Miss Naughty

Hi, Guys
Just out of interest, do you want to come home because of financial reasons or because of homesickness?

Or because the culture is different to here in the uk?

By reading your posts a lot of ppl seem so sad and unhappy and i think it's very sad to feel unhappy and alone all by yourselves

Also a lot of posts it seems it boils down to missing family, but once here has anyone made the mistake and regretted coming home

Always21

I have been back just under two months and definitely don't regret it. It's still early days though, so I can't say how I'll feel five years down the track. It was definitely family reasons for me. I left the UK single and got married and had two kids in the USA. Children definitely change your feelings about being an expat, as many people on here will testify.

FPM

To compare cultures one has to first move somewhere that has one. Sadly I failed in this regard

But on the plus side I now know six different ways to use a car as lethal weapon, and the money I save on not using vowels in my speech helps buy my Lotto tickets and beer

cabritpop

The UK is like an old tattered leather armchair, although there are other chairs to sit in, nothing can ever really be as comfortable. I love that old armchair and cannot bring myself to throw it out.

gardnma

Agree totally. How did your Mrs come to like England enough to move there? Are your kids adjusting well? My wife and I have conversations about going back (she is also American and my kids were born here also).

FlyergirlUK

My youngest was born in the US and it was my Hubby, (the American) who wanted us to move to the UK - he wanted our son to know his family and his heritage.

He has absolutely no regrets about us having moved here and his only bad experiences of people have to do with estate agents named Alison! Other than that he's liked everyone he's come across.

blaze

That's the thing isn't it. It is very difficult to convince Americans (and no, I'm not saying all) that life can be just as good in the UK. Not many would agree with you unfortunately. Hence the fact we live in the states, my hubby just doesn't think that we could have the quality of life that we have here. That having been said, he says that he would love to live in Britain as in general he is closer to my family than he is to his own. Quality of life however is an individual thing, only you know what is important to you. Personally family is way more important to me than anything else, however, there are lots of other things to consider.

I have found from past experience (not just my own) that Americans with British spouses just tend to presume that you will live in the US, (it's kind of like a given). Why is it that we are always the ones trying to do the rationalizing and convincing?

Dan725

You are right about the quality of life thing. Here, you see a lot of people confusing quality of life with "quantity" of life, i.e. how much stuff you can accumulate.

That said, property prices in the UK are awful, what you get for your money is like a very bad joke, even old dilapidated 70's prefabs going for a couple of hundred thousand and up.

HiddenPaw

Hello Miss Naughty

Are you friends with 'the sun is shining'? (Just that you're both from Lincs and you're both moving inland from Marbella. Oh and you're both going to Spain on the 27th Jan.) Is she your mum?

Angry White Pyjamas

The house thing isnt entirely true.
We've bought a detached 3 bed in a good area in our old town for 165k. Sure it's not 2500 square feet under air with half an acre of lawn round it but its plenty big enough for the 3 of us and costs a fraction of what our US house cost to run. And the neighbours actually say hello.

gardnma

Congrats on the house. That was quick. What is the trend with house prices there? Staying level?

gardnma

Hmmmmm!

Don't know any other Expats other than conversations with people on this forum. Never met any here with US spouses.
It may be because we come over here for quantity of life and Americans don't really have the same experience of quality of life that we had. Plus of course, we are allways told that this is the best place to live in in the world. It may be that people here actually believe that because they are told it constantly. Whats the word I'm trying to find....?

phoenixinoz

BS

phoenixinoz

Ahhhh you're back

Nice to hear things are going good

Miss Naughty

No afraid not i am not leaving on the 27th jan, and if you look there is a lot from lincs maybe it is the area also there is a lot on inland in inland spain,