Hi, not sure if I should even be posting here yet

Hi Everyone,
Again, I'm not quite sure if I should even be posting here yet, or ever.  My husband and I lived in Chicago until 2 years ago when we moved to the dreaded 'burbs' when I had our daughter.  He works for a very large advertising company downtown and for now I stay at home with the baby.  His company has offices all over the world, including London...
I have always wanted to leave the states, to try living life in a different country.  I think it would be a fun adventure and a beneficial experience for our daughter. 
My husband may have the opportunity in the future to be transferred to London, my problem here is that he is against the idea right now. 
Any ex chicagoans living in London want to throw some insight my way?  Do you love it? Hate it?  Anyone on here convince their spouse to give it a try?
I'm more of a "we only live once" kind of person.  He's more of a "America is a great place to raise kids and I don't want to leave my family" kind of person. 
Again, I know i'm not technically supposed to be on this site, and if I'm upsetting anyone by this post please just forgive me and move on.  I guess I'm desperate.  I guess I'm just not a very 'american' american.  I know I'm lucky to live here but I also don't think that anywhere is the BEST place to live.  I want to try something new!  I really have NEVER wanted to live out the rest of my life in a suburb in the states, and here I am, doing what I never wanted to do haha.
Any advice, insight, ideas, or smacks to the head are welcome.  And thanks!

Don't feel like an impostor. Welcome!

Have you all had the chance to travel to London as a family? Living here is a *very* different experience when you have the whole family with you than visiting as a singleton or as a couple before having kids!

His concerns are valid and something many of us struggle with on a daily basis.

Hiya and welcome   Why do you feel you are "technically not supposed to be on this site"? Loads of people come here while contemplating the big move, just as you have, to gain some advice and information. Nobody is going to be upset.

That said, I'm not from Chicago, but from the Philadelphia suburbs. For me (although I think I'm a bit of a strange duck) the adjustment was incredibly easy.  There are a few things I miss (cheesesteaks, Philly soft pretzels, and of course my friends/family), but I've learned to cope really well. Others struggle for a while, others struggle for years, and some give it up and go back to the USA.

Have you ever been the UK?  I would try researching life here as much as you can. Read the threads in the "Airing Cupboard" for rants about living here. See if they are things you would be willing to put up with. Since you have a baby, you'd want to know about the school system here.

As far as your husband goes, if he is deadset against it, there will be little you can do to change his mind. However, if you research and are able to answer his questions satisfactorily, perhaps he'd be willing to give it a go in the future.

Ask lots of questions. The people on this forum are most helpful.

Good luck to you.

Hey there!

I'm a chicagoan (well NWI/IL border burbanite) whose relocating to Bristol England in Feb.
If you haven't been to London, I do recommend visiting for 2-3 wks to get a better idea of it. It's hard to take in the city in only a week. My last time I stayed 3wks and got a better feeling of living there. The weather is rainy, Public transport is mostly reliable and best way to travel. It is way different from the states, I'd say it's a more simple way of living but then again where I'll be living isn't a metropolis like London.
If you've ever been to Seattle, I would compare that alot to England in terms of similarity.

-Amy

Thanks so much for the feed back.  He's slowly coming around to the possibility and has agreed to think about it and have it be an option.  We're planning a trip to london either late next year or early 2014.  Seems like such a ways off but it's just not possible for us to leave any sooner.  Anything else anyone has to share would be greatly appreciated!  It's so hard to find details about what it's actually like to live there, this website has really been a life saver!

Hi and welcome! Please don't feel you don't belong here, we all belong here in our own way. Just because you don't have definite plans made doesn't exclude you in any way.

Your post rang very close to me in several ways. I, too, also don't feel like a very 'American' American. I also have always wanted to spread my wings and try out other places. And finally my husband has been a bit of a battle for me for many years- insisting that we are where we should be. Only difference is he is not American. So he does have the experience of living abroad to compare to and I value his experience. But I also know that nagging lingering persistent voice inside me won't let up and knows we need to try living abroad. So it's been a battle for us. It's only really been in the last year or year and a half that he has agreed to explore options. So long uphill battle it's been for sure! All I can really say is stay true to yourself and your hopes and don't give up!
I'm glad to hear that he's finally looking like he may be open to exploring some options, keep it up! One of my mistakes was not being persistent enough and backing down once I felt like it just wouldn't be an option. Thing is there are two people in a marriage and neither one nor the other can make all of the decisions.

As for "what it's actually like to live there", well that is going to vary so much from person to person, so I second the idea of visiting and spending a good portion of time there to get your own idea of it. Aside from that, do lots of reading of other people's experiences, find out all about schools and look into the activities you enjoy and see what's available there. Another thing I kind of like doing is taking a peek at webcams. There are lots of webcams all over England and as strange as it may sound I feel like I get a good idea of how life is there just by watching what's going on.