Hello from Virginia

Hi Everyone!  This site is great but I'm afraid it's making my decision to stay here or move to Scotland a little more difficult.  I wonder if I could make it without my cat and dog.    Anyway this site will be a great help either way.  I promise to ramble more about my decision making process soon.  Thanks for a great site.

What part of Virginia?
Scotland is beautiful. Virginia has its good points too. I can see your dilema.

You can put your pets through quaratine; many on this site have and they can tell you what it was like.

What are your circumstances? Would a relationship bring you here, or a job? Or are there other things going on in your life that would enable you to just up and move to Scotland?

You may read on this site of people not enjoying themselves immensely after having moved here...many want to move back to the US. I love it here, and although I am a devout American, this is my home now. But I think I come to feel this way because I have always wanted to live in the UK. And this is different from those who ended up in circumstances that just happened to bring them to the UK (like meeting and marrying a Brit, or through a job assignment).

Taking that first step is a big one and not one to take without a great deal of thought and then a lot of closing of the eyes and just jumping. You're perhaps selling and giving away a whole previous life with the thought that if it didn't work out, you'll have to start all over again. That is not easy. And the folks you read about on this board, they're a bunch of really gutsy folk!

So...what brings you to wanting to move from Virginia to Scotland?

Hello virginia,

 how are you...welcome to the site...  I am at this moment your neighbor in Maryland...  close to Annapolis...  if you end up moving to Scotland I will be your neighbor again as I will be moving to very north eastern parts of England in Northumberland as soon as fiance and I are married.

 I love scotland...  took a tour around it back in 1998 and I found it to be some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen.

 which ever you decide...  best wishes and good luck

 What brings you to Scotland btw and where in VA are you now?

Michele

I'm from a small town in the western part of Virginia, very rural area.  Parts of Scotland reminded me a lot of my home.  My love interest, fiance after my Christmas visit (Ooops, I think I'm supposed to be surprised), lives in Aberdeen.  

I know I would enjoy myself there.  I believe that after obtaining a work permit I could find a job.  I work for juvenile court so surely Scotland has its fair share of delinquent children.  He's a telecoms engineer so it would be more difficult for him to find work here in Virginia.  We would probably end up moving to some other part of the US if he immigrated.

I guess my big issue is the quarantine for my pets.  Not only is it expensive but the thought of putting my 9 year old dog through the experience really worries me.  I keep checking the PETS site with hopes the quarantine for US pets will be lifted soon.  Last post said a decision should be made anytime now.

I hope my visit at Christmas will bring us closer to a decision.  We have plans to be married by the end of next year so I sure hope we decide which country by then.  

I'm from a small town in the western part of Virginia, very rural area.  ...

Hi Virginia!

I'm British, now living in Virginia, near a small town in the western part of Virginia, very rural area!  Small world huh?

My wife is from Wytheville, originally, and we are currently about half an hour's drive away.  We married in February 2000, and lived in London for almost two years, and for a few months in New York, before leaving and coming back here, at least until I get another job.

Whereabouts are you?   - PM me if you prefer.

ah yes Virginia, I definitely understand the pet worry...  I had 2 cats and I have still my dog of 9 yrs old also...  it was very hard for me to decide...  but my cats are already in new and very loving homes...  and my dog will be moving in with the ex and his new wife...  I just could not see putting her in jail for 6 months...  i did not feel it was fair for her...  and the cost is a bit more than we can do also... but mostly it was a desire not to jail her...  I had gotten her from the pound almost 9 years ago and promised her she would never be behind bars again.

michele

Hi Virginia.  I see you've "met" my husband, Mr. Val already.  I regret I didn't make it up to Scotland when I lived in the UK, but I had heard it was a bit like SW Virginia.  Richard did take me to visit Derbyshire and Yorkshire and I thought the mountains there looked a lot like home.  There was even a Speedwell, Speedwell Caverns, there.  My Mom grew up near Speedwell, VA in Wythe County.  I had my pic taken in front of the sign for the Caverns.

Some people do take their pets and have no problem doing it.  I think it really depends on how you think your pets would handle the quarantine period.  My gut feeling was that anything longer than 2 weeks would be detrimental for my cat's social and mental health.  I really didn't even consider it as my parents were willing to keep her until we returned to the US to live.  But hey, that's just me and my cat.  It works really well for some people.

Hi Val!  Nice to "meet" you.  It was so nice to find a couple in SW Virginia who have been through this all.  How long did you live in England?  Do you think the move there was easier for you than the move here has been for your husband ...or vice versa?  

The only part of England I've seen so far has been through a window at the airport.  There are so many places to visit in Scotland that we haven't made it down to England but I hope to one day.  Another one of my reasons for me to make the big move.

I've heard some horrible stories about older dogs becoming very ill after quarantine.  Like Michele said I just can't see putting her in jail for 6 months.  I'm sure someone in my family will come to my rescue.  Crazy as it may sound, my cat and dog are a pair and I couldn't face spliting them up for 6 months either.  I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that the PETS Scheme is adopted for North America so I don't have to make the decision.

Hi Virginia!

I'm British, now living in Virginia, near a small town in the western part of Virginia, very rural area!  Small world huh?

My wife is from Wytheville, originally, and we are currently about half an hour's drive away.  We married in February 2000, and lived in London for almost two years, and for a few months in New York, before leaving and coming back here, at least until I get another job.

Whereabouts are you?   - PM me if you prefer.

Good heavens, we're practically related - well, your wife and me. I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee, but my mother's family is from Rural Retreat (about 16 miles from Wytheville!) and I still have loads of relatives there and go there to visit every time I'm over. I spent as much of childhood in Rural Retreat as I did in Knoxville. My grandparents had a farm and my great grandfather, then my grandfather and then my uncle ran Lindsey's funeral home. I still have aunts and an uncle and lots of cousins there.
I have been in England for 35 years- 33 in the Midlands and now 2 and a half in Cornwall.
both of you will know Rural Retreat if you're from South West Virginia.
Susan   nice to meet you!!

Hi Virginia.  I see you've "met" my husband, Mr. Val already.  I regret I didn't make it up to Scotland when I lived in the UK, but I had heard it was a bit like SW Virginia.  Richard did take me to visit Derbyshire and Yorkshire and I thought the mountains there looked a lot like home.  There was even a Speedwell, Speedwell Caverns, there.  My Mom grew up near Speedwell, VA in Wythe County.  I had my pic taken in front of the sign for the Caverns.

Speedwell!!! That's definitely near Rural Retreat!! Well, pretty near.....
susan

Hi Susan, nice to meet you too. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we don't have some relatives in common.  And even more odd, my parents moved to Knoxville this summer.    I know Lindsey's funeral home and I have 2 cousins who grew up in Rural Retreat (aunt and uncle deceased and not originally from there).  I spent a fair bit of my childhood summer out at Rural Retreat Lake Park and Campground.  Loved the grill and the pool.  We got our Halloween Pumpkin from William's Orchard.  

Most of my mother's family was centered around Cripple Creek, Crockett, and Speedwell.  I regret that I don't know my mother's family better, but they were not as close as my father's.  My dad's family came from the eastern end of Wythe County - Ivanhoe, Austinsville, and Piney.  

Hi Val!  Nice to "meet" you.  It was so nice to find a couple in SW Virginia who have been through this all.  How long did you live in England?  Do you think the move there was easier for you than the move here has been for your husband ...or vice versa?

I lived in London for about 2 years.  I think it was easier for me to get a visa to take up residency in the UK than it was for Richard to get his visa for permanent residency in the States.  However, he has adjusted to living in the States more easily than I adjusted to life in Britain.  Some of that has to do with coming from a very small town in SW Virginia and moving to London, of course.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time in the UK, and would have happily spent a few more years there, but the time was right for us to leave and move to the US.        

The only part of England I've seen so far has been through a window at the airport.  There are so many places to visit in Scotland that we haven't made it down to England but I hope to one day.  Another one of my reasons for me to make the big move.

 I really enjoyed having the opportunity to travel and see places I would probably have never visited otherwise.  I had dreams of international travel before meeting Richard, but they didn't include a lot of the places I've now been to.

Hi, Virginia. I lived in Alexandria, Va., before I moved here, and Arlington before that. Mfredericka and I know Maryland very well, also. Unwarranted advice, but I will say this: Be absolutely sure the man you're with is worth giving up your country and living abroad. My hub is, but we still plan on moving back to the States within the next five years. One of my friends who traveled around Europe long before I'd seen it said it was beautiful, but she missed the States, even while on vacation. My hub laughs when I say, "It's a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there." Make sure you think it through, and good luck.

Hello Virginia~
I have been in the UK for 6 months. Upon rereading this post I see it comes across rather negatively.  That is not my intent.  My move to the UK came up suddenly so I did not have the benefit of researching some very important (to me) issues. Firstly, I left two kittens at home (cats now) and am anxiously waiting for news from DEFRA.   DEFRA are now (supposedly) close to a decision which would let the USA have the animal microchipped rather than the expense (and it is a HUGE expense) of quarantine.  I would suggest checking the link below if you have any questions.  I made the mistake of checking other sites that were supposed to be 'experts' at the quarantine process and discovered some were really misinformed about quarantine rules and regulations.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/

My saint of a husband agreed to bring my animals over but before leaving I was forced to make a heart breaking decision about my dog.  Are you aware that some breeds are NOT allowed into the UK? Also, my wonderful sister and brother-in-law are keeping the kitties for us until we can start proceedings to bring them over.  This wonderful gesture does bring up a whole other set of problems such as expense to the host family, vet trips, the general inconvenience of having to take care of some one else's pets, ect.

Moving overseas is not a decision to be entered into lightly...Many aspects of the life you know now in the USA are very different here.  For instance, many employment opportunities only offer contracts for a specified amount of months.  My husband works for a world class, billon dollar company under contract.  HOWEVER, a contract renewal (if the company even chooses to renew and that is a very nerve-wracking experience to go through) every 6 months is not sufficient to secure a mortgage or any other long term loan.  Housing prices are ridiculous and I feel our best chance of ever owning our own home is when we eventually move back to the States.

I hope you are not offput by this.  Rather, I hope you can glean some helpful advice and maybe think about things you had not considered before.  Good luck with everything especially with your animals :^)
Bogameal

Hi, Val
That's fascinating. We probably are related!!
I grew up in Lindsey's funeral home practically. My cousins and I used to play hide and seek amongst the coffins and dead people and thought nothing of it! My very own "Six Feet Under" childhood!!!!  
Rural Retreat Lake! Spent a lot of time there too. There are some steep hills on the way to the lake where we went sledding as kids.
I loved being a teenager spending summers in Rural Retreat as back then we still went on hayrides and I loved bombing around in the back of people's trucks. Some of the kids could drive at 14 because they were farm kids. We're Lutherans so I spent a lot of time at that beautiful Grace Lutheran Church on the hill.  The big farmshouse across from that church belongs to my family. An aunt cousin and his 3 children live in it now, but 5 generations have now lived in it. My mother and uncle and my Lindsey and Hackler ancestors are buried in the cemetary up the road high on the hill. Mountain View cemetary i believe it's called.
Ask your cousins who grew up in Rural Retreat if they knew any of the Lindsey children - Phyllis, Jamie, Calvin and Linda
or, depending on your cousins' ages, Chad and Cameron Vaught (Linda's children who are now grown)....
Funny old small world, isn't it??
Bye for now
Oh! That's amazing that your parents have just moved to Knoxville... I think they will like it there.
Susan