kampaicharger

....Hahahahahahahaa................I'm baaaaaaaack.....

Got into manchester yesterday at 1.00 p.m and was sitting in the pub with half a pint of best bitter by 3.00....

Settled in the unit and went upta Tesco' for a wander (luv'ly jub'ly)
Hit the wall at about 7 last night and got up at dawn (thats 4 in the bloody morning)....walked past ruined buildings that had been abandoned 500 years ago and walked along the river surrounded by bluebells and spring lambs..just makes ya wanna cry with joy...

Anyway, orf t'sunday market in a mo' where this "strange aussie" can continue to charm the locals... I'm having FUN people...lol

MissBetty

Lol! They let you in ha ha ha!!! Sounds fab, can just picture it its my last sleep here - too excited to sleep tho!!! Carry on now!

Perth

You have me all misty now Sounds wonderful - soak it all up!!!

WhoFan63

Sounds wonderful! The jetlag will hang around for a few days, but so long as you can go to sleep at the UK time you'll be alright..lol. So where did you end up settling?? I'm in Milnrow!

WhoFan63

There's plenty of time to sleep on the plane...lol. Have a great flight love and see you here on the flipside. xx

kampaicharger

We are staying in Sawley for two weeks while we get settled and visit the "home towns" off to cornwall to look at buying a static caravan as a base for the first coupla years....

Jet lag is an absolute shocker at the moment but I shall soldier on regardless. preferably with a pint glass in hand.......

off to skipton for the market today and continue with my search for a car.

windsong

Enjoy every minute of it!!!!! Back home in the UK!!!!

kampaicharger

okay, some initial observations:

Can't believe how small everything is, kitchen, shower, narrow roads. It's not an annoyance, just something that i am quickly adapting to.

The people I have had dealings with so far are fantastic, very helpful and usually happy to have a chat.

Groceries tend to be be cheaper here than in Oz. However, two extremes are beer which is half the cost and a leg of lamb which is double the cost.
I think I would have been more concerned if it were the other way round...

Bought a car yesterday (volkswagen touareg) which I am picking up on friday. Got to admit i kinda felt sorry for the salesman who was completely flumoxed by my aussie sense of humour.

All things considered, life is bloody good...

windsong

Great to hear you are settling in well!!

I know the smallness of everything will hit me like a ton of bricks and I am a bit afraid I feel penned in for a while because I am sure it will seem that neighboring buildings are on top of me. Nevertheless, I lived there before and it didn't bother me, so I can do it again I think it's just part of the "repatriation" period. I wonder how long it will take to get used to the landscape again, though - a month?

Getting used to the food and all the other things, I can easily deal with all of those with little or no problem.

One thing I have read about is the length of time it takes the washers to wash clothes. Coming from the USA, that's going to be a huge adjustment in itself lol! And a USA-type fridge is on the list - IF it's possible to buy them there.

NiHao

Kampaicharger,

Congratulations on being home! I loved reading your first impressions and I know when I have been back to visit I have found everything very small and twee at first, tiny cars, even tinier parking spaces, such narrow roads with tiny little houses!

Please keep posting its so much fun to hear how things are going, what you like, what you don't like and how the differences strike you.

Englishmum

Most European front loading washing machines have a 'quick wash' facility for lightly-soiled clothes which can be between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the brand & model of machine.

Also many - if not most - European washing machines have a 'delay' timer; you can put all your items and detergent in the machine and programme it to start a few hours later eg. to have washed the clothes and finished the cycle ready for when you wake up in the morning. This is a popular option for people who are on a cheaper tariff for their electricity - some electricity providers drop the charges substantially for electricity used in non-peak hours.

Another feature I like is one where I can delay the final spin and the clothes are washed but 'suspended' in water and with or without fabric conditioner. I sometimes do this when I'm going out to the shops for a couple of hours or so, I just press the button for the final spin upon my return home and the clothes are not as creased as they would have been if sitting in the drum. Some people do this too if they're using the delay feature and don't want to be woken up to the noise of the final spin Remember that in most British homes the washing machine (and tumble dryer) is located in the kitchen, few people have a seperate utility room for laundry appliances and basements with laundry appliances are pretty much unheard of, so do take care to read up on reviews and choose a *quiet spin* brand of washing machine lol!

You may also like to know that you can also choose the temperature of the water when washing clothes; eg. cold, cool at 30, warm at 40, v. warm at 50 and hot at 60 up to 90 degrees. I wash towels, sheets, shirts etc. at 60 degrees, coloured cottons at 30 or 40 and denim jeans inside out on a cold wash.

I also find that European washing detergents are far superior to the American ones; I've always preferred Ariel liquid (less messy than powder) but my sister prefers Persil and my mum loves Surf! For fabric conditioner I prefer Comfort but my sister prefers Lenor. In fact they have all of those brands in mainland Europe too. You certainly don't need to use bleach on clothes whereas I know that many Americans do or their whites tend to turn grey.

When I was back in our house in New Jersey earlier this month I was using our top-loading GE washing machine. It's like something out of the olden days yet they still have them in all the appliance stores...the choice of water temperature is cold, warm or hot but it doesn't have an in-built heater....if I select 'warm' the water is tepid and the 'hot' is only as hot as the nearby water in the tank so I can't get it *really* hot. The only advantage is that you can lift the lid to add a forgotten item, but I always have to use a gentle wash as the agitator otherwise is too rough on the textiles and tears them - you don't get this problem with front loaders as there is no agitator. It's best to get one with the highest spin speed as possible to cut down on drying time; mine has a 1600 rpm speed.

I'm currently using a 'Miele' (German) front loader in our apartment and if you forget to add something you can stop it during the first few minutes to add a forgotten sock etc.

I know that you can get American sized fridge-freezers in the UK - but do bear in mind that most kitchens are small and they may not fit an existing kitchen or fit through the front or back doors! Not a problem though if you are having a house or extension built to your specifications

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/househo...-criteria.html

windsong

This is very helpful and I am going to save it!!! Those Miele machines are the best.

Believe it or not, he doesn't have a tumble dryer - EEK!!!!!! He didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I mentioned a dryer. He thought I was talking about the spin dryer cycle on the washing machine lol!

Guess what the first new appliance in that house will be!!!!! lol

Thankfully, he has the washer in a utility room, so hopefully there is room for a dryer beside it.

The house he lives in now is an older property he bought and renovated 20 years ago and, although it has five bedrooms, and a gigantic conservatory, office, utility room, three bathrooms and two living rooms, it only has a small to medium kitchen. His sister is older now and doesn't cook much and he CAN'T cook, so the small kitchen has been fine up until now

When he builds the new house (already in the works) he will build a much bigger kitchen and we will try to find an American size fridge and a Miele frontload washer and dryer for the utility room. I must look at that link you mentioned! I told him the new house must be "quirky" and not have all square rooms and straight hallways (too boxy!) lol. I don't mind it being new but it must look old. I told him this and he merely smiled (on video) and said "Okay" lol He is loving every minute of it!

Thankfully, he is taking these changes in his stride and simply says, "Whatever makes you happy, we will do". Whoopee!!! I think he is getting quite a kick out of all this

It's now that I see my own Americanisms coming out, too

kampaicharger

So...

Tiny roads and everybody seems to drive buzzboxes..

As an aussie I felt compelled to go buy the biggest, ugliest boat anchor I could find...

I am now filled with the desire to drive around the roads of Yorkshire shouting out such things as:

"get outta my way ya drongo" and "call that a car, THIS is a car"..

Aaaaaaah, life can be such fun when your a bit of a drongo yaself..

quoll

Blimey, that might be too wide for some of the roads down in Devon/Cornwall (my Astra scrapes both sides of some of them!) Thought you were aiming for a static down there! Ya drongo!!!!

morayeel

Oh I love the bluebells.. so glad you are back and adjusting and look forward to more of your posts. I am soo homesick today. I feel like I just wanna fly out of the US. I am currently looking for a job and the job center here is not helpful at all. I have worked in retail all life so not a lot of skills. I am hoping something comes along soon. To top it off my mum, who turned 76 today, found out she has angina.