Wondering and hoping, is it cheaper to come back to US to visit than vice versa?

My husband has been here (USA) 9 years and in that time we've only been able to make two trips over to see his parents in Scotland with both of us and only one just him.  My family thinks I will never come home again once I get over there but I think (and hope) it will be much more possible for me to come home to the US to visit. It seems that it would be much cheaper.  What's your experience been?

I hate to burst your optimism but the cost of flights will be the same.  (At least we usually pay about £1300 for two tickets and my parents about $2000).  Add onto that, salaries in the UK are usually lower and cost of living is higher.  But if I remember correctly you are moving to Scotland which I think is much cheaper than where I am (SE England).  But I would imagine salaries are lower too.   

I think cheap flights are like unicorns.  Other people seem to find them but I have yet to see one.

Oh great, well, I guess I should have expected that.  I knew the salary would be lower but I think in general, at least according to my husband who's lived in both countries now, cost of living in Scotland is better than here.  I have my doubts about that because we currently live in a pretty economical place as far as places in the US go.  Of course with national health that is no longer a payment we'd have (other than taxes of course) and he says car insurance is cheaper but of course petrol is WAY more.  In reality it probably won't be much different, not that I expected to be rich in Scotland but a little less financial pressure would be nice!

Aye, but at least you'll have a minimum of around five weeks paid vacation from work. That's got to help when it comes to visiting back home.

I've found that when I lived in the US, I could afford the travel but rarely had enough time off work to do it.  In the UK, I have plenty of time to travel but not enough money to do it. 

eatoomey, that is definitely something I have NEVER experienced so that's a plus even if it's just time off at home. 3 weeks is the most I've ever had and that's after working at once place for a long time.  That kind of time off is unheard of here. 

Aquila that makes me want to cry! One of the biggest reasons I want to come to the UK, other than the place itself is to travel.  I could never afford to see Europe from where I live.  Hell I couldn't even afford to visit my in laws in Scotland from the US. 

I'm feeling pretty bummed

A few years ago, UK-US flights were cheaper than US-UK, but I think that has changed. In 2011, I paid £600 for two flights from London to Chicago, now it's more than twice that for just one! Even with being able to stay with my dad, we're struggling to afford a trip to my brother's wedding this summer.

I have actually found it cheaper to go UK to US. I think we paid about £600 each when I went in late January on British airways. Meanwhile all my flights from US to UK have always cost me about $1200 each.

DH and I are flying back to visit my family next weekend.

Our roundtrip tickets from London to Seattle with a short 30-minute flight to my hometown are £700 for each of us.

If we had ended our flight in Seattle, I think it was £100 cheaper, but it saves someone 2.5 hours of driving each way to get us from SeaTac Airport.

We bought our flights back in January after searching for a few weeks and we booked through British Airways.

Thanks all, there's so hope in there 

Aquila that makes me want to cry! One of the biggest reasons I want to come to the UK, other than the place itself is to travel.  I could never afford to see Europe from where I live.  Hell I couldn't even afford to visit my in laws in Scotland from the US. 

Oh, travel to Europe from the UK is definitely feasible.  I've been to various destinations in Europe several times since moving to the UK (both via rail and air) and it hasn't broken the bank.  I've definitely been able to see much more of Europe living in the UK than US, and it's been fantastic.

I was referring in my original post to US/UK travel.  When DH and I were dating (pre-2010) it used to cost about £500 for a ticket per person.  DH and I would visit each other relatively regularly before we got married with tickets at those prices.  Last time I visited family in the US a few years ago, it was about £1100 just for myself.  When I moved to the UK, I thought I would be able to visit the US once or twice per year... in reality, it's been about once every other year with ticket prices these days. 

Aquila that makes me want to cry! One of the biggest reasons I want to come to the UK, other than the place itself is to travel.  I could never afford to see Europe from where I live.  Hell I couldn't even afford to visit my in laws in Scotland from the US. 

I'm feeling pretty bummed

Luckily it’s very easy and cheap to visit Europe from the UK. For the cost of one flight from the UK to the US, you could probably fly to a European city and back 8 to 10 times. There are several very cheap European airlines – easyJet and Ryanair are two of them – with which you can travel to Europe very easily and cheaply.

I’m going to Italy next month for about £120 return from Gatwick Airport (would have been £95 return but I added checked baggage), and I just booked flights to Switzerland in October for £86 outbound and £29 return from Bristol airport (I could have got the outbound flight for £29 too, but the cheap flight wasn’t on the day I wanted)!

Yes Ksand!!!! That's what I'm talking about!!! And that's what we thought so now I feel much better! Of course I do want to be able to go home to visit but a very big part of this move is to see the countries I love in depth, England and Scotland to start with and I know that's doable there is sooo much to see. I also want to see Amsterdam and Italy and the South of France. Every time I've been over to the UK we see flights for so cheap to Rome etc.    I am just hoping it's not too terribly hard for me to get a job.  I know if I don't it will make traveling more difficult but at the very least we'll be able to take weekend trips to the surrounding areas.  I really can't wait to get there!

Although salaries are less here in the UK, the pound is stronger than the dollar so its somewhat of an offset for me. We've also learned which shops are less expensive so tend to food shop in them and for clothes as well.

I love charity shops and always find great deals. I have 4 weeks off from work and have already made plans to travel during them! Petrol is more expensive than in the US but cars are better made with smaller engines so you tend to get more miles for your money.

I don't think I could ever live in the US again, I do miss certain things but am in love with the UK.

We found flights for a wedding over the Summer for 600 pounds each (To Texas)

Keep an eye out for online deals!  Last year we found a roundtrip flight direct from Heathrow to Dulles for my DH from 3 July-16 July for £400.  The deals are out there but you have to be vigilant about checking for them.  Also, use your incognito browser when checking.  I once noticed a $700 difference in price for the same flight on the same site when checking between my normal browser and the incognito browser.