steveq

There's also a sense of huge scale which I never got back home, out in New Mexico where we own land, the sky is bigger....

NYer

There was a lovely inn in the area called The Bird and Bottle situated in an old colonial tavern. We stayed there several times. I don't know if it is still in business.

Rete

Yes, it is still in business in Garrison, New York.

birdbottle

Twinkle0927

Washington state bears more than a passing resemblance to the U.K. landscape in places too.

1969tonka

It's just a lot wetter ! We moved to Vancouver Wa 3 weeks ago from East London , at the moment I miss my grown up daughters (they were fine with me going) and my mum . But they will be over to stay shortly so looking forward to that . Life here is so much more relaxed than where we came from , people are so nice and most drivers are so much more polite , we used to here sirens all night long living in London and rarely hear them here (although there is crime of course) . Will be starting my new job shortly so my opinion may change but the job I left was not the best so have high hopes!

Twinkle0927

Welcome to western Washington! I heard on the radio driving to work the other day that we are in the middle of a 227-year record for rainfall. I certainly don't remember it raining as prolonged or as heavy when I used to come to visit The Husband. The record rainfall started when I moved here so I blame myself for it!

Pulaski

I have episodes from time to time, though less frequently than I used to, where the location and circumstances prompt me to think "WTF am I doing here? How did I get to be here, in NC, doing this, at this time?"

It happened tonight, as I was roaring home on the highway through Podunk, NC at midnight. Nothing in my life 19 years ago suggested that there was any where from where I was at that time, to where I find myself "now".

NYer

Good to know! Time for another visit.

tom169

I had a similar feeling when driving home after mandatory overtime (something I never experienced in England) at 3am last Monday morning. The roads were dead with stop lights flashing orange. I was the only civilian car I saw.

Then last night I had a dream this was all a vacation and I was headed home today. Woke up this morning and was like no... I live here.

Doubledave

YES! I find it rolls in cycles...I go from feeling on top of the world at being in America and forging a path/making personal history, and feeling like I'm missing out on everything and everyone back home and wtf am I doing here? Not being able to share your life, kids, home and experiences with loved ones can really take the thrill out of life, regardless of how awesome things can get. That said, going back home and seeing Austerity Britain at work on a grey damp day can be a bit of a shocker.

I've been here for 4 years and was only coming for a possible two initially, and only had 2 months to prepare so it was all very sudden and I subsequently have 'my old life' in boxes stashed in various lock ups across the UK which can be quite unsettling.
For me, I'm at the stage of 's*it or get off the pot'.... I expect this is true for a lot of people on here, but as I had planned a return to the UK at some point in the back of my mind, I've been living Trans-Atlanticaly for years - (mentally not fully invested over here to give up everything that identifies you a Brit, and not wanting to fully assimilate to US culture in fear of never feeling at home in the UK again).

It's a strange one 'eh? The best advice I can give is:
* Keep in touch with family. Get a decent internet connection and web cam and use Skype. Send family members and friends a decent web cam if they don't have one. If they're old and don't have the internet, get yourself a traditional-style USB handset phone to plug in to to a PC and skype to UK land lines (about $2 a month). Makes you feel like you're just down the road on a land line!
* Get involved in something: a band, a meet up group, and take up some courses doing something you love. Everyone needs spark.
* If you haven't already, get a car and use it. Do road trips and things that can't be done in the UK. There is a TON of Country out there.
* Plan out and budget for more trips back home to see family. If you have kids maybe take a quick solo trip every now and again to keep it affordable and introduce a bit of spontaneity. It will make you feel like the distance is less.
* Plan and help family members to come out here and see your life and home. It will make you feel less like the closest people in your life don't know anything about how you live and where you are day to day.

little things add up, and with all of those you should feel much more at home and connected to the people you miss.