Cardienscarf

Plan A:
Sell house, move out probably May, put everything in storage divided into take to UK/get rid of if not coming back except anything I can fit in a suitcase, stay with a friend through the end of June, take dog, go to England, stay with mum, find job, come back, get rid of stuff not going to UK, ship stuff, go back

Plan B:
Same as plan A except leave dog here until I come back

Plan C:
Same as Plan A except ship what I'm taking, get rid of the rest

Plan D:
Same as Plan A except go straight to England and bypass the staying with friend

Plan E:
Same as Plan B except go straight to England and bypass the staying with friend.

J.JsOH

Plans are good...... and then life happens

Perth

Re Plan A: Why would you not just take care of everything before you leave? Any reason you would want to come back and do that?

Cardienscarf

Too true!

Cardienscarf

Because I'm not 100% sure that I will be moving back. Some days I'm 99.99% sure and others I'm 75% sure and others I think I must be mad.

Perth

OH OK, got it. The crazy woobles, huh? Maybe you need to take a trip over first before packing up anything at all?

Cardienscarf

My house is for sale. I had been thinking of buying a little way out of town but I didn't get the house I loved. I'm first back-up if it falls through for the current buyer but now I don't even know if I want it anymore. So, I'm moving no matter what so it seems the most logical thing for me to put everything into storage. When I was over last September, if I hadn't had this house, I wouldn't have come back. So I've been getting my ducks in a row to be a little more practical but I don't think however many ducks I've got lined up, it will be a fait accompli until I'm on English soil and know that I'm doing the right thing.

Sally Redux

If you follow Plan A and it works out in England, you only have to ship your stuff over - I guess you could arrange that from afar.

windsong

Do it all in one fell swoop- get rid of stuff except what you want to take to the UK, box up and ship what you DO want to take, book tickets for you and dog - and go home!

WhoFan63

I'm in a similar situation sort of..LOL, except I KNOW I'm going back for good.

Plan A: Fly out with 2 suitcases, struggle with the them on the train and then get a taxi from the train station.

Plan B: Fly out with 2 suitcases and just get a £45 taxi straight from the airport.

Plan C: Fly out with 1 suitcase and then follow Plan A and have second suitcase sent over later by FedEx or unaccompanied baggage.

Plan D: Fly out with 1 suitcase and then follow Plan B and have second case sent over later as per Plan C.

Too many plans!!!!!!

Cardienscarf

I could but I wouldn't be opposed to coming back and doing it. If I use a storage place close to my son, I can stay with them while I get rid of stuff and arrange for shipping. I wouldn't like to leave it to someone else to deal with my stuff but I know I can if needs be.

happyglow

B!!!! Gosh, a 45 quid taxi sounds like a steal in the grand scale of migration!

WhoFan63

I was thinking that too...but the cheapskate in me thinks of what I could buy with that £45...lol, food for a week maybe?? Then I'd have to pay $100 at the airport for the extra suitcase, which in the grand scheme of things is probably a lot cheaper than it would be sending it on later. I looked online at taxi's from Manchester Airport and that was what they quoted me. I think that might be if I booked from here, so don't know how different it would be if I just turn up and get a taxi from there without making a booking.

Cardienscarf

I am tempted! I was out last night with a group of Brits and one of them blurted "You must be crazy. I was there last year and it's over populated, no one speaks English any more, the weather is atrocious..." etc, etc. But he has a lovely American wife, they have oodles of dosh and travel all over the world doing fun stuff and he doesn't have any family left in the UK.

It makes a big difference not having a partner. Apart from not having someone who's in it with me to talk things through with, I feel very lonely so far away from family. I know my eldest son is here, but he has a partner and his own life. Whilst I am obviously part of his life, I do not want to rely on him for my source of comfort.

I have good friends here but only two or three really close friends - and that's after 22 years. One of them is English, another is in the same predicament as me and is going home to Georgia at the end of the summer, and the other will up and move as soon as her son graduates college next year.

I do want to be sure I'm making this move for the right reasons which is why I'm not doing it all at once. A couple of events last year completely knocked me off my feet and I've been struggling to get back up again. I want to know that I'm not just moving as an escape or because I think it will fix everything. However, I do know that I need to be at home for a while and if it does fix the way I've been feeling because I find out that what I've really been feeling is actually desperately homesick, that would be fabulous.

I've been trying to get to a happy place before I make a decision but every day I wake up and think "I want to go home". If I go home and, after 3 months, I'm waking up with the same feeling, I will know that it is not a geographical place I am looking for so much as something inside me that I seem to have lost. But, if I go back and after 3 months I have found home both geographically and within myself, then I know I will be able to do whatever I need to do to be there.

Cardienscarf

How much will you really save when you take into account train fare and a taxi from the station to home?