Re: At the beginning ...
 

^^ This. Protected class aside with the military, in certain parts of the country firefighters pull double duty as paramedics too or at least are joined at the hip. FDNY here in NYC are the closest thing we have to a 'public' ambulance service. The rest are either NYU, Mount Sinai or another hospital ambulance that I see (with the running joke of 'if I get hurt, stuff me in an Uber to avoid the $x,xxx's fee to ride an ambulance').

Sadly this too. I recall seeing ABC coverage on paramedics getting COVID and being unable to afford medical care (and/or insurance) from the hospitals they work for.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

A quick google for the payscales of my local county EMS suggest they start at about $15 an hour as Paramedic 1, which is the princely sum of about $32k per year :huh:

Of course, that's rural GA, FL might be more, but I can't imagine it would be that much more.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Which is where people get the idea that living here is so cheap. Just had a Google and in the UK the starting salary is GBP25,500 or so for a paramedic. So $32,000 here seems reasonable to people, maybe even well-paid. Especially when they are only used to the prices of things that tourists see such as gas and convenience food. Until they see the cost of health insurance, property taxes, utilities, insurances, used cars, and so on they think $32k is a decent wage.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

There are some sectors with half decent vacations - government jobs, and the tech sector seems to do OK, and then many employers give addtional vacation entitlements to managers too, and as you noted, foreign owned corporations are often more generous with holidays. On the flip side, bear in mind that outside of governments and banks, the public holidays are not universally recognized other than the big ones - Christmas, New Year, Memorial Day, 4th July, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. Some employers also give the day after Thankgiving.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Based on a .8 GBP to 1 USD conversion, the $15 and the GBP figure you mention are actually almost identical.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Exactly! So people think they will be making a UK salary, with UK benefits but with lower outgoings. When in reality it's a UK salary with no UK-style benefits (NHS, etc) and much higher outgoings.

I see that the OP is a newly-wed. If children are going to come into play in the future then they will feel an even bigger difference - no child benefit, no free childcare, almost no maternity leave, the list goes on.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Eligibility for Diversity Visas is determined by place of birth, not nationality. The exclusions from the eligibility list are determined each fiscal year so they can change. Generally UK has been on the exclusion list. Ireland and Northern Ireland are given special treatment.

There is a legal beastie called “cross-chargeability” which if either spouse is a native of a DV eligible area, the both spouses can apply.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

I think it's great to have a dream and you can achieve it! It's just much trickier in the US and in a pandemic!

I'd say your best bet is to plan ahead and you have time since offshore visas are on hold through 2020. If your wife looks for a job with a company that has US offices - the easier option is likely NJ/ NYC/ NC maybe - pharma or banks may be a good option. I know you said FL but that's going to be harder to achieve I think. She would need to be in role for at least a year (preferable become an SME in a niche area if poss) and would need to be managing people/ programmes. If visas then kick up again she could gain a transfer to the US (L1) and you could then gain a work permit based on hers. It's a plan full of faith but that's how we and many other expats I know have come to be here - of course they likely didn't plan that in job searching but it's one of the best routes I think and also allows you both to work.

PS; I've had 3 jobs while here the past 3 years - I had to leave the first two due to visa adjustments but had annual leave of 18, 17 and now 10 (yes 10!!) days even though my current job is the highest paying and all jobs are IT professional. It blew my mind that this is normal for locals and as a PP mentioned, childcare is a killer as well as the cost of just groceries! We - as a fam of 5 went from a £120 per week in the UK to now $300 here in NJ but salaries are usually way higher although that depends on your job and state.

Good luck and stay safe in your job in the uk!

Re: At the beginning ...
 

OK a guy I know who works for the local Fire Department came by and I asked him, he did spend a couple of years in Florida, panhandle.

Now he mentioned various levels but wages $15 to $22 ph. That is here. He was nonplussed about them going to the trouble of sponsoring somebody.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Matticus, with regards Cost of Living comparison, this site may be of use to you. Cant comment on the accuracy of any results you may get and I have no doubt those here who live or have lived in USA are much better informed. However, the link is at least an indicator.

What ever you do, good luck.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

There are probably no conversion courses as such, but foreign applications can be made to the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) from training which originated outside the US. One of the main stumbling blocks (more of a brick wall if truth be known) would be this...

"At the Paramedic level the education program offered in a foreign country must be affiliated with a U.S. based CAAHEP accredited Paramedic education program".

Source

In addition, the point has already been made that if you wanted to work as a paramedic in Florida, you would probably be looking at working for a fire department, many of which would expect that you apply for the "promotion" to FF at the first opportunity (not to mention if you wanted to earn a living wage).

To be honest, I would forget about APL / converting / transferring your qualifications for the NREMT or any similar agency. Even if you were to be registered from the UK (which is highly unlikely), your certification would not provide you with a means of living or working in the US, as it is neither a license to practice (unlike your HCPC pin #), nor a credible means to a job offer which would satisfy employment-based visa criteria. You would be better starting from scratch if / when you were to arrive in the US.

Regardless, you still have the main issue of a visa in front of you, but I can say with some confidence, that it likely won't be obtained through being a paramedic. I would not only look at other avenues, but other locations.

Good luck.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

We are lucky at my US based technology company. I'm just a systems engineer (and not a manager) and have 7 years service which gets me 19 days vacation per year (this maxes out at 21 days after 9 years) plus we have a week long paid shutdown over Thanksgiving week plus we also have paid shutdown from Dec 23rd until Jan 2nd. In addition we get all the major holidays Pulaski mentioned plus MLK day in January.

I find North Carolina really good value, Taxes are low, Property prices are still low although they are rising, Gas is cheap, Food is cheap.

My wife is a new driver so our car insurance on 2 cars and 1 motorcycle is almost $3000/year. Health insurance is through work and I pay about $300 a month to top up our coverage and pay for dental and vision for both of us.

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Perhaps its not a good idea to compare UK/EU Annual Leave entitlement to US Vacation Time. Isnt EU minimum of 28 days inc PHs (8), so 20 days AL minimum? Doubt too many in US employment get anywhere near that.

It is a different world and its a lot to think about before making the move. And dont forget about retirement. My USC wife looks at me rather strangely when I talk about retirement. In the US it appears, be it by choice or otherwise, retirement is not too much of a usual activity. My In-laws both worked until in to their 70s.....and only stopped due to illness and being told it was maybe time to go. Even then the first stop was the attorneys office and talk of sueing the employer for forcing her out. She was mid to late 70s 😃

Re: At the beginning ...
 

For time off, I'm on 25 + Holidays, which I know is well above average!

To the OP, I;d also recommend your wife looking into potential career options that could lead to a job transfer. As a Project Manager she won;t have much luck today, but it is a career that could offer future transfer opportunities, especially if managing people in that line of work. A Senior Manager level role of a Business Improvement team for example may well, with the right wording, create an L1A opportunity if working for a USA based company. Obviously it's not just as simple as having the job, she'd need to convince them of her value to persuade them to sponsor the transfer. Possible in 2-4 years with the right mindset, skills and company combination. Or, she could go down the high degree of specialisation route, enabling both a company transfer and direct sponsorship to a GC. That depends on what she PM's - an ex employee in one of my teams moved from being a PM of software installations to Nuclear Submarine development with the MoD. I assume his chances are better now!

Re: At the beginning ...
 

Better for what? A transfer? Not that likely. I don’t think the US is keen to outsource the development of the Ohio replacement to Johnny Foreigner!

(Not to mention the security clearance implications)