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Topic: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about  (Read 87119 times)

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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #30 on: July 06, 2006, 08:02:38 PM »
How important are public holidays to you?  Can you get used to the fact that on the days when your friends and family in the States are celebrating, for you it will be  just another day, when you may have to work or take care of other responsibilities.

Can you adjust to a different set of public holidays? Can you get used to fireworks in November instead of July? How about giving and/or receiving a Mother's Day card in March instead of May?

Excellent point! I have just "weathered" my first holiday away from home and was shocked at how difficult it was! Even though my coworkers were very mindful of the fact that it (4th of July) was a significant US holiday and were very supportive, it was still difficult. My first bit of homesickness and I've been here a little over four months.                                   
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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #31 on: July 19, 2006, 05:32:58 PM »
Oh Jeez! I haven´t looked into it on this different point of view..eventhough too late for me! I´m already here ??? ???


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #32 on: August 08, 2006, 02:52:24 PM »
Hi Mindy!  This is a great post! I am new here and we are thinking of making the move.  I have dreamt of it for a long time! 
I may grow old but I refuse to grow up!
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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #33 on: August 09, 2006, 02:15:43 PM »
Great post! I especially think the part about knowing when people are just joking; anyone who watches the political satire shows on TV here knows that humour can be different and to be open-minded about how to react to things.


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #34 on: August 11, 2006, 09:48:29 PM »
Wow, this thread has definitely raised some good points for me.  I'm really glad I found it now (thanks, onetiger!) so that I have a bit of time to digest it all before we arrive!  You do tend to think that it won't be so different since it is an English speaking country and all.  Thankfully, my family seems pretty excited about it all.  My school-aged children can't wait to wear uniforms!!


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #35 on: August 12, 2006, 07:42:08 AM »
Have they actually seen them?

Hideous polyester trousers, striped ties and pullovers where we live.....

are they really excited to wear uniforms??????
wow


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #36 on: August 12, 2006, 11:10:21 PM »
They've seen pictures.  I think it's just the novelty of the whole thing - it'll wear off pretty quickly, I'd guess!  Maybe images of Harry Potter ties and house badges are floating through their heads, who knows!  :)


Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #37 on: August 12, 2006, 11:37:11 PM »
Have they actually seen them?

Hideous polyester trousers, striped ties and pullovers where we live.....

are they really excited to wear uniforms??????
wow

They can pong like mad as well, b/c they're mostly cheap synthetic fabrics. 

Yuk.

I've been looking for some made from natural fibres for when Aillidh starts school.

But they're being introduced in more schools to try to control bullying, which can be a real problem in some areas/schools. :(


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #38 on: August 13, 2006, 12:17:04 AM »
They can pong like mad as well, b/c they're mostly cheap synthetic fabrics. 

Yuk.

I've been looking for some made from natural fibres for when Aillidh starts school.


I'm hoping to find out what colours the girls need so they can bring some items w/them from the states.  Because you're right...the polyester ones can really reek!  (Course, gotta' find a place to live first....) :P
When I am grown-up I will understand how BEAUTIFUL it feels to administrate my life effectively.

Until then I will continue to TORCH all correspondence that bores me and to dance NAKED over the remnants of its still glowing embers.
 
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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #39 on: August 13, 2006, 12:17:44 AM »
I had to remind my students all the time to wash their uniforms.  They stink by Wednesday if they don't wash them or only have one uni.  Meh.  Gross after they've been playing hard at lunch.
Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its doors as early in the spring. Cultivate property like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn the old; return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts…


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #40 on: August 26, 2006, 02:40:12 AM »
Having traveled mostly through the North of England, i can honestly say I've never found English people to be downright unfriendly; however, there are differences.  I find Liverpulians to be the absolute friendliest people on earth (with the possible exception of their cousins in Ireland).  I made so many life long friends in Liverpool, I couldn't begin to count them all.  They truly make me feel like one of the 'family' evertime I'm in their company. 

On the other hand, I often find middle to upper-middle class Brits from the suburban stockbroker belt of London (Home Counties) to be rather standoffish and cold.  Maybe it's a class thing, I don't know.

One major wall in communication between Brits and American's revolves around humour.  I find British humour to be a little dry and word oriented.  American humour is more built around situations and a lot more expressive.  Most English people--and Southern English people in particular--aren't terribly comfortable with back-slapping, side splitting type stuff.  Curiously, I find Irish people to be very much in tune with American humour and mannerisms.  That must be due to the long history of immigration to America.  I see Liverpudlians as being half-way to an American sense of humour as well, but again, you'll still find a lot of that droll play on words type stuff with Scousers as well.


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #41 on: September 08, 2006, 03:27:50 PM »
Thank you for the interesting experiences that people are having and the challenges they face. I will just quickly add my own experiences. I am a quiet, somewhat shy person but also have lived in many states as well as Paris prior to moving to the UK. This has helped me with the "open-mind" that is required when making a move. I must agree that there is a big difference in experience between being in a workplace and being at home. My first two months it was very hard to meet anybody but then i found work (in Wales) and it was a LOT easier. People took an interest in me as an American, which breaks the ice, and welcomed me as a friend outside of work as well. The same thing happened when I went to work in Slough. Having a job or a place to go everyday made ALL the difference. I remember hating Paris (the culture, not the city) but I believe it was because i was not working and not able to be part of the culture. I also cheated as I came here with my American wife so we shared the challenge. It has now been two years and I have to go back to the U.S. and I don't want to because the UK has a lot going for it and I will miss it terribly. To all the brits, thanks for the hospitality.
'My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end.' -    Ayn Rand


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #42 on: September 08, 2006, 10:27:28 PM »
Things were not so hard for me, culturally speaking I mean, because I was from Germany originally. Britain is quite different from where I came from, but yet it is not so much of a culture shock. Things were harder for me in New York. Life is pretty though there, I thought. I wonder how many people decide to stay here and how many decide to go back after all?



Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #43 on: September 08, 2006, 10:42:52 PM »
I wonder how many people decide to stay here and how many decide to go back after all?

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a fellow American over here on an ex-pat package (Executive) and he told me that the failure rate for American ex-pats working in Britain is greater than anywhere else. Its probably an internal company statistic, that said, the company is one of the largest globals.  ???


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Re: DISCUSSION: Before you move: Things to really think about
« Reply #44 on: September 19, 2006, 07:50:32 AM »
A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a fellow American over here on an ex-pat package (Executive) and he told me that the failure rate for American ex-pats working in Britain is greater than anywhere else. Its probably an internal company statistic, that said, the company is one of the largest globals.  ???
Yikes. Do you know why this is? That's what we're looking at--an expat package of sorts. I would think that since you won't have to learn a totally new language that it would be somewhat easier than, say, taking an expat package in China.

As I picture what a move to London would look like I just assume that I will wander through my life feeling lost and confused for a long time. I remember this feeling when I first left home and moved to Chicago. I just assumed for the first few months that I would always get lost when I tried to go somewhere new.


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