radhakapoor

Hi, moved out to Palo Alto two months ago for a new job. Originally from London but living in NYC before this. Would love to connect!

tamsyn1

Hi!
I'm in the Palo Alto area too. Originally from Cornwall, UK, but I've been here for a couple of years now for work. I really like the lifestyle, but still miss things about Britain sometimes
I'd love to find other brits in the area!

LisaH1981

Hi,

I'm moving from UK to Palo Alto in a couple of weeks.

Originally from London, now just outside of Bristol. Hubby is joining Google team.

Be great to connect with some people! Let me know if you're up for it still, I know this thread is a little old.

Lisa x

tamsyn1

Hi Lisa!
Of course! I'd be happy to get together once you're here!
In the meantime, don't hesitate to message me if you need anything. I know it can be a somewhat daunting!! Good luck with the move!

Tamsyn

Fivehals

Hi Lisa
Did you move ok? We’re moving to Campbell in approx. 4 weeks with our 3 children - daunted isn’t the word! Exciting though!

Sally x

LisaH1981

Hello!
We arrived two weeks ago. We're renting in Palo Alto, near to Juana Briones elementary school.

It's been a whirlwind! Still waiting to hear back from PAUSD about school places for my 9 & 11 year old, have done all the vaccination requirements etc.

If anyone is up for a coffee or park meet up that would be great?!
Totally overwhelmed but enjoying everything so far, was most nervous about the driving but actually it's not too bad.

Love to hear from you!
Lisa x

Fivehals

Glad to hear it went well and the driving isn’t so bad! I am a bit worried about that haha. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.
I can’t wait, we’re so ready to go now.
Did you get the children’s vaccinations done in the U.K. or when you got there?
I’d love to meet up with people when we are finally there it’d be great for the children to have a chat with others going through the same thing

LisaH1981

Hi,

It's honestly not so bad, the driving bit! I was so nervous at first, but after a couple of days it's fine.

We had the TB check and the Varicella (chicken pox) test done here in Palo Alto at the local CVS (pharmacy), they charged us for both because we didn't have our SSN (social security numbers) yet. But hubby can claim back from his company. If you can get a UK doctor to certify that your children have had chicken pox then that's sufficient. One of our kids has it on his medical records because he was quite poorly with it, but the other two don't so we had to have the test done for them. Tests only take a few days for results to come through. TB is a skin prick test which they check 48 hours later to make sure there's been no significant reaction. Varicella is a blood test.

They won't assign you a school or tell you of available places until after you have proof of address, utility bill and various other records and are actually living here. Our local school is full so we've just found out today our two older boys have been given places at a nearby school which is about an 8 minute drive. It feeds into the same middle school as they'd go to anyway.

Definitely be interested in meeting up when you get here, if you have any questions about the initial process in the meantime,just shout. I'm definitely no expert but finding my way as I go 😂

Lisa x

me_gustas_tu

You'll definitely find quite a few Brits in Palo Alto and down here in Mountain View. Mostly (in my experience) in their twenties and thirties (I'm in that latter category) and working in tech or related fields. There may be some UK focused meet ups on meetup.com, but I haven't checked that out.

If you're in Palo Alto and want a very fake taste of Britain, head over to the Rose and Crown for a not-quite-authentic-but-okay-I-guess English-style pub.

SherlockFan

Our physician was happy to add history of chicken pox on the medical notes based on our testimony and pictures on our phones, which was nice.

Generally I find the driving on the surbuban roads easier than Britain, but the freeways slightly harder. The whole under over taking, combined with a higher chance of random things on road. The lack of lorries makes a nice change thiugh.

We've been in Menlo Park now for six months - still waiting for my work permitt to come through...