OVER 50's+ MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Mar 6th 2011, 1:33 am
#4201
The Kwisatz Haderach
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Mar 6th 2011, 1:55 am
#4202
In the pink
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,324
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
250,000 pounds.
In that area 166,000 pounds would buy you a terrace.
Mar 6th 2011, 2:20 am
#4203
Finally Home!
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Used to be New York, now North Yorkshire
Posts: 3,610
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
On the property shows, they usually give the figure for the average detached house. The average house is not detached and therefore the price is lower.
Mar 6th 2011, 2:27 am
#4204
Finally Home!
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Used to be New York, now North Yorkshire
Posts: 3,610
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
"everyone cramped up into small, expensive housing" can actually describe a very large portion of the UK!!!
The beauty of this world is that we all like different things. If everyone wanted to be in a field in the Lake District with me, it would really really suck up there!
I have friends who live in the middle of Manhattan in a tiny little flat and think we're insane to live as far out as we do (25 minutes) which they think is frankly just uncivilized.
But as a born and bred northerner who grew up in a village, I will always find London an unappealing place to live - but great for a day or two's stay. If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to live in a city, I'd choose York. Full of history and character - but also full of Yorkshire folk with few southerners! Oh I kid!!! (a bit)
Last edited by sallysimmons; Mar 6th 2011 at 2:29 am.
Mar 6th 2011, 2:29 am
#4206
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Mar 6th 2011, 2:31 am
#4207
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
A lot has been written today and has been mentioned about the food-super markets, well when I eventually get there I will try to avoid them because of what the markets are doing to the suppliers and everyone else come to think of it. I'm thinking here about the farmers who have seen their costs go up and yet the amount they receive from the supermarkets for their products continue to go down. Not fair, it isn't.
Like in the US the businesses are starting to run the country and they must be stopped. Also look for example at the confectionery industry and the biscuit makers to mention a few. They have shut factories in the UK and have moved to places like Poland but they still want to sell their products in the UK. Nonesense. I would turn their lorries around before they get to the UK to punish them for putting UK employees out of work.
I think what I am saying is the Tescos and others are squeezing their suppliers so the suppliers either go bankrupt or have to move their production to other countries. My point is you can get bargains at Tesco at the expense of workers loosing their jobs. (I know that is an over simplification)
The solution is pay a little extra and support the 'moma popa' independent locally owned shops or is it too late?
After rereading and editing this it appears to be disconnected. Putting in one simple sentence, shopping at places like Tescos may not be in my or your long term interests. How does that sound?
Like in the US the businesses are starting to run the country and they must be stopped. Also look for example at the confectionery industry and the biscuit makers to mention a few. They have shut factories in the UK and have moved to places like Poland but they still want to sell their products in the UK. Nonesense. I would turn their lorries around before they get to the UK to punish them for putting UK employees out of work.
I think what I am saying is the Tescos and others are squeezing their suppliers so the suppliers either go bankrupt or have to move their production to other countries. My point is you can get bargains at Tesco at the expense of workers loosing their jobs. (I know that is an over simplification)
The solution is pay a little extra and support the 'moma popa' independent locally owned shops or is it too late?
After rereading and editing this it appears to be disconnected. Putting in one simple sentence, shopping at places like Tescos may not be in my or your long term interests. How does that sound?
Mar 6th 2011, 8:15 am
#4208
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I'll probably be around 50 by the time we get back (47 now).
I have done quite a bit of research into a mortgage after my mother told me there's no way we could get one (typical British negativity!).
The issue for us is not so much age but the fact that we are self-employed and that is hard in the UK right now. But I've spoken to a couple of ex-pat mortgage brokers and both said we could obtain an offshore mortgage with no difficulty and then refinance once we had been in the UK a while. The offshore lenders take your US credit into account. The problem with these mortgages is that they typically won't lend less than £100K.
Alternatively we could rent for a few years, get a UK business accountant and build up some credit, and then borrow a smaller amount from a UK lender.
That will probably be the option we choose if we are not able to grow our business enough to save up. We're lucky that so far house prices where we live have held up pretty well (down about 15% from the peak). That could all change of course
One thing I think is worth noting - as the economy becomes more of a global economy, I wouldn't be surprised to see more acceptance of international credit records in a few years time. Not saying it will happen, just that it could.
I have done quite a bit of research into a mortgage after my mother told me there's no way we could get one (typical British negativity!).
The issue for us is not so much age but the fact that we are self-employed and that is hard in the UK right now. But I've spoken to a couple of ex-pat mortgage brokers and both said we could obtain an offshore mortgage with no difficulty and then refinance once we had been in the UK a while. The offshore lenders take your US credit into account. The problem with these mortgages is that they typically won't lend less than £100K.
Alternatively we could rent for a few years, get a UK business accountant and build up some credit, and then borrow a smaller amount from a UK lender.
That will probably be the option we choose if we are not able to grow our business enough to save up. We're lucky that so far house prices where we live have held up pretty well (down about 15% from the peak). That could all change of course
One thing I think is worth noting - as the economy becomes more of a global economy, I wouldn't be surprised to see more acceptance of international credit records in a few years time. Not saying it will happen, just that it could.
On the subject of international credit records, I wanted that 22 years ago when we returned to the UK, I'm not sure we are any closer today, We always pay our bills on time and live well within our means, our fico score is great and I think that should count for something back in the UK, it shows responsibility if nothing else, but lets face it once we leave the USA our financial picture will have totally changed, I took copies of my credit info with me when I went back in 89, with hopes it would make it easier for us to get a mortgage in the UK, I never landed a job so we returned to the USA and never got to see if they would be of any real use, Id suggest people do that today if they have good fico scores, it cant hurt can it.
Today I'm not really sure I want a credit checking system brought into force like that in the UK, lets face it many of us could get sick tomorrow and be medically bankrupt in months, I have to wonder how the UK would view that on a credit check, the Brits might not be so forgiving, it could cripple us forever, I'm not trying to be negative, I'm just saying...
I looked at our financial situation a few years ago and figured we had just enough money to go back and buy a home in the UK, nothing lavish, a basic two bedroom Bungalow that needed some fixing up, (we'd seen a few) something much smaller than we'd really like, still we figured we'd sooner have what we could afford and not have to have a mortgage ever again.
The last few years have been awful, our savings of the past 20 years have almost gone and our home is worth so much less than it was just two years ago, we wont have close to enough money, we are about $70k short, for the past 20 years all I've done is work n save for our return to the UK, no new cars, no wasteful spending, watching that money slip thru my fingers has been pretty depressing, believe me, many have got it much worse than me, I'm truly grateful I still have a job and more importantly my health.
Mar 6th 2011, 8:40 am
#4209
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
A lot has been written today and has been mentioned about the food-super markets, well when I eventually get there I will try to avoid them because of what the markets are doing to the suppliers and everyone else come to think of it. I'm thinking here about the farmers who have seen their costs go up and yet the amount they receive from the supermarkets for their products continue to go down. Not fair, it isn't.
Like in the US the businesses are starting to run the country and they must be stopped. Also look for example at the confectionery industry and the biscuit makers to mention a few. They have shut factories in the UK and have moved to places like Poland but they still want to sell their products in the UK. Nonesense. I would turn their lorries around before they get to the UK to punish them for putting UK employees out of work.
I think what I am saying is the Tescos and others are squeezing their suppliers so the suppliers either go bankrupt or have to move their production to other countries. My point is you can get bargains at Tesco at the expense of workers loosing their jobs. (I know that is an over simplification)
The solution is pay a little extra and support the 'moma popa' independent locally owned shops or is it too late?
After rereading and editing this it appears to be disconnected. Putting in one simple sentence, shopping at places like Tescos may not be in my or your long term interests. How does that sound?
Like in the US the businesses are starting to run the country and they must be stopped. Also look for example at the confectionery industry and the biscuit makers to mention a few. They have shut factories in the UK and have moved to places like Poland but they still want to sell their products in the UK. Nonesense. I would turn their lorries around before they get to the UK to punish them for putting UK employees out of work.
I think what I am saying is the Tescos and others are squeezing their suppliers so the suppliers either go bankrupt or have to move their production to other countries. My point is you can get bargains at Tesco at the expense of workers loosing their jobs. (I know that is an over simplification)
The solution is pay a little extra and support the 'moma popa' independent locally owned shops or is it too late?
After rereading and editing this it appears to be disconnected. Putting in one simple sentence, shopping at places like Tescos may not be in my or your long term interests. How does that sound?
I totally agree with you about Cadburys, people should band together and take a stand against foreign made goods, if they only bought British made then these companies would have to reevaluate their decesions, if people did it just once it could secure future jobs in the UK for everyone, they dont have to change laws, Brits could just buy Mars and see what Cadbury does.
Today its polish Cadbury, tomorrow it could be Indian or Chinesse Cadbury, when will people learn to stand up for themselves.
Ask yourself this, how long will it be before Mars moves production abroad...
Last edited by Fish n Chips 56; Mar 6th 2011 at 8:42 am.
Mar 6th 2011, 9:44 am
#4210
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
You and cheers are right cause if you read the different reports in Denise,s link that there talking about how things were at the start of 2010, so we are talking about at least a year ago, since then prices have dropped a little every month and so yes we are at the mid £160,s for a regular 3 bedroom older terraced house now,
Mar 6th 2011, 9:53 am
#4211
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I'm taking up far too much space here tonight (apologies) but before I go play on Facebook for awhile, I did want to mention that I passed my driving Theory exam this morning. 
The cost was 35 quid. The test took about an hour. 50 multiple-choice questions on the computer using a touch screen. You can get up to 7 wrong; I got 4 wrong.
Then a 3-minute break, followed by 14 video clips that test your hazard perception. These are a bit tricky with a weird scoring system (it's kind of like a video game), but I passed.
I plan to book my practical exam in about a month after I've had a few more driving lessons. So far, I'm very, very pleased with my AA instructor but even with the AA member discount, lessons are expensive.
Here's some mock exams:
Multiple choice test http://bit.ly/cE3tRdHazard Perception Test http://bit.ly/16xDDv
The cost was 35 quid. The test took about an hour. 50 multiple-choice questions on the computer using a touch screen. You can get up to 7 wrong; I got 4 wrong.
Then a 3-minute break, followed by 14 video clips that test your hazard perception. These are a bit tricky with a weird scoring system (it's kind of like a video game), but I passed.
I plan to book my practical exam in about a month after I've had a few more driving lessons. So far, I'm very, very pleased with my AA instructor but even with the AA member discount, lessons are expensive.
Here's some mock exams:
Multiple choice test http://bit.ly/cE3tRdHazard Perception Test http://bit.ly/16xDDv
Mar 6th 2011, 10:25 am
#4212
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Posts: 3,208
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Bandrui,
You said send me down to hyde park corner, oh yes I remember when i was living in London for a short year in the early 60,s i used to enjoy listening to all those different people talking to the croud,
You said send me down to hyde park corner, oh yes I remember when i was living in London for a short year in the early 60,s i used to enjoy listening to all those different people talking to the croud,
Mar 6th 2011, 11:08 am
#4213
Ping-ponger
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Dreich Alba
Posts: 12,005
Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Re: All the questions about house prices and statistics, it is complicated.
National data are skewed by some areas (I think Sally R said this), so you really should look at figures for different regions separately.
Overall data are skewed by the fact different types of properties are lumped together (as Sally S said) so you should look at figures for different types of property separately.
Generally, the median (middle score) is best because it is more representative for skewed data and will be about the same as the mean in non-skewed data. That's why income and salaries are usually reported as median.
An additional problem is that the different bodies spouting statistics are citing data from different time periods (so some are almost a year out of date), and different types of data (asking price, sale price based on mortgage applications - excluding any cash purchases, sale price based on government data derived from stamp duty records).
An additional problem at the moment is that the more local you get, the more likely that data will be based on small samples (especially at the moment when sales volume is well down), so the "latest" data (data for last month, the month before, etc.) can vary wildly because each month only a few houses are sold in local//regional areas.
National data are skewed by some areas (I think Sally R said this), so you really should look at figures for different regions separately.
Overall data are skewed by the fact different types of properties are lumped together (as Sally S said) so you should look at figures for different types of property separately.
Generally, the median (middle score) is best because it is more representative for skewed data and will be about the same as the mean in non-skewed data. That's why income and salaries are usually reported as median.
An additional problem is that the different bodies spouting statistics are citing data from different time periods (so some are almost a year out of date), and different types of data (asking price, sale price based on mortgage applications - excluding any cash purchases, sale price based on government data derived from stamp duty records).
An additional problem at the moment is that the more local you get, the more likely that data will be based on small samples (especially at the moment when sales volume is well down), so the "latest" data (data for last month, the month before, etc.) can vary wildly because each month only a few houses are sold in local//regional areas.
Mar 6th 2011, 11:12 am
#4214
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
I think I read that an IO at Heathrow told someone off for not entering with their British Passport. I would comply with that but my passport was issued in 1955 so I think I would get some heat for showing that. Who has £600 for a new one?
I could buy a lot of biscuits and sweets if I had that money.
I know it doesn't cost that much but whatever it is it is very, very expensive and a little cheaper if you wait to get back to the Island.
I could buy a lot of biscuits and sweets if I had that money.I know it doesn't cost that much but whatever it is it is very, very expensive and a little cheaper if you wait to get back to the Island.
Mar 6th 2011, 11:18 am
#4215
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Re: OVER 50's & 60's MOVING BACK TO THE UK - Part II
Can you remember approx. how much, Rodney? Mine will be coming up in a year or so and just wondered.
