debbie#1

Hi everyone, I have been on a few time before and read this forum daily so I am hoping someone might be able to help or offer advice. I am from the UK and lived in the US for 8 years and not a day goes by without not wanting to go back. However I now have 2 young children to think about other than myself and what is best for them. The dilemma is that we are fortunate to have good health care coverage and I can honestly say from my experience the healthcare we have received in the US far exceeds anything we have received in the UK so how can we go back to something that I feel I wouldn't trust my life with let alone my kids. I know the NHS has some up sides especially for those unemployed but does anybody feel the same that lives in the US that are contemplating on returning back to the UK. Any comments etc would be greatly appreciated.

My other dilemma is that I know life if what you make it but does anyone else feel that children have more opportunities to be kids in the US or is this my imagination bearing in mind I never had kids whilst in the UK.

Hope someone can help me with the above.

Thanks

Sue

Health care is a very personal experience and those experiences are all different. I can only share my experience and that is that the health care I had received from the NHS was much better than the health care we have had in the US over the past 8 years. And yes we have good insurance too.

You are fine here as long as you have the insurance, but what happens if that insurance is taken away due to loss of job etc? In my job I see people everyday who have no insurance and can't afford to see a doctor.

If you distrust the NHS have you considered private healthcare in the UK?

jumping doris

Hello Debbie
I don't know if you remember me ....we "met"on here last year. Anyway I saw your name and thought I'd reply.
We have been in Pittsburgh since September 05. So far we have not used any healthcare (touch wood ) so I can't comment on that. I've just made dental appointments for next month and it was a bit of a palaver but that is probably because we are new to the system.
Like most people I always found the NHS to be OK. Everyone will have a bad story to tell and I have some too.Generally however all my experiences have been good. Our GP in the UK was great, we never waited long for appointments, our local hospital was big and modern and again we didn't wait long for appointments. We had lots of specialist hospitals nearby had we had need of them. I always felt that if I needed something then I could trust the NHS to provide it. Recently two of my friends developed cancer and their treatment was fantastic. They both received state of the art care and are now fine.

I wouldn't let the NHS prevent me from moving to the UK.
I worry here in the US that if you can't afford it you don't get it. We have health care from my OH's company and I think it's a good package but I honestly don't know for sure.

Yes I would say that there is more for children here. My daughters' schools have lots going on and parents seem to invest a lot of time in their children's activities. Possibly in the UK my teenagers spent more time just hanging out with their friends whereas here everyone is always so busy but they have had lots of opportunities to do things they wouldn't have done in the UK.
Children seem to be more sheltered here but that could be where we live.
Are you any closer to making the move?

dunroving

If you are concerned about the NHS, maybe take out health care insurance in the U.K., so you can get private care there. At least in the UK you get to choose (free or paid).

Health care experiences vary so much. Here in the US I have experienced very good (free health care paid by employer, no co-pays, quick service) and with my current employer, very mediocre - despite health "insurance" (what a joke), I seem to pay through the nose for co-pay, deductible, minimum, all kinds of strange terms that mean you pay regardless. And if I need to see the doctor within the next 3 months I haven't a hope in hell.

And any prescription seems to cost at least $50 (yes, to repeat, I supposedly have health insurance - but almost no important drugs are "approved"). At least on the NHS drugs are as near to free as you can get regardless of how much you need.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not on drugs. Just one very basic medication that costs $50 per month.

ladyofthelake

There are more activities available for kids here, though I think it all too often they are taken to the extreme. Far too many kids are pushed to their limits, having after school activities every day, leaving no time to be normal kids and just hang out with their friends. They need to do that just as much as the tennis/music/swimming/gymnastics/whateverelseyoucanthinkof lessons.
Secondly, whilst there are lots of things my kids can choose to do here, they have chosen not to try most, as they are just not that motiviated to do them. The things which my kids really love doing, piano lessons, girl & boy scouts, soccer team, they could just as easily do in the UK. They don't do these things because they are more easily available here, they do them because they want to.
What I'm trying to say is that your kids personalities, likes and dislikes, will have more influence on what they do with their spare time, than the resources available.