Move abroad once DCs flown the nest?

[TheNewExpatMaybe]

Just that really. Anyone here moved abroad once their DCs left home? I've always wanted to live in USA and Germany.

also just interested in anyone who's moved abroad from the UK.

Moved abroad - UK to USA but for most people it’s not easy to get to at all! I assume Germany would be easier?

I’m in the South so everyone’s super friendly, heat takes a while to get used to and so does the change in food. I’d definitely recommend it as long as you’re okay to leave some family behind

As in forever or just a period of time? I moved abroad before DC, and now want to move back 'home'. I'm planning the move so that DC are still young enough to settle in and make a life in the new-to-them country. I would hate them to move back to the UK and not have them in the same country as me. (yes I know that is hypocritical of me....)

I found my children still needed me up until their early-to-mid-twenties. They went to university and then on to do Masters and I visited them regularly or they came home. It's only now they're in their mid-to-late-twenties that I think I could live abroad.

Just because they're 18 it doesn't mean they're independent.

I'm a Yank and would be happy to answer whatever questions you have about what it's like to live in the US.

What's a Yank? If you moved to a non English speaking country, how long did it take before you was fluent in X language?

A Yank is an American person

It's short for Yankee. It's earliest recorded usage was in 1758 by British General James Wolfe when he wrote "I can afford you two companies of Yankees, and the more because they are better for ranging and scouting than either work or vigilance".

Yankee

Would you be able to get a visa for America? They aren’t easy to acquire unless you have some very specific skills and a job offer.

I am from Germany :)

I'm glad to live closer to my family again nowadays (met DH abroad, we lived in the UK for a time...)

I'm currently pregnant and I just want to have my family clos(-ish) by. And I feel like my parents really liked being close-ish to my older DB's and DSis' children as well...

My DH is now the one living in a foreign country. He doesn't seem to mind the distance to his family. And it's not like travelling from Germany to the UK is particularly difficult. (It's pretty cheap and fast...)

But no, I don't think YABU. It will obviously have advantages and disadvantages but weighing those up is imo simply a matter of personal opinion / preference. (And circumstances...)

Surely you can’t really yearn to live in the USA if you don’t even know what a Yank is. Your research must be zero.

@ThroughThickAndThin01

Is this really an important term? And anyhow, it may actually refer to / mean various things.

I mean, Yankee could also refer to the baseball team. Or people from the Northern parts of the US. Or US Americans in general (if you're not in America).

What is it about the US and Germany that particularly appeal to you op? They're very different, I've lived in both countries but am glad to be back in the UK now.

Btw, just to add:

I feel like distance and cost of the journey / to visit should be taken into account.

Staying relatively close (France, Germany, Norway, Spain etc...) would therefore be much more appealing to me personally.

(Well, also for other reasons. The US isn't necessarily the place I'd want to move to.)

Well, I'm actually from another EU country, in Danish native and lived in Germany for 2 months. Loved it, and always wanted to go back. As for USA, I don't know tbh other than I'm just interested in going there, that's it .

@RainySeptember How long have you lived in Germany? Are you fluent in German?

I'm a Danish native

Know people who have moved to Spain when kids were in their 20s, one couple moved back to help with grand kids, another didn’t which caused some tension...

We are trying to find the sweet spot between dh’s kids not being so reliant and before his parents need more help. Probably just missed it as one kid now needs unexpected lots of support for th3 next couple of years.

I am a landlord.
I had a tenant a few years ago who's parents dropped him at university and then went off to live in Spain.
This really unsettled the lad. He was in his third year, so fairly adult, but couldn't handle the lack of home support.
He packed his bags and disappeared from the house just after christmas of his final year, abandoning his degree, and lots of kit he couldn't get on the plane. Followed his parents to Spain and never seen again.
So not only do you have to consider your actions but the effect it will have on your nearest and dearest.

Are you a UK and EU national?

If just EU then you have FOM but it may be difficult to return to the UK if you move for long and want to come back. Also, is it retirement you're talking about or would you need to work?

@KennDodd no, just Danish national. What does FOM mean?

Freedom of Movement, I believe.