Hi All:
I was so glad to find you and all of the terrific information here.
More than that though it's been lovely to see the UK through fresh eyes and be reminded of all of the things that make it such a charming place.
After 30 years of living in the USA, at the tender age of 50 I am looking in earnest at repatriating - what a hugely scary thought! Life changes and my parents age has made me rethink where I need to be.
I will marry my beloved this year (a USC), which certainly has made this move take on all sorts of twists.
We thought this should be a relatively easy thing to do (moving that is, not necessarily marriage). We had money in the bank and have always both been gainfully employed and anticipated we'd pack up house, make the move and find our footing with a cushion to tide us over.... then I started reading the new rules from UKBA - wow!
So plan B - marriage, then me moving first by the looks of it, job hunting, then only after that piece of the puzzle is sorted out, having hubby and fiesty Jack Russell make the move. Who knew going home would get so complicated!
At any rate, sure am glad the decision is made and I'm delighted to be coming home. We'll be heading from the sunny warm coast of South Carolina to the slightly less sunny coast of Northumberland and the Newcastle area - which I have never lived in (the old folks after 3 decades in Devon keep heading North in some sort of bizzaro world version of retirement).
Thank you all for the wealth of information. I am sure that over the next year as we make this journey that your collective wisdom will be called on often.
Happy to have found you.
