Flabound oneday

thats so funny, cos we did bring him!!

scrubbedexpat099

What's her name on Eastenders did it.

And The Office.

Duncan Roberts

Aside from the previously stated visa problem, "a few hundred $$ a months on bills" should be a few thousand a month on bills when you take everything into consideration. On vacation you probably only see about 10% of the actual costs involved in living somewhere.

Jerseygirl

Cilla from Corrie went to Vegas...loved it so decided to move there.

kimilseung

I've only been to Orlando, and it was great, no, the theme parks were great, the town itself was a souless mass of ugliness, in a horrible climate. I do not even understand the attraction.

GeoffM

I think you answered your own question. Think about it: the US would be overrun with immigrants if it was easy and anybody could just bypass the visa categories that are there. Deliberately only a tiny percentage of those that want to go will be able to go. If you're not in that tiny percentage then unfortunately you'll only be visiting. Set your sights on somewhere where you do qualify - or work towards becoming qualified which can be a very long term goal as others here have said.

Ray

I live within 90 miles of that ....we call it whorelando
I agree with your sentiment

captainsensible

Orlando is awful - if someone wants to move to the US on the basis of visiting there, then they really should expand their horizons a bit and visit somewhere else!

Guindalf

...and has one of the largest jails I've ever seen! I had to get my (then) BiL out after he and my sis had a fight when they came over for a holiday (I live in Georgia). It's a small city!


Oh, and it's full of Brits too!

Also, Orlando, especially around I4, has one of the worst accident rates in the country. Many Brits come here and hire a car, only to find it handles a lot different to back in Blighty, not to mention the fact that everything is on the 'wrong' side of the road!


P.S. I wish I had a dollar for every post about people thinking they should be allowed to more to the States 'because they want to'. The grass is always greener...

goldenstate31

For many it is. For the unfortunate few it isnt.

sunnysideup

I would never have given the place a thought, but I got offered a very good job here 20 years ago. I've moved around a bit in the interim but I came back. What is Florida? Is it the favelas of the poorest parts of Miami? The sidewalk cafes of South Beach? The old Jewish money of West Palm Beach or the new yankee money of Naples. Or the Brit holiday homes of Kissimmee or the meth labs of Polk county or the banjos playing in the forests of Ocala (ok, just my imagination ) Or the Southern attitude of LA (not that one, I mean the Central time zone, aka Lower Alabama). My Florida is a boat and an uninhabited barrier island. There you'll find the majesty of the bald eagle, the osprey dive bombing for fish, pelicans skimming the surf and laughing gulls arguing over scraps of my Cuban sandwich. A half mile out in the gulf dive in and swim with a school of dolphins then swim to a sandbar and try not to freak out at the size of the rays bumping into you. Yes, there's magic here, but for me not at the House of the Mouse.
So I don't knock it. I understand.

moneypenny20

Nothing wrong with staying in Britain (says she living in Aus ). Get out and about, open your eyes and see what a bloody fantastic island it is. Ok so there are a few managerial issues at the moment but there are everywhere in the world. On the whole it's one of the greatest countries in the world and also one of the most beautiful. Pisses me off when people slag it off.

RICH

You don't mention that you are married, so any or all of you could find a local partner who is a US citizen, get married and move over within a relatively short time. Let us know if you have more questions.

goldenstate31

Oh, and your reason for moving to Australia was........?

moneypenny20

Because the husband was born here to English parents, brought up in the UK, kids got dual nationality and for the very low price of about 500 quid (at the time) I got a Spouse Visa. We fancied a change of sky. Had he not been born here we would never have considered moving, were extremely happy there and we're extremely happy here but, never say never, we may well be extremely happy there again.

In my years on here I think I can safely say that those who migrate because they want to leave/escape the UK are more likely to be massively disappointed in their new lives. Those that go for family and/or a life experience seem to enjoy their lives and have fewer problems settling. Generally speaking obviously.