Originally Posted by wingandapray

Leaving the house now for airport hotel-not sure if I can be online-I do have wireless so maybe-Worn out with all he house cleaning-(rental) haven't slept for 3 days and now have to do a 21 hour flight!! then we will have to search for work-operation D-Day has commenced-we will prevail-Ed I appreciate your support and I will PM u if I can get online!! We are having trouble with accommodation so u are right to start a rovers return place for people to come to-we should start this ASAP.

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills

Consider the source it's the daily Fail!
All sensationalizing.
They had an article like this in the local paper at my Mums, a man and his wife and child came back from somewhere.
Parts of the story were missing, you can apply for child allowance but it takes three months from when you enter the UK and take up residence again, thats how it was for my son and I when we were back many years ago.
She probably is eligible for job seekers allowance but that wasn't mentioned. Sounds like the wants the essex council to hand her a house and pay her to live in it

Originally Posted by jasper123

WAWA
A huge big welcome to you, you say your children are in UAE, stupid question maybe but where is UAE?
And you say all your family and friends are in UK, thats good, all my family are in UK too, I will be living with my 90 year old Mum, I am 65 in June, Im hoping to get out of U.S. as soon as possible, I booked a flight and all fully paid for leaving Vegas November 30, I booked it a few months ago but now recently I have changed my mind and want to go back earlier, so will have to change flight date soon, so its a mad rush for me to take care of everything ASAP
I just so really want to get home with my family,
You know the biggest obstacle that we all have to overcome is getting in the frame of mind that there is not a single doubt in your mind that you want to return to your birthplace, and that you absolutely know that this is what is right, and this is what you want to do,
All the rest you can take care of in the move, and when you get back home even though it will be tough at first it will all work out for you both and then years later you will look back on where you are now and be so thankful that you made the decision to go home,
Take good care, and you know that we are all here to help you and give advice on anything ---- or just chit chat if you want too,
I personally would not be in the stage I am in now if it were not for all the wonderful people on this thread, they have each helped me sooooo much in there own way with advice and encouraged me and inspired me,
Take care, and keep posting,
Rodney.

Originally Posted by Beedubya

Eileen have you thought of doing a coach trip to the south coast? I had that on my plans for the summer, but as you know I never got to fulfil them.

There are a few coach companies out there, Shearings is the only one I can think of offhand, but they do all in coach tours, which include hotel room, breakfast, dinner and entertainment. You should be able to find other companies who do the same. It is much cheaper to do this than say get a train, hotel, and 2 meals a day, there is no way you could do it as cheaply as they do!!

It will give you a feel for the place and really nobody else can advise you where to live, you will have to click with the place yourself. I have only been to Torquay a LONG time ago and I remember being amazed that palm trees grew in England!!!

Originally Posted by Relocateme

Yep, Bee...you are probably correct..no one can pick a place for me to live..

however, I would rather have a list of the top-ten town suggestions to go and see..I was rather thinking to rent a car one-way and take my shipment box and luggage down in the vehicle...do the tour in a day or so and then take it from there..

At the beginning of the thread the south coast was mentioned frequently so I am going back there to see the other places that came with recommendations

this week my drivers licence should arrive

I did check out the bus lines like National Express and they do half-price for over 60's ..doesn't solve getting the bags there though..so it may have to be the rental thing..

In the meantime I have booked for Australia May 17th flying Emirates with a stopover in Dubai UAE

Help my aunt pack up her house in 4 weeks...she was like you ....thought she could buy and settle back here...turns out she is returning to Perth..she is nearly blind now so needs all the help she can get..
too bad really as I would have had a place with her....funny old world eh?

Originally Posted by Relocateme

Welcome Wawa!...I am always amazed how us "over 50's going home" keep popping up on our thread. When I first saw your name I thought of Wawa Ontario..been through there a couple of times! So where will you be going back to?

Wingandpray now off to the airport..Bon Voyage and safe journey..I do hope there is some way you can get accomm right away..what area are you going back to?

DDL and Fishn'Chips... you guys are right in the thick of things with a bunch of work with yard sales and getting your documentation happening. At least there will be a feeling of getting accomplished with a good portion of your goods out of the way...its good in one way and sad in another to see your collections heading out the door for a pittance..I believe I only got one quarter of the price of my stuff. In the end some pple took my goods and didnt pay me at all..

Rodney..sorry to hear your June trip may have to be postponed due to your medical problems which came upon you so suddenly..rest up well and dont rush back to work..you will need everything you've got for the big push!
Will you just leave it till you know more?

I have a sore throat today...kind of knew I would get something..every trip it happens..just hoping it does not go to my chest and get worse.

Been doing a lot of reading about pensions. When I first joined the site my first question was if any single women were going back to UK from Canada between the ages of 60 and 65....I did not get one reply..

I really didnt know if I would have to continue working here in UK or not.
Since I am not eligible to collect Canadian pension till 65 I really did not understand where I stood. Now I know..I can retire now according to what I have been reading and also am entitled to a full UK state pension. As well, I am able to continue working if I want.

Funny how you get lots of advice and reading references sent your way but no clear straight answer. Well now, having ploughed through piles of material I am satisfied I have the right info.....

I do want to ask you guys your input on a settlement place.
After I have done my travels this year I intend settling on the south coast somewhere....have been looking at the usual spots Torquay, Bournemouth, Poole, Salcombe, Cornwall...but all in all nothing leaps out. Ideally a pretty, warm place not too small...get a little job, maybe with ferry to France..any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Fish n Chips 56

Hello Rod.

There are so many cameras to choose from, I bought mine from my local camera store where you can pick them up without some security device attached, plus I like to support the local guy who will treat me right.

I looked at many over a two month period before buying, I wanted to have them in my hands and see how they felt, many camera's are so small today, some are too small for guys with big fingers, some are made of cheap plastic and delicate, some are more solid so that's what to look for.

I found ones I liked, then came home and compared features and read buyers reports online at places like Amazon, I wanted to buy one with a good track record.

I have a Canon Power Shot SD970is it retailed for $379 and I paid $350 including a 2gb memory card and bag, they are worth at least $25, so that means I paid $325 for the camera when all said and done.
It came with a lithium battery, its very small with a large screen a 5 x optical zoom and no viewfinder, my first camera without a viewfinder. I love it, since last July I have taken 3544 pics and some video with it, I do not consider it a great video camera as the sound isnt a major feature, still it took nice take off and landing video's on my trip back to the UK last July.

I was also looking at a Canon powershot SX120is, its larger and looks more traditional, it fits tightly in my pants pocket inside a carrying case, its runs off AA batteries which are easy to find, plus it has a wonderful 10x optical zoom and video, it retailed for 249 and since has dropped in price to 229, I see it everywhere for $200, its a wonderful camera for $200.

My Dad who was alive last year at this time actually went looking with me and bought the 120is for $200, we took it to the UK and it took some great pics too, you can get rechargable AAs for that camera which would be the way to go, but if you are caught out you can always find regular AAs.
I gave that camera to one of my sisters after my Dad passed away, she loves it and enjoys it more than her Nikon.

Previous to Canon I bought Fujis and enjoyed those too, Its a case of going and seeing what you like and what feels good to you.

Memory cards, The pics are stored on memory cards, you can download them straight into your computer, I was going to erase and reuse the memory cards, then figured they are so cheap I decided to delete pics I dont like and keep ones on the card that I do, so I dont have 3544 pics saved, many have been deleted, the memory cards are available in the UK so thats not a problem.
A 2gb card will hold close to 500 pics and costs around $15.

Wow Vegas is a Great place for Photo's, Bigger than Life.

Good Luck on finding a Camera, Take Care...

Originally Posted by wingandapray

Leaving the house now for airport hotel-not sure if I can be online-I do have wireless so maybe-Worn out with all he house cleaning-(rental) haven't slept for 3 days and now have to do a 21 hour flight!! then we will have to search for work-operation D-Day has commenced-we will prevail-Ed I appreciate your support and I will PM u if I can get online!! We are having trouble with accommodation so u are right to start a rovers return place for people to come to-we should start this ASAP.

Originally Posted by Relocateme

didnt pay me at all..

I do want to ask you guys your input on a settlement place.
After I have done my travels this year I intend settling on the south coast somewhere....have been looking at the usual spots Torquay, Bournemouth, Poole, Salcombe, Cornwall...but all in all nothing leaps out. Ideally a pretty, warm place not too small...get a little job, maybe with ferry to France..any suggestions?

Originally Posted by jasper123

Fish n Chips,
Thanx for all that info, I do appreciate it, so I will look into those two choices, pick em up and look and see which one I like, after all with yours you certainly did a lot of checking on line, so all the hard work has been done for me, thanx for that, ---- 3,544 Pics huh --- oh boy thats a whole lot of picture taking there, yes I too have never had a camera without a viewfinder but have seen them, and I like the idea of the memory cards too, never had that before either,
what I would like to do is keep the pics that I like on the card and then just buy another card and take more pics, rather then downloading the pics to your computer, isn't it wonderful that we live in this age of high tech everything, people of our age has seen a lot of changes havent we, remember when people actually wrote letters to each other, it used to take about a week for my letters to get to UK from US, and I think when I lived in Oz they took around 10 days,
long distance Phone calls were out of the question in those days unless you were a millionaire, I remember from US to UK the calls would cost around $1 per minute, and you would only use the phone home for emergencies --- and then talk real fast too I have a good deal with Telecom USA for all my long distance, it only costs me a little less then $4 to call my Mum or Sister or Son and speak for an hour, around 6 cents a minute from my landline phone,
Take care,
Rodney,

Originally Posted by jasper123

Your not alone Ed I cant remember Mr Pastry either, but yes like you I used to watch andy pandy and the flowerpot men (weed weed) the woodentops, & lots of other kids programs, how about that Australian guy who used to have a weekly program on telly he was a sketch artist, Ralph something I think his name was, and later in the early 60,s I think it was I used to love the billy cotton band show !! and I think in the late 50,s the saint with Roger more, and even earlier then that the very first program on TV that I saw roger more in was ( Ivanhoe)
Anybody remember that one he was a knight on a white horse, and steptoe & Son, so many, too many good programs to mention, but I loved them all, over here in US sanford & son was a spinoff from steptoe & Son,
Oh boy am I ever getting home sick now !!!!
Congrats again Ed on your new Job, we have to keep saying this about you cause its true ---- you are truly an inspiration to us all,
Rodney.

Originally Posted by Honeybun

Hi Relocateme
I am hoping to go back to UK this year or begin next year, and I have been looking at Park Homes in the Bournemouth/Poole area. They are small enough not to spend a pension on heating but also big enough to have everything you need - 2 beds, kitchen, living. I also would like to do some travelling, something I didn't do before going to the land down under which I would hopefully be able to do with remaining money If you go to The right Move and just click on mobile homes I think you should get to see what I mean.

Originally Posted by jasper123

WAWA
A huge big welcome to you, you say your children are in UAE, stupid question maybe but where is UAE?
And you say all your family and friends are in UK, thats good, all my family are in UK too, I will be living with my 90 year old Mum, I am 65 in June, Im hoping to get out of U.S. as soon as possible, I booked a flight and all fully paid for leaving Vegas November 30, I booked it a few months ago but now recently I have changed my mind and want to go back earlier, so will have to change flight date soon, so its a mad rush for me to take care of everything ASAP
I just so really want to get home with my family,
You know the biggest obstacle that we all have to overcome is getting in the frame of mind that there is not a single doubt in your mind that you want to return to your birthplace, and that you absolutely know that this is what is right, and this is what you want to do,
All the rest you can take care of in the move, and when you get back home even though it will be tough at first it will all work out for you both and then years later you will look back on where you are now and be so thankful that you made the decision to go home,
Take good care, and you know that we are all here to help you and give advice on anything ---- or just chit chat if you want too,
I personally would not be in the stage I am in now if it were not for all the wonderful people on this thread, they have each helped me sooooo much in there own way with advice and encouraged me and inspired me,
Take care, and keep posting,
Rodney.

Originally Posted by Relocateme

Welcome Wawa!...I am always amazed how us "over 50's going home" keep popping up on our thread. When I first saw your name I thought of Wawa Ontario..been through there a couple of times! So where will you be going back to?

Originally Posted by Relocateme

Thank you Honeybun for this suggestion!...Park homes in Bournemouth- Poole area...hmmm..didnt think of that..some of the interiors of these are just super..hey!..wonder if they have the calor gas stoves?..

thank you Rodney for the Cornwall suggestion..I have plenty of time now to research them..

Bee...you are right about the driving...here's me thinking driving in Canada...just keep on going for hours and only 96c a litre..ha ha not on UK time!..