Hello
I stumbled upon UKY while browing the various expat sites. Yours has by far the most valuable info I've encountered.
My wife and I are retired and considering a move to the UK (from Massachusetts). We've spent a lot of time in Scotland, which would be our preffered location in the UK, and we feel we'd like to spend at least a couple of years exploring the UK and also using Scotland as a base to visit other parts of Europe. I hope Ryanair never goes out of business!
We've experienced spring and summer in Scotland, but not winter. We've scheduled another Scottish trip for January '05, so that we can take a hard look at some of our favorite places in the grip of winter and factor that into our decision. To paraphrase Brer Rabbit - I was born and bred in the rain (in Ireland), so it holds no horrors for me. But my better half is a S'uthenr and she might feel differently.
In any event your site has tons of good info which will be of great value as our plans proceed. We were particularly interested in some of your member's feedback on the emotional cost of moving overseas. That is something we will have to grapple with ourselves. It still remains to be seen whether we can overcome the ties. My being the black sheep of my family helps in that my family links are tenuous. However it's another matter for my wife - she is still talking to her family. We have two children, both now grown with their own families, and I expect we will be able to exchange enough annual visits with them to soften the separation.
While browsing UKY I got the impression that your subscribers are far younger than my wife and I (me 63, she 59). But, if there are any retirees skulking out there we'd love to hear from you! We have loads of "retiree" questions e.g. how Social Security is handled, medical issues, budgets etc.
My wife and I are dual US/EU citizens - I'd be interested in hearing how dual citizenship helps or hinders the re-location process. From reading some of your visa horror stories I tend to think it may help.
Well, 'nuff said for now. Appreciate your sharing your experiences - it's been most helpful.
