CoolHandFluke

tbh i wouldnt really be willing to do the extra work to get there, im willing to work hard to get a chance at living in the us,

robtuck

How about Malta if it's the weather you are after?

sarasota chic

Rete

I'm not an immigrant nor is Rene a/k/a Noorah.

CoolHandFluke

there wont be much construction work there

civilservant

OP, I know that you feel like the US is the land of milk and honey, but have you actually tried looking at anywhere else? In the EU for example? Or is it partly because the US speaks English?

CoolHandFluke

english speaking, lots of opportunity if your hardworking, lots of construction work, all year round sun in cali, family live there, add to that we absolutely love the place ...

Rete

Actually, I do understand. I'm German by birth and recently discovered I still have my German citizenship. I have been to Germany countless times to stay with my aunt and I loved every moment of my two week at a time visits. The people on the most part have been friendly, the weather was beautiful, scenery to die for. bread that tastes and smells heavenly, easy public transportation but, unlike you, I have the right to live there. My head knows that living there and visiting there are different things. You have a dream. Nothing anyone is going to say to you will shake that dream you have of living in the US in a large house with an in-ground swimming pool and shorts and tee shirt weather. The collective 'we' are just trying to help you see that it is not all sunshine and butterflies.

The downsides of living in the US are many and, yes, some of them are life threatening. Try living without healthcare because you don't qualify for ACA or Medicaid but only for high priced, high deductible private insurance.

You go to work one day and find you no longer have a job. No notice, just a good morning, Paul, please have your desk cleared within the hour. Security will escort you out. For you that means pack up the family home and get your arse back to the UK because you lose your job, you lose your visa.

You're like Martin Luther King and you have a dream. It didn't come true for him. Perhaps it might for you in another 5 to 10 years.

SultanOfSwing

OK, it's real talk time and please understand that I'm trying to help you out here and don't take it the wrong way, but are any of your family who lives there US citizens? I say this only because it will be nigh on impossible to get a company to sponsor you for a work visa for construction work unless you are a specialist or an engineer or something. For an employment visa you are going to have to demonstrate (or at least a potential employer is) that you will be performing a job that can't be done by someone who is already a resident or citizen. If you're a laborer, that is going to be very difficult to demonstrate. I don't want to burst your bubble but despite what people might have you believe, it is actually very hard to get into the US to live and work. For example, if I hadn't met and married a US citizen, I'd still be sat in a civil service office in Belfast right now. Been a while since I've been involved in a thread regarding H and L visas but I think they also require college degrees for most applicants as well but if you have one already then you may have luck in a different field. Contractors in America generally don't issue working visas unless it's something like an H2-B seasonal visa for Mexican laborers.

A lot of the EU has a high level of English fluency, especially when you compare it to the embarrassingly low rate of multilingualism in the Anglophone world, so language need not be a barrier. Here's a shot out of left field for you though - what about Asia? Somewhere like Singapore or Malaysia, even Hong Kong have a high number of English speakers due to being former colonies and the weather might be more your cup of tea.

kimilseung

"Here be Trumps" marked on modern maps, should be enough to keep sensible people out.

Lion in Winter

Speaking as someone who works for a large non-profit that just axed a good third of their staff (fortunately missing me) I can attest to this. People with 10 years service left the same day. Almost all states in the US are "at will", meaning that employers can fire you at will, whenever they feel like it. And they do.

Lion in Winter

I know, I was just exaggerating for comedic effect...

Anian

If you want to do construction work in Cali, start learning Spanish.

scrubbedexpat099

and many other places.

Rete

Florida is another state where the primary language in Miami and other major cities is Spanish. In New York, small construction firms like the one you are thinking of joining might use Latino workers because they are lower paid, and non-union, i.e. home renovations, etc. For major construction firms, you need to be unionized in order to work and in the Greater New York area, that means over 50% of the skilled workers are Irish and cannot work unless they belong to the appropriate union. Go to the Woodlawn section of Bronx/Yonkers and you will find the union headquarters for carpenters, electricians, and plumbers. Woodlawn has been converted from primarily an Italian neighborhood when Yonkers saw many Italians flee the city because of Judge Sands' decision and the ultimate result being that all children were to be bussed to schools outside of their neighbor to give a more equal distribution of white/black/Hispanic students. The Irish from the Bronx section of Woodlawn moved into the available homes and apartments have it has become a popular enclave for the Irish who rather than send their children to public schools, send them to the two Catholic schools in the neighborhood.