How did you feel about moving?

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.

Not to burst your bubble or anything but....I'm sure that's what most of us thought when we were moving over hear.  I daubt anyone moved thinking "I know I am going to absolutely hate it, be depressed all the time and want to move back in a few months but I'm gonna do it anyway".

I hope things work out for you.

June

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.

Glad to hear it - because I felt exactly the same and am happier with life here in the UK than I ever was in the US.  It can be done!   

Just a general question on how people felt about moving from one country to the other to be with their SO, leaving behind any family/friends/attatchments to relocate?  I'm in the process of moving to the UK within the next year, and I generally get so confused.  I have mixed feelings of excitement, and then fear about missing my family/home.  What about you, when you moved, your partner moved, or if you're going to move soon, too?

I was nervous, excited, sad and anxious.  Part of me didn't want to miss the opportunity to live in another country.  I loved London when we visited about 7 years prior.  The other part of me didn't want to leave my family and friends.  Also, I wanted my kids to be near their grandparents.  We lived in England for 1 1/2 years and even though we decided it was not the place for us...I'm glad I had the opportunity.  It was a great learning experience.

Lucky for me, I'd lived abroad before for years, often in some more 'exotic' locations.

Given that there was no real language barrier here, I found it easier than some of the other moves.

I moved over only intending on staying for a year, so everything was an adventure and I, luckily, made a good group of friends pretty fast.  It was only after being here for 2 years, leaving London for Inverness and having a baby that I started to feel a bit of a strain and angst about whether or not I wanted to be here long term.  It took a while to get over it, but now am very settled.

I have to say that it is nice people are glad that they moved. I am also moving to the UK for my SO but the countdown is now down to a few months. I am looking forward to it but I am also a planner so I am trying to think of all the scenarios that could happen and what I might need from here in order to deal with them. But I also think of things like if I wanted to on a weekend we can go to Paris or Ireland! You cant do that as easily from the states.

It is going to be hard to leave the family and friends behind but I am sure like other things we will all get used to it and find our ways of staying in touch. I think for some of my friends we may stay in touch more because we have to work more at it due to the distance.

I will have to let you know what I think after I actually move!! 

I moved far away from home the first chance I got.  I packed up and moved from Texas to New England.  And now I plan my move to the UK to be with my husband.  I am very much an independant spirit that way.

The reality of it is starting to settle in.  I adore the UK, always felt more at home there, than, well, "home."  But, I am getting nervous.  Nervous about not being able to find a good job and being really strapped for cash, not having any friends and feeling isolated, and basically having everything blow up in my face.  A lot of this is coming from rapid planning and being alone in the planning for the most part (only so much DH can do from the UK).

However, I am more excited than nervous.  I know and feel that my life is in the UK.  I love my husband and I love the UK.  Of course, it will take awhile for us to get on our feet. It would be the same if he came to the USA. 

But, I am ready, emotionally, to go.  Its time that a new chapter started in my life.  And I truly believe that anything worth doing is never going to be easy.

Dar, do you know where you're moving to yet (in the UK)?  I'm sure you won't have any trouble making friends!

I lived here for two years before moving to be with my husband.  I figured everything will be fine and in terms of culture shock, mostly, it is.  The problem we have is that since my dh owns neither a car, nor a house we are having a difficult time trying to decide what to do.  

We can really afford to rent a bigger place in Cambridge, we can't afford a house in the city, we can't afford to move out to one of the villages and buy a car.  We can't fit a baby into the place we have now, we really need a  bigger one just for the two of us.  So, do we move somewhere else in the UK, or to the states?  We are in limbo and it is driving me insane.  

I guess it would be different if my dh owned a house already or even a car but he doesn't and we are stuck.  The way things are we will never afford a house here and we make well over the average income.

I think this is such a hard question to answer since everyone is so different and coming from such different circumstances. For me moving to Scotland was a lot better in terms of homesickness, culture shock than a number of other countries I've lived in. I've found here to be the least 'anti-American' place I've lived in. I find the Scots are fairly laid back. Of course, there are problems everywhere and but I feel that I prefer to deal with the problems When I lived in Japan, that was the most difficult and some other parts I lived in Europe have been more or less difficult. Unfortunately, it's a slow adjustment process because face it, it takes a long time to make close friends. I've found for me that I can't live in small towns, I need to live in a big city. But that's what works for me and is my preference. I've found when I lived in the countryside in a foreign country I felt too isolated. My in-laws when I first moved here wanted us to take their flat in the outskirts of Edinburgh - I said to my husband why should we move out of town just so they don't have to go through the hassle of selling their flat? They were trying to move back into town as well. I think it's best to try to know where you like to live: big city, small town. Some of these little things help the process of acclimating.

The reality of it is starting to settle in.  I adore the UK, always felt more at home there, than, well, "home."  But, I am getting nervous.  Nervous about not being able to find a good job

Dar, I have some of the same fears as you do--especially about what kind of job I'll find and if I"ll have fun with it.  I've always liked going to work as long as I had fun and friends there.  That's why I stuck with my last job for many years--not for the pay (it wasn't much!) but for the environment.  Things may be totally different in the UK.

But I truly beleive if you are following your hear and your gut it won't "blow up in your face".  It may be hard though, like you said.

Tonight, on the eve of me going to NYC to (hopefully) get my fiance visa I took a walk around my city (Philadelphia).  I looked at things with the eyes of someone not from here--wondering how my fiance would take it all in.  It had a beauty and bittersweetness to it that wouldn't have been there, most likely if my circumstances had been different.

Could it be I'm homesick before I have even left? 

Dar, do you know where you're moving to yet (in the UK)?  I'm sure you won't have any trouble making friends!

Leicester.  But that is only if I don't land a job before I come over.  I've applied for jobs mostly in Yorkshire (we can have coffee on weekends!) and a couple down South.  If I keep my current job (also a possibility--writing a proposal for my boss at the moment), then we will probably move outside of Leicester.  Wow, I just re-read what I wrote and it looks like, well, I am in limbo. Still!  I will have a better idea in the next few weeks, I am sure.

Could it be I'm homesick before I have even left? 

Andee, we will both be fine.  It may not be easy.  It may not always flow perfectly, but, it will work out. 

And yes, you can be homesick before you have even left!   I sorta had that feeling today as I was packing and planning, etc.  I looked around my condo (I love this place-period Victorian house set in loads of trees) and thought, I am going to miss my trees, all the natural light, and the beauty of the sun setting and casting reddish glow across the pitched ceilings.  So, yeah, I know how you feel!

Good luck with your visa tomorrow!  I am sure you will be fine.  I will be following soon.  Just waiting on the letter from his employer to verify his salary (I want the application to match the letter) and then it will go in this week and I'll make an appointment for the end of the month.  Eeek!

Crossing all crossable bits for you! 

Haha, anyone near/going to be near Scunthorpe? BE MY FRIEND! lol :-D

Haha, anyone near/going to be near Scunthorpe? BE MY FRIEND! lol :-D

hey, it's only an hour away on the train from sheffield- not far at all!

Haha, anyone near/going to be near Scunthorpe? BE MY FRIEND! lol :-D

I'll be your friend!  Is Scunthorpe anywhere near Leeds?

Andee, we will both be fine.  It may not be easy.  It may not always flow perfectly, but, it will work out. 

And yes, you can be homesick before you have even left!   I sorta had that feeling today as I was packing and planning, etc.  I looked around my condo (I love this place-period Victorian house set in loads of trees) and thought, I am going to miss my trees, all the natural light, and the beauty of the sun setting and casting reddish glow across the pitched ceilings.  So, yeah, I know how you feel!

Good luck with your visa tomorrow!  I am sure you will be fine.  I will be following soon.  Just waiting on the letter from his employer to verify his salary (I want the application to match the letter) and then it will go in this week and I'll make an appointment for the end of the month.  Eeek!

Crossing all crossable bits for you! 

Thank you, Dar