Hello from beautiful Surrey in the UK

[DianaUSUK]

I am Diana and I'm a post-op woman, 55 years old, a dual British-American citizen who mostly lives in the UK (Surrey) but also have a place in Maryland just outside Annapolis on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.

 

I was in the booming high-tech field of the 1990s but I left in 2000 when I sold the company I had co-founded and concentrated more on investing in technology, and also patents I owned or acquired. I also took this time when I left the world of the office to change myself to the gender I feel I should have been since birth. I have been physically all female since 2006.

 

I married an amazing British man in 2010 who already had a transgender daughter (which is indirectly how we met). We lived in London for many years but sadly he left this world in 2017. But I am still very close to his children who still live in the UK, and sometimes one of them will accompany me when I spend time during the summers back in Maryland.

 

I am still very much interested in technology though these days it mostly just involves keeping track of my investments, which of course I can do from home. Otherwise I am retired and I enjoy the beautiful countryside, traveling, gardening, beauty, fashion, and of course keeping in close contact with family.

 

My daughter told me I should try this site out, so I am!  Hello to everyone!

[Carolyn Marie]

Welcome to Trans Pulse, Diana.  Your story is very interesting, partly because we don't have many members who have had success with love and marriage as a trans person.  We do, of course, have many married members, but almost all were married before transitioning, including myself.

 

I hope you find this site interesting and useful, and I'm certain you will have advice and information that will help others with their journey.  Please look around and post in whichever forum you find something interesting, or start your own threads.

 

HUGS

 

Carolyn Marie

[Mmindy]

1 hour ago, DianaUSUK said:

My daughter told me I should try this site out, so I am!  Hello to everyone!

Good afternoon Diana,

 

Welcome to Transgender Pulse Forums, I'm sure you will find this place to be very open and friendly. I'm glad you were able to find love and marry into a bonus family with a trans daughter. Your experience and insight with the transgender community had to benefit your relationship with the family. That same experience can surely benefit some of us here too. Look around and jump in on the conversations.

 

Best wishes, stay positive, and motivated.

 

Mindy🐛🏳️‍⚧️🦋

[ChloeL]

Welcome to the site Diana!

 

You will find a lot of great people and great experiences here.  I'm sorry to hear about your husband.  May he rest in piece.

 

Are you originally a US citizen, as you said you have dual citizenship?  I guess I really don't understand how that works.  I think it's awesome your daughter convinced you to join.  I'm sure everybody here will appreciate you being here and it's a great place to learn about different experiences!

[Charlize]

Welcome Diana.

 I love the title of your introductory post : from the beautiful Surry.  

I feel much the same way about my lovely section of NJ.  We had a place down on the Delaware  Bay but with rising sea levels we sold the home.  

I found this site about 12 years ago and have found friends as well as the support i've needed from folks who understand.

Glad you have joined us.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

 

[Jani]

Hello Diana and welcome!  You surely seem to have had an interesting life.  I'm glad you found us.  Please join in the conversation when you can.

 

Cheers, 

Jani

[Madison_1990]

Welcome to the site, Diana.

 

How did you meet your late husband indirectly through his transgender daughter?  That sounds like an interesting story.

 

Do you still hold any patents?  I don't understand quite how that works and if they only have a limited time, but it sounds like you were very involved with the technology boom of the 1990s (when I was just a young child).  I'm glad you used the time when you left the industry to find yourself.

 

As others have said, definitely speak up and feel welcome to post here!

[April Marie]

Welcome to TP, Diana!! I think you'll find lots of wonderful people here to share ideas and support one another. I look forward to hearing more about your journey - as much as you are comfortable sharing - as someone just beginning this journey.

[DianaUSUK]

Thanks everybody for the welcome!

 

To answer your questions Madison, I was volunteering at a transgender support group in London at the time and his daughter was one of the group members (she was 20 at the time) and he used to meet her there after the sessions as the group met not far from his office, and I just found him very charming and we eventually fell in love and I married him two years later.

 

As far as the patents, those expire after 20 years so the last ended in 2018, though I have a few that are still valid.  We were mostly involved with securing money transactions between banks which was a really big deal back in the 90s as banks were finding their way online but online security stunk in those days.  It was something I was very glad to be involved with, but by the time we sold the company and I semi-retired, the 15 or so crazy years I'd spent in the industry nearly killed me lol.

 

Thanks again for the warm greeting all.

 

[Heather Shay]

Gosh I'm late to the welcoming group - but I see you've met many of the amazing people here and I can't add much more than saying I'm glad you're here.

[DianaUSUK]

On 8/11/2023 at 2:06 PM, ChloeL said:

Are you originally a US citizen, as you said you have dual citizenship?  I guess I really don't understand how that works. 

 

I just realized I didn't answer your question, Chloe.  Yes I was born in the US and lived there exclusively until after my transition when I started living a good part of the time in London.  After I married my husband who was a British citizen, and I had lived here for several years, I got my UK citizenship as well.

[Tilly]

Hi Diana and thank for your helpful comments on my other thread.

 

I have a lot of contact with Surrey, spending plenty of time in what I agree is a really beautiful county. It has more trees than any other county in the UK I believe (and private schools!!).

 

I am so sorry to learn about your late husband. That's so sad but it's great you still have lots of contact with his family.

 

I'm relatively new to this place too so it feels inappropriate to say 'welcome' as if I was a part of the old furniture of the place. However, from one newcomer to another I say 'hello.' 

[DianaUSUK]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:39 AM, Tilly said:

Hi Diana and thank for your helpful comments on my other thread.

 

I have a lot of contact with Surrey, spending plenty of time in what I agree is a really beautiful county. It has more trees than any other county in the UK I believe (and private schools!!).

 

I am so sorry to learn about your late husband. That's so sad but it's great you still have lots of contact with his family.

 

I'm relatively new to this place too so it feels inappropriate to say 'welcome' as if I was a part of the old furniture of the place. However, from one newcomer to another I say 'hello.' 

 

Thank you Tilly.  Yes Surrey is such a beautiful part of the country and I am so glad I moved here out of London a few years ago.  Yes I enjoy going back into the city when I must, but it's just so much more relaxed here.

 

Thanks for your sympathy about my husband as well.  Yes it was a shock as his death was sudden, but I'm so glad I am so close to his kids, especially his daughter, who I am having lunch with on Friday!  

 

Thanks again for the welcome Tilly, and to everyone else.

[Ivy]

Welcome Diana.

Sorry I'm late here, but I just saw this thread.

[gemmalouise]

Hey Diana, I just arrived on this forum.  Sorry for your loss.