New Member! NYC to UK...Maybe?

My thirst for knowledge demanded I look up "perineal stitches"....

Just so long as it didn't pull up an image!!   

Sadly in my area, only the first follow up visit is done in the home.  All others you have to go to them.  I get it, the NHS is strapped and cuts have had to be made.

It is definitely nice that they come to you for the first visit though!

I believe if you have no option, they will still arrange a home visit.

My health visitor was also super nice.  Her new daughter in law was American and she was asking me what she could do to help her feel more at home.  I thought that was very kind!

That's indeed depressing that it's so much has changed. I had to have planned c-sections for my children so my lovely Australian health visitor came by for 45 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday for four weeks.


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Just so long as it didn't pull up an image!!   

Well of course I did.

Funny thing, at first it was like damask wallpaper, the Google image page,  all the single images sort of creating a larger pattern. 

But I'll tell you....Here's to you mother's out there!!

Well of course I did.

Funny thing, at first it was like damask wallpaper, the Google image page,  all the single images sort of creating a larger pattern. 

But I'll tell you....Here's to you mother's out there!!

Each one teach one.

I'll never be the same again...

Too much information!!!

@jimbocz no those are great questions!

The daycare one is the same except my boss her daycare closes at 7:30pm so as long as she's there before then she's good, I don't have children so I'm not 100% sure but I would assume if she's late they charge her a fee for the staff having to stay late and maybe call social services but can't confirm that.

I work in advertising at a pretty big firm, we have busy seasons and slow seasons, so during a slow season I work 9am til 6pm (which it annoys me that in NYC 9-6 is normal not 9-5 but there's not much I can do), during slow seasons I leave my apartment at 8am and get home at 7pm, walk the dog and then eat dinner around 8pm with the husband.  During busy seasons which are really only the first few weeks of the new quarter (so 6-8 weeks a year about) we work from 9am til 9 or 10 at night to get everything completed in time for production for new creative etc. Those nights usually our team orders dinner to be delivered and the company pays (nice perk) and my husband is on his own for dinner.

I will also say I work at a pretty "progressive" company for USA. I get 2 weeks of paid vacation and 17 bank holidays. My husband gets 2 weeks paid vacation and 10 bank holidays. I get 4 weeks of paid maternity leave (my company meets FMLA guidelines so I can take up to 12 weeks but the final 8 will be 0 pay), and my husband gets 4 weeks of paid paternity leave. Also my husband works at a different company in a different field just fyi

From my understanding and my husbands experience when he worked in Leeds the UK work life balance is much much better

Your descriptions of working times and days off is not that far from what you would find here.  We might work less but commute more. 

My commutes anywhere from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hr 45 mins. Would the avg commute in U.K. Be longer than that?

My commutes anywhere from 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hr 45 mins. Would the avg commute in U.K. Be longer than that?

Hard to say about the average, but that's roughly in line with every commute I've had. 

It really sounds to me like the transition from New York to London won't be so big. 

If you move here and think you will eventually have kids, look into Twickenham.  It's worked out well for us.

I agree with Jimbo.  Commute time seems comparable and working hours seem comparable too.  I usually manage to leave the office by 6pm and log back in after my kid goes to bed to finish things off.  I'm in finance so quarter end and the start of a new quarter is insane.  Again, only part of the quarter not the whole thing.

Everything I've heard about the North and Scotland seems to be much better than the rat race down here in the Southeast of England.  I'd aim to head back to Leeds where you said your husband is from?  I've always heard that Northerns are friendlier (don't get me wrong, people are friendly here, just hard to make FRIENDS, if you know what I mean.  Seems easier in the North and Scotland).  Cost of living is much lower, seems working hours are more reasonable, etc.

We live in the Northeast and have been very happy - made lots of friends (though not the kinds of friendships we had in the States), the work/life balance is great, very family-friendly area.

This has been a really great thread to read as my husband and I plan to move back to the States. If my husband had the equivalent job in the States, he'd be working 60 hour weeks and weekends, when here he's home by 5:30 and very rarely works weekends. The NHS has been excellent to us on the whole. Really if it weren't for our families, we'd probably try and stay here. But we both come from close-knit extended families and want our kids to have the same experience. Plus our parents aren't getting any younger and I want my kids to spend as much time with them as possible while they can.

Haha I get what you mean @kfdancer

My company only has on office in London so I think our short term plan would be move there for a few years then move up to Leeds or Yorkshire somewhere.

My husbands office is in london and Manchester so that makes Leeds more appealing. He refuses to live in Manchester because they are his football teams biggest rival haha

He grew up in bridlington near Scarborough. But went to uni in Leeds.

We're going to sit down this weekend and make some excel spreadsheets; really figure out if we can make the salary cut work; I think from yalls responses and other things I've seen on the forum the salary will be the biggest adjustment. At least for NYC to London

I'm a bit baffled about the salary concerns, here and on another thread.  The fact of the matter is that if you guys move here and both get the same kind of jobs you've got now, you can live comfortably.  In the centre of London it might be tighter, but if you commute you can certainly live fine.  All the British people do it and it doesn't matter to them that people in the states earn %25 more for the same job.  The have the same amount of stuff and the same cars as the Americans, the only difference is the size of the houses.  I guess my point is that there's no point crying over a low salary when you won't feel it once you are here. 

Don't forget to factor in that if you can buy a house, it will gain in value as much as your salary. 

The real downsides you should be concerned about are the fact that your friends and family from the states won't visit and your kids will grow up not knowing your parents.  Your kids will also be proper British and know little about American culture.  When they get older, you won't be able to afford to fly them back to the states.

So spoke to HR and found out what my salary would be in London and it's 20,000 pounds less than what I make now. With the cost of living in London being fairly comparable to NYC I think my husband and I will feel an approx. 40,000 pound cut in salary. Yes we'll be able to live/get by but it will be a huge adjustment in our lifestyle.

Of course you would feel the cut.  I didn't have a paycut when I moved here and I felt a massive difference in disposable income (granted, I didn't come from NYC and had a much more reasonable cost of living in the US).  You do adjust though.

I'm lucky.  My parents have always committed to me to visit annually and I've committed to them that I'll visit annually.  We've actually done much better than this in reality.  But my case is rather rare.  I know many expats who are not fortunate enough to receive regular visits from their parents.  And their budgets simply don't allow them to return to the US.  I am grateful for what I have and am able to afford - no doubt.

I leave for my annual trip to the US tomorrow - woo hoo!  I'm headed to Clearwater, which is where my parents live and I grew up.  But today is my brother's 40th birthday (he's in Boulder).  My parents flew in to surprise him and there is a big surprise party tonight.  I got a LOT of pressure to go.  But it would have added £2,000 to the cost of our trip.  Plus a 7 hour time difference with a 2 year old is no joke.  Not to mention a car and hotel (which we fortunately don't need at my parents).  The cost was just too high.  Yet, I'm bummed to be missing these events!

One thing I have found living overseas - everyone thinks because you live overseas you must be LOADED.  While you will certainly meet your fair share of expats in London who are VERY well-off - most are just making do.  No matter where you live, it's all about budgeting and living within your means.  I personally believe that living in both the US and UK have their pros and cons.  I do not believe one is superior than the other.  It is truly individual preference.  For me, it's quite equal.  Though maybe the US beats the UK a bit.

A very accurate website for seeing what your take home pay will be is this one.  Could help with your discussions.  http://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/

One thing that has remained very hard for me to adjust to in the UK - the times stores close here!  My local Boots has recently extended their weekday opening hours - all the way to 5:30pm.     Considering I never get out of the office before 6pm, that really doesn't help!  Probably a different story in London though.  They have Mexican food too!  I'd probably be much happier if I had access to a burrito and a margarita whenever I wanted.