Giantaxe

Exactly... it's one of those things that you probably put on the negative side of the column but don't feel too strongly about until its impact over the years mounts. And as has already been pointed out, many folks use what little vacation they have to go back to visit family in the UK which many don't classify as a "holiday". Fortunately - or unfortunately - I now have few relatives left in the UK so the pull of the "old country" has diminished.

markwm

Wow! From the tone of some of the posts about lack of vacation time I'm wondering why you're still here! And if you knew about it before you came and didn't like it, then why come at all? I certainly came with my eyes open and took the short holidays into account. I didn't expect the grass to be any greener than the UK, just a different shade of green.

kimilseung

You seem to be under the assumption that we were all tearing down the gates at immigration to get here. I think I am like many others that I am here for family reasons (wife and daughter are US citizens), Moving is not a decision that one makes on ones own and in isolation.

All in all I am happy here. In fact the lack of holidays stops me thinking about the lack of money to take a vacation.

Giantaxe

For me it's the biggest negative about living here after the healthcare access situation. Why am I still here? Because there are a lot of plusses too and my (now adult) children are here. So if I moved back permanently, I'd likely be on the opposite side of an ocean to them. For many folks, a decision to move back is a complex one.

lansbury

Oh don't start on golf. Golf is much more expensive here then in the UK. It amazes me that people move here and don't take into account the cost of golf in America.

robin1234

Surely golf is year-round in England? Growing up I lived near a golf course and I'm pretty sure there were golfers on the golf course four seasons.

HumphreyC

Yeah $500 a month is about what I am paying in an old Victorian house (bout $416 - but actually less than that as the last tenant left half a tank of oil behind when they moved out - haven't included that saving so as to give a fair comparison). As you say, oil is shite and really you need another source of heat as backup so you don't get screwed. Other people I know use wood burners with oil or gas as backup.

$500 a month for the rest of the year is a shit load of air conditioning. And then obviously it's not the whole rest of the year you need to crank it - should be June, July, August (and early part of September) when it starts to push towards 80-90 and humid. Mind you right now, after a long winter, the prospect of sweating my balls off doesn't seem so bad.

Yeah pretty sure it is. My Aunt is out on the course down in Anglesey all year round. Mind you she did end up catching and nearly dying from pneumonia so probably not the best idea.

Hiro11

I get 32 days PTO a year, so your statements are certainly not universal.

kimilseung

Yes golf is year round in England. It can be cheaper to play in the winter, so I assume there are a few fair weather players.

robin1234

Hmm.. we lived in Boston for years and were fine without air conditioning. Bit of an unnecessary luxury when you live in the northeast..

Nearly dying of pneumonia is character building, though..

Giantaxe

Some interesting stats in tables 1 and 2 of this link. Even after three years of service, the average number of vacation days is between 12.8 and 14.7.

http://www.culpepper.com/eBulletin/2009/PTO.asp

Bob

It's not the be all and end all. Nor is it a case of everyone jumping for joy at the prospects of the move over either.

It is what it is and people either put up with it or they don't, but to discount peoples experience of it is equally as silly to dismiss the problem entirely.

HumphreyC

I live a bit further out in Worcester County - so it does get unpleasantly humid out here. My inclination (during the daytime) is to sweat it out and not turn the air-con on (except just before we go to bed) - but needless to say this doesn't wash with the misses. She is also similarly unimpressed when I tell her to go and chop some wood or do something energetic instead of cracking the thermostat to the upper 60s.

Bob

You just need to start playing in some shit courses

Old town had a residence fee of $25 for 9 holes I think it was...fun, but a bit poo....but then there's the mental place in the neighbouring town where you've got to be a member or a guest of a member and it was $60K annual dues, but they're suffering as a lot of the members are now dying off and there isn't the rush as there used to be for people to join

robin1234

Yup, like you we mostly came with our eyes open. Bitching & moaning is OK too, though.