How did you feel about moving?

I've been in the UK for about 8 months total so far (3months last year and then came back for another 5) and I felt right at home almost immediately.  I am excited about my new life with my soon-to-be new husband!  I won't miss much at all.  Just friends.  And even Philadelphia I will miss at times.

I find the cultural differences endlessly fascinating.  My fiance "speaks American" as he puts it--he travelled in the US for 9 months and is good at translating for me!

I am lucky that my life back in the US was uber-minimal (no lease, no apartment and down to 12 boxes of stuff in total) so wrapping things up when I return to get my fiancee visa should not take more than a week or two.

Also, way before I ever met my fiancee I was in love with England (and Ireland) and it was a dream to live in either place someday--that dream has come true!

I am not nervous about leaving the US and those ties behind.  Although my parents aren't in the greatest of health, I cannot let that colour my decision in the least.

However, I am very nervous about getting everything done.  My husband is going to work out the finances on Monday, so until then I can't do much in terms of definite plans.  Will we freight some of our stuff and sell the rest or will we just sell all of it (by "we" I mean I because it will be my responsibility, even though I don't mind)?  Will I be able to manage sending our cat?  It's going to cost around $5000 with quarantine. Are we cruising across or flying?  I am stressed right now because I have so much to do, but I can't make a move until after Monday.

I have lived in Europe before and have travelled and lived away from my hometown most of my adult life.  I have never been this nervous about a move before. It's very annoying.

I was excited and scared all at the same time. My situation was different as the move had nothing to do with my husbands job. He was born in south Africa but is dutch. His family lives in Holland and his brother lives in the same town in California that I did. That is how we met. My husband has lived all over the place. He was living with his brother while we were dating and we got married. He enjoyed the US but loved the UK. He wanted to live here and not the US.

I have never lived abroad before but welcomed the opportunity. I came here as a visitor and  after the tourist part wore off reality set in. I kept comparing all the things I was used to in the states to here. Big mistake...I had a much better quality of life in the US compared to here. It is very expensive to live here, keep in mind I love warm weather and tons of sunshine. You do not get that here at all. We live in a tiny box and pay a fortune for it. The wages are very low here and takes a while to get any kind of job. You exist here and that is all. Now for those in the corporate world I am sure you are much better off.

Then the reality of cultural differences set in. Big difference. I am not a pub bouncing person, in fact I love all the choices of beer here. But do not like the pub way, boring. I loved going out to eat in restaurants and visiting quaint little shops along the coast. That does not exist here. Weekends everything is shut down. Coastal villages consist of carnivals. No nice little coffee shops nothing. Unless you are in London don't expect to find vast amount of open restaurants with good food choices here either. In fact the food is pretty bad here. Cooking at home you are able to make what you want.

Gas is outrages, so unless you make good money don't expect to take trips without it costing you. Transportation is great here though. Groceries are for the most part cheap. Housing, their style is box rooms. Not much into open plan living here no space for that. Don't expect to have a dryer either. Cost too much and no room to put one. Yards, or gardens as they call them if you are lucky to have one are very small. Do not expect to get a king size bed into any of the rooms here either.

So coming from a country where space is taken for granted with big cars, coming here is a shock at first. They are not a consumer type country. They are practical about where their money gets spent. Mostly traveling out of the UK because the weather is so bad here all the time. That was the hardest part for me is the bad weather all the time. Which explains why there is no air conditioning here. It is never warm enough to need one.

When it came to the move itself, just do it as all the planning in the world will not prepare you for when you arrive and how you feel after the tourist part wears off. Be realistic as well. I had no idea when I arrived what to expect which I think is why I ended up so disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it can be enjoyable. We live just to survive at the moment but hopefully it will get better. There will be things you will miss especially types of food that don't exist here. If you love a real summer plan on saving money and flying off to Spain to get that summer or water sport you enjoy because it isn't here. Camping is also weird here. They call it a holiday and caravans as they call them all join together on a bare lot side by side like sardines and that is what they call camping. Usually no trees or specific spaces. It is odd when you first see it but a long tradition.

Don't expect anything like the US here and then you will be pleasantly surprised. Overall I like the US better but the idea of being able to travel to so many different countries so cheap appeals to me even more than living in the US. The is what really did it for me was that. So expect to do without all the extras and prepare to live more practical here. If you like history then is really is the place to be. Castles galore, Abbeys so many lovely things to see especially the green country side. It is green like that for a reason because it rains all the time. If you like hiking plan on buying hiking mud boots as it is mostly very wet and soggy wherever you go. Tennis shoes doesn't cut it. Get used to carrying an umbrella no matter where you go as it can rain at any time.

I am sure once the shock wears off you will be fine.

Well...i think I feel/felt kinda fuzzy.

I mean, i know that I need to be where Jassen is....and I will go great lengths to do that, but also it does make me sad to not be in everyday contact with my mom,dad, and sis. I think over the past 3+ years, it has been a transitional period for me and my family, so it wasnt soo much of a shock when I did come over here.

Still...I miss them, but I try to be in email, chat, or Ichat contact nearly everyday!

:-)

I've been in the UK for a year now. Prior to the 'official' move I had spend periods of 3-6 months here throughout the past 5 years. Initially I was really excited to move to England because on my visits it seemed like a perfect fit. It was fun talking to people in pubs who would notice my accent and start up conversations and smile and chat. It was great to play tourist and walk around being constantly amazed by the architecture. All in all I thought the move would  be easy and for some reason I envisioned myself being a carefree tourist forever.

For me, the reality of the situation has been far different to what I had expected. My experience is obviously mine alone, but I have started to really dislike the UK. It may be just my location (north east) and the fact that the weather has been terrible this past year. But being surrounded by millions of chavs, walking miles to work in the pouring rain, having difficulty making friends, having to jump through hoops just to open a bank account or buy milk on a Sunday... they all stacked up after awhile. If it were an affordable, easy option I'd move back to teh US in a heartbeat.

For me, the reality of the situation has been far different to what I had expected. My experience is obviously mine alone, but I have started to really dislike the UK. It may be just my location (north east) and the fact that the weather has been terrible this past year. But being surrounded by millions of chavs, walking miles to work in the pouring rain, having difficulty making friends, having to jump through hoops just to open a bank account or buy milk on a Sunday... they all stacked up after awhile. If it were an affordable, easy option I'd move back to teh US in a heartbeat.

Kayla, I feel like I could have written this myself. Of course, there are many, many things I like about living in the U.K., but, as you said, the reality has been far different from what I expected. If it was easy, we'd move back to the U.S. sooner rather than later. But this is home now, and I have to make the best of it.

I was excited.  I'd studied abroad and loved it.  I still do.  I think I just jumped.  Although I had time to think about it, I still didn't really.  We talked about being engaged at Christmas, was engaged by my birthday (in March) and married in July, even though we'd known each other for a year and half.  I think I sort of made my mind up.  I do miss my friends and my family, but really my family and I do well apart.  I'm an only child with parents who can't really let go, and like being over-involved, so this was definitely a good move for me.  It cut the ties in a way I wasn't prepared to do because I felt duty bound, but also I hated hurting feelings.  I think because family and friend situations are so different, we all have a different experience and different feelings on moving so far away, and to another country. 

I'm one who just jumped at the chance too!  I was - well they speak English there, how much different can it be?

The first two years were an adjustment & I struggled, but once I finally got settled, found a job I liked, got out there & mixed & mingled - I'm as happy as can be now - 3+ years on.  I love & prefer the differences here to the US & I have a better standard of living here than I ever had in the US.  The only reason I would ever move back would be for the weather (I was last living in Tampa), but that would only be if I ever again had no strong ties here (DH & his family) which is unlikely.  I've always lived a distance from most of my family members (the US is huge!), only seeing them every so many years (I see them more now actually with one trip back per year), so that's no big deal.

I couldn't wait to move ... and now, four years on, I know it was the best decision I could ever have made. My quality of life is so much better in the UK and, to top it all, I met my bf since moving here! There's no reason in the world for me to ever think of moving back!

The actual "moving" part was a pain, though, I'll admit. Having to get my cat's paperwork in order, moving an entire household of furniture, setting up a bank account, etc. But nobody ever said it would be easy. And it's all been worth it.

I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

When I go off places, I go off them big style.

Thanks for all of your replies, everyone Our wedding date is officially set for Oct 27, 2007, and I hope to be moved by mid/late November. I'm in a calm state now...no nerves yet...but I still have about 2.5/3 months before I make the move over. I hope I run into more positives than negatives

I was really excited about the prospect of starting everything over again! I was living in NY with my family and I was just waiting to get my life started. Originally my husband was going to come to live in the states, but one day I had an ephiphany (sp) and thought...You know what! I am going to live in the UK! And for me, it was the best decision that I ever made. We moved over one week after our wedding and we started looking for a house right away, I got a job, it all went like clockwork. It was a very exciting time and a very exciting decision!!! I hope it goes well for you!!

I had already lived overseas for nearly 3 years when I moved here so it wasn't that big a deal.  I had lived away from my family for 5 years at that point and we were all used to it.  I was very excited because I had wanted to live in London ever since I was in my teens.

However, the grass is always greener on the other side.  I moved here on April 28th 2006 and by december, I had already decided I was moving back to the US.  Thank goodness my husband agreed! 

June

I was more excited than anything else and I haven't regretted my move once.  I've been bored, lonely, depressed, happy, excited...  I love it here but I would like to move again- France maybe...

Moving is difficult.  I moved from MA to SC and it was hard.  It was harder than my move to Manchester.  You need to be able to spend a lot of time in your own company.  It will be difficult to make friends and you just need to join in on things.  Local quiz night at your local, knitting circle, baby groups anything that will get you involved in your local community.  To be honest it was only after I had Squidge that I felt like I was becoming a part of something. 

I'm excited. I'm going to start my life in the UK, I'm going to leave everything here behind and not look back. I can't wait to do it.
I know that there will be times when I'll miss the US or other things I grew up with, but for the most part I know that I'm going to be happy with where I end up.