Moving back to America after living in England (a little advice)
Tell our readers a little bit about yourself:
I think I’ll call myself BigApplePie 
How long did you live in England and what brought you to the UK in the first place ?
I lived in North East England for approximately 4 and 1/2 years. I moved for love and married a ‘Geordie’. Unfortunately, our marriage did not work out and we were divorced 2 1/2 years after I had arrived in this strange country that I came to love.
What were the reasons you decided to move back to America?
This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. Being a musician, I worked very diligently to create a name and work for myself to support living on my own. However, I was thousands of miles away from my own family and felt a little lonely. In the Spring of 2008 I was offered a job that was located near where I grew up in America and I battled over making a decision to move or not. On one hand I would be working in a similar field, but on the other hand it was back to working 5 days a week. Saying ‘yes’ would meant that I was going to leave a career that I had built to return to my family and have a wonderful support system and spend holidays with them. Saying ‘no’ meant I would continue my career but would spend birthdays and special holidays away from my family. Also, during my decision making time, an intruder broke into my cottage and I had to turn to local friends for help. It made me a little scared to come home late at night when I was all alone.
I truly battled over this decision and with the economic downturn, I decided that if I ever wanted to try and move back to the states that this was the time to try. Moving with a job, was a better segue than just moving blindly back without the promise of work.
So after 6 months, I said ‘yes’.
How long did the process take to move back ‘home’?
Moving back was very straight forward. I decided to move in August and by October I was living and working in the US. My personal items arrived a bit later. I used Pickfords, the most amazing moving company in the UK, their US equivalent is called Allied. I arranged for sea freight and they packed up everything and started the move one month before I actually left the UK. I also went through the paperwork of moving with my large breed dog. This has been made very easy through a programme called PETS. However, it requires rabies injections and clearances 6 months prior to moving, so be prepared.
Now that you have moved back what do you miss about the UK, if anything?
The grass is always greener. I never thought that moving back to the USA would feel like moving to a new country, but I was learning things that I had forgotten and it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I actually hadn’t lived in the US for over 5 years because of my transition. Very quickly after moving, I started regretting leaving the UK. Even though my parents had been so helpful with arrangements, I just missed the independence I had created in the UK. The move did end up costing a lot more than expected and with the economy down the tubes, the exchange rate was NO longer in my favour… bummer.
I love that the UK has such wonderful customs and traditions. It always amazed me to arrive at a gig and find that I was performing in one of the oldest castles or an incredible stately home. The society is very ‘real’ and this reality is very touching. Meeting new people, whether rich or living on very little, there was an appreciation for life and music too which was a bonus.
Also, the UK’s national health system is amazing and SOOO easy.
What changes do you notice about yourself since you last lived in America?
I am a more polite driver and I am not as ‘fast-paced’ as other people my age. I realized that I had forgotten a lot of Americanisms, because I had changed some of my words and speech to ‘fit in’ in England… now I was being criticized in America, so I am learning how to speak all over again. No more boot of the car, right-hand drive cars (which I occasionally get in the car and sit there hoping that no one saw me get in on the wrong side!! LOL), pants/trousers, etc…
Anything you have noticed now that you didn’t notice before about America/Americans?
I see that the states is extremely competitive in work and life. There are fewer holidays and people are very ‘work-driven’. It is almost sad. Also, there seems to be this horrible threat of being ’sued’. I don’t understand this at all.
The other thing is that I find Americans are very wasteful. With the focus on becoming ‘green’ a few more Americans are starting to conserve but as a nation it is very disheartening to see the waste going on.
Any advice to other Americans in the UK that are thinking about moving back home?
Be sure of what you really want in tens years from now… make a choice based on your life, not your surroundings. There are things that I miss about both sides of the pond and I am still unsure about my choice but everyone is different. But make sure you visit ‘back home’ before you take the plunge… things might have changed and your views might have changed too.
Any chance you will return?
This is something I am still seriously considering. Stay tuned…
What have you noticed about American men in comparison to the UK guys (I asked this because we get asked that a lot)
I am probably the worst person to answer this… but generally there are good, respectful men and the opposite in both countries. Always remember to look at their family values… how did they grow up and how do they treat their mothers!!
Thanks so much!
(Thinking of making the move back to America yourself? You might also like this post)
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WHAT AN AWESOME POST!!! I love the interviews you do, Peacefulyorkshire…
This has seriously gotten me thinking…
I just want to clarify one thing – to move a pet BACK to the US you do not have to have PETS or wait 6 months. We moved back this year with our 2 cats and all it requires is up to date rabies, and even that varies by state. If you plan on returning to the UK then you want to keep your PETS passport up to date. And that process, which we also did moving over to London, actually takes 7 months from start to finish.
Oh I recognise this so much. A few years ago I moved back for family reasons. I knew it would be a temporary stay, and it lasted for about 9 months but it was quite a learning experience. I had never actually been a householder in America before and I just didn’t know how things are organised. and many of the things I thought I i knew didn’t apply any more.
I realised that I had come to associate my old home town with carefree memories from my youth and holidays, and reality is a bit different. I also became much more aware of the debt of gratitude I had to my wife and her family for making my move to London much easier for me than I had ever realised.
But it was a great experience overall and good to have a boost of “Americanism”.
What an incredibly interesting post! I have been asked many, many times if I would move back to the States and my answer is always, ‘Honestly? No!’ because I really have come to love it here… (which is always met with quizzical looks and ‘OH MY GOD, WHY NOT?!’ because I think a lot of Brits think all the streets in the US are paved in gold and sunshine!) However, I think there’s a part of me that thinks there may be a point in time that I’ll want to return and actually scares me. Maybe even more scared of my original move to the UK because I wasn’t EXPECTED to fit in straight away but moving back to the States, after being away for so long – would I still fit in? Would I have to re-learn being ‘American’ as BigApplePie did? So thought-provoking. I really wish BigApplePie the best of luck in her move back home and remember that all our experiences make us who we are so embrace those little unique ‘Britishisms’ because after all, that’s who you are now
Again another excellent observation Redlilocks! You’re quite right in saying: “I think a lot of Brits think all the streets in the US are paved in gold and sunshine”
Sadly for the UK, there is a lot of truth in that. According to the UN, the USA has the 15th highest standard of living in the world– whereas the UK is at 21st ranking…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_Human_Development_Index
Maybe we’re all better off moving to Canada
I think I could rock a blog called ‘She’s Not From Vancouver’… who’s with me?
Hi All,
Just wanted to reply to ‘andrea’ and others… I did get my dog ready to travel, under the PETS scheme, however I was only required to bring a health certificate to the airport. I couldn’t believe it. However, the paperwork to enter the UK is absurd and having PETS is a dream come true. I would recommend and dog/cat that will travel internationally to carry the PETS passport, as it is proof of all injections, especially the rabies.
Hi, I met a british soldier whilst he was on adventure training in yosimite in 2001. We fell in mad love and got married very quickly. Within four months of meeting I found myself confused, alone and living in Tidworth, Wiltshire England (my visa and move over here is a whole other story, let me know if you want to hear it).
My husband was then posted to Kosovo for a 6 month tour and I was on my own. OMG, I had to find a job and as I didnt have a clue on distance and area it was a distressing challenge to say the least, not to mention every time I hit a roundabout I had no idea if I was heading south/north/east or west, lol. 30 miles in the UK is nothing like traveling 30 miles in the states and thats a fact! It did get easier though and now I am a profficient driver and know my areas very well. The fact I didnt have to worry about health insurance was so strange (you just dont have the same worries over here as you do in America) I can’t tell you how weird and difficult it was for me to learn how to drive on the tiny streets (every time I passed a Lawry/truck I thought for sure I was going to die, lol).
I have now lived with a British soldier for 9 years and it has been a challenge for sure. There are so many experiences I would love to share with you but I will keep it to the topic. My husband is retiring from the Army soon and like so many other ‘pro-America Brits’ my husband has fantasized about living in America. Me, I would definately prefer UK, I absolutely love my British in-laws. I am a very easy-going individual and really I dont mind flexing to his dream, so here we are looking to move back. Where do you bloody start?
We would love to pick the state and start the dream but the reality of the current down turn means I must find a job first. So where/how the heck do you start? I have two cats and a 17 year old and a 6 year old. I will go ahead of my husband so that we have a constant income. I am looking to move towards the end of 2010 any useful advice?
i left america for political reasons. i always think about moving back to america, but each day it seems less and less likely, especially with all the new rules going on there. i guess america had always been authoritarian now that i think about it, but it is just gone too far now. i cant believe they are arresting people for going in through the airport exits now. people are just getting locked up left and right. there are alot of things and people i miss about america, but i just dont see a future for america.