tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post9193165655995352738..comments2024-01-05T06:16:49.932+00:00Comments on Expat Mum: Readying to RePat - This is Not Gonna be EasyExpat mumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-1175223094883407772017-04-14T10:09:43.738+01:002017-04-14T10:09:43.738+01:00You can keep US cards if you have a US bank accoun...You can keep US cards if you have a US bank account - I still do, and use it when I go to the US (and Europe - as dollars are better than pounds at the moment.)nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-89457877471019513552017-04-12T15:06:22.444+01:002017-04-12T15:06:22.444+01:00I can't wait to hear how you get on. It will b...I can't wait to hear how you get on. It will be lovely to see you again - and shout if you need any advice on repatriation!nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-5129444823045175862017-04-11T17:50:27.519+01:002017-04-11T17:50:27.519+01:00Here's wishing you as smooth a transition as p...Here's wishing you as smooth a transition as possible! And — just an observation here — "four years"... Happens to coincide with the current presidential administration's tenure ... Totally random coincidence, no doubt ... (I envy your having an option) ... leemikceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00556230429959451810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-30786261560856948352017-04-11T17:45:59.724+01:002017-04-11T17:45:59.724+01:00There's a grocery chain in the western U.S., L...There's a grocery chain in the western U.S., Lucky's, which gives you wooden tokens if you use reusable grocery bags. It's the same principle: there are three boxes in the vestibule to put your token(s) in (you get one token for each reusable sack). Sometimes I give the tokens to a nearby child because they enjoy popping them through the slots so much.leemikceehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00556230429959451810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-52650174242183499052017-04-11T13:59:06.981+01:002017-04-11T13:59:06.981+01:00Ah well see...although my husband gets access to t...Ah well see...although my husband gets access to the NHS because he has to pay a health surcharge with his visa application, I don't. It's based on residency, so I will have to have insurance for a while. Ridiculous isn't it? The husband is also a CPA so I'm leaving all the numbers stuff to him! Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-26297303594725836552017-04-10T22:44:32.151+01:002017-04-10T22:44:32.151+01:00Best of luck with this reverse move. As much as I ...Best of luck with this reverse move. As much as I miss England, I'm not sure I would be brave enough to move back there so I have every admiration for you. I would be scared to death of negotiating the minefield of things like the NHS, National Insurance contributions and US Taxes! Really looking forward to hearing about the move!Andrew Kayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04798837075526383970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-4763839231036984322017-04-10T18:20:40.456+01:002017-04-10T18:20:40.456+01:00Yes, we sat in the traffic last week between Junct...Yes, we sat in the traffic last week between Junctions 11 and 13 for what seemed like hours. Nightmare. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-3047808576510345972017-04-10T18:13:08.038+01:002017-04-10T18:13:08.038+01:00Lovely part of England in which to live, easy to r...Lovely part of England in which to live, easy to reach central London from Windsor (and Elton Riverside) to Waterloo. <br />Beware the traffic jam that is the M25 though!PixieMumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14717092173188052675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-48025923930942046382017-04-10T14:33:04.230+01:002017-04-10T14:33:04.230+01:00It was a bit ridiculous. We had already made a foo...It was a bit ridiculous. We had already made a fool of ourselves standing gawping at the trollies that didn't need the coin, so the last thing I needed was to make another spectacle of us. I did expect the alarms to go off when we left the shop though. (We also walked past the giant display with the three bins for the green discs. Sigh.) Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-79007130497619307622017-04-10T14:30:50.095+01:002017-04-10T14:30:50.095+01:00I'm assuming I won't be able to keep my US...I'm assuming I won't be able to keep my US cards if I'm not resident there? Need to do some homework. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-9061795423234612072017-04-10T13:51:54.383+01:002017-04-10T13:51:54.383+01:00As we have often said since November, "It'...As we have often said since November, "It's a good time to be out of the US" but there's no point in going into all of that, is there? I run into the problem with my US card all the time (we have a UK one, but all our airplane miles are on the US one, so we use that one primarily) - although I should point out that, before we moved from Korea to the UK, we specifically requested a chip and pin card from our bank, which involved all sorts of machinations (New Technology! Eeek!), completely different cards (not just updated ones, but cards with brand new numbers) and the accompanying headaches involved with updating all the automatic payments linked to them. So....off we moved to England, where we discovered that our US chip and pin cards, so laboriously acquired - didn't work in the UK anyway! Two plus years in, and we're still signing and apologising...sigh. But welcome back - I am SO looking forward to your observations as you do this! xMsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-8061156948033021802017-04-10T10:29:16.120+01:002017-04-10T10:29:16.120+01:00Will be interesting to hear tales of you re-pattin...Will be interesting to hear tales of you re-patting (if that's the word) in a post-Brexit England. They do have the coin based trolleys here in US at Aldi now too. And yes I too had to ask how to do it even though I remember doing it in Germany not too long ago.Studio Kaufmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17594457934627321408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-74708215665810959012017-04-10T10:16:31.032+01:002017-04-10T10:16:31.032+01:00Oh wow, great news (I think), I look forward to re...Oh wow, great news (I think), I look forward to reading your 'foreigner in my own country' blog posts! Good luck, Jean xJeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00124374747737466986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-25797844375182237502017-04-09T22:32:25.814+01:002017-04-09T22:32:25.814+01:00Wow! This is a surprise and should make interestin...Wow! This is a surprise and should make interesting blogging.<br />Maggie xMaggie Mayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06183886005936250976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-44945486838191689122017-04-09T21:14:09.394+01:002017-04-09T21:14:09.394+01:00Oh goodie :) remember I'm shy xOh goodie :) remember I'm shy xms_havachathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01023787854786251105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-78585858021935149102017-04-09T20:29:26.302+01:002017-04-09T20:29:26.302+01:00This is funny - I think I'm going to enjoy you...This is funny - I think I'm going to enjoy your 'back in the UK' posts. Chuckling at 'just keep walking!' :-) Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00119443727504215312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-8770152051054743562017-04-09T20:06:26.531+01:002017-04-09T20:06:26.531+01:00Thank you! Thank you! Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-2045804262854071962017-04-09T20:06:14.626+01:002017-04-09T20:06:14.626+01:00We've talked about it for years and this is ab...We've talked about it for years and this is about the only window we've ever had. We're just looking at it as a four year adventure and then we'll probably spend time in both countries. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-66959519546407759962017-04-09T20:05:33.003+01:002017-04-09T20:05:33.003+01:00Oh yes. Always love to see that. I walked straight...Oh yes. Always love to see that. I walked straight out of a Walmart in Colorado because of that. And I made sure the manager at the door knew my reason for leaving. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-86456028515095073432017-04-09T19:37:54.287+01:002017-04-09T19:37:54.287+01:00I had a vaguely similar experience when I lived in...I had a vaguely similar experience when I lived in the States for almost two months a couple of years ago. Only there the reverse culture shock was less about green chips at supermarkets and more about 'is that an ACTUAL GUN that man has on his hip in a supermarket?!' Lol-not lol. Looking forward to the twist in this expat/repat blog! XMichellouihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16841678308675092702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-70184538436317739922017-04-09T18:46:44.272+01:002017-04-09T18:46:44.272+01:00Wow, that's big! What made you decide to move ...Wow, that's big! What made you decide to move back to the U.K.? 37paddingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12400464105403622384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-49713905301024407402017-04-09T18:14:06.611+01:002017-04-09T18:14:06.611+01:00I can only imagine the amount of stress you are un...I can only imagine the amount of stress you are under with a move of this magnitude! Good luck and I can't wait to read all about it.Gigihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05467164195744234746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-70943456767530938572017-04-09T17:05:21.791+01:002017-04-09T17:05:21.791+01:00It depends whether you're trying to take a non...It depends whether you're trying to take a non EU spouse with you. If your son has a British passport that should be OK; if he doesn't, then get one first! The requirements are quite stiff financially. Healthcare is also a pain because you're not automatically entitled to NHS access, although it depends on where you would be living. I haven't looked into transferring SS since this is not necessarily closing the door on the USA for us. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-91305388970924695582017-04-09T17:02:50.582+01:002017-04-09T17:02:50.582+01:00It's definitely a different England for me.It's definitely a different England for me. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327382592404863779.post-65445664303304052322017-04-09T17:02:00.993+01:002017-04-09T17:02:00.993+01:00Welcome Coffee! We will be living in Surrey, near ...Welcome Coffee! We will be living in Surrey, near Windsor. Gorgeous area and near some family members. Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.com