whatever

Make 'em good - I'm taking notes

5 of the many things I want to do before I go is

1) Take my son into London a few more times to see all the things we kept putting off.
2) Take some really nice shots of my family, London and England to frame or put in a photo album for 'trips down memory lane'.
3) Have a big going away bash.
4) Eat lot's of Curry!!!
5) Go out and buy PG Tips, Andrews, Marmite, Flakes, Bisto etc for shipping - just enough to fall back on every now and again!

effi

Can't really think of anything as far as we were concerned. We were in the military for 25 years and moved on average every 2 years, so coming over here (with the military initially) was no big deal, it was just another posting. I sometimes wish we had left our son in UK to go to college, he had won himself a place, despite what the headmaster at his school thought about him.

I think once you decide to move and everything has fallen into place there is no time for any regrets or "I wish I hads'. Just give the family you are leaving behind an extra hug goodbye, cause it may be a while before you see them again. It is when you get to this side and you have been here for a couple of months, that you start thinking "what the hell have I done".

The culture shock can be a bit overwhelming at first. You soon settle in though and things start feeling normal again. I remember the first 6 months I was here, if I had gone home to UK in that time, I probably would not have come back. It is all what you make of it, you have to be open and prepared to be a bit homesick on occasion. I still get the odd twinge even after 16 years.

America was never someplace I ever had a desire to visit never mind live here. All in all though it has been quite an enjoyable experience. We have travelled all over the States and everywhere is so different. The people on the whole are quite friendly, we have met a few weirdos on the way, but you ignore them.
So, no, like I said I cannot think of even one thing I wish I had done before I left UK. It will be interesting to see what the others have to say, there is probably something I have missed, but am guilty of having 'senior moments' from time to time LOL, so I will probably be heard to say "oh yeah", we shall see.

Dant3

Whatever,
A week does not go by when I don't think of something I should have done before I left. I used to live in the Leeds/Bradford area, yet never once went up onto the moors or spent weekends at weird little B&B and country pubs. Never visited Howarth or saw any of the 'Bronte Country' that was right on my doorstep. Never climbed the central tower at York Minster, or made that last trip to Whitby Abbey, or took all the photographs of rolling hills that I knew I'd miss. I never went to London to overdose on the museums and galleries, never took the trip to Ireland I'd planned, didn't take advantage of the closeness and relative inexpence of visiting a dozen European cities.

I'm very aware that all these things I'd planned to do on spare weekends never happened, and now that I'm 6000 miles away, they won't for a very long time.

Before anyone jumps in to tell me to stop moaning and go back home if I miss it so much, I should say that I am loving America and have no desire to return to the UK. But your idea of collecting experiences before you go is a good one. I wish you well.

James

Yosser

1) Have a proper portion of Fish n Chips.
2) Go down to Brighton, stroll along the piers and take in the fresh (but probably chilly) sea air.
3) Buy some England footy and rugby shirts, Dallas folk will instantly chat with you about it, its a good way to break the ice.
(especially when its July the 4th).
4) Don't ship out electronic goods that need transformers, its not worth the hassle.
5) Go to Marks and Sparks, buy plenty of pawn cocktail crisps, sauasge rolls and chocolate eclairs, scoff as much as possible , cause you aint gonna get treats like that over here .

kazzuk

Go to all the places that you hate and take pictures. Put them in a scrapbook along with newspaper cuttings about speed camera's etc. When you are feeling homesick, take out the scrapbook to remind you of some of the reasons why you left.

datcha

1) Spent more time with my friends and family in the time leading up to us leaving England.
2) Visited more places - We did Belgium, Scotland, Wales, Rome, Cornwall and a few other places in the space of 4 months.
3) Spent more time with my friends and family.
4) Gone to a few more football games.
5) Spent more time with my friends and family.

Kinda cheating but there really is no substitute for the people you are close to.


Cheers,
David.

lairdside

Arghh.

You mentioned M&S.

That's it - I have to travel 5000 miles now for my hit of Chinese chicken wings.

I also miss Tesco.

I was interviewed on thursday for a federal position and am PRAYING I will get it. (They seemed to like me but you never really know...)

If I do I'm sure to be setting a portion of those holidays aside for a trip to my Mum's each year

Pimpbot

The only regret I have about when I left, was that my parents were on holiday the week before. I sold my apartment on the friday, moved in with them that night, only for them to go on holiday the next day and returned the following saturday. I then left the day after. But then again, maybe that would have made leaving all that more emotional?. I dunno.

Duncs

Hmmm...

1. Got a degree in something more transferable so i didnt have to go back to school to do the job i had already done for the last 6 years.

2. Spent less money on crap i ended up selling and giving away.
3. Slapped some people who needed it badly.
4. Got elected to Westminster
5. Not left at all.

lairdside

I can empathise with 1 through 3.

4 really isn't my cup of tea.

5 - I have no regrets about having had the experience but recently I miss the UK a lot. Especially my friends and family.

Patrick

5. Jumped in a time machine and gone back to uni to do something that is has not been devasted in the recession and makes it nigh on impossible to get a job.

4. Shipped over millions of portions of a) Tescos meals b) fish and chips c) midget gems d) decent chocolate

3. Gone to see more football games, I am really missing football at them moment, it doesn't help my dad is watching it every time I call lately

2. Not told my family where I was going so they wouldn't come and visit every 2 seconds - leave me alone family bastards - oh, no you couldn't drive 300 miles down the M6/M1/A40 to visit me in Cambridge but now I'm 4000 miles away I can't ****ing get rid of you!

1. Thrown away all my furniture and clothes and just packed decent, drinkable beer like stella or 1664.

Patrick

PS I just a care package for my birthday today full of crunchies, mars bars and terrys chocolate orange - anyone want one?

Rockgurl

LOL....like that one! I shall have to take a quick trip to Hackney when I go back in a couple of weeks, armed with camera. Just one look at Dalston Road will remind me enough why I moved away.

dbj1000

...alternatively, if you like that idea but didn't do it before you left, get the "Idler Book of Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK"

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...books&n=507846

...and be reminded why you left

nxylas

The only thing I wish I'd done is do a better job of severing my financial links with the UK, so that I'm not constantly having to send over cheques for credit card payments etc.

Rockgurl

I totally sympathise with that. That's why I'm selling my house....that darned exchange rate hurts!