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

[Major Tom]

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Originally Posted by 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.

Heh - I can relate to that, being the proud and happy Dad to 3 cats. I used to have an alternate plan for retirement, which involved living for a few months at a time in various different places, and seeking out medium term rentals, to keep the cost of accommodation affordable. I thought it would be a great way to live, for at least a few years, before settling back down again.

Then, in short order, I met and fell for, 3 kitties. You're lucky you can get away for a week - I don't like being away from mine for more than a day. Now my alternate travel plan in retirement is living with the furry gals in an RV

[theOAP]

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Originally Posted by jim584672 Looks nice. Cheaper than my 1 br condo and it is a full house. Do you know how much tax would run on an average house like this?

It's a Band F property, so for Guisborough that's max. £2,465 Council Tax per year. (Council Tax being property tax for those in US.)

http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/r...%202016-17.pdf

[daylatedollarshort]

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Originally Posted by Major Tom Heh - I can relate to that, being the proud and happy Dad to 3 cats. I used to have an alternate plan for retirement, which involved living for a few months at a time in various different places, and seeking out medium term rentals, to keep the cost of accommodation affordable. I thought it would be a great way to live, for at least a few years, before settling back down again. Then, in short order, I met and fell for, 3 kitties. You're lucky you can get away for a week - I don't like being away from mine for more than a day. Now my alternate travel plan in retirement is living with the furry gals in an RV

One interesting thing I've noted with family in the E.U. with RVs is they can and do travel around to other countries. I don't know if they take their pets but I guess they could. We also have a pet we don't like to leave for too long.

[brett]

We can get 'in' with no issues whatsoever. We like the UK very much but we would not consider it to be the ideal retirement destination. Fine in the good weather though.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort One of our extended relatives in the U.K. National Health Service just had a house call from a doctor. We were amazed at that. I've never had a doctor here in the U.S. my entire life that made house calls. There's no potential for medical bankruptcies as far as I know in the U.K. and long term care seems to be about half the cost of the U.S.

The NHS is having big issues right now with costs, funding and resources. However, the care my mum received a couple of years ago was fantastic. She had a low level diabetes that was controlled with tablets and diet. When I was home I noticed she had a small ulcer on her foot......very bad for a diabetic. I called the doctor's office and told the receptionist. the doctor put us on his rounds and he was there with the district nurse early afternoon. He looked at the ulcer, told my mum to call if she got any more cuts that weren't healing and left the nurse to dress the ulcer. She came round for a two weeks to dress my mum's foot and make sure it healed

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP Anyone resident in the UK presently is about to embark on the longest roller coaster ride, 2+ years, of their life. Yesterday (?) £ was at $1.20. Now it's almost $1.24. The PM gave a speech this morning; no more Brexit means Brexit, but now Out means Out. Out of the single market and Out of the Customs Union. The upwards movement in the Pound Sterling was surprising to many, and seems to indicate that the currency exchanges, like most markets, favour certainty. A Hard Brexit was always assumed to cause the £ to continually devalue. Of course, the ride is a long ways from being over. Hey ho, interesting times.

Yep a decade of low growth and currency uncertainty.

Here is an example of one issue.

I have a friend in the UK who does cancer research and is funded by EU grants. Those are now frozen and replacement money can't be found. Several researchers are moving to the US or EU where current funding is available. The UK Government has done nothing to replace scientific grants that have been lost because of BREXIT. My friend has a husband and two kids and is quietly looking for a new job, but the drug companies where she's applying aren't anxious to hire given the uncertainty......she's worried.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP It's a Band F property, so for Guisborough that's max. £2,465 Council Tax per year. (Council Tax being property tax for those in US.) http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/r...%202016-17.pdf

The property I linked to is actually in North Yorkshire, Scarborough Borough Council and the F band rate is £2398 (~$3000). But I'm single and there is a 25% discount for that so I'd pay £1800 ($2250).

Council tax - North Yorkshire County Council

However, theOAP, it will be a while before I qualify for the free bus pass and have to worry about its value for US tax purposes ;-)

[theOAP]

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Originally Posted by nun The property I linked to is actually in North Yorkshire, Scarborough Borough Council...

Well, what do I know, anything North of Brum is the out back. Nice countryside, though.

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Originally Posted by nun and the F band rate is £2398 (~$3000).

I was a bit mean with my comment. The property value for council tax purposes based on the listed price, today, is Band F. It's been nearly 25 years since I bought or sold a property, but I believe the tax band would probably be the band put on the property circa 20 years ago. I would be surprised if the occupants of the property you linked to are paying more than in the area of £1,000 today. (Which is why I said Max. amount.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by nun But I'm single and there is a 25% discount for that so I'd pay £1800 ($2250).

Yep, or more than likely considerably less than that. The increase in Stamp Duty on the purchase of a property has become another area to be aware of.

I understand your comment about the scientific/academic side. It's a worry and is being talked about, but I don't know what is actually being done to save the situation. There's many research facilities in the UK for all types of industries.

The 'Passporting' problem for the City is the one issue the PM sort of avoided discussing in her speech.

Someone from the States or EU relocating to the UK today with mainly US or EU sourced income will be making out like a bandit (as Alan well knows). It's assumed inflation will be much higher in the coming months. It's up from 1.2% in Nov. to 1.6% in Dec. with petrol rising 10%. But the increased value of US/EU source income is offsetting the inflation, and then some.

[jim584672]

Plan B (moving to UK till 65) looks doable as far as the $$ are concerned. I'm de-cluttering just in case I have to hop the pond.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP I understand your comment about the scientific/academic side. It's a worry and is being talked about, but I don't know what is actually being done to save the situation. There's many research facilities in the UK for all types of industries.

The academic side of research has become heavily dependent on EU grants. Of course the UK pays in and the EU distributes that money, but the uncertainty in annual budgets and visas is making a lot of talented people think that the UK is not the place to be doing research. It's a crying shame........literally, my friend has cried about this.

[Texas Proud]

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Originally Posted by Lsbcal Are you remembering this nostalgically? The weather report today for London is 42F high and 29F low. The 10 day forecast shows low to mid 40's highs most days. But it does get up to 50F further out ... with rain. I admit I am just looking at this from a Mediterranean climate perspective. It's at least 10F lower then where we live. Caveat: I really like the UK, admire the people and culture, and am a bit of an Anglophile. Just not crazy about the weather.

But.... the high is in the 40s!!! That is not freezing...

Kinda the same as Chicago or NYC right now... but compare it to Berlin where the high is 30 and low is 20ish.... or Zurich, high 23 low 14....


I am not saying the winters are not cold.... just not freezing...

BTW, what are the highs in the summer where you live And do you have AC? The highs here are always in the high 90s and there are even long spells in the 100s... pretty bad to go outside...

[daylatedollarshort]

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Originally Posted by jim584672 Plan B (moving to UK till 65) looks doable as far as the $$ are concerned. I'm de-cluttering just in case I have to hop the pond.

We're decluttering as well in case we need to move. It feels good getting rid of the clutter no matter what happens with the ACA. As I write this I have 9 bags of books in the entry way ready to be donated.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort We're decluttering as well in case we need to move. It feel good getting rid of the clutter no matter what happens with the ACA. As I write this I have 9 bags of books in the entry way ready to be donated.

I'm decluttering too. I will eventually downsize and then might move to the UK depending on the political winds. I have also thought about doing some RVing....Ford F150 Quad cab with 2.7L V6 Ecoboost and a Airstream 23 foot Flying Cloud. I was comparing the F150 2.7L v 3.5L v 5L V8 and I realized that next I'd be laughing at Jeff Foxworthy jokes. RVing in the UK in a European Airstream (designed in Germany built in OH) would be good.

One thing I'd love to try if I ever living in the UK and old enough to get the free local bus pass would be to travel from the tip of Scotland (John O'Groat's) to the tip of Cornwall (Land's End) using only local buses and paying nothing. it would probably take a few weeks.

[theOAP]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud But.... the high is in the 40s!!! That is not freezing...

Just as the States recently had an 'Artic Inversion' (or what ever that cold front was called) Southern England is now subject to a Siberian cold wave. It's coming from the EU via France (Yes, it had to be from the EU, and especially France!). Check out the highs from Scotland today. 10C (50F).

[theOAP]

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Originally Posted by nun The academic side of research has become heavily dependent on EU grants. Of course the UK pays in and the EU distributes that money, but the uncertainty in annual budgets and visas is making a lot of talented people think that the UK is not the place to be doing research. It's a crying shame........literally, my friend has cried about this.

Have a look at Bill Bryson's last book The Road to Little Dribbling. He has a real rant about the number of highly placed researchers in the UK from all over the world and what happens after Brexit. I'm aware of a number of foreign nationals with ILR status who have recently taken out UK citizenship. Oops, come to think of it, those new UKCs includes me as well!

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP Have a look at Bill Bryson's last book The Road to Little Dribbling. He has a real rant about the number of highly placed researchers in the UK from all over the world and what happens after Brexit. I'm aware of a number of foreign nationals with ILR status who have recently taken out UK citizenship. Oops, come to think of it, those new UKCs includes me as well!

I read his "Notes from a Small Island"........I'll get that one too.

FYI the english bus pas does not work in Scotland so I'd have to stop in Berwick.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP I'm aware of a number of foreign nationals with ILR status who have recently taken out UK citizenship. Oops, come to think of it, those new UKCs includes me as well!

So you filled out 60 pages and chronicled every time you left the UK back to the dark ages? Can renunciation be far off?

[theOAP]

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Originally Posted by nun FYI the english bus pas does not work in Scotland so I'd have to stop in Berwick.

Or, you could make it a real experience by taking a friend and stopping in Gretna Green.

[nun]

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Originally Posted by theOAP Or, you could make it a real experience by taking a friend and stopping in Gretna Green.

Yes a "close friend".

[Totoro]

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Originally Posted by nun My friend has a husband and two kids and is quietly looking for a new job, but the drug companies where she's applying aren't anxious to hire given the uncertainty......she's worried.

Same with financial services companies, and others. They are/were freezing new investments and expansion plans. Other cities would love to dethrone London.

Expats (high earning ones) are reconsidering their UK plans too.

It may work out in the end, but uncertainty in the meantime is not good. In that sense today's speech gave back some stability (clarity of direction). Let's see what Scotland does next.