Funky Chicken

Just found out that my company is sponsoring me to work in Atlanta for 2 years under an L1 visa. Not too sure what to think but can't be too bad for 2 years can it?

Anybody of you in Atlanta? My visa application went in today and I have been told to expect it to be granted in mid to late September. I will need to think about where to live, where the good schools are etc? If anybody has moved to the Atlanta area it would be great to hear from you so I can pick your brains

I am currently trying to sort out a big pile of things but fortunately my employer is taking care of much of the detail. One question I had was about UK car insurance. I know that there will be no recognition of UK no-claims in the USA & that insurance kind of work in a different way anyway. What I am more interested in is what will happen to my no-claims when I return to the UK? I guess after 2 years it will have gone entirely? Is it possible to keep a car in the UK with insurance so that I keep the no-claims (I guess technically I need to be resident in the UK but has anybody tried this?).

Anybody got any advice on getting a US credit card? I understand that it is a bit of a slow process to get any kind of credit history.

Anyway, I expect I will be posting lots over the coming months.

Cheers, Chris.

anotherlimey

Atlanta has a nice rock.

Get yourself an AMEX card before you leave, then just call them when you get here and change it to the US version.

evoal2003

When does your cueent car insurance run out? If its after Sept then you have 2 years from when it runs out....

Perfumdiva1

Bad news about the car insurance

We had to pay a huge amount of money for years, and still are, nearly 8 years later for car insurance

We have had no accidents or claims

Went from maybe 200 GBP per year for a Discovery and Audi, to $200 per month for Expedition and BMW, now it just gets worse. our son turned 16 in July and he has a car, and now we are paying $520 per month :scared:

As for house insurance, we pay $300 per month :scared:

Sorry to sound all miserable, but if you can get your company to cover your car insurance, then do it

Good luck and enjoy Atlanta

PD1

This all comes about because many people sue, sue, sue, sue

Complete A..holes in my opionion, and the whole insurance racket just makes me soooooooooooo mad, so therefore my poor agent gets it in the ear every 6 months (sorry Greg)..

snowbunny

Check with your current insurer. I'm sure there will be someone along to give more specific advice.

You mention "good schools" -- do you have children? spouse?

Health insurance is THE most important thing to have and to get straight cos ain't no NHS. After that, it's determining a good tradeoff between neighbourhood/schools and your commute to wherever you're working in Hotlanta.

I see you're moving from the West Country? Do you currently work in Bristol? There aren't very many large companies in Somerset..... well, let's see Clarks Shoes.... Blackthorn Cider....

(I love the West Country)

American Amy (oh and DO get that AMEX, or a Mastercard/Visa issued by an American bank like Bank Of America)

anotherlimey

C'mon people, it's the world's largest piece of exposed granite.

snowbunny

"Ku Klux Klan activities at Stone Mountain are deep-rooted, although the original conception of the memorial pre-dates the 1915 revival of the Klan. The idea had originated in 1909, when many Americans were celebrating the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Mrs. C. Helen Plane of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was the prime mover in the creation of a monument at Stone Mountain....

The revival of the Ku Klux Klan was emboldened by the release of D. W. Griffith's Klan-glorifying film The Birth of a Nation, and by the lynching of Leo Frank, who was accused of the rape and murder of Mary Phagan. On November 25, 1915, a group of robed and hooded men met at Stone Mountain to create a new edition of the Klan, which had been dormant since it was suppressed by the federal government during Reconstruction. They were led by William J. Simmons, and they included a group calling itself the Knights of Mary Phagan. A cross was burned, and the oath was administered by Nathan Bedford Forrest II, the grandson of the original Imperial Grand Wizard, ex-Gen. Nathan B. Forrest, and was witnessed by the owner of Stone Mountain, Samuel Venable."

Lovely.

There's the Coca-Cola museum.....

anotherlimey

I didn't realise that. Such a shame that a bunch of twats like that had to go and ruin a good piece of rock.

Isn't CNN there? What about the Peachtree plaza?

I found this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Atlanta_landmarks

snowbunny

Yep.

But I don't like the history and the remaining racism.... I avoid Atlanta like the plague. Even the airport sucks. Sorry OP.... honest opinion. If you're only over for two years, you can explore a great deal being based there, though.... you're not too far from the midwest or the mid-Atlantic.

Funky Chicken

Health insurance, yes that is the next question! My company will cover the health insurance for the family but I am still trying to find out the details. My wife has an underactive thyroid which requires ongoing medication. In the UK this is a prescription drug that is provided free by the NHS. How are drugs (medical, not recreational) obtained in the US and is this likely to be covered by the policy. I have no idea how much Thyroxine costs and I'm sure you can't just buy it over the counter?

I will also be bringing my son who is 8 so I need to understand how the school system works over here. This looks like another mine field.

I work in Bath at the moment and it's quite a small company, 270+ employees.

Cheers, Chris.

Funky Chicken

Yep, I thought the car insurance would suck. I will be getting $2500 a month (after tax) cost of living allowance that I hope will cover accomodation and funding a car, even with the hideous insurance. I am in Atlanta at the moment on a visa wavier and the roads are mental. :scared: I think it might take a while to get that hang of driving overe here.

ladylisa

try and apply for your US drivers licence asap or otherwise some insurance companies wont insure you or if they will they will charge you more.

You need to ask your employer about health insurance, most policies cover a certain percentage of medical bills and you pay the rest as whats called a co-pay. For instance some policies pay 80% of bills and you pay 20%. That also includes Doctor visits. It very important you are aware of the policy as you need to make sure its a good one.

cabritpop

Hey there's a great movie from the Georgia Tourist Board.................Burt Reynolds is in it.......................'Deliverance'

Don Job: "This river don't go to Aintry. You done taken a wrong turn."

Don Job: "Now let's you just drop them pants."

Bobby: "Drop?"

Don Job: "Just take them right off."

You know the rest.................

rincewind

Never had that problem. I went with State Farm when I got my first US motor and it worked out at around $100 per month. Others tried to quote me double that.

snowbunny

Nope, it's not OTC. The most it'll set you back is probably $50/month *with health insurance). You can usually get quotes for drugs online; Levoxyl and Synthroid are the two T3 drugs here. Cytomel is the only T4 drug.

School systems.... are night and day. However, at his age, the impact is less than on the kids who are close to their GCSEs. You'll find plenty of parents here who've moved kids between the two systems.

Bath is lovely.... can we just trade places?

(It's a nice dream.)

Amy