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

[nun]

The Pound continues for fall against the Dollar and with PM May to give a speech in which she will say that controlling the borders is more important that staying in the EU Single Market I think we'll see soon see one dollar buying one pound.

So the UK is ridiculously inexpensive for Americans now.....a great place to retire if you can get past the immigration controls. But failing that, it looks like a great place for a vacation right now.

Pound sterling drops to its lowest level since October flash crash ahead of Theresa May's Brexit speech | The Independent

 

[razztazz]

I think we'll see soon see one dollar buying one pound........ridiculously inexpensive for Americans

Compared to what? In the US we can buy one dollar for one dollar and there are still lots of places where the cost of living is too high for comfort

 

[sengsational]

Earlier, there was a reason NOT to move to the UK. Now, not as much. That's based on one data point (the linked image).

So if I multiply these prices by 1.2, I'm seeing prices similar to the US's Mickey D's.

Thus, I conclude that it's not that the pound is becoming a bargain, it's just now getting priced reasonably.

 

[Lsbcal]

...
So the UK is ridiculously inexpensive for Americans now.....a great place to retire if you can get past the immigration controls. But failing that, it looks like a great place for a vacation right now.
...

Last time we were on vacation in the UK we went in May. Cold and blustery weather with highs in the upper 40's. There is a reason all those Brits are so untanned.

So it's a great place to vacation (though not in May) but live there?

 

[euro]

Last time we were on vacation in the UK we went in May. Cold and blustery weather with highs in the upper 40's. There is a reason all those Brits are so untanned.

So it's a great place to vacation (though not in May) but live there?

I hear you, but I could get used to it! I have been the the UK many times during all seasons, and while it is true that sunny days are at a premium, it also hardly ever gets really cold. That said, I used to live in Seattle (and loved it), so I'm probably "made" for that sort of climate

 

[Lsbcal]

Earlier, there was a reason NOT to move to the UK. Now, not as much. That's based on one data point (the linked image).

So if I multiply these prices by 1.2, I'm seeing prices similar to the US's Mickey D's.
...

This reminded me of the Economist Big Mac Index:

THE Big Mac index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a burger) in any two countries. For example, the average price of a Big Mac in America in January 2017 was $5.06; in China it was only $2.83 at market exchange rates. So the "raw" Big Mac index says that the yuan was undervalued by 44% at that time.

Currently they peg the British pound at something like 25% undervalued versus the dollar: Interactive currency-comparison tool: The Big Mac index | The Economist

 

[Nemo2]

Last time we were on vacation in the UK we went in May. Cold and blustery weather with highs in the upper 40's. There is a reason all those Brits are so untanned.

So it's a great place to vacation (though not in May) but live there?

I escaped from there 57 years ago this month......I might go for a brief visit (I have a cousin in Kent), but relocate there...not on your....

 

[DrRoy]

When I traveled in Britain many years ago the exchange was $1.52-1.63 per GBP. $1.20 looks great and ~$1 even better. Tally ho!!

 

[jim584672]

Looks like a hard Brexit ahead. 1:1 or lower to the $$?? I think their housing prices have a long way to go to the downside.

 

[garyt]

Last time we were on vacation in the UK we went in May. Cold and blustery weather with highs in the upper 40's. There is a reason all those Brits are so untanned.

So it's a great place to vacation (though not in May) but live there?

That's what I was thinking, it might be affordable to live there but the downside is...you'd have to live there.

 

[marko]

That's what I was thinking, it might be affordable to live there but the downside is...you'd have to live there.

My best friend is from the UK and moved to the US 30 years ago. Every time he returns from a visit he says "Now I remember why I left!"

 

[Major Tom]

My best friend is from the UK and moved to the US 30 years ago. Every time he returns from a visit he says "Now I remember why I left!"

I also moved to the US from the UK 30 years ago this year (on April Fool's day, funnily enough ). I don't go back to visit very often, probably averaging about 1 visit every 5 years. Every time I go back, I really enjoy myself, and start fantasizing about going back to live there. I think the main appeal for me is the nostalgia factor. However, when I think about what it would really be like to live there permanently, I realize that once the initial novelty had worn off, I would be pining to move back here.

Some ex-patriots feel differently, of course. Our very own Alan is one of them, and I can well understand a desire to move back to the UK. For me though, if you'll excuse the new-agey talk, this place feels like my spiritual home. When I first visited the West Coast, immediately, it just felt right. That feeling has never changed. The US was the place where I fulfilled my dreams and did the things in life I wanted to and still, to this day, the West Coast gives me the space and freedom to be my own person. I feel lucky to be here.

 

[donheff]

If I wanted to go through the hassle I could get dual citizenship in Ireland opening me to the entire EU (except the UK now). But I like the US.

 

[Alan]

Every time we visited England since moving to the USA in 1987 it felt like going home so when we retired in 2010 we decided to get it out of our system and spent 7 months in the same town we lived in when our children were born.

I wrote about it on this site here.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/long-vacation-in-england-55351-3.html

After a few more years of extensive travel we decided to slow down a bit and do the snowbird thing, set up a home in England and spend the summers there. We did that last year, beginning in May and after a couple of months decided to move back for good. It's where the majority of our family and friends are and where we feel most at home. I won't attempt to explain it, it just is.

Most of our financial interests are in the US including pensions, IRA's, brokerages etc. Moving money is extremely simple and I've essentially had a 33% increase in pension income. $100 used to buy £60 now it buys £80. We decided to buy a house, closing is tomorrow, so that has also saved us a bunch of money. A large 4 bed 2 bath detached house costing £285,000 would have costs us ~$450k a year ago, now it has cost ~$356k. (We bought much more house than we need because the primary home is exempt from Estate taxes up to £500k).

I expect our vacations ongoing will be shorter, weeks instead of months, and we'll take them in the winter instead of the summer.

 

[Bamaman]

I'd hate to think that I had to use the U.K. National Healthcare system in my retirement years--the high maintenance years.

Our niece lived outside London, and she was diagnosed with cancer. Although her oncologist was Harvard trained, the protocol she went through was not aggressive enough. By the time she came back to the U.S. and got to a great cancer center, it was too late. We buried her 2 years ago.

No thank you.

 

[Lsbcal]

... We decided to buy a house, closing is tomorrow, so that has also saved us a bunch of money. A large 4 bed 2 bath detached house costing £285,000 would have costs us ~$450k a year ago, now it has cost ~$356k. (We bought much more house than we need because the primary home is exempt from Estate taxes up to £500k).
...

Sounds great Alan. Let us know when the ER housewarming party is scheduled.

 

[Alan]

I'd hate to think that I had to use the U.K. National Healthcare system in my retirement years--the high maintenance years.

Our niece lived outside London, and she was diagnosed with cancer. Although her oncologist was Harvard trained, the protocol she went through was not aggressive enough. By the time she came back to the U.S. and got to a great cancer center, it was too late. We buried her 2 years ago.

No thank you.

No need to rely on the NHS, lots of insurance companies offering very affordable insurance plans, and many private hospitals, particularly in London.

When I worked in England '79 - 87 the 2 companies I worked for both provided health insurance as a benefit.

 

[Alan]

Sounds great Alan. Let us know when the ER housewarming party is scheduled.

I'll set up a date for a meet up in one of our local pubs.

 

[nun]

I'll set up a date for a meet up in one of our local pubs.

Pub crawl down Westgate!

Alan lives where I was born and grew up and where I'd retire in the UK. It's beautiful, the houses are reasonably priced and my $$$$ would buy a lot more than in the expensive place I live in the US. However, changes to the zeitgeist in the UK have made my retiring back there less likely than a couple of years ago.

 

[braumeister]

We love visiting the UK so much that we could cheerfully spend several months there every year. I'd do it now but the problem is the damn cat. DW can't bear to be away from it for more than a week or two.

 

[Lsbcal]

We love visiting the UK so much that we could cheerfully spend several months there every year. I'd do it now but the problem is the damn cat. DW can't bear to be away from it for more than a week or two.

Perhaps employ a British cat sitter?

 

[Alan]

Perhaps employ a British cat sitter?

Would the cat be able to understand the accent? They are known as "moggies" where I grew up in Co. Durham, which only is the next County north of where we are moving back to.

 

[Texas Proud]

I lived and worked in London for a bit over 1 year... I really enjoyed the time there, even with all the people that are there... you could go to a museum almost every week and see something new... plus, many day trips to smaller towns on the train...

It was also close enough to the rest of Europe to take a trip every now and then...


The problem I would have is the cost.... the place where I was staying cost over $1 million... maybe even over $2 mill now... the cost of the tube and trains have gone up (from what I have read)....

Still, I think the weather was pretty good most of the time.... it never really got hot for long and as others have mentioned it never go freezing... as long as you did not go up north that is...

 

[Huston55]

Last time we were on vacation in the UK we went in May. Cold and blustery weather with highs in the upper 40's. There is a reason all those Brits are so untanned.

So it's a great place to vacation (though not in May) but live there?

Several years back, I stayed in Cambridge for a few weeks. Luckily, part of our visit was during their Summer; I think it was either the 3rd or 4th of August that year.

I also moved to the US from the UK 30 years ago this year (on April Fool's day, funnily enough ). I don't go back to visit very often, probably averaging about 1 visit every 5 years. Every time I go back, I really enjoy myself, and start fantasizing about going back to live there. I think the main appeal for me is the nostalgia factor. However, when I think about what it would really be like to live there permanently, I realize that once the initial novelty had worn off, I would be pining to move back here.

Some ex-patriots feel differently, of course. Our very own Alan is one of them, and I can well understand a desire to move back to the UK. For me though, if you'll excuse the new-agey talk, this place feels like my spiritual home. When I first visited the West Coast, immediately, it just felt right. That feeling has never changed. The US was the place where I fulfilled my dreams and did the things in life I wanted to and still, to this day, the West Coast gives me the space and freedom to be my own person. I feel lucky to be here.

Yep, same for me when I moved to the SF Bay Area from a different country...Texas.

 

[nun]

I lived and worked in London for a bit over 1 year... I really enjoyed the time there, even with all the people that are there... you could go to a museum almost every week and see something new... plus, many day trips to smaller towns on the train...

It was also close enough to the rest of Europe to take a trip every now and then...


The problem I would have is the cost.... the place where I was staying cost over $1 million... maybe even over $2 mill now... the cost of the tube and trains have gone up (from what I have read)....

Still, I think the weather was pretty good most of the time.... it never really got hot for long and as others have mentioned it never go freezing... as long as you did not go up north that is...

House prices in London are ridiculous. Where I'd retire they are a lot less expensive......as an example I like this place for $180k at the current exchange rate and with some negotiating and a cash offer, maybe it could be had for quite a bit less.

3 bedroom terraced house for sale in Station Road, Castleton, Whitby, YO21, YO21