UK a great place for Americans to retire.....if you can get in

[nun]

And yeah, the weather can be grim - I always get depressed November-February when it gets dark at 4.

Take pity on Alan, it gets dark at 3:00 where he is. FYI here is a very interesting article about potential UK changes to immigration post BREXIT that will interest Americans.......personally I think it's a terrible policy if it happens.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/23/theresa-may-donald-trump-us-uk-immigration

 

[6miths]

You can get UK citizenship. A UK spouse can get their spouse a residence visa, then after a couple of years you apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain which is the equivlalent of a green card and then you can apply for UK citizenship.

Thanks nun. I didn't think there was an easy path for male spouses of female UK citizens.

 

[Texas Proud]

Although we haven't needed to pay property taxes in Texas our rent for our 2 bed apartment was $1,396 / month compared to the 3 bed house we have been renting here for £675/month, which is about what we paid in rent for a similar house in the same town in 2011. My sister rents a 3 bed house on the high street in town for £450/month.


While the U.K. is a lot less expensive than the USA, salaries are also much lower, certainly in engineering fields, so I feel very fortunate to have had my career in the USA and then be able to retire on a pension that is more than double the average salary in the UK.

It is less expensive as long as you do not live in London....


Also, do you not have to pay a tax on your TV Maybe this has gone away, but I remember people complaining about this when I was there...

 

[Hyperborea]

My wife's parents were both born in England, and maintain dual citizenship in Canada. Based on my research over the weekend, that makes DW a UK citizen by descent, and eligible for a UK passport.

Yes, she is. My parents were both from Glasgow, Scotland and I have British citizenship through them. It was a pretty painless process that just needed me to send off my father's birth certificate, my parents' marriage certificate, and my birth certificate. The process has become even easier since I did it. The new forms allow you to circumvent some of the paperwork by using your parents' passport numbers if they have them.

Actually, from the law at the time I was born (pre-1983) it was actually just through my father. You can get citizenship through your mother though it is more complex. For births from 1983 onwards the law allows either parent to pass on citizenship. This passing on of citizenship doesn't continue so citizenship stops at the first generation unless you return and live in Britain for a number of years.

Well, depending on how things work out perhaps my Scottish citizenship will give me EU citizenship.

 

[F4mandolin]

I am in the visa process at this time, almost 2 years. It will take about 5 total years and 3 total visa applications with the accompanying fees before I am given permission to stay for good. We moved back mostly because I married a Yorkshire lass. I like it here so no big deal for me. They do not make it easy though. I think the paperwork might have been a bit easier than getting my wife a green card.....but I'll have to do it 3 times. If you don't have a good job or a decent amount of money in the bank the move isn't going to happen. I have been keeping a lot of money in the bank to make sure I can prove I can meet the financial requirements without having to prove my pension etc. You need to keep around £65,000 or more ( I went for more) for these 5 years of applications. I needed to pass the UK driving test (first time....but most fail it) which is harder. I still have to pass a "living in the UK" test with general knowledge questions....you can take practice tests online if you want to see how you would do.

I plan to live here for good.....I might not even bother to go back to the US. I have 2 older brothers and some relatives....but I have lived out of the US most of my life so I am comfortable here.

 

[Alan]

Take pity on Alan, it gets dark at 3:00 where he is.

I'm not THAT far north

Sunset today is 4:36.

 

[F4mandolin]

I'm not THAT far north

Sunset today is 4:36.

I almost said something. You are technically a tiny bit darker than me (a hair north, a hair east)....but I don't call it dark until 4:15 or so at Christmas. It's dark though. I'm more of a morning person, so the dark mornings are worse for me. My aunt back in SW Washington said something about it being so dark back at Christmas.....I pointed out we had an hour and twenty minutes less daylight here since we are further north.

 

[Alan]

Our big move back to London is in May. I confess to mixed feelings - I love the place; I love our flat. I'm very unhappy at the Brexit vote and all the implications. And yeah, the weather can be grim - I always get depressed November-February when it gets dark at 4. Definitely will travel then! But the weather can also be glorious; the museums and theatre are terrific; Europe remains at the doorstep. And the US (where my family and roots are) is an easy flight away.

Good luck on your move. This last few days we have had glorious weather with lows in the low 30's and highs in the high 30's but not a breath of wind and loads of sunshine. I took a few photos of our new house the other day.

Snowdrops and daffodils are poking their stalks above ground already.....

 

[F4mandolin]

Good luck on your move. This last few days we have had glorious weather with lows in the low 30's and highs in the high 30's but not a breath of wind and loads of sunshine. I took a few photos of our new house the other day.

Snowdrops and daffodils are poking their stalks above ground already.....

Nice....looks about the right size. Now if you could just make that garage big enough to park in.

 

[Dd852]

Good luck on your move. This last few days we have had glorious weather with lows in the low 30's and highs in the high 30's but not a breath of wind and loads of sunshine. I took a few photos of our new house the other day.



Snowdrops and daffodils are poking their stalks above ground already.....

Lovely. Congratulations

 

[Meadbh]

I took a few photos of our new house the other day.

Very nice, and a great view! Will you be painting/renovating before moving in?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Alan, thanks for the pics. Your house looks lovely.

 

[Alan]

Nice....looks about the right size. Now if you could just make that garage big enough to park in.

It is actually a double garage with 2 doors, it's very large inside. It was a single but the owners extended it to double the size, and it is nice and deep. On the right hand side it has plumbing and drain for a washing machine and a nice workbench against the back wall where there is a window. The side where the car goes has a door into the back garden. We'll have an automatic door fitted later this year to make driving in and out easier.

Of the 3 houses we've owned in England and Scotland I always had a garage that would take a car but was very tight opening the door to get out. However this one is very roomy, I can open the door fully and get out without needing to be a contortionist.

 

[Alan]

Very nice, and a great view! Will you be painting/renovating before moving in?

Indeed we will. On Thursday we have a carpet fitter coming to replace the stair carpet but all the others are in very fine condition.

We had a painter/decorator around to give us a cost for painting everywhere and he starts this week. We are going to choose colours from some books he left with us yesterday and email him our choices this afternoon. Rarely do we have an opportunity to do this with an empty house. The sellers had lived there for 30 years and have taken really good care of everything and modernising it over the years.

 

[Alan]

This is the view from what will be my office.

 

[REWahoo]

Q: Why does a retired guy need an office?
A: He has a spouse.

 

[Huston55]

Good luck on your move. This last few days we have had glorious weather with lows in the low 30's and highs in the high 30's but not a breath of wind and loads of sunshine. I took a few photos of our new house the other day.

Snowdrops and daffodils are poking their stalks above ground already.....

Following this thread has been entertaining and informative. DW & I had good trips to England & Scotland several times before the millennium, and have a close friend who's an Anglophile so, expect one or more long vacations to GB are in our future.

BUT, I gotta say, only a native would/could describe such weather as "glorious."

Our travel will certainly be in the Summer. (Whichever two weeks it is in the year that we go. )

 

[jim584672]

News flash: The UK Supreme Court ruled that Parliament must give the go ahead for Article 50. No Brexit without Parliament.

 

[W2R]

Alan, your new house is beautiful, as well as a dream come true for you and your DW.

It is actually a double garage with 2 doors, it's very large inside. It was a single but the owners extended it to double the size, and it is nice and deep. On the right hand side it has plumbing and drain for a washing machine and a nice workbench against the back wall where there is a window. The side where the car goes has a door into the back garden. We'll have an automatic door fitted later this year to make driving in and out easier.

Of the 3 houses we've owned in England and Scotland I always had a garage that would take a car but was very tight opening the door to get out. However this one is very roomy, I can open the door fully and get out without needing to be a contortionist.

Like you, I had the garage door opener installed after I bought my house (in 2015). I think that is a wonderful decision, especially on rainy days.

An extra roomy garage is convenient for so many purposes, even with just one car.

 

[Alan]

Like you, I had the garage door opener installed after I bought my house (in 2015). I think that is a wonderful decision, especially on rainy days.

An extra roomy garage is convenient for so many purposes, even with just one car.

Between 1989 and 2004, living in Baton Rouge, we had a covered porch but no garage but from 2004 onwards in our apartments we had an integral double garage with automatic door opener, so that made it onto the checklist when looking for properties here

 

[F4mandolin]

Between 1989 and 2004, living in Baton Rouge, we had a covered porch but no garage but from 2004 onwards in our apartments we had an integral double garage with automatic door opener, so that made it onto the checklist when looking for properties here

The only thing most people can get in their garages....is themselves. I just don't understand why they couldn't make them 1 foot wider..... My wife tries to explain the "non-explainable" to me about the building of garages that aren't big enough to put a car in...... I can't drink enough beer for it to make sense. It's just a storage room.....outside.

 

[braumeister]

I can't drink enough beer for it to make sense

I can! Is that a challenge?

 

[Nemo2]

It's just a storage room.....outside.

Shades of George Carlin:

 

[Hyperborea]

The only thing most people can get in their garages....is themselves. I just don't understand why they couldn't make them 1 foot wider..... My wife tries to explain the "non-explainable" to me about the building of garages that aren't big enough to put a car in...... I can't drink enough beer for it to make sense. It's just a storage room.....outside.

Cars are wider than they were when most garages were built. A Morris Minor was just 60" wide. Even the small hatchbacks of today, like a Ford Fiesta, are nearly 70" wide. There's your extra foot.

Maybe learn tight parking from this guy.

[youtube]iMWHYBi7kG8[/youtube]

 

[F4mandolin]

I can! Is that a challenge?

I'm still paying the penalty for having a few (putting it kindly) too many at Christmas. Not my wife (although she would like to whack me)....but I tripped on a stair and trashed the little finger on my left hand. It now moves sideways.....not good. But I can still play golf, so what the hell.

I'm now limited to 3 pints......possibly forever. But I'm willing to put up a couple pints if you stop by. The Sun Inn (Norwood) is always a good place for a pint......although I haven't been up to Tan Hill(http://tanhillinn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/naked1.jpg-pwrt2.jpg) for a long time. No....that's not me....