buying return or single for flights from US?

Hi Everyone,  What is the concensus for airfare ticket type , if moving to london ? It seems that for sometimes less then single i can buy a roundtrip ( ex. leaving for UK in july , scheduling a return to states in dec for holidays )
But I see how this will put me in a constant "one ahead planning mode"
What has everyone else found works for them ? anyone else using this method?
Thanks so much
Caroline and Brendan

You don't actually have to use the return ticket back to the states if you don't want to, so if it's cheaper, I'd go for it. I'm supposed to be moving to the states in January and I'm already planning on buying a return ticket, even though it's unlikely that I'll be able to visit the UK for several months after I leave - it'll be much cheaper than a single fare!

The return ticket gives you the option to fly back to the states in December if you wish, or you can just forfeit the flight and stay in London instead.

The online airfare price searchs always give you a lower fare for round trip then one way. I got a FAR better price after calling  around to about a half dozen travel agents. Only two of the ones I contacted found me a decent price, but they can be found. My savings was in excess of $250, so it was worth the phone calls.

The travel agent I elected to use also suggested I contact the airline to put a note on my file indicating that there was no problem with  only having a one way ticket on verification of my holding a valid visa. It  seems that the airport  I was flying out of didn't have alot of experience with international travelers and she had a previous client that was refused access due to lack of a return ticket. She went on to advise that the lack of a return ticket for a non-visa holder can cause  trouble at the point of arrival and airlines were often leary of getting stuck for the return flight if entry to the destination country is refused on arrival. That was also worth the phone call, but I doubt you'd need to  bother if you're flying out of someplace like LAX, JFK or ORD.

I've been doing this. I have a return planned for June but I couldn't find a cheap RT flight from the US to UK June to December so I ended up  booking a RT from UK to US instead in May for much less. I am still trying to decide if I want to pay the change fee and use it in December or just scrap it.

It does require planning ahead but it is also nice knowing when you will be back. It depends on your ties at home and whether you choose to afford it usually.

Thanks, everyone.

Looks like I'm going to go for the return ticket.  We actually just found a very good price for US Air in July, which is unusual.  I'll book the return date for December, but I know I can always do a change (for a fee, though) if I need to!

Caroline & Brendan

Just a bit of advice from an ex airline employee....
If youre planning on buying a supersaver fare and ditching the return DO NOT give any indication to anyone at the airport or the reservation agent that you plan on doing so. They can refuse to sell you the ticket.

Also, if you book a return ticket and only intend to use one leg of the journey, don't miss the outbound flight. If you don't show up for the outbound, the airline will cancel the inbound ticket as they will assume that you haven't travelled at all.

I almost got into this situation by booking a return from London to Albuquerque whilst I was in the US - I was intending on only using the second ticket to go back to London, but found out just in time that the ticket would be cancelled if I didn't on the first plane in London.