My Unforgiving London

Alas, after a short 7 months back in the UK, I'm sad to say the DH and I have to go back to the states. I know there are a few of us on here, who did our very best to make it work but the odds were just stacked against us. For DH and I, it's been an incredible learning experience. Sure, it was easy to move here, but the life that we were after was contingent on me getting a job in my field. And I can wholeheartedly say that did not happen.

I'd like to blame the recession, but frankly it's the same issue I had in 2004 - I couldn't get a job in my field so I had to do something to just "get by." Sure, I kicked ass at it and got promoted eventually to a high level position, however I'm getting to old for that kind of ****, to start all over again. I had a fantastic career back in Los Angeles. So it's time to pack it in before they forget about me completely there.

DH and I are both so stubborn we refused to admit things were not going as we'd planned until his employer gave us a huge wake up call: DH's employer laid off about 100+ people, including him. That's when we asked ourselves when is enough enough? How much of our savings do we burn through just to stay in London and hope that one or both of us finds work before we're bankrupt? I vote none!

Sorry for the book length post! I think I just wanted to "talk" about it with people who would understand. We did our best, but sometimes London can be very unforgiving. Maybe that should be the title of my post: My Unforgiving London. Let's hope yours turns out better than ours!

I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out, but I hope you're happy back in the US. Good luck to you!

At least you figured it out before it was "too late".

Good luck with the move back.  I know what you mean about being too old.  Nothing I did in the US really has an equivalent here and it makes me sad, but we can't move back to the US.  

I'm sorry to hear this dels.  London is quite unforgiving, and quite expensive to live in without a job.  It sounds like the right decision for you guys, and I wish you the best of luck on your return home.

Thanks for the kind words. I suppose sometimes one just has to face the music. Totally blows as could the weather be any better?

Our landlord has agreed to let us out of our contract as long as we help them find a new tenant. So if anyone knows someone looking for a gorgeous 1 bed conversion in Kentish Town, send them my way! 

I'm sorry things didn't work out for you. London is very expensive and the job market is really tough right now. I would have been in the same position if my husband had been laid off - we'd either be going back to the US to live in my parent's basement in Colorado, or living in my in-law's basement in London.

I don't know what it is (I blame the recession), but the job market in the UK is dire, especially for foreigners with previous experience in higher level jobs. I remember another poster here mentioned she couldn't find a job with a great deal of experience, and I was in the exact same position. I had a great job in the US, a high level of education, and in the UK, I couldn't find anyone that would hire me, and the jobs I was looking at had very low salaries. I started out looking for jobs equivalent to what I did before, was told I didn't have any UK experience, tried graduate level jobs, was told I had too much experience, then tried retail jobs, and was told I had no retail experience.

I'm sure once you're back in the US, things will be much better for you in terms of jobs. Best of luck to you!

I am totally with you Serena. I definitely found it much easier to find work here when my experience level was low. I didn't mind jumping into a new career. It's funny, I'm getting "thank you for submitting your CV" emails for jobs I applied for in January. January! 4 months to fill a position that I was uniquely qualified for. No, I am not bitter !

We contemplated staying at his parents' (Leicestershire) for a while to weather the storm, but since we had some contingency money for a move back just in case this happened, we decided to throw the dice and see where they landed. Turns out DH was offered a killer job back in LA so we made the right decision.

I know so many people in this situation who don't have family to fall back on. I don't know how they do it!

tried retail jobs, and was told I had no retail experience.

THIS! I cannot tell you how many shops, restaurants etc that I have been in where the staff can barely do their jobs. I don't see how or why they wouldn't hire us friendly, experienced workers. Frankly, customer service is transferable no matter what industry you are in. A client is a client.

I'm really sorry to hear that London didn't work in your favour - the climate is tough and London is very expensive. Everything is a learning opportunity.

Really hope you find your happiness back in the US! 

Thanks for the kind words mapleleaf - definitely learned a lot about ourselves in this process! 

Though if I may be honest, I don't find London to be expensive, compared to where/how we were living before we moved back here. Sure, the rents have gone up about 25% w/in the 4 years we were away, but our salaries had gone up as well. If only I was earning one!

Speaking of, I do find London salaries to be unrealistic, which then makes London expensive. On that I think we can all agree! DH and I were talking about that last night. A friend of ours moved from Wimbledon to Ely, and he makes only 7k less than he made in London. That's it. What's the point of moving to the big city if you get basically the same salary in a place which has a lower standard of living? Maybe next time we come back it won't need to involve London!