OUR ADVENTURES...

Two years ago, we packed up our whole life and moved to Tynemouth with Grant’s dad, his brother, and sister-in-law. The plan? Start a business, settle down, and make England home for good. We left South Carolina (near the mountains, not the beach!) and headed across the Atlantic ready for a big adventure.

 

We jumped in headfirst, trying several times to buy established businesses in the Tynemouth and Whitley Bay areas. We were eager and ready — but quickly learned how tricky it is to buy a business in the UK without established credit. As Americans, we simply didn’t have that history. We even offered to pay upfront, but without UK credit behind us, it just wasn’t possible. It was frustrating, but also part of the learning curve of starting over in a new country.

 

Grant was born in Canada to British parents — his mum was from Chopwell (Dad from Glasgow) — so the UK has always felt like part of his story. After the sudden loss of his mum in 2021, we all felt like life was nudging us toward something new. So we did the slightly crazy thing: quit our jobs, sold our house, sold most of our stuff, and moved countries. It wasn’t easy, but it felt right.

 

After about a year, we finally started to feel settled. Tynemouth quickly became home, and we found the most amazing community. Then, plot twist — Grant was laid off and couldn’t find work. Thankfully, my freelance graphic design work is all based in the U.S., so we were able to stay afloat while figuring things out.

 

Meanwhile, Grant’s dad — a true Scottish golfer who had had enough of the North East weather and missed being on the golf course — decided he was heading back to America no matter what. After a lot of thought, we realized it made sense for us to follow. And then, completely out of the blue, Grant was offered his old job back in the U.S. Sometimes things just fall into place in ways you can’t plan.

 

So here we go again… selling (almost) everything and preparing for another international move — this time to a place we know well. England has been so good to us. We are going to miss our wonderful, welcoming Geordie friends more than we can say. Truly, Geordies are some of the best people in the world.

 

On to the next chapter — grateful for the adventure, the lessons, the friendships, and wherever life takes us next. ✨