Hello All!

Hi guys!

I'm very new to the board and thought I'd write in to say hello!  My husband and I are considering moving back to the UK from Austin, Texas.  My husband is British and I spent six months there with him.  I'm kind of nervous about the whole thought of this move (even though we're not sure we'll do it), because I'm scared that I'll miss my family here too much.  I love the thought of English summers, concerts in London, cheap air fare to various places in Europe etc...  But I get so freaked out and overwhelmed with looking for a house, car, job etc...  How did any of you come to the conclusion of saying, "YES, I'm going to move!"?  I guess I'm nervous about starting over again!  Especially with the house prices the way they are!  My mother-in-law is selling her house in Hertfordshire, and I know it would be a lovely place to live and raise a family, but how in the world do people afford to purchase property in England?!?!     There are so many pros and so many cons and basically, I think if I told my husband, YES I want to go, then we'd be off after we sold everying!  Can anyone help me?

Thanks! 

Hi and welcome to UKY.

How did any of you come to the conclusion of saying, "YES, I'm going to move!"? 

My English husband was working in Chicago when we met and got married.  We moved here because his company transferred him back to England, so the choice was made somewhat for us. 

There are so many people on this site who have come to England for various reasons whether it be work, education, love or a change in lifestyle.  I'm sure people would love to share their stories!

Yes, housing is expensive compared to most parts of the US.  For some people this is a big issue, for others it's not.   Some people love it here, others find it difficult and some people go back and forth!  It's a very personal thing.  Fortunately, you have the benefit of having been here for six months so whatever decision you and your husband make, I'm sure it will be well thought out.

I'm not sure whether I've shed any light on your dilemma for you, but I do know how difficult it is making these decisions.  When we were still in Chicago and the transferred thing came up, we had a list with two columns "pros" and "cons" which hung on the fridge for several months.

Keep posting your questions as you think of them and we'll be sure to answer as best we can!  Good luck!

Kellie

Welcome!!
you will find many wonderful helpful people here. I can't believe the amount of respons I have gotten from UKY already. It nearly rivals my other online family at www.yesfans.com..its amazing the bonds that can be made!

My decsion is purley based on a drastic change needed in my life, a love of all things UK and my heritage, thankfully my Mum is still a UK citizen so citizenship for me is quite simple, timely, but simple. I've always wanted to go! only now do I have the guts to do it. My parents are moving to Tennesse to retire, living in the UK would actually be closer to them than staying in California..LOL..so my family isnt an issue, Im single, with no ties...(seems rare on this site..hehe) and Im ready fo an adventue...

Everyone here is so helpful...please investigate this site..its so vey worth it!

Scott

Well.. first welcome and secondly.. it's never easy.  Leaving what you know for the great unknown is even scarey for us seasoned expats.  My solution was to try to find something to do for myself while here.  I am going to school to do a PhD.

I can't tell you it was an easy decision to make and I have only been here a month so far so can't tell you about the homesickness yet.  So far I miss my mom and dad but they still call me almost everyday so that helps a lot.  Got to love that 5 cents a minute!

I think the idea of a list is the best.  Sit and talk and whatever you do don't live with regret.   

All of your information is so helpful!  I desperatley want a change, but then I'm thinking I need to do it for all the right reasons.  I know my husband would love it, but he'd also be hesitant about the house thing.  I'm trying to pray about it and see what ends up happening but I kind of get excited at the thought!    I like the thought of something new, new things etc...  But when I talk to my sisters and we just talk about getting together or birthdays, things of that nature, I think, "how can I live without them!".  I think this will definatley get many hours of thought and consideration.  How do you guys cope with no family around?  Especially like little ones, nieces, nephews all the kids you're close to? To me, that would be the hardes part.

How did any of you come to the conclusion of saying, "YES, I'm going to move!"? 

Hi there -- I'm still over here in texas with you, wondering exactly how it is we're going to figure out all that stuff, but my wife and I are determined to move anyway! My wife has never been to Britain, but even so is almost even more ready to move than I am. We both think we'd be twits if we didn't jump on the opportunity to live over there! I have a lot of apprehension about keeping afloat over there, but when I lived in Austin I barely kept afloat there and loved every minute of it.

What we are seeking is a change of environment, climate, scenery, lifestyle, etc, and the wife wants to go back to school while I want to try for a better living as a visual artist.

And also, we double dared each other! Can't back out of that; nope.

Also, the area we have chosen to try to penetrate as our home, the Bristol/Bath area, seems to have all the elements of my favorite places in the United States with a better climate than any one of them. But I like the hell out of mild grey winters.

Wow that is so cool that y'all are just ready to pack up and leave!  I would love to be able to move to maybe the Wimbledon area.  We've got family in that area and everytime we go, I can't get enough of it.  I know that area in particular is outrageoulsy expensive and for good reason too!  I want a change in scenery as well.  I'm in a job I hate, and getting frustrated with things here.  But I just need to make sure I don't have any regrets if we do decide to go.

When will you two be leaving Jim Fat?

I'm going to go over in the first week in September. I haven't bought my ticket yet, but will probably have that taken care of by tomorrow. I'm going over by myself with a little money in my pocket and no place to stay. I am going find the first job I can, although there is also a good chance I will take a one-month unpaid internship first, so that makes the financial thing a little scary. Then again, I won't know anybody there, so I can work two jobs or something...

I am hoping that in three month's time I will have been able to find a reasonable living and employment arrangement that will satisfy my wife's visa requirements, and then bringing her over with the cats in early December. That's the plan the way we've got it now, money issues may push it one way or the other, but more or less we are hoping to be in Britain and on our feet for the New Year. I know it seems kind of risky, but we both have a big forward push going right now, and we both agree if we wait any longer it may never happen at all.

My wife has never been to Europe, but has travelled extensively in Latin America, and has no apprehension in going over 'sight unseen.' That's good, because I definitely feel 'the call' right now, and she is letting it envelope her as well. With her good attitude, we can't lose. And we figure that even if it all goes sour and we hate it and get peppered with rotten fruit whenever we walk the streets, that we can easily just stick out the three years it will take for the wife to be able to get a UK/EU Passport and move on to another fine EU nation!

At first, we were looing at moving to London, but I could tell that my wife had a little apprehension about life in a city bigger and more expensive than NYC. We took a look around and found Bristol/Somerset to be much more cozy but to have those urban things we both need access to. And it's much cheaper, and there is less distance between Bristol and London than there is between Houston and Austin -- so London is always close by too.

I personally have been tempted by what many people on this forum have said about the north and midlands - like Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, York, Nottingham - but I can tell the wife is a little intimidated by the Legend of Northern Weather. To me, it looks cool! But the wife saw some pics of Bristols bridges and gorges and green spaces and fell in love -- so off we go!

Wow Jim!

You're really going in it feet first eh!  Good on ya!  How are you going to get your pets over there?  If you're doing the pet passport thing, please tell me how that goes, I'm most interested.  Are you English?  Gosh, I wish my husband and I were more like that.  We're both the type that thinks things through to death!  But I'm thinking more and more of London.  We were just there in May and I'm ready to go back!

We're taking our pets over by American Airlines out of Dallas. Continental flies out of Houston, but they seem to be booked for pets through next year. AA out of Dallas said they have room when we talked to them, and it will cost close to $200 less per pet to transport them. We are doing the PET Scheme, and the cats' OK date to travel is in November. Lost of good threads on PETS on this forum, by the way. Some of the 'pioneers' of the program!

I was born in Pennsylvania, but my dad was born in the UK and so I was able to get a British passportlast year. That was a rare stroke of exceptional good luck!

We've been planning our trip for two years or more, I think. We had a loooooong engagement and just got married - getting the ball rolling with the wife's visa after I hit the ground in Britain. There's a lot that's left to chance yet, but the internet has really helped us figure out our gameplan -- this forum most of all.

I know what you mean about London. I'd be happy to live in the middle of a roundabout in London!