Originally Posted by another bloody yank

Originally Posted by commoner

Please allow me to clarify. I wasn't trying to imply up north was a bad area in which to live. Personally I'd love to live in Cornwall (knowing Corny isn't up north but it isn't the southeast), and we'd do it if husband's job had the same earning power as down south.

In many instances you can't earn in Leeds what you can earn in London.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

HN is not good enough for Sheffield.

Yep I love Yorkshire and Cheshire and the people.

Originally Posted by jumping doris

The difference though is that Cornwall is not really a hive of industry , whereas the large Northern cities are. True, many of them became very depressed for a while but now Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are having a huge resurgance.
It depends what you do but big salaries are not rare in the North. But even if you do earn a smaller salary you are more likely to have cash left over if you live away from the SE.

Originally Posted by jumping doris

I'm getting homesick now

Originally Posted by jumping doris

The difference though is that Cornwall is not really a hive of industry , whereas the large Northern cities are. True, many of them became very depressed for a while but now Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are having a huge resurgance.
It depends what you do but big salaries are not rare in the North. But even if you do earn a smaller salary you are more likely to have cash left over if you live away from the SE.

Originally Posted by commoner

Well when we find a comparable salary up north and pack our bags, I'll crow about it here!

My husband searches once a month on monster and other job sites, and has yet to find a job with better pay and benefits. I don't think I can convince him to move too far up north though.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

I forgot to mention the cheese.

Originally Posted by commoner

But depending on what your husband's specialty actually is, the good wage jobs aren't all over.

My husband is a Group IT Manager for 10 different companies, and he makes £55k and a company car. If we could get the same wage and move up norf where living is cheaper, we'd do it in a heartbeat.

£55k is about double the national average in terms of wages. A huge percentage of people here (us included) rent our property, as we're not financially able to get a mortgage.

Another aspect to think about is your toddler. Many of the little villages middle to up north do not contain a young population. We're I live, there's plenty of playgroups, nice parks and various activities to keep you and your child entertained.

Finally, I'm assuming you have a support system of older relatives when it come to taking care of your toddler in Arizona. My marriage is strong, but we have no outside family support over here. And being with a small child 24/7 without any opportunities to drop her off to grandma's for the weekend? It's difficult and can be isolating.

Your responses to me have appeared to be a little hostile. I read this forum as I'd like to go back to the US one day, and I like to read about some of the trials and tribulations my husband may experience when living in the US.

My responses to you aren't meant to discourage you, but to give you information regarding the reality of living in the UK. It doesn't do any good to live next to Europe if you can't afford to travel there because you're living in York bringing in £23K per year and you're dishing out nearly $1000US a month for child care so you can work at Tesco.

Originally Posted by Redlippie

Good luck with the search. I wish more US folk would try living in a different country, even if it is for a couple of years

Originally Posted by rookins26

Colette

Originally Posted by rookins26

My responses are a bit hostile? Are you serious? WOW. Anyway if I come across a bit annoyed at you it's because it seems you are assuming WAY too much about me or our situation and don't seem to be reading what I have said so far in this post. I will say it again...we are willing to take jobs that pay a little less in the north. We are both educated and have full training in our jobs so to be honest I would not be willing to move to the UK if I could only work at "tesco". If that was the case then we wouldn't move there. $1000 a month (US) childcare is close to what we pay now. You said you "assume" I have a large support system in Arizona...NOPE. My parents live two hours away and both work so there is no "dropping our child off at grandma's"...don't have that luxury. We have no other relatives close by...my relatives all live in New York and New Jersey. We are use to taking care of ourselves without any help at all...married 7 years and both work full-time with a son in daycare.

By the way we also plan to have at least a condo/townhome here in AZ that we can keep and rent out if we choose to move to the UK..then we always have property here.

You say you want to come back to the US..and I will say that's great. At this point I am not going to say anything else since I am already perceived as hostile.

Colette

Originally Posted by commoner

We live 20 miles south of London in Crawley, West Sussex. Currently we're living in a 600 sq ft, two bedroom flat and our monthly rent is £750.

Most of the three bedroom houses in our area cost £900 to £1100 to rent per month.

The third bedroom in many of the houses is a "box room". A box room doesn't have any windows and is about the size of an American walk in closet. Most people I know who have such a room use it for storage only.

Originally Posted by commoner

I read your inital post with great interest, Colette. After you curtly replying you didn't want to live in the London, when I didn't mention London in the first place, I think you are the one who isn't reading carefully.

I'll bow out now. Good luck to you and your 'tude.