cricket1again

Would love to hear your stories if you moved back to the UK.

garrettciaran

I moved back in February this year, and instantly regretted it, eight months later I am back in the United States.

Nu-Shooz

Can i ask why?

Petals

Chap my husband worked with up stakes after quite a few years returned to the UK lasted a year and returned here and now his wife will not even go for a holiday. He said when we went on hols all the family and friends made a fuss and he thought he was missing so much, however when he returned to live they made a fuss like they always did for a few weeks and then went off and did their own thing and he wondered why he had gone back.

My mum went back for 2 years and came back years ago.

My mum and dad went for a holiday when they retired were going for 3 months, returned after 3 weeks.

I think it really depends what we want, I would be happy anywhere as I have that kind of nature where I would make a life no matter what and enjoy it. But others are not like that sadly mum and dad (laugh). I like the UK must qualify though cannot stand fog, fog is a no no for me. I like Aus too and they each are different but I like them both, sun is out today 28 degrees no wind lovely.

Nu-Shooz

I can't understand why people move back to UK and want family and friends to fuss over them forever. Did they have them fussing over them before they left in the first place. It would do my head in if my family were up my bum all the time.

garrettciaran

Sorry if I did not elaborate. Here are the main reasons, firstly, the price of property was beyond my reach, 150K for a terraced house was ludicrous and overpriced, secondly the cost of utilities was staggering, every month there was a 5 or 10% rise in gas or electric. My salary wasn't enormous by any means, I was on 12K a year, but it was a sheer struggle compared to the United States.

Food prices had gone up 25% and as I could not afford to buy a house or flat, even to let you are talking about 400 pounds a calendar month for a small terraced.

I acknowledge prices have gone up all over the world, but wages havent in UK.

With a heavy heart, I returned to the USA, even with its expensive healthcare. Just be realistic, if you haven't been home in a while, things have changed, some for the better, some for the worse. Have a holiday before you decide what to do.

Thank you.

Londonuck

Me too. Standing on the same railway station platform, Earlsfield, i used to stand on before i went away and having to miss 3 or 4 trains every morning to Waterloo because of the overcrowding was an awful experience. 6 on the trot was my record.

Like the above poster said, property was well out of our reach. When I left it was 70k for a two bed flat. When back it was 200k. We did enjoy our European trips when we were back though.

Hello from another Ciaran btw.

franki

In a way, I'm glad we moved over here to make us realize what we want. We just can't afford to live here. It's all work to pay the bills, not enough time to spend with the family, etc... I do regret giving up our house in US and spending so much money on the whole process and now having to go through it all again.

mumof4

I have to agree with most things already said. While my hubby and kids are happy, in their respective schools and job and have good friends which they just didn't find in the states.....I miss the wide open spaces, the openness of the people, the up-beatness of society in general instead of wandering if I'm going to be mugged on the high street in the middle of the day. Should I mention the sunshine?
It's an individual question that needs each person to assess their own priorities. Ours became a stable income and kids schooling. So even tho' the pay doesn't quite meet the bills, we have more resources here and one day I'll get a proper job and then we'll be OK....we didn't have that in the US. So as much as we miss our big house, big car, big garage and big garden (we're now in a terrace!) we're staying in the UK for now.
good luck with your decisions

Pugsy

No, for us it has been bliss and we have lived all over the world, hot and cold countries. Luckily we live in Wales, by the coast, so very pretty area and have a lovely big house. All good. Schooling/medical all good. Really, depends what you're used to, what you're coming from and what you're going back to.... and if the weather's important to you, to me it's not a factor.

Kath & Graham

Mmm yes we moved back just a year ago this week due to personal reasons, but we havent really settled and now are looking to try a different part of Australia.

SarahInTX

I've only been back 2.5 months, but I have no regrets yet.

dunroving

Yes, I moved back in summer 2006 after 23 years on the other side of the Atlantic. Like others, I have been sideswiped by the cost of housing and although I managed to buy an ex-council property am now lumbered with a 25-year mortgage (and wondering if I'll be able to sell if I manage to up sticks and go back to the States, which I'm trying to do). I am also very disillusioned with higher education in the UK, which seems to have nose-dived over the past 10 years (not surprisingly, with increasing access). So I have gone from being in a job that I loved, with a decent standard of living and good quality of life to having a job that I feel I'm just doing to bring in a regular wage, struggling to make ends meet (and I'm hardly on a low salary) and feeling very much, as someone said on another thread, like a fish out of water.

I rarely come on BE these days other than to occasionally catch up on how people are doing, because reading many of the threads on here where people are happy as clams in the UK just reminds me what a dumb move I made.

islandergirl

[QUOTE=garrettciaran;6960952] My salary wasn't enormous by any means, I was on 12K a year, but it was a sheer struggle compared to the United States.

$12k a year is a seriously low salary, I was on more than that before I emigrated to Aus in 1995, no wonder you regretted the move, that's awful is that not below the minimum wage or something?

Petals

The bottom line for us was to have good jobs, good income, house of our own and contentment, happy with what we have.

I never missed family because mine moved all the time and even though they lived in Aus they might as well have been in the UK as it was thousands of kms away.

Like OP said I would not want family bothering me all the time. Love to see them but prefer my friends as I picked them

If you are living away from the UK and have all the things necessary for a good life why go back, yes we miss things but when there is no money and housing is very expensive just being in the UK would not do it for me.