We were living in Perth, Australia.Before we went out there we lived in NW and SW London. We had a complete sea-change on our return and now live in a little village on the edge of the High Weald in Sussex. The beautiful simplicity of the the english countryside is something we haven't found anywhere else. Many places are breathtaking or awesome - but complicated in some way (eg Perth is great but way too hot, full of flies, mozzies etc). The combination of beautiful and simple/uncomplicated is what we wanted for our family.

I am considering returning to live in England, but what I noticed when I've visited is that my home town had NOT really changed that much! My old primary school still exactly the same. The nice neighbourhoods were still nice. Very comforting to see all the same old buildings, whereas in the US they are constantly knocking things down and building new stuff.

Plus, for the better, the bathrooms, kitchens and showers all got MUCH nicer since the 80s! Restaurant food is better now too.

I'm not sure about all these CCTV cameras everywhere. That seems really odd to me, now an Americanized Brit.

Yeah nice to know that places can still be the same after some years.
As for the camera's every where,i am in total agrement with them.They solve many a crime and keep the nutters off the streets,and i think there not a threat unless you are doing some thing wrong

Retaining things over a short period time contributes to heritage over a longer period of time. That we still have all those medieval barns, quaint old country cottages, georgian townhouses, victorian villas and even interwar semis here in the UK - often in close proximity to each other - is what give the UK its character and charm. I used to feel sad when yet another old house was demolished in Perth to make way for a characterless front-to-back block filler home. Only Freo seemed to make any effort to retain the old-world charm. In their defence, somebody told me the old JWB homes only had a life expectancy of 40 years but why build a house that is going to need to be knocked down so soon? Haven't they read the story of the three little pigs? (the big bad wolves in Perth are the speculators and developers who magically turn one house on a block with a child-friendly back yard into 6 tiny homes with no yards that sell for the same price as the original!)

We lived in Perth and when we arrived Freo was mainly awful and talk of demolishing most of the old buildings...thankfully the Uni stepped in and saved the old buildings and as you said its a shame that new seems best in Perth but well thats how the Perth public must want as there never seems to be an outcry when old is replaced with new. For us driving through a village/town with a history is great, we drove past a Chip shop the othe rday and over the doorway was the date 1697....amazing...I am now on a mission to drive back and see if their chips (which are not really my thing) taste as lovely as the building looks....lol

Yes, do miss the seasons I must admit, but the weather - no, no and NO! Would never consider moving back for that reason and a few more besides.

Never say never. I used to say that too and then one day I just felt differently. Now going back is all I can think about.

It's getting to be beyond a joke with me. At work, I'm searching for houses on Rightmove and looking at the Guardian's "Let's Move To.." feature (the last two weeks they have covered Saltburn and Margate, which are both the kind of place I could live!..) Every time a colleague comes to my office to discuss a project or whatever, I'm showing them pictures of semis or terraced houses and asking their opinion of the kitchen..

thats what i do day in and day out too !
Its funny really as its taken over our lives,looking for houses and we havent even sold our own in Canada yet.We have started our profile now though......so this is some research on different areas and schools etc and when we have time to go back for a research holiday we will use our little portfolio we put together to help us decide.

same here if you would have said 5 years ago that i would leave florida and move back to the UK i would have said u were crazy... but now i just cant wait to go "home".........

how much more cramped it has become and that's saying something....

Last week I found a great house for sale in my perfect location and for the right price. Very depressing to be stuck here and not able to just go buy it.

I think I have to stop looking at Rightmove. I'm wishing my life away.

[QUOTE=sallysimmons;9144072]Last week I found a great house for sale in my perfect location and for the right price. Very depressing to be stuck here and not able to just go buy it.

I think I have to stop looking at Rightmove. I'm wishing my life away.[/QUOTE

yeah me too !!!! hours go by and i am still looking....getting excited at one until i look at the satalite photo and its next to a railway track,then another and its next to a farm ,and it just goes on and on.Every day we talk about the subject and then only hope our house sells here.

Thats exactly what i said when i moved to Canada!!!! then after the 5yrs was up i was desperate to move else where. After i went back to the UK (another 5yrs on ) i knew this is where i wanted to be........BACK HOME! It might be grey and miserable at times,but atleast you can get on a plane a couple of times a year to a cheap sunny resort.There is nothing cheap here any more and especially holidays.
I lived in Florida for a couple of years too,but i knew it was not the place for me either.Far too hot ! lol
I really think home is where the heart is,and mine is no where else but the UK

I was idly looking at houses in Gt. Yarmouth in Norfolk. I like cheap & cheerful ... terraced houses and semis in urban areas, in the less than 150K range. I found this nice one at a very good price. Then I looked at the location on the satellite map, and it had a used car dealers on one side and the docks just beyond; there was a huge container ship being unloaded, it was about half a mile long and literally hundreds of times bigger than the house. I like industrial chic but this was going too far!