Bad times in Texas
May 27th 2009, 1:03 am
#91
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Bad times in Texas
May 27th 2009, 1:23 am
#94
A lion in your lap
Joined: Jul 2003
Location: Sparta NJ
Posts: 7,605
Re: Bad times in Texas
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
May 27th 2009, 2:09 am
#95
Banned
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 38
Re: Bad times in Texas
I want to warn people who are considering moving to Texas, before you go, please do your homework.
I have spent the last 5 years there and have finally admitted defeat and returned to UK.
Make sure you have plenty of available funds and be prepared in case of job losses, because Texas has "hire n fire at will" I worked for Home Depot and Wal-Mart and the salary was quite poor ($10 per hour). I didn't have a college degree and this is the route most Americans take to avoid these jobs.
Food prices are roughly twice what they are in UK, and believe me, they are.
$4.99 for a pineapple and $25 for a few steaks is quite expensive.
Getting adequate healthcare is a nightmare, you cannot afford to be sick here at all. Medical costs can bankrupt you here very quickly, my fiancee was in hospital 4 days with breathing difficulties with asthma and the bill came to $6000. There is no way anyone can afford to pay that.
You have to work a FULL year before getting ONE day off, compared with 5 weeks holiday time in UK. Not easy to work through Easter and Christmas without a break.
Jobs, if you are lucky to find one, are not around the corner, I had to do 100 miles trip a day to work and that cuts into anyones budget.
Remember, Immigrants cannot claim welfare or Medicare for 5 years, and if you become homeless and jobless like we did, its "tough luck, buddy"
and if you think of retiring on a decent income here, you haven't a cat in hells chance, because the Americans have been paying in the Social Security from 16, and if you are 40 something, you will be working well into your late 70's and 80's just like my friends at Wal-Mart, where the greeters were all over 75.
America? No, thank you. I made the right decision and came home to UK.
I have spent the last 5 years there and have finally admitted defeat and returned to UK.
Make sure you have plenty of available funds and be prepared in case of job losses, because Texas has "hire n fire at will" I worked for Home Depot and Wal-Mart and the salary was quite poor ($10 per hour). I didn't have a college degree and this is the route most Americans take to avoid these jobs.
Food prices are roughly twice what they are in UK, and believe me, they are.
$4.99 for a pineapple and $25 for a few steaks is quite expensive.
Getting adequate healthcare is a nightmare, you cannot afford to be sick here at all. Medical costs can bankrupt you here very quickly, my fiancee was in hospital 4 days with breathing difficulties with asthma and the bill came to $6000. There is no way anyone can afford to pay that.
You have to work a FULL year before getting ONE day off, compared with 5 weeks holiday time in UK. Not easy to work through Easter and Christmas without a break.
Jobs, if you are lucky to find one, are not around the corner, I had to do 100 miles trip a day to work and that cuts into anyones budget.
Remember, Immigrants cannot claim welfare or Medicare for 5 years, and if you become homeless and jobless like we did, its "tough luck, buddy"
and if you think of retiring on a decent income here, you haven't a cat in hells chance, because the Americans have been paying in the Social Security from 16, and if you are 40 something, you will be working well into your late 70's and 80's just like my friends at Wal-Mart, where the greeters were all over 75.
America? No, thank you. I made the right decision and came home to UK.
You will not see a single garment in Australia costing $50 or lower.
Texas have no state tax and if you have a degree and green card its the best place to work.The weather is excellent.In America you need to have medical insurance from employer.If you love luxury treatment from NHS then goto Canada.
May 27th 2009, 2:12 am
#96
Arrogant ****
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Plano, TX
Posts: 4,323
Re: Bad times in Texas
It seems haven't lived in Australia?
You will not see a single garment in Australia costing $50 or lower.
Texas have no state tax and if you have a degree and green card its the best place to work.The weather is excellent.In America you need to have medical insurance from employer.If you love luxury treatment from NHS then goto Canada.
You will not see a single garment in Australia costing $50 or lower.
Texas have no state tax and if you have a degree and green card its the best place to work.The weather is excellent.In America you need to have medical insurance from employer.If you love luxury treatment from NHS then goto Canada.
You need to get out more!
May 27th 2009, 2:18 am
#97
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Bad times in Texas
It's not clear to me how this policy works - since I've never known or known of anybody who worked for an employer who implemented it.
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
May 27th 2009, 2:21 am
#98
American Expat
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,598
Re: Bad times in Texas
It's not clear to me how this policy works - since I've never known or known of anybody who worked for an employer who implemented it.
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
May 27th 2009, 3:11 am
#99
Account Closed
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 0
Re: Bad times in Texas
I want to warn people who are considering moving to Texas, before you go, please do your homework.
I have spent the last 5 years there and have finally admitted defeat and returned to UK.
Make sure you have plenty of available funds and be prepared in case of job losses, because Texas has "hire n fire at will" I worked for Home Depot and Wal-Mart and the salary was quite poor ($10 per hour). I didn't have a college degree and this is the route most Americans take to avoid these jobs.
Food prices are roughly twice what they are in UK, and believe me, they are.
$4.99 for a pineapple and $25 for a few steaks is quite expensive.
Getting adequate healthcare is a nightmare, you cannot afford to be sick here at all. Medical costs can bankrupt you here very quickly, my fiancee was in hospital 4 days with breathing difficulties with asthma and the bill came to $6000. There is no way anyone can afford to pay that.
You have to work a FULL year before getting ONE day off, compared with 5 weeks holiday time in UK. Not easy to work through Easter and Christmas without a break.
Jobs, if you are lucky to find one, are not around the corner, I had to do 100 miles trip a day to work and that cuts into anyones budget.
Remember, Immigrants cannot claim welfare or Medicare for 5 years, and if you become homeless and jobless like we did, its "tough luck, buddy"
and if you think of retiring on a decent income here, you haven't a cat in hells chance, because the Americans have been paying in the Social Security from 16, and if you are 40 something, you will be working well into your late 70's and 80's just like my friends at Wal-Mart, where the greeters were all over 75.
America? No, thank you. I made the right decision and came home to UK.
I have spent the last 5 years there and have finally admitted defeat and returned to UK.
Make sure you have plenty of available funds and be prepared in case of job losses, because Texas has "hire n fire at will" I worked for Home Depot and Wal-Mart and the salary was quite poor ($10 per hour). I didn't have a college degree and this is the route most Americans take to avoid these jobs.
Food prices are roughly twice what they are in UK, and believe me, they are.
$4.99 for a pineapple and $25 for a few steaks is quite expensive.
Getting adequate healthcare is a nightmare, you cannot afford to be sick here at all. Medical costs can bankrupt you here very quickly, my fiancee was in hospital 4 days with breathing difficulties with asthma and the bill came to $6000. There is no way anyone can afford to pay that.
You have to work a FULL year before getting ONE day off, compared with 5 weeks holiday time in UK. Not easy to work through Easter and Christmas without a break.
Jobs, if you are lucky to find one, are not around the corner, I had to do 100 miles trip a day to work and that cuts into anyones budget.
Remember, Immigrants cannot claim welfare or Medicare for 5 years, and if you become homeless and jobless like we did, its "tough luck, buddy"
and if you think of retiring on a decent income here, you haven't a cat in hells chance, because the Americans have been paying in the Social Security from 16, and if you are 40 something, you will be working well into your late 70's and 80's just like my friends at Wal-Mart, where the greeters were all over 75.
America? No, thank you. I made the right decision and came home to UK.
I read this when it was first posted, I read all the replies and I wasn't going to post because our struggles living in the US (and yes it is Texas as well) were from over 20 years ago but I guess it depends on how determined you are and what you do to make sure you survive.
A lot of you know our story. Yes we were homeless and jobless for a while and it was a very scary situation. We ping-ponged as well at one point but came straight back to give it another go, only to have to battle unemployment and rental problems again and again. We persevered, we finally found our feet and the rest is history. We had no safety net and for a lot of the time during our first years we also didn't have any medical insurance so I know it can be tough.
The one thing I don't understand is why did you stay in the Huntsville area? Unless you work for the prison service or the University there is no other employment around. If you were really desperate TDCJ is always hiring, not just guards but other positions as well.
Your gripe about working without getting anytime off is strange as well, it's not like you work seven days a week, and hey, when times are hard sacrifices have to be made. Even Walmart workers get time off
I still don't get the bit about Texas being expensive......it's one of the cheapest states to live in. Food prices have risen over the last year but I think you will find this is the same world wide.
Good luck to you in your future, sorry it didn't work out here for you. I think you have to be a special breed of person to live in Texas, it's not for everyone
May 27th 2009, 3:21 am
#100
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Bad times in Texas
OMG, you never want to call in sick. Well not at Sainsburys or NatWest. You have to endure an "interview" with your supervisor (in my case at NatWest it was Phoebe the bitch) to find out why you were out sick. And this was only for one day off. 
But I do love your story SM.....you give encouragement for anyone and everyone! 
May 27th 2009, 3:32 am
#102
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 7,605
Re: Bad times in Texas
I read this when it was first posted, I read all the replies and I wasn't going to post because our struggles living in the US (and yes it is Texas as well) were from over 20 years ago but I guess it depends on how determined you are and what you do to make sure you survive.
A lot of you know our story. Yes we were homeless and jobless for a while and it was a very scary situation. We ping-ponged as well at one point but came straight back to give it another go, only to have to battle unemployment and rental problems again and again. We persevered, we finally found our feet and the rest is history. We had no safety net and for a lot of the time during our first years we also didn't have any medical insurance so I know it can be tough.
The one thing I don't understand is why did you stay in the Huntsville area? Unless you work for the prison service or the University there is no other employment around. If you were really desperate TDCJ is always hiring, not just guards but other positions as well.
Your gripe about working without getting anytime off is strange as well, it's not like you work seven days a week, and hey, when times are hard sacrifices have to be made. Even Walmart workers get time off
I still don't get the bit about Texas being expensive......it's one of the cheapest states to live in. Food prices have risen over the last year but I think you will find this is the same world wide.
Good luck to you in your future, sorry it didn't work out here for you. I think you have to be a special breed of person to live in Texas, it's not for everyone
A lot of you know our story. Yes we were homeless and jobless for a while and it was a very scary situation. We ping-ponged as well at one point but came straight back to give it another go, only to have to battle unemployment and rental problems again and again. We persevered, we finally found our feet and the rest is history. We had no safety net and for a lot of the time during our first years we also didn't have any medical insurance so I know it can be tough.
The one thing I don't understand is why did you stay in the Huntsville area? Unless you work for the prison service or the University there is no other employment around. If you were really desperate TDCJ is always hiring, not just guards but other positions as well.
Your gripe about working without getting anytime off is strange as well, it's not like you work seven days a week, and hey, when times are hard sacrifices have to be made. Even Walmart workers get time off
I still don't get the bit about Texas being expensive......it's one of the cheapest states to live in. Food prices have risen over the last year but I think you will find this is the same world wide.
Good luck to you in your future, sorry it didn't work out here for you. I think you have to be a special breed of person to live in Texas, it's not for everyone
I don't know anything about Huntsville, but it sounds even more parochial than our little town in the Panhandle. I haven't given up hope on finding a job here yet though and even if I did, my plan B would be to find Monday to Friday lodgings in Dallas or near DC and commute weekends, rather than jacking it in (plan D perhaps?).
May 27th 2009, 4:03 am
#103
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Nevada b4 California b4 Colorado b4 Valley of plastic and sand, b4 London
Posts: 2,025
Re: Bad times in Texas
I agree, when I lived in TX, I was dead shocked in what I saw and experienced living there for Americans not just foreigners. It was tough there, especially if you take those minimum wage jobs.
May 27th 2009, 4:59 am
#104
The Kwisatz Haderach
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: North Wales
Posts: 8,080
Re: Bad times in Texas
It's not clear to me how this policy works - since I've never known or known of anybody who worked for an employer who implemented it.
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
Say you want to take a single day off for some reason, as opposed to a whole fortnight for a long trip - do you still have to inform the employer of this single day on January 1st?
It goes by seniority, top of the bid board picks first, one week at a time. So if you want a lot together (first you'd have had to be there a long time to get more than two weeks)
Dh still hasn't picked his time,he passed and let the others have a pick first, so he can see where there are more than one week in a row to get. He is getting(or is asking for) two weeks in October, kids are off school for one week and we'll probably get a long weekend away.
May 27th 2009, 5:14 am
#105
Banned
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 38
Re: Bad times in Texas
Competition is extremely tough in US and its because they brought in people from China and India.If you have ever worked in China or India in your life you can imagine what really a low wage is called ($10 per hour at walmart is comparatively not bad).A medical doctor in India and China makes $400 per month.
Last edited by bfittler; May 27th 2009 at 5:21 am.