Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

I've never lived in California, but much of California is known for it's very high cost of living. I have lived in Florida. It's okay, but I didn't mind moving away. Florida bills itself as the sunshine state, but I always thought of it as the hot, hazy, and humid state. In the summer, I would walk out my front door in the morning and feel like the air was too thick to breathe. Humidity routinely reached 100% and temperatures were in the 90's. It often rained in the middle of the day, but it only added to the steam bath effect. The year I moved away, Florida experienced 4 hurricanes and a tropical storm. Many communities experienced massive damage.

I'm not saying there aren't good aspects of living in these popular states, I just don't understand why so many immigrants want to live there. They complain or warn others about the high cost of living, but still so many people don't seem to look for alternatives. Is it because these places are popular tourist areas, and people only want to move where they have been before?

If you are looking to immigrate, but you are concerned about the cost of living, I encourage you to consider other low cost of living areas. Small towns are usually lower cost than larger cities. The central U.S. is usually lower cost than either coast. Other places have more blue sky days than Florida. Oklahoma for example is usually lower cost of living with more clear days.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was born in Oklahoma.

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

:blink:

Many people who immigrate do so through work, you can't say to your employer, oh yes I would love to come work for you in the U.S. but can you place me in the middle of nowhere as living in Silicon Valley is far too expensive:rolleyes:

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Yes I think trythis has got it arse-backwards. Places with a lot of employment and services then have a higher cost of living

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Lucky you! That was the year I arrived here:)
I like it here, and I am sure I would like many other places too.

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

I was wondering if there was a link between all those $100k bonus' being paid out and the multi-million dollar homes here. Thanks for tying that up for me ;)

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

What's your point? Your thread title indicates a question, but your (first on BE) post is a monologue. Why? :confused:

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Perhaps I wasn't clear. There were a couple of questions in my post. The first was the title. Essentially, what do you think about immigration destinations other than Florida and California? It just seems after a quick perusal of your forums that these are by far the most popular, almost to the exclusion of others. The second question was really why do people want to move to these certain places? My personal opinion is that they are expensive and not as great as they paint themselves. They aren't bad, just not so superior to other choices as some might think. I guess it depends on your point of view.

I do understand that many people immigrate for work, and work is often more available in densely populated areas.

What had originally brought me to BE was a search for information about people interested in E2 visas. These people do have a choice where they look to buy or start a business. And again, I see that there could be many opportunities in densely populated areas. But for me, I try to avoid such areas. Paradise is nice if beautiful scenery or sitting on the beach is what you seek. But, if a practical place with low cost of living, or low cost of operation is important, why not consider other locations? Is it because people are not familiar with other areas and that frightens them? Is it because they liked what they saw on vacation and they just want to go to that place? Is it because they are afraid to stray far from expat communities?

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Oh, and to Rich, I didn't move away from Florida until December, 2004, so I didn't escape any of those storms either. One of them blew a big tree in my back yard over onto my neighbors roof. I had the joy of removing the trunk and root ball myself and repairing the fence. Luckily his roof was undamaged as the softer branches cushioned the fall. Another storm broke half of a tree off in the front yard. It could have been much worse, but I still don't miss hurricanes much.

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Fair enough. There hasn't been too much hurricane activity here since, though.

Have a look at this post, as regards to where people on this forum live. Relatively few in Florida, I know it is not conclusive:)

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=773453

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

I don't know of any expats, whether on BE or otherwise, who moved to a particular location primarily to be near other British expats. There may be a few who moved to the greater Orlando area for that reason, but I am reasonably certain that (i) other clusters, e.g. NYC are entirely job related, and (ii) that examination of those clusters you will find very little if any ghettoisation, the British immigrants are entirely dispersed among the USC population.

It is also possible that British expats, coming as we do, from a densely populated country with an overwhelmingly urban/ suburban population, we are generally attracted to the larger cities. While I dream one day of having a house in the mountains, I am aware that living many miles from a major retail center, theater, and even hospital, would be very different from anything I have ever known.

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Thanks, Rich, for the link. I learned from a map there that BE participants are indeed widely dispersed. I did not intend to make such a sweeping generalization. I just failed to mention my area of focus (E2 Visa seekers) when I first posted.

It just seemed odd that most threads I found regarding E2 Visas usually involved someone talking about Florida and a few about California. And what I see in common between those two states at first glance is warm, sunny weather and a strong tourism industry. Of course, they have other characteristics, but I strongly suspected that these two things might somehow appeal to people from the UK. My other points of why I think other locations merit consideration have already been made.

I am starting to see a bit of a commonality between some of the respondents here. N1cky seems to have equated central states and small towns to "the middle of nowhere". Pulaski put forth the idea that British expats may be drawn to urban areas since that is their comfort zone. They would not want to be far from many amenities. I believe you are both expressing similar points. Honestly, I guess those ideas mean you have something in common with the vast majority of the U.S. population. Otherwise, everyone would be moving to central states and small towns, and perhaps even to the mountains, Pulaski.

<<<<snip>>>>

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

I think the nature of the E2 means people have a lot more control over where they want to live - they choose the business to buy or create, so they can equally choose a location that has the types of businesses they're looking for. And that probably does mean the more well known places.

Taking your example of Oklahoma, most Brits probably wouldn't be able to place it on a map, let alone know anything about it other than a certain story/movie. It's not as if the local tourist board advertise in the UK - though I do remember adverts for California on UK TV.

Are there many people on E2 here on BE? Obviously numerous threads in the I&V forum but how many actually follow through to apply and get the visa?

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

It might be easier if you are just upfront about what you're selling.

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

And if your market is only ex-pats? :confused:

Re: Destinations other than Florida or California?
 

Okay. I'll be up front. I have a business for sale in a small town in Oklahoma. I have not had much success trying to sell to local people. I have tried to interest buyers from a wider area, the whole state, and the whole country, but so far I have not been able to sell. Some people are interested and even negotiate for a sale. I've had verbal agreements with people that fell through. I've negotiated a lease/purchase deal and gave the buyer exactly what he wanted. The only thing left was for him to sign the lease and make a token payment to make the deal binding. Then he dragged his feet and finally changed his mind when his son changed his mind and said he didn't want to move to the small town to manage the business for him.

I thought perhaps I might expand again the area from which I would seek a buyer. Besides, it seems most Americans want something for nothing, or for as little as possible. I am aware that someone seeking an E2 Visa actually needs to make a significant investment, so perhaps they might be willing to actually put up a fair amount of money instead of wanting a nothing down deal.

Of course, the business has to be worth the investment. I would leave that assessment up to potential buyers as they consider their own business plan. If an expat is a real entrepreneur, then he might be willing to work hard to build a business instead of insisting on walking into a sure thing.

I have been trying to sell a closed business for asset value. It has been for sale for three years. I only operated it for about a year. I did not have enough operating capital to make it through the two to three year period that it takes new businesses to establish themselves. I spent too much on remodeling and renovating the building, and then a family member had health problems that were excluded by my insurance company. To get proper health care, and to put my family first, I closed the business and took a job elsewhere that offered good group health coverage. The business did not fail. It just did not fully succeed. I don't know if it would ever have taken off the way I expected. I just know that the industry statistics on which I based my business plan indicated that it would.

Since the business has closed, the industry has undergone a rapid and significant technological revolution. That means the equipment again requires upgrade/replacement, making it even more difficult to find a buyer. So, why would any buyer want to buy an unproven business which requires further cash injection to compete? The answer lies in the low cost of living and in the low cost of operation. That is one of the best selling points I can tout. There is also the low cost of entry in this market. If you wanted to open this kind of business in a large urban area, you would most likely be unable to compete unless you spent several million dollars or more. Or you would settle for the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table as you sought a tiny niche market.

Enough stalling. I am trying to sell a two screen movie theater. If you groan and turn away, then you are not the one, so no need to pass judgement. If the idea of owning a fun business in a small market appeals to you, then let me know. If no one here is interested, then perhaps you could make a suggestion on where I might find a place to post it for sale where international buyers frequent.

I know many expats probably enlist the help of business brokers. I have talked to a few, but they do not want to deal with a business that is closed. Traditional business sales are based on some multiple of revenue earned. This sale is really just an asset sale. That makes the broker's job too hard. The local real estate agent was unable to attract local attention and that is as far as he went.

I still have people express occassional interest, but I will believe I have a sale when the money is in my hands. I would have no problem waiting a few months on an international buyer, if we had a contract, even with a contigency.