Retirement in the UK

The British Embassy in D.C. or the nearest to you Br. Consulate can probably answer your questions. Don't expect it to be easy!

I, too, would love to live in England, at least part-time. Finding the right town: I would go to the area of interest and spend a month or more visiting towns/villages in that area. I would stay at B&Bs and get to know people as much as possible. I would visit the local pubs, groceries, restaurants, churches. If possible I would visit during the hot and cold months to see how that would suit me. Local weather patterns can make a big difference. I wouldn't want to live where it is windy most of the time.
Britain has a good bus service to many towns/areas. I would check out the availability of train/bus service. As a senior citizen, I would want to know how to fit into the NHS or other medical service. Is a good hospital nearby? Are there good doctors and other health professionals available nearby?
I would be reading the Guardian and any other regular publications from that area. Get familiar with local politics, concerns, recreational features, etc. For "hard" information, I would check government services regarding visas, etc. It is important to know how to handle financial concerns such as banking, taxes, etc.

Thank you, Swan. That is a good summary of the direction we seem to be going.

David,

This would probably be the best place to start your enquiries......

• Consulate of United Kingdom in Seattle

900 Fourth Avenue, Suite 3001

Seattle, Washington, 98164

Phone : (206) 622-9255

Which area of the U.K. are you planning to locate in?

InternationalLiving.com is also a good resource. They publish books on each country and give you step-by-step info on how to do it.

Anyone contemplating moving to the UK should consider the climate as some areas have more favourable weather then others. Basically, the further north & west you go, the wetter the weather is likely to be. Of course, this is not always the case & right now, Scotland is having cool dry weather whilst the south is having rain. I would avoid the east as they tend to get cool/cold conditions coming off the North Sea - certainly when an east wind is blowing in winter. Cornwall is OK but being next to the Atlantic, can be windy. It is also a fair distance from everywhere else. The same is true of Pembrokeshire in SW Wales. The Cotswolds have good train links to London but tend to be expensive and can be cold in winter. You are also not in day tripping distance of any beaches. Scotland has the worst of the weather, short hours of daylight in winter and midges in summer. Places within commuting distance of London will have relatively high property values. They will also be the most accessible to London's airports and have some of the best weather in the UK. However, in a few years time, a new 'Heathrow Express' will go directly from the Airport to Reading and thus make the west - Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham, Cardiff & beyond more accessible. By 2018, new electric trains will be in service reducing journey times on the aforementioned routes from London (Paddington).

So, where to go? Dorset & south-east Devon are particularly favourable having a good climate, nice towns and villages, good hilly scenery and plenty of beaches. Rail links are average but roads tend to be poor for the amount of traffic with a lack of dual highways in most areas. However, Bournemouth (Dorset) and Exeter (Devon) do have good rail and road links. Property values tend to be high in Dorset & south Devon. Herefordshire is another county that offers a reasonably good climate, nice scenery and some nice old towns/villages. Some parts of south Wales are also favoured as they are on the direct (fast) rail line from London - though it gets slow going beyond Swansea. Weather is also good along the coastal strip. Cardiff has excellent road and rail links with Bath being only 1 hour away. (Property in Bath is VERY expensive and the town has slow roads in and out).

A BBC British property show 'Escape To The Country' is currently being shown weekdays at 12pm on BBC Canada.
http://www.bbccanada.com/Schedule/

Someone mentioned 'The Guardian'. Beware of British newspapers as they often present a biased view supporting one political party or another. The Guardian supports the Labour Party whilst The Daily Mail & Daily Express support the Conservative (Tory) Party. To gauge local areas, it is best to read local newspapers.

For climate:>http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/ukmapavge.html

For property:> (Select heat maps to show you where prices are high/low).http://www.zoopla.co.uk

You haven't mentioned your nationality but if you need a visa there is no longer a category designed for retirement for non EEA nationals - this was abolished in 2008.

This would not prevent you from living in the UK for a period each year as a tourist.

"The Guardian supports the Labour Party"

They supported the Liberal Democrats at the last election. Better to describe as a centre left newspaper.

I have the "Right of Abode" in Great Britain because my mother was born in the UK. I'm not sure if this category still exists but if a parent was UK-born it may be helpful.

Also keep in mind the taxation situation. If you are a US citizen, the IRS will expect you to file US taxes regardless of where you're living. Make sure your accountant is up to date with both US and UK laws as different situations will have various implications (i.e. selling your house in the US? The UK govt might like to claim a piece under worldwide income.) Get a good accountant to help overcome tax surprises. Make sure to update your wills and understand the global piece - if you buy a place in the UK, your US will probably won't cover it. If you get a UK will, it will revoke your US one.

Be prepared for initial financial difficulties - establishing a UK bank account, credit history, etc. as you are essentially starting from scratch. If you do come, bring all your financial documentation plus letters of introduction from your old bank to your new one.

Your US driving licence will not transfer to the UK, and without a UK licence, you cannot buy a car and insurance. So, you're looking at taking a UK driving test.

The Junior League of London has put out a book on Living in London...check on ebay/Amazon for a cheap copy. It will give you a good idea of how to get established once you're here.

I also would love to live in England. If I got serious about it, I'd probably do a rental for six months somewhere, choosing the location carefully. This would be my base for getting to know that particular area, and for traveling to many destinations around England. This would give me enough time to decide if I'd really like to live there. It would give me time to check on all the things mentioned in the above posts, such as healthcare and taxes.

For this time period, I wouldn't sell my house yet back in the U.S., meaning I wouldn't have to make permanent changes until I decided whether or not the England thing was as great as I had anticipated.

David, think we need a bit more information to be able to help better. Do you plan on splitting your time between homes in the US and UK or do you want to completely move to the UK? I think as others have mentioned above, unless you have family ties, a complete move would be difficult - you will need to investigate the immigration issues.

What areas are you thinking of? Would you be buying a property - some of the smart tourist areas have eye-wateringly expensive property - check www.rightmove.co.uk for house prices for areas you are interested in. If you have particular areas in mind some of us here might have some insights into that area. +Not sure that a tourist area is necessarily a good place to live, but I guess it depends.
I'm sure there are London-based US ex-pat forums that will have information on things like healthcare, the tax and legal issues (I'm sure you have thought of googling this) + others here may be able to help better.
Katy

Some Brit's with homes in the UK & USA take out travel insurance where the policy states the time limit that it is valid for being out of the country. So, if for example, it is 3 months and they wish to stay longer, they simply nip home for a short period before going back to their 'holiday' home. Another thing to consider is that family friends / relatives could also go for an extended holiday when you are not using the second home. You could become very popular!

Most Brit's do not need or have health insurance for home use as they have already paid into the National Health Service via taxes. You should register with a GP (Doctor) if staying in the UK for extended periods. Brit's can phone up their doctor and the receptionist will either make an appointment for you at the surgery or for the doctor to come to the house (or phone you back to see if they really need to see you). Brit's can also turn up at hospital accident & emergency services - though waits of several hours are not unknown. All of these services are at no charge. Some work places throw in private health insurance - usually for executives to be seen in private hospitals.

Each area has a water company who will bill you. If the place has a meter, you will be billed for what you use.

This site may be of use:>http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

My apologies for not getting back to you all very quickly. My current work schedule makes it very difficult to log on daily. But...thank you all for your kind comments and suggestions. The areas that we are most attracted to are Yorkshire and the Bath area, but I am very aware of the costs associated with those areas. Nearby would be just a good for us, I think, but several of you made some wonderful suggestions of places to explore as well as ways of checking out properties well in advance. My family immigrated 100 years ago from the Staffordshire area and from Newcastle-Under-Lyme, which I know absolutely NOTHING about. Anyway, again my sincere thanks for your input. You have been most helpful for our exploration.
David

Hi, and good luck with your research.

To get lots of other Americans opinions and information online about moving/living in the UK, have a poke around the following website too: UK-Yankee Forum