US/UK dual nationals thinking of moving back to US after 4 yrs in UK

It's been a long time since I've been on here so not sure if anyone knows me, but to make a long story short, I'm the USC and my husband is the UKC but we both now hold dual US/UK Citizenship.

We've loved being back in the UK (Greater London) but his current job situation has caused us to pause and consider returning to the US to live. And we kind of like the feelings about it that we are having.

No real hesitation on either of our parts except for the small matter of getting rid of everything we own (again! did that when we moved here from the US) and starting over (job seeking, etc) at the respective ages of 55 and 60.  

Seriously, the challenge of it all is stimulating (yea, we're mad  ).

We're considering Charlotte, NC as that's where my new grandbaby is. We previously lived [near] Charleston, SC, so we know all about the South etc etc etc, but the change in location excites us. I am quite familiar with Charlotte and think it's a lovely place.

I am a Legal Secretary with additional executive admin experience in Higher Education. Hubby is in IT - webmaster, etc etc

We've done sooooo much since moving back to the UK. Seen loads of places, done lots of things, and lots and lots and lots of travel. So it's all been good, but I guess we're just rolling stones.

We've both started applying for jobs and crossing all fingers that Lady Luck will be on our side. I happen to be going home at the end of Dec (have had ticket for months) to see my new grandson. It might just be that I stay on and crash with my son or daughter and look for work stateside.

Anyway (bet you thought I'd never shut up  ) at this point it's all conjecture on our part but I would love to hear from others in our position who have gone back kind of recently. I don't really have any particular questions - we've done this type of thing before - but feedback, tips, suggestions, etc are always welcome. The main unknown is what I'd term as 'gap healthcare' (under the ACA) until one or the other of us found employment. I've been on the website but egads   it's worse than the IRS website with regard to finding an easy, bottom-line answer.

It's all still just an option, really, at this point. We just know we're ready for a change.

Thanks  

Denise



 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! It's nice to have options 

I am interested in anything you hear about 'gap healthcare' and the ACA. If my partner and I were ever to consider moving 'back' to the USA, this is our showstopper. In the past, it wouldn't have been an option but now it seems we could buy health insurance in the US regardless of job situation. But no one seems to be able to tell us how.

Can't you buy Obamacare through one of the exchanges?  We are doing just that when we go back in a few months.

Thanks, trudif. I've since found some information about how to go about doing this (naturally, the US websites aren't really aimed at us). But, my partner recently told me that there was no way she would ever leave England at all, so for me this is moot.
Good luck with your move!

Just by way of update, we've put any return on hold for now...

Can't you buy Obamacare through one of the exchanges?  We are doing just that when we go back in a few months.

If you move back mid-year you get a "special enrollment period" of 60 days in which you can buy insurance outside of the usual open enrollment window.

This is true.  Also in Massachusetts it's very easy to plug in your family details and get quotes at any time of year.   It might be worth doing this in advance to get an idea of what premiums you'd be facing.  I'm sure other state websites have similar.

Watch out for the for-profit insurers though (in particular Anthem).   We've found they just start rejecting claims out of hand as soon as you reach your annual deductible so you can be many thousands out of pocket above what you budgeted for.  So while they might have slightly lower premiums their insurance may not help in the event of health problems.

To be honest I'm so sick of the healthcare costs and fighting health insurers it's a major factor in wanting to move back to the UK (I'm a brit living in the US since the late 90s).   In the last 10 years healthcare has gone from expensive to eye-wateringly unbearable in the US.