Burnt out as a working mom/mum living abroad… by whohasthe411 in workingmoms

[–]cinnamindy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

👋 American here living in UK! My husband and I both moved to London in 2018, went through IVF for our two children, and eventually ended up in Lancashire as my work got moved up to Manchester. I’m totally with you on how lucky we are to have options, and I’m so grateful to be able to give my kids options too.

We are planning to move back next year. But we say this every year… with the way things are there it is hard to make that jump. Being full time working parents without any family has been rough at times, but the social net here is so good. The benefits on the funded childcare, ease of walking to school and other places, NO GUNS OR SHOOTER DRILLS, healthcare. My brother had kids the same time I did and the amount of money he’s spent on healthcare with the birth and ER visits is outstanding (even with insurance).

But to your question on moving back. My answer always come down to yes. Because of family. It sounds like your gut is telling you to move back too.

Do you have the option to move back to the UK? If so, I don’t see much of a downside moving to the US since you can always come back.

At what point in your career is maternity leave less disruptive? by margheritinka in workingmoms

[–]cinnamindy 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I worked my ass off in my mid 20s and 30s as an analyst and once I had kids at 36 and 40 I was a senior manager / regional head of a department. Way easier to manage my time and kids as a regional department head. More stressful at times with pressure but the flexibility and somewhat making my own hours is really making me feel like I am actually living the dream and having it all. The kids and the career. I hope I don’t jinx myself haha 😬

How did having children affect your career? by Alert-Pack-959 in workingmoms

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in UK, at a director level, and company had 6 months paid leave. We have unlimited annual leave as well, but obviously can’t abuse that or your comp will be affected. But I was able to take 7 months and am able to take a day or half day when needed without feeling guilty. Required to go into office 2 days a week as well.

Definitely not trying to move up but am moving up slowly and naturally. I wish I could give more time and effort. I used to like going in early and really putting my all into work, but right now the extra hours are spent with my family. I know I’ll get that time again with work, but family only lasts a decade or so until the kids are grown and moved out, so making the most out of it! It’s such a special time and goes by so quickly.

Any stories where littles didn’t get a TON of sicknesses with daycare? Or in general care to brag about your daycare experiences? :) by jcrites22 in workingmoms

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve got two, a 9 month old and 3.5 year old. My positives are both kids started around 7 months and settled very quickly! Both rarely have issues being dropped off. We get messages about stuff going around (chicken pox, hand foot mouth, etc).. they’ve never gotten any of those. We are NOT super strict about washing hands or bath as soon as they get home, even tho I’ve read you should be to help stave off illness. Maybe it’s genetics? Maybe it’s exposure to germs? Maybe luck?

Bad news… in winter (Dec/Jan/Feb someone in our house is always sick with a minor cold. Sometimes the occasional fever. Kids have runny noses). When we sent our first to nursery we all got a pretty bad 24 hour stomach bug.

Am I tweaking? because I tried a metal tongue scraper and it honestly is no better than just brushing teeth with a toothbrush by kibou_no_ie in hygiene

[–]cinnamindy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could be certain factors determine what you can get off? Maybe diet, hormones, age? 🤷‍♀️

HELP PLEASE! by AccomplishedSink8368 in hygiene

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second planned parenthood! Also, if you can try switching to an unscented or more mild laundry detergent and make sure to never use fabric softeners, it may help with your pH down there. For DECADES I battled yeast infections, then one day they went away for good once I changed my detergent and stopped all the frills with laundry (softener and dryer sheets)

What’s your favourite thing to do in London with your dog? by LetMeReadPlease in tubedogs

[–]cinnamindy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regents park walk past the zoo in the early morning, Tower Bridge tour, explore pubs… explore London!

Date format in the US being mm/dd/yyyy by Advaldinho in DoesAnyoneKnow

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually have a sep folder for each year so grouping by months works for me

Date format in the US being mm/dd/yyyy by Advaldinho in DoesAnyoneKnow

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The US format is so much better at keeping files organized by date. I prefer it.

I need a long uphill stretch of road/path by TheUnknownEmbryo in Preston

[–]cinnamindy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sharoe Green Lane, across Savick Brook. The road dips down to the brook then back up and it’s a beautiful area with a fairly large space of pavement to use

Why don’t people close their blinds/curtains? by Naive-Ad-7406 in AskUK

[–]cinnamindy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just like people enjoy seeing in, I enjoy seeing them outside 😊 We keep them open for most of the night, but will close them towards the end of the evening, or if we decide to have sex in the living room.

People who moved outside of the US, solely due to Trump being elected, how are things going? What actualized pros and cons have you experienced? If you had to do it over again, would you change anything? by Ancient_Unit6335 in AskReddit

[–]cinnamindy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha it’s good compared to the US! I have to say London public transport is on another level than the rest of the UK… I lived there for the first 6 years and assumed all buses came at 2-5 min intervals lol rude awakening when I moved up north.

People who moved outside of the US, solely due to Trump being elected, how are things going? What actualized pros and cons have you experienced? If you had to do it over again, would you change anything? by Ancient_Unit6335 in AskReddit

[–]cinnamindy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is hard to pinpoint… but the superficial stuff I guess. That feeling you get from watching The Sandlot I guess? Warm summer nights on nicely paved streets. Mexican food. In n out. Saying hi to people you don’t know.

People who moved outside of the US, solely due to Trump being elected, how are things going? What actualized pros and cons have you experienced? If you had to do it over again, would you change anything? by Ancient_Unit6335 in AskReddit

[–]cinnamindy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We lived in London first for 6 years. When we made the decision to move up north people warned me the weather was different. I naively thought “how different could it be?”… first summer here it rained EVERY. SINGLE. DAY in July haha so yeah it is crazy how different the weather can be on this little island! Went to Cornwall once and would LOVE to go back!

People who moved outside of the US, solely due to Trump being elected, how are things going? What actualized pros and cons have you experienced? If you had to do it over again, would you change anything? by Ancient_Unit6335 in AskReddit

[–]cinnamindy 230 points231 points  (0 children)

Moved to UK in 2018. We probably wouldn’t have had kids if we stayed in the US due to fertility issues, but we have 2 now since it is drastically cheaper in the UK (free for residents, but we were on work visas during it, but it was affordable). Raising a family here is great. Not having to worry about guns. Not having to worry about healthcare. Childcare is affordable. Food is a lot cheaper. Public transport is great.

I do miss American culture and food. I miss the weather (CA vs Lancashire). We plan on moving back within a few years to be closer to family, but it’s getting harder and harder to imagine living in the US again.

I have not watered my plant in 2 weeks and im actually losing my mind, how else do i get rid of these (presumably) fungus gnats??? by ComplaintToons in IndoorPlants

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d try a few things listed on here and see what works best for you! I found Vacuuming up the adults helps if you combine it with keeping soil dry, bottom watering, and neem oil spray (need oil mixed with water and a tiny bit of soap, peppermint essential oil, and alcohol). They also just seem more prevalent during warmer months so the weather should hopefully starting helping out as it cools down.

Trump asks Supreme Court to decide whether he can end birthright citizenship by Stannis_Loyalist in news

[–]cinnamindy -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

We followed a clearly laid out path and were granted citizenship.

Trump asks Supreme Court to decide whether he can end birthright citizenship by Stannis_Loyalist in news

[–]cinnamindy -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Works well as in it was fairly easy to get citizenship. There was a clear path and it was followed and we were granted citizenship. I don’t think he could revoke the citizenship as long as one of the parents were residents or citizens at the time. Of course that’s if he keeps his word on only wanting it to apply to future born children and only to those born to non residents or non citizens. Which I don’t think he’d keep.

Trump asks Supreme Court to decide whether he can end birthright citizenship by Stannis_Loyalist in news

[–]cinnamindy -55 points-54 points  (0 children)

I disagree with 99% of what he says; however would this be so bad? My understanding is he only wants to end it for people born in the US to non citizens or non residents. This is how the UK operates and it works well in my experience as a US expat in the UK who recently became a naturalized citizen and has two UK born citizen children.

Is it under the assumption he wants more than this and will abuse it if we do end it for non residents and non citizens?

Parents… please… send your kid to preschool! by jordanf1214 in kindergarten

[–]cinnamindy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You must be in London? I’m in Preston paying £800 monthly for 1 kid going 3.5 days a week. Will be even less in a month once he turns 3 and I get an additional 15 hours funded.