christmasoompa

FWIW, I’m in the UK.

The storms were horrendous. We have a very large bill for roof repairs/scaffolding, thank goodness for home insurance.

The NHS is still amazing in my eyes, my mother is fighting angiosarcoma and her care has been incredible. waiting times of days rather than weeks for every step of her treatment. Ditto another friend with cancer. Ditto my father who has various health issues. Non urgent stuff seems to have taken a hit due to Covid (my daughter is still waiting for a tooth removal after a year, but it’s not painful or urgent so quite rightly other things are being prioritised).

Electricity bills are higher, we have a solely electric 6500sq ft house with two electric cars so our bill has always been huge anyway, it’s crept up a bit and I suspect will keep doing so with what’s going on in Ukraine.

Police I suspect depends where you are. We live very rurally and we rarely even lock our doors. Any issues here and police are here within minutes, and we see them regularly. I’m sure if I lived in an inner city it would be different though.

P.S. The education where I am is incredible, but I live in an area with some of the best schools in the UK. Like private school but without paying for it! But that won’t be the case everywhere, if you’re moving back for education then have you looked at other options in the US? Or are there other reasons to move back as well?

msk2uon

That's interesting. Where's about in the UK are you based?

christmasoompa

Berkshire.

Nypool1e

Christmasoompah, you wrote in a previous post that you own 2 electric cars. We have looked into buying an electric car on our return, what do you like about electric over petrol/diesel or hybrids? I’d appreciate any help in this matter.

christmasoompa

Short answer: everything. We got our first electric car 6 years ago, I’d never have anything else now. Much nicer to drive and so much better for our bank balances. Yes, they cost more to buy but we used to spend £500 a month on just fuel for my car alone, a knackered old Volvo XC90. I don’t do big distances usually but it was a tank a week, plus needed all sorts of things like tyres, brake pads etc doing every so often, so probably around £800 a month by the time you included tax as well. Now we spend £50 extra a month on electricity and that’s it.

We do Cornwall and back regularly with no problem, and we’ve driven to the Alps as well.

I should be transparent and say that we had to get an electric car due to my husband’s job (he works in energy, and specifically EV related), but neither of us would go back (particularly with petrol prices on the up). I don’t want to hijack the thread but feel free to PM me with any questions.

HTH.

Nypool1e

Thanks for the response Christmasoompah, we shall definitely look into going electric. Going off topic, I hope you don’t mind my asking but how have you found things on your return to England? Any regrets etc?

Americish

thanks for responding! We have tried 3 different schools here, it just doesn’t compare. The schools are ok but I know they can be getting so much more. They don’t like school, their vocabulary has noticeably changed, their cute little accents are gone (lol), I just can’t help
but compare. The only thing keeping us here are my parents. It’s great having them near and the kids haven’t gotten so close to them. In the Uk we are alone apart from friends. We have a good base there and it would be relatively easy for us to move back so it’s very tempting. We’re from north London so crime is pretty bad. Pretty much everyone we know has been burgled at some point. We feel safe here, life is almost too convenient that it’s a negative (ie we’ve put on weight!). I feel like if we stay here the kids will move away when they’re adults because it’s almost like early retirement here.

christmasoompa

It’s been a long time since we returned to the UK! We were supposed to be going the opposite way to you last summer but Covid & Trumps visa ban postponed things (our kids are at vital stages in their education so having missed that window, we’re now waiting until summer 2023 to move when our eldest will have finished her A Levels). We move for a couple of years for an adventure and my husband’s job, but we live a very charmed life in the UK and for us it can’t be bettered so we’d never move permanently. An occasional stint abroad does us just fine, never say never but I can’t see us staying out of the UK long term.

Crikey, I didn’t realise you had your parents there too. Is there nowhere else in the US that would offer better education and a bit more life for you (sounds like you’re in the US equivalent of where I live….but I love dull and safe ), and still be nearer your parents? Just seems like a big move just for schooling tbh.

Steerpike

Is that a typo or are you really in a 6,500 sq ft house?! That is a BIG house! I see those around the US (the 'McMansions') but I always thought such houses were rare in the UK! We had a 2,700 sq ft house and it was too big for us. I ended up loving a 1,400 sq ft condo!

Heating a 6,500 sq ft house in the UK with the cold weather must cost a pretty penny indeed; hopefully it's either a new build or a well-insulated remodel!

SanDiegogirl

.... used to live in Finchampstead just south of Reading .... I miss the countryside.

christmasoompa

Not a typo, that's including a large annexe we built last year though. And no, it's a Georgian house so definitely not a new build (other than the aforementioned annexe)! It was completely derelict when we bought it so we have added a heating system and insulated as much as possible, but it's Grade II* listed so we can't do things like double glazing which does limit it somewhat. Underfloor heating throughout helps, as do ground source heat pumps as we get the renewable heat incentive payments every 3 months and it's much lower cost to run than oil would be (we're not on mains gas. here).

Ah, very close to me indeed.

And now I've REALLY taken this thread off topic. Sorry OP.