OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
#9107
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,606
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
We all have had our times of worrying - either whilst deciding to leave our adopted country, or after arriving in the UK. If you look at many of the previous postings on this thread, and on other threads on the British Expatriates website, you will find all sorts of questions, and all sorts of answers. You need to make a list of the things that worry you, then do some research to see if someone has answered your questions previously. Usually that is the case. When I was going through many months of indecision - shall I leave the US, how can I do this, how can I sell all these wonderful things I have collected over 24 years, what shall I do with my oil paintings, and many more too numerous to remember - I read this site from one page to the next - I was obsessed with it. I also looked at UK Yankee, but am not as content with it as I am with BE. I feel that I have made friends on this site, and have exchanged private messages with many people on various subjects, as well as posting on thie thread publicly. I am now a seasoned veteran of about 7 months on the site, and 2 months back in the UK, and am happy to give information from my own research and personal expereinces since being back here. I have had a full 2 months - I can hardly believe all the things I have done and the places I have visited - I took the first month and travelled and visited, then got down to the serious business of staying here. Once the gloss wore off and the reality set in, I got back down to work on my needs and a place to live for maybe 3 to 6 months. I do not have any family who care to know me over here, so I am dependent on the kindness of two friends, both of whom are female and work, so have little time for my questions. So then I turn to this site, and also get up and go into whichever town I am currently staying in - Purley or Ealing - and mix and mingle with local people. That is very good for the soul. The first few weeks I just walked about, looking at all sorts, going into the local Tesco and looking at product on the shelves, looking at labels, looking at prices, looking at everything - because it is so very different to the USA. Sizes of packets are different, everything is in metric measurement and weight, and that takes a huge mental adjustment. Temperature is in Centigrade, which often leaves me clueless: will I need a jacket if I go out and it is 20C? Not a clue - so I managed to find a weather site which allows you to set the details in Farenheit - now I know what to do. At 20C I do not need a jacket!
Basically, all this rambling is to let you know that the streets are not paved with gold, the people are friendly, they will help if you ask for help - sometimes they will volunteer help, but not always, you need to use your eyes to observe, your ears to listen and you will learn a lot. We have all been away from here for many, many years, and will not readapt to a place we call home in a few weeks. Maybe a year and I will feel totally adapted, but after two months, I think I am doing fine. if you are computer literate you will adapt faster, as so much is done on line, from grocery ordering, to Advance Rail ticket ordering.
Questions anyone?
Basically, all this rambling is to let you know that the streets are not paved with gold, the people are friendly, they will help if you ask for help - sometimes they will volunteer help, but not always, you need to use your eyes to observe, your ears to listen and you will learn a lot. We have all been away from here for many, many years, and will not readapt to a place we call home in a few weeks. Maybe a year and I will feel totally adapted, but after two months, I think I am doing fine. if you are computer literate you will adapt faster, as so much is done on line, from grocery ordering, to Advance Rail ticket ordering.
Questions anyone?
#9108
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Definitely agree, long gone are the days when the only veg you could get were spuds, carrots and turnips and cabbages, at least that's all I remember of my childhood, school dinners and all.
#9109
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
OMG! I had forgotten school dinner turnip. BLECH. And for dessert they used to give us gooseberry crumble. I'm sorry but there's no way that should have been fed to humans.
Food has changed so much in the UK. That's one thing that will really surprise returnees. Not just the stuff you can buy in the grocery stores, but the quality and variety of the restaurants, with food from all over the world.
I was 18 before I saw a pizza and I remember when a KFC opened about 10 miles from our house when I was 16. The whole family used to pile in the car to go there for a treat. We thought it was so exotic! Now the village where I grew up has a delicious Indian and Chinese take-out as well as the old standby, fish and chips. And pub food is just a revelation. We were spoiled for choice with all the vegetarian options and they were incredibly tasty and well-cooked. They must have opened tons of chef schools since I left because Brits didn't used to cook like that.
Food has changed so much in the UK. That's one thing that will really surprise returnees. Not just the stuff you can buy in the grocery stores, but the quality and variety of the restaurants, with food from all over the world.
I was 18 before I saw a pizza and I remember when a KFC opened about 10 miles from our house when I was 16. The whole family used to pile in the car to go there for a treat. We thought it was so exotic! Now the village where I grew up has a delicious Indian and Chinese take-out as well as the old standby, fish and chips. And pub food is just a revelation. We were spoiled for choice with all the vegetarian options and they were incredibly tasty and well-cooked. They must have opened tons of chef schools since I left because Brits didn't used to cook like that.
#9110
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
OMG! I had forgotten school dinner turnip. BLECH. And for dessert they used to give us gooseberry crumble. I'm sorry but there's no way that should have been fed to humans.
Food has changed so much in the UK. That's one thing that will really surprise returnees. Not just the stuff you can buy in the grocery stores, but the quality and variety of the restaurants, with food from all over the world.
I was 18 before I saw a pizza and I remember when a KFC opened about 10 miles from our house when I was 16. The whole family used to pile in the car to go there for a treat. We thought it was so exotic! Now the village where I grew up has a delicious Indian and Chinese take-out as well as the old standby, fish and chips. And pub food is just a revelation. We were spoiled for choice with all the vegetarian options and they were incredibly tasty and well-cooked. They must have opened tons of chef schools since I left because Brits didn't used to cook like that.
Food has changed so much in the UK. That's one thing that will really surprise returnees. Not just the stuff you can buy in the grocery stores, but the quality and variety of the restaurants, with food from all over the world.
I was 18 before I saw a pizza and I remember when a KFC opened about 10 miles from our house when I was 16. The whole family used to pile in the car to go there for a treat. We thought it was so exotic! Now the village where I grew up has a delicious Indian and Chinese take-out as well as the old standby, fish and chips. And pub food is just a revelation. We were spoiled for choice with all the vegetarian options and they were incredibly tasty and well-cooked. They must have opened tons of chef schools since I left because Brits didn't used to cook like that.
Sounds like the quality and variety of food in the UK has got dramatically better. I can't wait to sample it.
#9111
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2004
Location: CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire, England
Posts: 1,494
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
You can get all kinds of pizzas in the UK now, and of course the Italians serve up the very best as you would imagine. I keep reading about how much the food and the various types of food, either traditional British or ethnic and international, has improved beyond all recognition in the UK now.
Pub food and its range and choice of menus has also improved enormously in recent years, according to all kinds of reports, and I can certainly confirm the excellent quality of the food and choice of menus in many pubs here in Edinburgh and the UK generally, even in wee villages in the depths of the countryside.
There are so many TV cookery programs and TV programs about food and its production and consumption in the UK that some people now complain that there are too many of them.
My favourite is James Martin's "Saturday Kitchen" shown at 10:00am on BBC1-TV on Saturdays, of course. That really is good fun - the diversity and range of dishes served up on that program is amazing, and each week they have a guest celebrity appearing who has to state his or her favourite foodstuff (known as "Food Heaven") and also his or her least favoured foodstuff ("Food Hell") and then it is up to the chefs and two guest members of the public selected to appear on the show, and three other members of the public phoning in to declare whether the guest celebrity has to face his or her "food heaven" or "food hell" - and whichever is selected by the majority is then cooked and served up to the celebrity and to everyone else in the studio kitchen.
A wine expert is sent to locations all over the UK each week - last Saturday the expert was sent to a very cold and very snowy Gravesend in Kent - where he selected wines best suited to the dishes being cooked back in the studio kitchen.
There are also other interesting features in this 90 minutes long program, such as the two guest chefs battling it out in the omelette challenge - who can produce the best three egg omelette in the shortest posssible time.
Pub food and its range and choice of menus has also improved enormously in recent years, according to all kinds of reports, and I can certainly confirm the excellent quality of the food and choice of menus in many pubs here in Edinburgh and the UK generally, even in wee villages in the depths of the countryside.
There are so many TV cookery programs and TV programs about food and its production and consumption in the UK that some people now complain that there are too many of them.
My favourite is James Martin's "Saturday Kitchen" shown at 10:00am on BBC1-TV on Saturdays, of course. That really is good fun - the diversity and range of dishes served up on that program is amazing, and each week they have a guest celebrity appearing who has to state his or her favourite foodstuff (known as "Food Heaven") and also his or her least favoured foodstuff ("Food Hell") and then it is up to the chefs and two guest members of the public selected to appear on the show, and three other members of the public phoning in to declare whether the guest celebrity has to face his or her "food heaven" or "food hell" - and whichever is selected by the majority is then cooked and served up to the celebrity and to everyone else in the studio kitchen.
A wine expert is sent to locations all over the UK each week - last Saturday the expert was sent to a very cold and very snowy Gravesend in Kent - where he selected wines best suited to the dishes being cooked back in the studio kitchen.
There are also other interesting features in this 90 minutes long program, such as the two guest chefs battling it out in the omelette challenge - who can produce the best three egg omelette in the shortest posssible time.
Last edited by Lothianlad; Dec 5th 2010 at 11:19 pm.
#9112
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
You can get all kinds of pizzas in the UK now, and of course the Italians serve up the very best as you would imagine. I keep reading about how much the food and the various types of food, either traditional British or ethnic and international, has improved beyond all recognition in the UK now.
There are so many TV cookery programs and TV programs about food and its production and consumption in the UK that some people now complain that there are too many of them.
My favourite is James Martin's "Saturday Kitchen" shown at 10:00am on BBC1-TV on Saturdays, of course. That really is good fun - the diversity and range of dishes served up on that program is amazing, and each week they have a guest celebrity appearing who has to state his or her favourite foodstuff (known as "Food Heaven") and also his or her least favoured foodstuff ("Food Hell") and then it is up to the chefs and two guest members of the public selected to appear on the show, and three other members of the public phoning in to declare whether the guest celebrity has to face his or her "food heaven" or "food hell" - and whichever is selected by the majority is then cooked and served up to the celebrity and to everyone else in the studio kitchen.
A wine expert is sent to locations all over the UK each week - last Saturday the expert was sent to a very cold and very snowy Gravesend in Kent - where he selected wines best suited to the dishes being cooked back in the studio kitchen.
There are also other interesting features in this 90 minutes long program, such as the two guest chefs battling it out in the omelette challenge - who can produce the best three egg omelette in the shortest posssible time.
There are so many TV cookery programs and TV programs about food and its production and consumption in the UK that some people now complain that there are too many of them.
My favourite is James Martin's "Saturday Kitchen" shown at 10:00am on BBC1-TV on Saturdays, of course. That really is good fun - the diversity and range of dishes served up on that program is amazing, and each week they have a guest celebrity appearing who has to state his or her favourite foodstuff (known as "Food Heaven") and also his or her least favoured foodstuff ("Food Hell") and then it is up to the chefs and two guest members of the public selected to appear on the show, and three other members of the public phoning in to declare whether the guest celebrity has to face his or her "food heaven" or "food hell" - and whichever is selected by the majority is then cooked and served up to the celebrity and to everyone else in the studio kitchen.
A wine expert is sent to locations all over the UK each week - last Saturday the expert was sent to a very cold and very snowy Gravesend in Kent - where he selected wines best suited to the dishes being cooked back in the studio kitchen.
There are also other interesting features in this 90 minutes long program, such as the two guest chefs battling it out in the omelette challenge - who can produce the best three egg omelette in the shortest posssible time.
I notice it is very difficult to find a "British" cook book nowadays, the ones that give authentic British recipes. I have a few I ordered about 25 years ago from a BBC cooking series. I am holding on to them for dear life!
#9113
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Thanks for the welcome Windsong and Beedubya I must say I am very interested in hearing about Rodney and how he is getting on. Look forward to his post. The info on here is wonderful and I'm sure over the coming months it will be a great help.
#9114
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Do you see many farms in Britain these days? I remember driving from Edinburgh down to the border country and we'd see the sheep and cows in the fields. So peaceful.
#9115
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Do you remember the pet food nightmare that occurred in the USA a few years ago - killed many pets. Did that hit the UK, too? I am wondering what brand names of foods were affected over (so I can stay away from those brands when I get there).
#9116
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Do any of you ever play online Scrabble at http://www.lexulous.com?
They have both UK and US dictionaries there.
There are tons of members online there.
They have both UK and US dictionaries there.
There are tons of members online there.
#9117
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Maybe when you get a full time job, you should take a vacation over to England to get an idea of what it is like now, and ease your mind on a few of the things that you are worried about..
Jackie
#9118
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
Actually, I am wondering if I can just "bolt" from this country in about 10 months from now but I think it would be too risky. I wouldn't be able to find a job until I am there and I wouldn't yet be receiving my pension and SS from this country.
Still trying to figure things out here.
#9119
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 4,100
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
I know, Jackie. I will have to do that at some point before I finally return if only to find somewhere to live.
Actually, I am wondering if I can just "bolt" from this country in about 10 months from now but I think it would be too risky. I wouldn't be able to find a job until I am there and I wouldn't yet be receiving my pension and SS from this country.
Still trying to figure things out here.
Actually, I am wondering if I can just "bolt" from this country in about 10 months from now but I think it would be too risky. I wouldn't be able to find a job until I am there and I wouldn't yet be receiving my pension and SS from this country.
Still trying to figure things out here.
#9120
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK.
I know, Jackie. I will have to do that at some point before I finally return if only to find somewhere to live.
Actually, I am wondering if I can just "bolt" from this country in about 10 months from now but I think it would be too risky. I wouldn't be able to find a job until I am there and I wouldn't yet be receiving my pension and SS from this country.
Still trying to figure things out here.
Actually, I am wondering if I can just "bolt" from this country in about 10 months from now but I think it would be too risky. I wouldn't be able to find a job until I am there and I wouldn't yet be receiving my pension and SS from this country.
Still trying to figure things out here.
Jackie