OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
May 4th 2012, 7:47 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Thanks for posting your emotional story, BritinWI.
I tend to get tied up in the facts and figures of the move event and forget the inner story. Your words help me understand my wife's own feelings for our story is much as yours has been, except we are both UK origin.
Welcome back soon and best wishes to you both for the future.
I tend to get tied up in the facts and figures of the move event and forget the inner story. Your words help me understand my wife's own feelings for our story is much as yours has been, except we are both UK origin.
Welcome back soon and best wishes to you both for the future.
May 4th 2012, 7:51 pm
The Kwisatz Haderach
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Great post BritinWI 
May 4th 2012, 8:42 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I'm so tired with the cleaning, the negotiating, the worrying (!) and everything else that goes along with this process. But every now and then, unbidden, I feel a surge of joy that starts in my toes and bursts out of every part of me that this time, when I land in Manchester, I will be home. Home. It's not something I even thought possible a few years ago.
Good luck and thanks for sharing!! Can't wait to read about your journey.
May 4th 2012, 11:00 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritinW1
loved your post. I too am a long time lurker, but have recently started to post more frequently. I am so pleased that you house sold so quickly. keep your fingers and toes crossed for me as the For Sale sign went into our front lawn just hours ago and the painters are still here!
thanks for posting
loved your post. I too am a long time lurker, but have recently started to post more frequently. I am so pleased that you house sold so quickly. keep your fingers and toes crossed for me as the For Sale sign went into our front lawn just hours ago and the painters are still here!
thanks for posting
May 4th 2012, 11:17 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Britinwi,
WOW absolutely lovely first post,
I must echo Tinas and Sally's replies to your posts, and also to say I knew our great thread that has been going for so long had lots --- hundreds of loyal lurkers like yourself, but when you said that you have read every single post, well then you are already one of us, A GREAT BIG WELCOME from me, and your story is sure to inspire many people who are in your stage of packing and sorting and just a couple of weeks left for both your dreams to come true,
Best of luck and I hope everything will go as smoothly for you over here as it did in the U.S. you know like selling your house in 2 days and all the rest 
As Sally said that wonderful feeling of Joy that starts in your toes dont go away, the Joy just gets better the longer your home, at least thats how its been for me
Im 67 next month, Ive been home for 16 months and I feel that my life is Just starting, and the only time I think of the U.S. anymore these days is when Im emailing my American friends over there.
Take care,
Rodney.
WOW absolutely lovely first post,
I must echo Tinas and Sally's replies to your posts, and also to say I knew our great thread that has been going for so long had lots --- hundreds of loyal lurkers like yourself, but when you said that you have read every single post, well then you are already one of us, A GREAT BIG WELCOME from me, and your story is sure to inspire many people who are in your stage of packing and sorting and just a couple of weeks left for both your dreams to come true,
Best of luck and I hope everything will go as smoothly for you over here as it did in the U.S. you know like selling your house in 2 days
and all the rest As Sally said that wonderful feeling of Joy that starts in your toes dont go away, the Joy just gets better the longer your home, at least thats how its been for me
Im 67 next month, Ive been home for 16 months and I feel that my life is Just starting, and the only time I think of the U.S. anymore these days is when Im emailing my American friends over there.Take care,
Rodney.
Last edited by jasper123; May 4th 2012 at 11:19 pm. Reason: add letter
May 5th 2012, 8:13 am
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Brit in WI, thanks for coming out and posting...
Its nice when we get a lurker that has read so much, its a wonderful thing that the weeks and days are so very close for you, and that your other half is ready and willing to give it a go, I feel the UK has so much to offer...
I love that you are landing in Manchester, I was there a few months ago, its a terrific airport, what a wonderful feeling it is when you walk out into the fresh air of the North...
Good Luck to you.
Its nice when we get a lurker that has read so much, its a wonderful thing that the weeks and days are so very close for you, and that your other half is ready and willing to give it a go, I feel the UK has so much to offer...
I love that you are landing in Manchester, I was there a few months ago, its a terrific airport, what a wonderful feeling it is when you walk out into the fresh air of the North...
Good Luck to you.
May 5th 2012, 1:51 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritinWI,
What an inspiring post!
Our house is on the market, so I`m in the middle of the constant tidying up, yarrrggghh!
Had lots of viewers lately, long may it continue.
Pledged that I will never put a white tiled bathroom floor in anywhere!
Good luck for your move and for your husband as he settles down in England,
mine has collywobbles and he`s British! Eeek! Full of funny noises this morning.
What an inspiring post!
Our house is on the market, so I`m in the middle of the constant tidying up, yarrrggghh!
Had lots of viewers lately, long may it continue.
Pledged that I will never put a white tiled bathroom floor in anywhere!
Good luck for your move and for your husband as he settles down in England,
mine has collywobbles and he`s British! Eeek! Full of funny noises this morning.
May 5th 2012, 11:00 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I have lurked since the beginning only briefly posting when I felt I had a contribution to make, and for 6 weeks now I have no notifications so had not caught up with recent posts til now.
What strikes me, having returned "home" to Australia, after 5 years in the USA which was due to marriage I so completely reverted to my happier self. I look back on those years now, as others have posted, as being like a dream.
It is almost weird, I was happy on the surface being with my OH and seeing things I would not have seen (the space shuttle, South America) but something felt *not right* living in America.
So many posts have touched on my feelings about how sadly people can be manipulated by the media. The fact that people can be dictated to, and vote against their best interests and still believe they live in the best country in the world.
Anyway it has been lovely to catch up today and see reunions being organised and fellow expats being encouraged and supported as they make decisions about the rest of their lives.
Well done you!
What strikes me, having returned "home" to Australia, after 5 years in the USA which was due to marriage I so completely reverted to my happier self. I look back on those years now, as others have posted, as being like a dream.
It is almost weird, I was happy on the surface being with my OH and seeing things I would not have seen (the space shuttle, South America) but something felt *not right* living in America.
So many posts have touched on my feelings about how sadly people can be manipulated by the media. The fact that people can be dictated to, and vote against their best interests and still believe they live in the best country in the world.
Anyway it has been lovely to catch up today and see reunions being organised and fellow expats being encouraged and supported as they make decisions about the rest of their lives.
Well done you!
May 5th 2012, 11:11 pm
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritinWI I too loved your post as I have also been lurking and thinking something was wrong with me. So glad to know I am not alone in how I feel. My husband is not convinced he wants to go back when he retires in 3 years time and will not even discuss it, going off the handle when I mention it. I feel like you do. We are going to England on Mon 7th for a two week holiday and my hope is that he has such a good time with me there too (in past he always went on his own) that he will start to feel he may want to also go back!
May 6th 2012, 6:49 am
Home Sweet Home
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
If only you all knew what a force for good you've all been in my life these past couple of years...
I've mostly lurked here since the very beginning of this thread and have read every single one of your posts. To know that there are others who feel the way you do can give so much strength and support, even when they don't know they are doing it.
I came to the US with my American DH 20 years ago. I didn't particularly want to come but it was his dream and I love him so here I am. My mum saw me off at the airport by saying that, to be happy, I must try to "bloom where I am planted". So I did my best and tried to settle and integrate. For a while it (mostly) worked, though I doubt I shall have to describe to you all that sense of not quite fitting in, not quite being understood, just not quite "being".
A few years ago the tiny voice in my head that told me I needed to go home became, instead, a dull roar that it was harder and harder to silence. It would be lovely to be able to tell you that when I mentioned to DH how I was feeling we immediately made plans to return to the UK. But actually, there began an almost three year "discussion" that was, at times, very hard indeed. Where was the point of dragging my DH, and best friend, home if he then was going to be miserable. Somehow I needed him to be completely on board too. Initially he agreed that we would retire to Britain and that we'd try to retire early too. For the briefest of whiles, this was enough and I was more joyous than I had been in years...just to know that at some time in the future I'd be home.
To cut a long story short, by last spring DH had agreed that we might very well continue our Great Adventure by heading back to the UK sooner and now, a full year later, he is every bit as excited as I am as to what our future might hold.
We've spent the last couple of months clearing out cupboards, the basement, the spare room etc. etc. etc (you all know how that goes!) and by some miracle that I still can't quite fathom, we received a full price offer on the house on the second day of it being listed. Of course, much can still go pear-shaped before we close in a couple of weeks but I have to stay positive on that score as I am in a tizzy enough as it is without worrying about whether the sale will complete!!
Those of you who are currently trying to sell or about to start marketing their house, I wish you the very, very best of good luck. I hope the perfect buyer comes along staight away so that you have one less thing to worry about
I'm so tired with the cleaning, the negotiating, the worrying (!) and everything else that goes along with this process. But every now and then, unbidden, I feel a surge of joy that starts in my toes and bursts out of every part of me that this time, when I land in Manchester, I will be home. Home. It's not something I even thought possible a few years ago.
This started out as a "thank you" to every one of you for the support and encouragement you give to the folk who read here...and I hope my little story may give some hope to others who are at the beginning of the process. It may seem impossible, but maybe it's not.
And now I think I shall have a cup of tea before I tackle the things we have in storage that must now come back to the house.
Oh frabjous Day!!!! Two weeks. Just two weeks!!
I've mostly lurked here since the very beginning of this thread and have read every single one of your posts. To know that there are others who feel the way you do can give so much strength and support, even when they don't know they are doing it.
I came to the US with my American DH 20 years ago. I didn't particularly want to come but it was his dream and I love him so here I am. My mum saw me off at the airport by saying that, to be happy, I must try to "bloom where I am planted". So I did my best and tried to settle and integrate. For a while it (mostly) worked, though I doubt I shall have to describe to you all that sense of not quite fitting in, not quite being understood, just not quite "being".
A few years ago the tiny voice in my head that told me I needed to go home became, instead, a dull roar that it was harder and harder to silence. It would be lovely to be able to tell you that when I mentioned to DH how I was feeling we immediately made plans to return to the UK. But actually, there began an almost three year "discussion" that was, at times, very hard indeed. Where was the point of dragging my DH, and best friend, home if he then was going to be miserable. Somehow I needed him to be completely on board too. Initially he agreed that we would retire to Britain and that we'd try to retire early too. For the briefest of whiles, this was enough and I was more joyous than I had been in years...just to know that at some time in the future I'd be home.
To cut a long story short, by last spring DH had agreed that we might very well continue our Great Adventure by heading back to the UK sooner and now, a full year later, he is every bit as excited as I am as to what our future might hold.
We've spent the last couple of months clearing out cupboards, the basement, the spare room etc. etc. etc (you all know how that goes!) and by some miracle that I still can't quite fathom, we received a full price offer on the house on the second day of it being listed. Of course, much can still go pear-shaped before we close in a couple of weeks but I have to stay positive on that score as I am in a tizzy enough as it is without worrying about whether the sale will complete!!
Those of you who are currently trying to sell or about to start marketing their house, I wish you the very, very best of good luck. I hope the perfect buyer comes along staight away so that you have one less thing to worry about
I'm so tired with the cleaning, the negotiating, the worrying (!) and everything else that goes along with this process. But every now and then, unbidden, I feel a surge of joy that starts in my toes and bursts out of every part of me that this time, when I land in Manchester, I will be home. Home. It's not something I even thought possible a few years ago.
This started out as a "thank you" to every one of you for the support and encouragement you give to the folk who read here...and I hope my little story may give some hope to others who are at the beginning of the process. It may seem impossible, but maybe it's not.
And now I think I shall have a cup of tea before I tackle the things we have in storage that must now come back to the house.
Oh frabjous Day!!!! Two weeks. Just two weeks!!
I can hear the joy in your words of how you feel about finally coming home.
WELCOME HOME in 2 weeks.
May 6th 2012, 6:53 am
Home Sweet Home
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Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Surrey, England
Posts: 5,128
Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
It's great to see the lurkers coming out, so how about a few more of you peeping out and telling us your story even if you are a little bit shy like me. 
It is amazing the encouragement and help you can get from this great bunch of people on BE.
It is amazing the encouragement and help you can get from this great bunch of people on BE.
May 6th 2012, 6:56 am
Home Sweet Home
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Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Surrey, England
Posts: 5,128
Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I often wonder if her husband and dogs are here with her living in Scotland, surely they should have made it by now?
Or maybe they couldn't sell the house and she was forced to go back to Canada?
It would be lovely to know so if anybody is in contact please let her know I often think of her as do many others and we would love to know how she is getting on.
Thank you
Barb
May 6th 2012, 6:59 am
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritinWI - well done! I reckon life sends you "signs" and it looks as if you have had a good sign sent to you so 
that all goes smoothly with your house plan and that, very soon, you will be back where you "belong" (it's an amazing feeling!!!). Isnt it wonderful when your life turns around and things you never thought possible actually come to pass.
that all goes smoothly with your house plan and that, very soon, you will be back where you "belong" (it's an amazing feeling!!!). Isnt it wonderful when your life turns around and things you never thought possible actually come to pass.
May 6th 2012, 9:54 am
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritnWI, lovely to read your story.. and it is great to have some lurkers come out and chat with us.
Sally the happiness just oozes in your post, wonderful! And thank god kitty is okay.
David I am so happy to read you are doing well!
Tina thanks for your continued support!
Fish, think of you often and wish you were here!
Rodney, JJ, I would love it if you come to London.
Will work on this one asap.
As time goes on I think more and more how I would not want to go back to USA, but missing my children still causes me great heart ache and I still do not know if I can stay here. I miss them so much ( for new readers I have 21 year old son, and 19 year old twins, one daughter is here with me).
My son lost one of his friends in a car crash on Thursday I could not be there to comfort him, it hurt alot and today is the funeral
Life just seems a huge roller coaster ride for me ..and I just dont know if I can stay here with out mu children.
Reading of husbands who would not move back ( several other threads about it) makes me so sad. I do wonder how it would have been for us if he had agreed.. would we still be together.
I love the UK though, the weather has been quirky.. and flipping cold too lately but I just know i belong here.
My daughter who has joined me is not having much luck with the job hunting and I knew that would happen.. I cant afford to pay for her to go to college , but she has been applying for Apprenticeships and she is eligible for those apparently. She misses her twin though and she arrives here in 10 days, I have a feeling she may want to go back to US with her.
For me if I could turn back the clock I would stay in the USA for another year after my divorce, I realise it was all too much for my kids to deal with. What was I thinking, how could I not see them everyday after being with them all that time... just to many changes I think.
But my 89 year old mum loves having me here and for that reason I am happy.
Watched the FA cup final yesterday... Chinese take away and lager..
Going for a walk in the country this afternoon...
Start work end of May, in a Day Nursery 48 hours a week
not sure how I will deal with that.. but time will tell.
Sorry gone on a bit here.
Happy Sunday everyone sunny here in Lesta!
Sally the happiness just oozes in your post, wonderful! And thank god kitty is okay.
David I am so happy to read you are doing well!
Tina thanks for your continued support!
Fish, think of you often and wish you were here!
Rodney, JJ, I would love it if you come to London.
Will work on this one asap.
As time goes on I think more and more how I would not want to go back to USA, but missing my children still causes me great heart ache and I still do not know if I can stay here. I miss them so much ( for new readers I have 21 year old son, and 19 year old twins, one daughter is here with me).
My son lost one of his friends in a car crash on Thursday I could not be there to comfort him, it hurt alot and today is the funeral
Life just seems a huge roller coaster ride for me ..and I just dont know if I can stay here with out mu children.
Reading of husbands who would not move back ( several other threads about it) makes me so sad. I do wonder how it would have been for us if he had agreed.. would we still be together.
I love the UK though, the weather has been quirky.. and flipping cold too lately but I just know i belong here.
My daughter who has joined me is not having much luck with the job hunting and I knew that would happen.. I cant afford to pay for her to go to college , but she has been applying for Apprenticeships and she is eligible for those apparently. She misses her twin though and she arrives here in 10 days, I have a feeling she may want to go back to US with her.
For me if I could turn back the clock I would stay in the USA for another year after my divorce, I realise it was all too much for my kids to deal with. What was I thinking, how could I not see them everyday after being with them all that time... just to many changes I think.
But my 89 year old mum loves having me here and for that reason I am happy.
Watched the FA cup final yesterday... Chinese take away and lager..
Going for a walk in the country this afternoon...
Start work end of May, in a Day Nursery 48 hours a week
not sure how I will deal with that.. but time will tell.Sorry gone on a bit here.
Happy Sunday everyone sunny here in Lesta!
May 6th 2012, 11:38 am
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Re: OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
BritinWI I too loved your post as I have also been lurking and thinking something was wrong with me. So glad to know I am not alone in how I feel. My husband is not convinced he wants to go back when he retires in 3 years time and will not even discuss it, going off the handle when I mention it. I feel like you do. We are going to England on Mon 7th for a two week holiday and my hope is that he has such a good time with me there too (in past he always went on his own) that he will start to feel he may want to also go back!
You are certainly not alone as you will know by now!
This theme of wives wanting to go back and husbands not, as mentioned also by charleygirl, and many others, is making me wonder whether "place" is more important to women than men---
YES, this would be a huge generalisation, and YES many men on this forum also express feelings of homesickness, long to go back, or are happy they have gone.....but it still seems to me that it's more often the women who care the most.....
I'm not wanting to make a big deal over this, and I certainly am not intending to polarize our lovely forum into men vs women, or an "I care as much as you do" contest...so please don't take it that way...
it's just an observation, interesting to mull.
tina