Moving from the UK (Virginia Beach, Richmond: home, transfer, neighborhoods)

[swaye]

Hello - I hope I am not repeating myself with questions but I need some help and advice. I am an American (orginally from Michigan & California) and my husband is English. I would really like to move back to America as England is getting expensive and over-crowded. I thought Virginia would give us a nice mix of English history with an American way of life. I have narrowed the areas of Mechanicsville, Glen Allen, Chesterfield. Can someone suggest good schools in these areas. We are also looking for neighborhoods that are unique and don't just have the cookie cutter style housing (between 600k-800k)...something with a bit of land but not too remote. If anyone has an opinion on community life and how available shopping is in these areas?? I am hoping Virginia won't disappoint as my husband has been put off by the US in the past by too many trips to Florida (too much Disney commercialism) I know these areas aren't far from Richmond so if anyone has an opinion on what eating out there might be like on weekends as well? Thanks and Cheers for any help!

[desertsun41]

I dont know about the areas you mentioned but I lived in Hampton Roads for some time and there were large areas of Brits in some neighborhoods. Once or twice a year the Military of Great Britian would come here for joint military exercises with the Naval base in Virginia Beach and you can walk the board walk on weekends and hear that wonderful Brit accent all over the place.

Good luck on your move !

[Jerry_Williams]

I have lived in the UK and now in Virginia. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing English about Virginia. Not saying that there are no positive aspects of Virginia but there is absolutely no "Englishness" here. I bought a can of lemon curd and some of my in-laws started questioning how a white person could eat that. A silly and stupid conversation!!! Probably one of the dumbest conversations I have ever had in my life. When I can back to Va after some time in the UK I found Va very depressing.

Virginia is also part of the Bible-belt, something that can be frustrating for people who are not used to it.

I can see you understanding and I think maybe Canada would be a better choice. I have run into some Brits in Richmond (usually from Glasgow for some reason...).
I have quite a few friends (not in Virginia) were the husband and wife comes from different countries. I know more then one family were the move to the US broke up their marriage. I am not trying to discourage you from moving back home and I can understand that you miss your home land. I would recommend that you let your husband pick a place in the US, or at least that he has the final say. Many times when Brits and Europeans move to the US the husband in the family gets transferred by his employer and the family automatically get a one way ticket to the American upper middleclass. Now, just packing stuff and heading to the US is very different. Sure things can go smoothly but I have seen situations were things did not go very well. Does you husband want to leave the UK as much as you do?
A very good friend of my wife lived in Holland with her Dutch husband. After they had children she started missing her family and America really, really bad. She had all her good memories of the US and could not see how her husband could not want to live there. He finally agreed to move to her parents home town in rural Ohio. He ended up working at McDonalds and was quite frustrated (He used to work as a PR/marketer for a Dutch film distributer) and she was furious that he could not get a better job. She could not understand how her other American friends in Holland could move to the US and things seemed to have gone so much easier. (Those husbands worked for companies like Shell Oil and were transferred). Quite a sad story and my wife’s friend is now quite upset with herself because this ruined her marriage.
Now, things hopefully will go much smoother for you guys and I wish you all the luck.

I wish you all the best!

[richmondpics]

On the flipside, my father is originally from the UK, has been here for a few decades, and loves it. Family from the UK has always has a good time while visiting us.

As far as English history, Virginia will offer up plenty in colonial era attractions (Jamestown, Williamsburg, St. John's Church in Richmond-Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech, etc...), however the lifestyles are pretty different. Be sure to visit before you make the big move.

[swaye]

I appreciate the comments. It is nice to hear it from both sides. There are some things about America that are very hard to come back to but I still enjoy the ease of doing every day things that you just can't do in England. I know our money will go much further in America right now and anyone who has been to the Greater London area recently knows that you can't get ANYWHERE anymore. My husband has just sold his company over here but I plan to go back to work. I thought it would be easier to get a job back in my own country again after being off on maternity leave.

Since I am not originally from 'the South' I probably can't understand what it is like to live in the Bible belt. I am hoping the areas that we are looking around are not made up of completely close-minded people. I think that would be a shock to my husband and make him not like living in the States. We both just want a safe environment to raise our children and have good schools and neither of us want to live where is snows too much. Virginia seemed like the only compromise I could come up with?

[ukusmom]

We were in your same position 2 years ago. I am American, and my husband is British. We lived in Bath and decided because of how expensive it was to live there that we would move to Virginia. Yes, we live better but we are not as happy. We are both quite liberal and my husband is not religious at all, and he has found it really hard to adjust here. We miss England so much. Yes, money goes further but you make less. It's hard to get into the best jobs, especially in small communities, so plan on not always getting the best job. My husband had to start all over career-wise once moving here. It's been hard. I would steer clear of moving south. If you are determined to move over, research and visit a few times first. We didn't and slowly realized we had not researched enough. We plan on moving to New York in a few months and have found everything about it excellent in what we are looking for, besides the taxes. If you have any questions, because we have already been through it all, please send a private message. My advice would be to think hard before you move. It can put a strain on your marriage if things don't go well. I thought I was unhappy in England until I moved back to the US and realized that I wasn't the same person I was when I lived here. I feel like I should've stayed. Sorry for the long story, but our situations sound very similar. Good luck.