expatdoc

As someone trying to figure out whether to stay in the US or UK I guess am trying to outline good and bad points between the two

US pos

Easy to pick up a job paying $250k with GC thrown in etc in pretty decent suburban locations in CA, NJ etc
Access to up to date technology but a lot of hospitals I have seen are worse than NHS ones
Possible higher standard of living but to quantify this is tough

US neg

Medical records system most awful thing I come across
Just the general stuff country seems a bit soul less.
Found it hard make solid friends here
Still single (!)
Awful TV

UK Pos

Family there still feel a responsibility to parents as getting older
NHS is efficient
Food better
TV better and more social interaction there
Everything close by

UK Neg

Feel medical professionals demonised by media there not here as everything so spread out
Maybe NHS on its way out soon also

Sorry just needed to vent regarding my dilemma

Sarah

Don't listen to whatever negative BS the media is spewing about doctors, 99% of the british people know they are the backbone of the NHS and know that they work their arses off.
The thought of the NHS going away makes me so incredibly sad. Effing tories.

ian-mstm

Your list suggests that you're looking at this as an either/or lifetime proposition with no chance whatsoever to change your mind down the road.

Ian

expatdoc

Problem is with the way medical licensing works its hard to maintain a license in both countries if you are away from the other and the process of trying to renew one if you move either to/from either country is arduous to say the least.

That is main issue so yes you can change your mind but not that often so to speak!

I guess the income opportunities in the US havent really outweighed the negatives here imo

As for the UK media if it wasnt for basing medical professionals I feel the Daily Wail would run out of things to headline on!

Just a mute point but in the US I have never seen a patient refused treatment due to inability to pay. There is emergency medicaid which seems to kick in pretty quick and most hospitals have charity care schemes which help the undocumented/uninsured etc

StuBear65

To be fair the Daily Fail demonises all public sector workers. As a member of the Police Service I feel your pain. It's a good thing I have a thick skin and an escape plan.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

petitefrancaise

OK, Aunty PF here - if you were one of my kids, I'd probably give you a good talking to.

Nowhere is perfect. Nowhere at all. If you are deeply unhappy about your situation then I would suspect you are generally pretty unhappy in yourself. Moving generally doesn't make us happier once the initial excitement and newness has worn off. As Bob likes to say "same shit, different bucket".
You sound lonely and fedup. Try to get some help - whether that's talking to someone or getting some meds to help you through this, preferably both. Maybe talk to your family more, visit home, do whatever you need to do to feel loved and valued for yourself.
Get a long term plan? Have you got your GC yet? You were posting about that a few months back I see. Have a think about working with a charity once you've got your GC.
And for God's sake stop worrying about the NHS and what people might/might not think of doctors. You can't do anything about either and If the NHS does go down the pan, people will still need doctors.

Well, that's probably what I'd say to one of my kids and it would be accompanied by lots of love and hugs. So I'm sending you those too.

expatdoc

I think the issue for me is that everyone on here goes on about how hard it is to immigrate to the US yet here I am with several gilt edged offers with bonus pay and GC sponsorship thrown in and yet I still dont feel that drawn to the US and still have a lot of appreciation for Blighty.

I guess my concern is that looking at Blighty with rose tinted glasses and trying to ignore the NHS in crisis speak going on there as that has been said for the last 20 years.

Just dont want to look back in ten years saying what if....

expatdoc

Thank you yes I am isolated here. I havent signed a job yet once I do only then would the GC process start.

I am the most non-$$$ motivated person you could come across so I keep thinking this isnt the place for me.

Couple days back went to the dentist with supposedly good insurance and was asked for $100 co-pay for some deep cleaning (they never told me that when booking the appt!) so I simply said no and walked out! Sorry I digress but was mortified by it.

Jerseygirl

I can relate to this. We came to the US in 1996...hubby was a partner with one of the big 4 accountancy companies. Super quick company transfer, money, green card wasn't a problem. Yet we never settled in the US and in many, many ways we wish we hadn't moved. There again we didn't want to be sat in our rocking chairs wondering what if....

petitefrancaise

So, have you been sitting around since ?June wondering whether to take a job with a GC?
I'm sure you've heard your US colleagues talking about the mountain of debt they've taken on to finance their education? So, if they seem overly concerned about money it's probably due to those repayments that they have to make.

From my username, you could have deduced that I lived in France for a while. One of the strangest things I saw was how reluctant British people are to talk about money and paying their doctors there and then for the appointment. Or British doctors feeling embarrassed for taking the 23 euro cheque given to them by their patients. This separation of healthcare and paying for it, is really uniquely British. We Brits pay for our healthcare,just not directly. Are you worried that the NHS will become a service for which we have to pay directly just like the rest of the first world?

And really,not paying for your dental care??? It's not their fault you have insurance that doesn't cover it all. They will not have known this until they put your insurance details into the software.

BTW - ex dental hygienist who worked in France too.

And a GC doesn't have to be forever. Bumble aparently is also a good app.

expatdoc

think i was bit peeved as they had full details of my insurance well before that day and they specifically said no co-pay so to go there and they say $100 was tad annoying.

Dont get the link between GC and bumble. I checked the app seems a 1 sided version of Tinder.

From what I was a told premium processed Eb2 GC shouldnt take forever I hope!

petitefrancaise

I did not mean to infer a link between a GC and bumble.
Why did you come to the US in the first place? ie what attracted you about it?
Bumble is one-sided. I'm told that's what makes it popular.

BTW Dental Insurance in the US is completely messed up. I still cannot believe that a patient has to go ahead with treatment, have the dentist submit the bill and only at this point does either the dentist or the patient know how much the patient will have to pay. My insurance tells me that it will pay 50% of the cost of a crown for example. What it doesn't tell you or the dentist is that they decide what the total bill should be. So, if your dentist charges $1200 for a crown, you go ahead thinking that they will pay $600 only to find out afterwards that they will only authorise $1000 for a crown. I was totally gobsmacked at this malarkey. So I called my dental insurance people and asked how much my part of the bill would be. They refused to tell me! In the end, they said, assume you will pay 100% and then whatever we pay will be a bonus!!!!

expatdoc

I dont think medical insurance is much better with that regard but dental for sure seems more bunch of cowboys.

Looks like I will get my teeth done next time in Blighty by my mates from dental school who were there when I did medicine.

Again I paid squat for med school in england but I worked there for a few years but I still feel a loyalty there for giving me the education and I still feel medical education is FAR superior there to here, undergrad wise.

Looking back I came to the US looking for that golden ticket. I may have seen bright lights etc etc but have been disappointed in so many ways.

Hence those people that come on here saying want to live near disneyland, nyc, hollywood think again the reality here is very different.

anotherlimey

Hmm I don't think that's all dental insurance though. Mine has a price list I can refer to.

My medical insurance on the other hand is a joke. My machete injury had me waiting in ER for 7 hours before I was seen (OK, not insurance related); the final bill will run into the teens I imagine, because I had an operation to clean the wound. My share will probably be around 5k.

expatdoc

Just out of curiosity forget about the 5k but how on earth did you get a machete injury?!!