Husband of VA to Gloucester

Hi People,
though it was time for a formal introduction.
I am the UK citizen but my wife is from Virginia, and having read so many of the forum posts i thought i would put in my 2 cents.
So here is our 'life story'

We first met way back in 1997, on something called Yahoo Chat...remember that?!
yup, just two random people in two random chat rooms...
so we started chatting and over the years we became friends, then dating, then engaged, and eventually in 2008 we married. (well i say 2008)
What we actually did was marry in the US on paper in Nov 2007, then applied in advance for a residency visa (which took 48 hours) and then went back out the the US to have the ceremony proper in May 2008. (not everyone knew about the paper marriage)
The plus side of this, (other than a free honeymoon) was that i was able to help my new wife pack up her stuff, and ship it out, before both flying back to live in the UK full time:
The downside of this it turned out, is that there was a 2 month gap between the tempary visa expiring and the 2 year residence requirement for the permanent right to remain applications... (but that's for another thread)

We have now been living in the UK for 6 years, and for the most part it's been great..
my wife still gets home sick, especially missing her friends back home, but this has been made up for by many trips to europe, astounding her UK friends with 'weird' American foods like Cream Cheese frosting, and maple syrup on sausages!! and the ability to obtain Cadburys chocolate 24 hours a day.
So even though i'm not technically a UK Yankee, and since i've already had some great advice on here, though i would be able to give you the view from the other side of the pond  aswell as our experiences regarding the moving/immigration processes and general living in the UK

Thanks for your post!  Your wife's story makes me a bit less nervous about my impending move    My husband is from Dover area and we met in Las Vegas in 2011.  He moved here and we married and have been living here, but are now making the move back late summer/early fall.  I'm very nervous and am scared I'll miss home, but I have thought exactly of what you've mentioned...trips to places I'd never get to go might help out!

Hi texgirl.
Glad i could be of some help. I won't say it will be easy but i am sure it'll be worth it. Only found this site about a week ago myself, but looks like a friendly bunch. Lots of advice and friendly shoulders to cry on should you need it.
As for trips to europe...think you'll get to have plenty of opertunity living in Dover :-)) Plus that wonderful castle...and the rest of kent.
I am sure you are aware of just how small the UK is right? This definately works in your advantage if you only have the weekends available for trips away.
Two things i always tell Americans when they complain about our weather...4 week PAID vacation every year and upto 6 months paid maternity leave...so it's not all bad living in the UK...
Best of luck with your move.

Sent from my GT-I5500 using Tapatalk 2

Wow, you have just stated exactly what my husband and I keep saying!   We are hoping to have more opportunity to travel to US to visit my family than we have had to visit his family in the UK since he's been living here.  The lack of vacation time has been a big adjustment to him.