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3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Old Dec 16th 2016, 1:49 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

One of the attributes of a good plan is its ability to be amended - or to be thrown out of the window completely. My wife and I once moved to Toronto on a 1 year work visa fully intending to return to the UK after a year. We ended up loving Toronto and staying longer than we planned. We returned to the UK 7 years later with 2yo and 1yo kids. We then thought we were staying in the UK permanently but then moved to the US only 2 years later with a 4yo, a 3yo and an infant. I don't know that we thought we'd be here almost 19 years later but we settled easily, the kids grew up, went to school and time just flew by.

Generally it's more difficult to move the older the kids are. However, when returning to somewhere you previously lived, it can sometimes work the opposite way. For example, your current 11yo may remember enough about the UK to be very comfortable with a return whereas your current 6yo might have more of an issue since a larger percentage of his life will have been spent in the US by that point.

My only advice is that you think about being settled somewhere during the high school years. It's easier to be more mobile during the early school years because there's plenty of time to recover from disruptions. Much depends on the kid of course, but moving around during high school can be particularly disruptive - especially when kids are also thinking about applying to colleges/universities. It can also affect their ability to meet any residency requirements for qualifying for lower tuition rates.

Last edited by MarylandNed; Dec 16th 2016 at 2:22 pm.
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 1:54 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by MarylandNed
One of the attributes of a good plan is its ability to be amended - or to be thrown out of the window completely. My wife and I once moved to Toronto on a 1 year work visa fully intending to return to the UK after a year. We ended up loving Toronto and staying longer than we planned. We returned to the UK 7 years later with 2yo and 1yo kids. We then thought we were staying in the UK permanently but then moved to the US only 2 years later with a 4yo, a 2yo and an infant. I don't know that we thought we'd be here almost 19 years later but we settled easily, the kids grew up, went to school and time just flew by.

Generally it's more difficult to move the older the kids are. However, when returning to somewhere you previously lived, it can sometimes work the opposite way. For example, your current 11yo may remember enough about the UK to be very comfortable with a return whereas your current 6yo might have more of an issue since a larger percentage of his life will have been spent in the US by that point.

My only advice is that you think about being settled somewhere during the high school years. It's easier to be more mobile during the early school years because there's plenty of time to recover from disruptions. Much depends on the kid of course, but moving around during high school can be particularly disruptive - especially when kids are also thinking about applying to colleges/universities. It can also affect their ability to meet any residency requirements for qualifying for lower tuition rates.
Thank you so much for your reply, we have all settled really well into US life, will just have to see what transpires over the next couple of years, if we do go back to the UK it would have to be in 3 years that way my 11 yr old would be able to slot into UK school system before GCSE'S, so in my head with him in mind it's 3 yrs in US or forever😀
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 2:02 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Me, hubby and then 12 yr DD came to New Jersey on L1/L2 in 2013. Hubby was on a 2 year contract, working in midtown NY, with the possibility to remain longer if we and his employer wanted us to. We returned to the UK at the end of his contract in 2015.

We had (have) an extremely comfortable life in the UK, living in London. We approached the move with no intention to stay long term, but rather looked at it as the chance for an adventure for a couple of years with very little financial risk to us. At the time of the move both hubby and I were approaching 50, so it was now or never.

I had spoken to our daughter's school and understood the possible implications of moving her out of and returning to the UK education system at both ages 14 and 16. We let our house out, stuck our belongings into storage and away we went.

We did enjoy our stay and have some fantastic memories. Nothing we saw or experienced though, convinced us to sell up in the UK and settle long term in the US. We simply had too much invested in the UK and frankly we did not enjoy the same quality of life in the US. Money was good, but hubby had a longer commute with a more restricted train timetable. Although where we lived was beautiful, we did find suburban living dull with very little to occupy our weekends. I must stress though, that this is our perspective as we much prefer to live in a city environment.

Our daughter's education, along with changing family dynamics (ability for our daughter to become independent was somewhat restricted living in the suburbs) were the main factors to return rather than remain any further. Another important factor was that we have a dog, who whilst in the US developed a heart condition (common for this particular breed) and we did not want to run the risk that her condition could deteriorate and we would encounter problems with shipping her back to the UK, especially if we had to leave the US in a hurry due to redundancy or some other emergency.

Upon our return to the UK we secured a place at an outstanding secondary school in our borough and as our daughter arrived at the tail end of year 9 she was able to choose her GCSE's along with the rest of the cohort. She slotted straight back into the UK system and due to the fact that she had studied Latin for the 2 years in the US, she was able to take the GCSE a year early and passed with a grade A. She will sit the remainder of her GCSE's next year and based on her recent mock results, is predicted to pass them all.

There were obviously lots of other considerations that factored in our decision to return, but I didn't want this post to be so lengthy that you lose the will to live whilst reading it! Feel free to ask if you need any other information and good luck in making your decision.
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 2:16 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by HartleyHare
Me, hubby and then 12 yr DD came to New Jersey on L1/L2 in 2013. Hubby was on a 2 year contract, working in midtown NY, with the possibility to remain longer if we and his employer wanted us to. We returned to the UK at the end of his contract in 2015.

We had (have) an extremely comfortable life in the UK, living in London. We approached the move with no intention to stay long term, but rather looked at it as the chance for an adventure for a couple of years with very little financial risk to us. At the time of the move both hubby and I were approaching 50, so it was now or never.

I had spoken to our daughter's school and understood the possible implications of moving her out of and returning to the UK education system at both ages 14 and 16. We let our house out, stuck our belongings into storage and away we went.

We did enjoy our stay and have some fantastic memories. Nothing we saw or experienced though, convinced us to sell up in the UK and settle long term in the US. We simply had too much invested in the UK and frankly we did not enjoy the same quality of life in the US. Money was good, but hubby had a longer commute with a more restricted train timetable. Although where we lived was beautiful, we did find suburban living dull with very little to occupy our weekends. I must stress though, that this is our perspective as we much prefer to live in a city environment.

Our daughter's education, along with changing family dynamics (ability for our daughter to become independent was somewhat restricted living in the suburbs) were the main factors to return rather than remain any further. Another important factor was that we have a dog, who whilst in the US developed a heart condition (common for this particular breed) and we did not want to run the risk that her condition could deteriorate and we would encounter problems with shipping her back to the UK, especially if we had to leave the US in a hurry due to redundancy or some other emergency.

Upon our return to the UK we secured a place at an outstanding secondary school in our borough and as our daughter arrived at the tail end of year 9 she was able to choose her GCSE's along with the rest of the cohort. She slotted straight back into the UK system and due to the fact that she had studied Latin for the 2 years in the US, she was able to take the GCSE a year early and passed with a grade A. She will sit the remainder of her GCSE's next year and based on her recent mock results, is predicted to pass them all.

There were obviously lots of other considerations that factored in our decision to return, but I didn't want this post to be so lengthy that you lose the will to live whilst reading it! Feel free to ask if you need any other information and good luck in making your decision.
Thank you so much that is really helpful, we sound like we are in exactly the same situation, if we return after the 3 yrs our son would hopefully slot back in to do his GCSE years. We have sold our house in the UK and are renting in the US but would have a nice pot of money if we went back to start again. We are looking at it as a 3 year adventure and trying to enjoy it to the full, the decision may be our of our hands a little when the time comes as hubby's work/company may have ideas regarding his long term location, but we are 5 mins from the beach in a lovely part of CT, not sure I could convince the kids that Weston-super-Mare is a good substitute if we went back😀
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 2:48 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Have you got getting Green Cards signed into your contract, Moo, or is the company completely willing to get them for you? If so, allow around a year for the application so start that pretty soon. If not... well, you don't have a decision to make.

We arrived in 2011 on L visas, but applied for GCs almost straight away as our oldest was nearly 12 and we didn't want to take the chance of a forced move at a critical time in his education. This was lucky, as hubby got made redundant last year when our son was 15, and it would have been a very inconvenient time to have to move country mid-school year.

We moved state instead, from AZ to OH. The 'shall we go back to the UK' conversation lasted about 30 seconds (the company would have repatriated us and found hubby a UK/ European job) and we chose to stay in the US with no job rather than go back to Europe with one.

Our kids like it here; they've been out of the UK since they were 4 and 8 (now almost 13 and 17). High school suits my son's personality better: he's a bit of an all-rounder Renaissance Man, and wouldn't like to already be specializing with his A levels and a one-subject degree. He loves the idea that he can do a practical, job-getting subject like engineering, but still take courses in Literature, Medieval History, Economics, etc.

I am glad he's not approaching adulthood in the UK right now, as the next 5 years could be very economically turbulent. Brexit and the US election has made me place an even higher value on global mobility and being able to move freely and flexibly away from a country if it does stupid stuff, and we shall become dual citizens next year when we reach the 5-year GC mark. (There are financial implications to this but on the whole the benefit will outweigh the drawback, for me.)

We also have travel plans for once the kids are grown; some years of RV living and slow travel, perhaps picking up contract work here and there. My parents did this around Europe a while back, for 2-3 years, but that's not likely to be possible post-Brexit on a tourist visa.

Returning to the UK now would make me feel hemmed in; that my global adventure was over. I'm nowhere near ready for that; I'm not sure I ever will be. If I imagine a future in which I never again live in the UK, I shrug, and don't mind overmuch.
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 2:56 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Kodokan thank you for that good info regarding the GC, knew it was something we need to look into, think we need a few more months and to get through a CT winter then start more serious chats about long term plans. Hoping for a eureka moment when it will all become crystal clear x
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 3:07 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Moo52
Kodokan thank you for that good info regarding the GC, knew it was something we need to look into, think we need a few more months and to get through a CT winter then start more serious chats about long term plans. Hoping for a eureka moment when it will all become crystal clear x
Can't help you with your decision, but wanted to say welcome to CT and glad that you are enjoying it here! The winters aren't too bad, but I swear by a four-wheel drive vehicle to keep mobile if it does get snowy.
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 3:09 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
Can't help you with your decision, but wanted to say welcome to CT and glad that you are enjoying it here! The winters aren't too bad, but I swear by a four-wheel drive vehicle to keep mobile if it does get snowy.
Am dreading the snow ❄
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 3:23 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Moo52
Am dreading the snow ❄
There's no need to, it really isn't that bad. Just relax and enjoy! And who knows, there may not be much this winter. Last year was a very light snow year. Now 2014-15, that was another matter. We got a puppy that November who by the spring didn't remember what grass was!
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 3:40 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
There's no need to, it really isn't that bad. Just relax and enjoy! And who knows, there may not be much this winter. Last year was a very light snow year. Now 2014-15, that was another matter. We got a puppy that November who by the spring didn't remember what grass was!
Haha we brought our dog over, am looking forward to both his and our 7 yr old school reaction because neither have ever really seen the snow❄😃
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 3:43 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Moo52
Haha we brought our dog over, am looking forward to both his and our 7 yr old school reaction because neither have ever really seen the snow❄😃
I think they are both going to love it! Dogs, kids, and snow just naturally go together!
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 4:11 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

We moved over 4 1/2 years ago on L1/2. We came for a couple of years with kids then aged 8 and 10.

Assuming our green card gets approved (hopefully in the next few months - it all went in in July), I think we will stay long term.

It's a great and terrible place, but it's surely interesting and there is a lot to see. We like the 3000 mile road trip vacations, the skiing, access to the coast, mountains etc that our current home in the PNW offers. We liked the weather better in the bay, and it's been harder to make friends so far, but all in all we're happy with the move.

We had the discussion at 2 years (original plan), but there was still so much to see!
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Old Dec 16th 2016, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally Posted by Nutmegger
I think they are both going to love it! Dogs, kids, and snow just naturally go together!
We all hated it As fate would have it both winters that we were in NJ saw snow and ice for 3 months solid. There was always the idiot that didn't clear their sidewalk so that walking the dog became treacherous. Add in below zero tempertures and liberal amounts of rock salt thrown around saw our dog getting less exercise than she was previously used to.

The hot, humid summers were also difficult as she is a snub-nosed breed so walks again were kept to a minimum. Although I appreciate the reasons for it, not being able to exercise her off lead (except for the specified dog zones in the parks) was a deal breaker for us.

In the 18 months that we have been back in the UK I think there's probably only been a couple of days when the weather (usually heavy rain) has meant that I've been unable to take our dog for her usual walk. When we first returned I had to keep her on a a 6m training lead whilst I trained her recall again, but she's now able to be let off which she absolutely loves.
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Old Dec 17th 2016, 3:02 am
  #29  
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

We came over to Houston on a 3 year L2 visa with children aged 4 & 6. After 2 years we moved into Baton Rouge with the same company to complete a different project. Afterward we stayed on with a GC, then Citizenship 5 years later.

In January we will be returning to England after 29 years, 7 years after we both retired. America has been a great adventure but we find we still have very strong ties with friends and relatives back in England.
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Old Dec 17th 2016, 3:41 am
  #30  
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Default Re: 3 year US plan, how many of you went back to UK?

Originally I planned on staying five years, came with wife and two children, boy 18 months and girl four years,well it will be fifty years in Oct 2017.
I suppose after five years I had quite settled down here, had a good job a house and just didn't relish starting all over in the UK.
One will always be conflicted between the UK and the new country, goes with being an expat. All in all the US has been good to me no complaints, a few bumps along the way. I'll be here to the end for better or worse.

Comparing the immigrant process now and then, it was so much easier in 1967,
I applied in London in March and was in Seattle by October, four green cards handed to me at SeaTac. All handled by Boeing.
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