Anyone moved back to the UK?

[Cam54 84]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

Depends on which sources you read, I suppose. The latest I have seen is that the U.K. spends £125 billion on the NHS, which is roughly $160 billion. The US spends $600 billion on the military but with a population 6 times the size of the U.K. 

 

My “issue” with state-funded healthcare is that the taxpayer pays for it every month, whether they use it or not. Aside from my ongoing need for my epilepsy medication, I’m a very healthy person and can’t remember when I last had the need to see a doctor for anything other than regular epilepsy check ups. I prefer only having to pay when I use it, not paying for it every month, regardless of my usage. My husband had three major surgeries last year. For two of them there is a very long waiting list in the U.K. - total knee replacement. He had both knees replaced within six months of each other and the first one was done with 6 weeks of the doctor deciding that everything else wasn’t working and this was the only solution. That 6-week period wasn’t a waiting period, it was the necessary time required to complete various pre op measurements etc and also because I needed time to get things ready for his recovery.  To think if we lived in the U.K. he’d probably still be in the agonizing pain and unable to walk like he was pre-op is heartbreaking. 

 

I have just converted my US salary to pounds and run a calculation to see what I would pay in taxation and national insurance and I’d be much worse off than the sum of my deductions here, including my healthcare out of pocket maximum. I also live in a state with no income tax. 

 

I get 4 weeks off a year here in the US and it will be increased to 4.5 next year (having completed 3 years with the same employer). Perhaps a change of job would help? Not sure what part of CA you are (apart from coastal) but we have employees at LAX who get the same time off as I do. My employer also pays my healthcare premiums at 100% and puts $1000 a year into my HSA. So there are great employers here. 

 

I’m not trying to deter you from moving back. I just think there is a tendency among us Brits (and I’m guilty of it too, from time to time) to view life in the U.K. with a nostalgia for a life we would not have if we were to move back permanently. 

 

In short, it’s not perfect here. But it’s not perfect there either. 

I agree, its hard not to romanticize life in uk so we have 2 trips there over next couple years where i feel like I can try and gauge how i would feel there if moved back. I also need to figure out where my baby boy would have tthe best life, like will the good weather make up for having no family around etc 

[wbeem 568]

On 6/21/2019 at 2:25 PM, Cam54 said:

I miss my 4 plus weeks vacation a year and having family close to hang around with 

UK - born free, taxed to death. 

USA - live free, worked to death

I hear ya!  I was always horrified that my husband whose job at the time we got married was a director only got 10 paid vacation days a year. I worked for a law firm where we had 20 working days, all bank holidays plus the period between Christmas and New Year. 

The irony is that since we got married, he has a new job where he is much happier and gets pretty much what I was getting in the UK for vacation time. I, on the other hand, get zero paid vacation so I am free to put in for unpaid days off, but where's the fun in that?!  And I work most of our precious few holidays here. 

That said, I LOVE my life here so much more than I did in the UK and I am blessed to have my husband's mom nearby and she is a sweetheart and takes good care of all of us as her own.  I think a LOT depends on where you live, both financially and socially.  Also the stage of your life has a bearing on how you feel.  Our daughter is 17. When you're juggling work and a baby and still trying to establish yourselves, it can be really tough.  

Things may change and your view may change over the next few years.  Or maybe not and perhaps then you'll decide to give the UK a try together.  How would your husband settle in the UK though? THat's another factor to consider. That, as well as if he is not a UK citizen, you'd have to go through the whole immigration process and financial support stuff for the UK.  

I don't have an opinion on what you should or shouldn't do as only you and your family can figure out what's right for you.  Just throwing out some food for thought for you. Whatever you decide, if you are together with your family and the man you love, you can't really screw it up.  

[Cam54 84]

My husband is a very chill person and needs less than me in terms of emotional support so it makes sense for us to at least try England as I'm 5 years in now and still feel so lonely here, I just cant seem to make real emotional connections here or at least not enough to satisfy not having family. My husband isn't close to the limited family he has. All he requests from life in England if we move there is a local disc golf course lol. Seeing as the only thing making me hesitate is the climate I think it makes sense. Yeh the visa stuff will be a hassle but be worth it I think, and I have my citizenship so we can come back if needed 

[wbeem 568]

6 hours ago, Cam54 said:

My husband is a very chill person and needs less than me in terms of emotional support so it makes sense for us to at least try England as I'm 5 years in now and still feel so lonely here, I just cant seem to make real emotional connections here or at least not enough to satisfy not having family. My husband isn't close to the limited family he has. All he requests from life in England if we move there is a local disc golf course lol. Seeing as the only thing making me hesitate is the climate I think it makes sense. Yeh the visa stuff will be a hassle but be worth it I think, and I have my citizenship so we can come back if needed 

You need to be where you and your family are happy.  It may very well be the UK for you.  No harm in trying. If you love it, you'll be happy.  If you don't, like you say, you can always come back.