Florida sunshine moving to UK

Hello all.  I am Nita (American) married to Neil (British) and am about to relocate to UK.  We have been married for two years in which he lived with me in America.  Although, it was a bit tough on him in the beginning (homesick) he stuck it out.  His father became ill so he went home for a visit and now is classed as a Visa Overstayer because of some paperwork that we failed to file from before his residency started.  Anyway, instead of fighting the system, I have decided to give him two years in the UK and have started the paperwork for my Settlement Visa.  This was our original plan anyway but he found so many things he loved about the US that we just kind of quit discussing it.  (Equally, he had his share of b$%##@ing too!  lol)

Although, I have my worries, I have no hesitency about going.  I look forward to learning his culture and his homeland.  Of course, I am a Florida born and raised so I know I will definitely miss the weather.  I have been reading all the posts in here for several weeks after stumbling onto this website.  You all are great!!!!  So much information and so much sharing.  As the commercial here says, knowledge is power and I feel I have gained a ton of knowledge from this website.  So, THANK YOU!!!

Welcome to UKY!

Hello and Welcome! What part of the UK will you be moving to?

I will be moving to the Cardiff area.  It is so much different than Tampa Florida.  lol  Someone had put a humerous reading about learning to walk on the sidewalks in the UK.  Made me really laugh because my first trip to Cardiff I kept saying why do these people run me over.  After my three times of visiting, I have finally learned to stay out of Brits way that is in a hurry.  lol

Welcome to UKY!

Welcome Nita!  I moved to northern England from Tampa back in 2004, although I am not a native Floridian.  The weather has been (and is) definitely the hardest thing for me to get used to - I miss Tampa weather...sigh.  Even on a beautiful day like today, which is gorgeous & sunny & nice & almost warm & everything like that...except it just isn't hot enough for me.

 

Other than that, I love it here!    (Winters are hard - the worst really, for cold weather, cloudy skies & darkness.)

Welcome!!! Just wanted to say hi from another Floridian (Gainesville) who is moving to the UK this summer :-)

Hello and welcome!!

Welcome! I'm from Jacksonville, and I know how you feel about leaving Florida. I used to want to get out of here so badly and never understood why people wanted to visit this armpit of America, but in the past few years, I've come to really appreciate how gorgeous this state is. Two weeks ago, I was lying on the beach at Howard Park in Tarpon Springs looking at the Gulf of Mexico. I've also kayaked and seen gators, turtles, beautiful birds. I've scuba-dived in natural springs. Now, in about a month, when the heat sets in and I can't walk to my car from my house without breaking into a sweat, or sit outside without being eaten alive by mosquitoes, then I might not be waxing all poetic, but really, Florida is beautiful and so much more than Disney World.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to camping among real evergreens, not these spindly, skinny things we have in the lumber-rich South and hiking among sheep (I had never seen a sheep outside of a petting zoo until I visited the UK).

I've come to really appreciate how gorgeous this state is. Two weeks ago, I was lying on the beach at Howard Park in Tarpon Springs looking at the Gulf of Mexico...

I <3 Howard Park!  (and Caladesi Island!)  Last time we were in Howard Park (sadly a few years ago  ), the dolphins were coming in really close to the shore & feeding on smaller fish.  There were a number of British tourists sunning on the beach, and one of the British children exclaimed, 'Mummy! Mummy! That dolphin just smiled at me!'  

DH never wanted to go to Disney (fine with me), but we went swimming with the manatees in Crystal River, went to Sawgrass Lake Park, Ft Desoto Beach, and various other state parks & wildlife preserves.  I <3 Florida (including the heat, humidity & everything).  

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to camping among real evergreens...

Yeah, I never thought of Florida as being an apt camping place - lol!  However, on the other hand, having had the camping conversation with DH a number of times - neither of us think that England is either.  He has never camped ever in his life, but said something like - 'Well I might consider the idea of camping, perhaps, in a place that is warmer and more importantly not so rainy as it is here.'  Like you might get lucky & end up with a camping holiday here that has sunny, warm days & no rain - but there's never any guarantees of that, and neither of us fancy camping in a muddy, wet, sodden mess of a place - which is more likely than not.  Trouble is you just can't predict it.  Lol!  

Of course, I am a Florida born and raised so I know I will definitely miss the weather.

I was living in St Petersburg before moving to the UK (by way of a pit stop at my parent's house in GA for a few months).  I have been here since Dec 2009.  I miss the weather.  Having lived in the South most of my life, I am not used to cooler weather especially in May.  I don't really know how to dress but I am learning.  I wish I would have bought lots of cold weather clothes before I moved here.  I miss the Tampa malls, the beach, and the Rays!