mariag 4 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 To all you who have moved abroad- what do you miss the most and do you have any regrets? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Do I have any regrets? None, I left the UK to start a new life in Australia in 1979, met my present wife who was on a tour of Australia from America and we hit it off. We got married in Reno the following year, she moved to Oz. After six years I decided it would be best to get her closer to her aging parents, so we moved to the states and I love it here. I do miss oxo's, Bovril, Cadbury's chocolate but even that doesn't taste as good as it used to! Sausage rolls, fish and chips, pork pies and pickled cabbage. But most of those can be had from the many Brit shops on line anyway. All in all, I have a better quality of life I could never have had in the UK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 No regrets. I went to South Africa in 1976, then to the States in 1978 after six months back in England. I do miss the countryside - especially Derbyshire, and especially country pubs - and being able to walk to the pub, but I have no regrets and certainly I would never have done the things I have if I had stayed in England. I will not say life here is better - it's just different. If you embrace the American way of life, you will love it. If you spend your time complaining that you can't get a decent cuppa, then you will hate it (no, you cannot get a decent cuppa, and if you want real beer, the best plan is to brew it yourself). Put it this way, if I lived in England I would not have learned to fly, or own two MGB's - but if I win the lottery I will certainly move back for part of the year - to a village in Derbyshire within walking distance of a good pub! I will have a new Triumph, and an old MG, and you will find me tinkering with the MG, or cruising the back roads in search of the perfect pub! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CookieGuy 1 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I moved to Naples,Florida about 5 years ago.It was incredibly tough going through the visa/immigration process(L1 visa)but we received our greencards early this year. We miss family and friends more than anything else.But things we do miss......pubs,curries,fish and chips.We miss going carp fishing and going to watch Notts County play footie.We also miss the English sense of humour!! It is a different way of life,but we don't miss Blighty enough to want to return. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I moved to Naples,Florida about 5 years ago.It was incredibly tough going through the visa/immigration process(L1 visa)but we received our greencards early this year.We miss family and friends more than anything else.But things we do miss......pubs,curries,fish and chips.We miss going carp fishing and going to watch Notts County play footie.We also miss the English sense of humour!! It is a different way of life,but we don't miss Blighty enough to want to return. Wha t do you do about Health Care? The Americans are great with the British whilst we are fighting along side them in various place in the world, but try and emigrate there and thats a different matter. Brits are one of the few nationalities that are excluded from the green card lottery. I was told that this may be due to the Irish lobby in the USA? As an American friend once said to me about filling in immigration forms "Nah! your better off floating in on an old inner tube" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Or sneaking in via Arizona or Texas from Mexico, I'm told millions migrate to the US every year that way. !laughing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I wasn't abroad long (Only 4 years on and off ) but the things I missed were a real nice "Ham cob" carved off the bone , I got SWMBO to bring some out to me when she visited me, oh and carpets . They don't have them in real hot climates and you find it's something you take for granted. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 My Geography was never my best subject, but Do Arizona and Texas border Mexico? And what if a Brit 'Asylum seeker' landed themselves in the US via mexico, would they be able to stay? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I do believe they do Mick along with California and New Mexico. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bip 88 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I moved out here just over a year ago now and didn’t have any problems with Visa’s or green cards nor did I have to be inoculated against Malaria it was just a matter of slinging me worldly goods onto the back of a friends Cart and dangling a fresh carrot in front of the old nag. The drawbacks were stopping every so often to shovel the manure into the bucket which when we came to our destination went straight onto the Rhubarb I brought with me from the other house. My Rhubarb is now the talk of the parish. My local shop is five hundred yards away that sells every thing that I shall ever want at a rip off price. There is never any shortages within the establishment, there is always plenty of oxo’s, Yorkshire tea bags, pork pies and daddies sauce on the shelf’s and if I want a drink of beer there is my local only five minutes walk away, so you see I have everything I could ever wish for apart from there is nowhere I can get a pint of Harvest Pale from apart from if I catch a bus to Beeston. Bip in sunny Sawley by the Trent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Mick - I don't think Brits are excluded from the "lottery", it is just that there are very few lottery assignments for Europeans in general, so getting citizenship through the lottery is tough going. Even with a visa, you can only get a "Green Card" if you can prove you are performing a task or service that cannot be done, or provided, by Americans - which is why it takes so long. Once you have a greencard, you can apply for citizenship after (I think) three years. I cheated - I married an American! However, that is not (IMHO) the cheapest route! Many Brits over here with Green Cards do not bother with citizenship - which is all very well as long as you do not plan on dying here(!). If you are not a citizen, any estate you leave worth more than $25,000 is taxable! If you are a citizen, the lower limit goes up to (I think) $750,000. There are not many homeowners who do not exceed the $25,000 limit! It was this little bit of info that made me become a citizen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mariag 4 Posted July 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Anyone been to Dubai? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Been to Abu Dhabi next door It's hot (So damned hot you can cook things in your pants) and when it rains (Which mercifully isn't that often) it rains!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frank 13 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Anyone been to Dubai? Certainly have Mariag. Loved it and had a wonderful 6 days there. If you like a tipple though it's not the best place to be. Wine is VERY expensive and beer is only sold in the hotels. Oh, and they have a McDonalds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
katyjay 5,091 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 What do I miss about the UK? Green fields [the 'greeness' knocks your socks off when you live in a fairly 'brown' area] flower gardens, trees with leaves on walking to the shops and walking round from shop to shop [here you drive from one to another] take away Chinese and Indian, pickled onions, pork pie, 'proper' sausage and bacon, a miriad of foods, but I have learned to live without them and don't think about them till I get over there, then I get my fill! My brother when he visits, brings HP sauce, picalilli, Branston, Marmite, Typhoo/PG Tips or Yorkshire tea bags, salad cream, jars of cockles in vinegar for the kids, Bisto granules. What I don't miss is the traffic, which is horrendous and getting worse by the visit, paying to park the car, and the crime rate. Oh and petrol prices. We think ours is bad [paying $4.09 a gallon right now, up from about $2.50 earlier this year] We got our green card in a lottery, 18 1/2 yrs ago, they allocated each country so many places but the Irish got the majority. Not complaining, seeing how we were drawn. We have not bothered to get citizenship. Apart from being able to vote, couldn't see the need, but now we need to get it. They changed the rules regarding social security, you have to be a citizen to draw it [from age 62 here, men and women]. We have paid into it for 22 yrs, so would really like to draw money out of it. Absolutely no regrets at leaving England, we came over here with the idea we would love it, and we did. But we also had the idea of 'if we really don't like it, we can always go back home, and say 'at least we tried'. We didn't want to get to old age and sit there bemoaning the fact we didn 't do anything exciting in our life, and wished we had. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 Did you know that you can re apply for your British Passport at any time. Born before a certain year it is free. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Mick - I don't think Brits are excluded from the "lottery", it is just that there are very few lottery assignments for Europeans in general, so getting citizenship through the lottery is tough going. Even with a visa, you can only get a "Green Card" if you can prove you are performing a task or service that cannot be done, or provided, by Americans - which is why it takes so long. Once you have a greencard, you can apply for citizenship after (I think) three years.I cheated - I married an American! However, that is not (IMHO) the cheapest route! Many Brits over here with Green Cards do not bother with citizenship - which is all very well as long as you do not plan on dying here(!). If you are not a citizen, any estate you leave worth more than $25,000 is taxable! If you are a citizen, the lower limit goes up to (I think) $750,000. There are not many homeowners who do not exceed the $25,000 limit! It was this little bit of info that made me become a citizen! Didn't know this about the taxable situation re. none citizens. Does that apply even if your half of the estate is left to your wife? Which it normally is anyway in law unless you have a will stating otherwise. Of course I don't plan on dying here anyway if I can help it. :-) Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 News to me on the Social security issue. When did that change? Apart from that no regrets about leaving the U.K. Not much I even miss anymore. It was another time in another century. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
katyjay 5,091 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 All I know is our accountant, a Welshman [so it applies to him too] told us it is about to change or, already has. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 No offence to our cousins over the pond ,but, any country that says "Give me your poor, weak " etc and then says no you can't come in, can go with out my business!! By the way when I was over there in 94 it 53 cents a gallon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Limey 242 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Reagan changed the Social Security, which made a lot of immigrants very angry - we paid the money in, why can't we get the benefit! Unfortunately, no vote also means no rights! I suspect that if your wife is American, and you die first, the tax thing doesn't count, but I'm not certain. Don't forget that the UK allows dual citizenship - so when you take US citizenship you can keep your British passport. I kept my fingers crossed when I took the pledge of allegiance, so it doesn't count! Funny story on the passport thing - the first time we went to England after I became a US citizen, I thought I would do the "nice" thing and stand in the long, non-UK citizen, line with my wife. When I got to the counter, the officer looked at me when I gave him the US passport and said "do you still have your British passport?" - I pulled it out of my bag and he gave me back the US one and said "you're still English, don't use this piece of junk", laughed and sent me on my way! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mariag 4 Posted July 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Been to Abu Dhabi next doorIt's hot (So damned hot you can cook things in your pants) and when it rains (Which mercifully isn't that often) it rains!!!!!!!! Yep its 50 degrees centigrade in july and august but falls to a nice mid 20s in the winter!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bip 88 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Yep its 50 degrees centigrade in july and august but falls to a nice mid 20s in the winter!!! Wouldn’t 50c be a little hot, I’m thinking of Diezel when I say that. How on earth would I be able to take him for a walk in that heat? Would I need to put sun block on his little paws and nose? Me I reckon I could stand that excruciating heat but would have to pop indoors every so often to refresh myself with a pint of lager, I would have said a pint of bitter but no doubt bitter isn’t sold out there…or is it? What I’ve seen of that country it’s all sand and concrete and if you see a splash of green somewhere you can bet it’s made of plastic. I’m getting an underlying feeling coming from the posts of the ex-pats that they might subconsciously be wishing that they were back home in this green and pleasance land we here all call home. Harvest pale forever! Bip. never one to be controversial. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beefsteak 305 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Guess Diesel would be a proper hot dog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mariag 4 Posted July 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Wouldn’t 50c be a little hot, I’m thinking of Diezel when I say that.How on earth would I be able to take him for a walk in that heat? Would I need to put sun block on his little paws and nose? Me I reckon I could stand that excruciating heat but would have to pop indoors every so often to refresh myself with a pint of lager, I would have said a pint of bitter but no doubt bitter isn’t sold out there…or is it? What I’ve seen of that country it’s all sand and concrete and if you see a splash of green somewhere you can bet it’s made of plastic. I’m getting an underlying feeling coming from the posts of the ex-pats that they might subconsciously be wishing that they were back home in this green and pleasance land we here all call home. Harvest pale forever! Bip. never one to be controversial. Pleanty of people take there dogs there apparently- I guess they live on top of the air con. Not sure on the bitter but I read guinness is out there.... but alcohol is heavily taxed along with pork [sin] and if you are a resident you need a licence to buy it from a liquor store, or buy as normal in hotels. As for greenery I have seen pictures that there are very green parks etc [ not plastic] with man made lakes etc. My husband will be involved with a man made canal way which is being put in just for the hell of it [nothing to do with transporting things] It really is La La land!! And then of course there is Dubailand which is meant to be twice the size of Disney world and will be a city in itself when complete.. Only thing I'm dreading is the driving - its terrible!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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