if I'm feeling decadent. Better and cheaper than starbucks!

bigglesworth

DR Don't forget Gods Own County - Shropshire. Very lovely, very quiet, but driving distance of Birmingham Manchester and Liverpool. South Shropshire is just stunning.

When I lived there ten years ago, a neighbour (born in Yorkshire) heard that I had always wanted to go to Harry Ramsdens.
He turned up on my doorstep one weekend, and told me put my shoes on, Then he said we would tour for a day in the REAL Gods own county.
Yorkshire truly is just breathtakingly beautiful. It pains me to say it but the beer is almost uniformly excellent too.
And the fish and chips wasn't bad for a chain!

dunroving

Yes, Shropshire is also on my radar. Essentially, I want to be within shouting distance of rail links (preferably within 1-2 miles of a station), countryside (preferably within a 15-minute drive for daily walks), and a city (preferably within a 45-minute or shorter train journey of Birmingham).

I am building up a shortlist of places that fit the bill, and over the next 3 years plan to take trips down to Birmingham and drive around some of these places to help me make a decision. Ideally, I will move from here the same day I retire.

I am currently researching the Cannock/Tamworth/Lichfield area online. Gradually working my way through different areas.

Any particular places you know in Shropshire that fit my needs described above?

LostBrit99

Nobody understands the hell of living in constant heat. It hasnt been good for us atall. Constant health issues all heat related. No matter how much water you take. You cant spend your life on the beach forever cooling off either, life has to be lived. Its raining today, has rained for 24 hrs which is really unusual BUT its wonderful, we can breath

J.JsOH

I concur. In our first years in North Carolina I loved the summer heat but by 5+ years into it I dreaded the summer.
Weather in UK is definately not one of the things I moan about.

Jerseygirl

The weather is one thing I don't like about the UK...the short, dark, dismal days in winter. Unpredictable weather during the summer. I love the summers in North America. Love knowing that at least 3 months of the year its shorts and tee shirt weather. The last time I spent a summer in the UK I had to buy a coat, jeans, shoes and sweaters.

Sally Redux

The sky can be a bit dull but the alternative in LA was just unbearable for me, with an Irish type of colouring and physiology.

Teaandtoday5

My oldest two were born in Harrogate. I'm not from Yorkshire, but find it difficult to believe I'll never live there again. Life-long atheist, but if there is a god she lives in the dales.