Mozi123

Hey guys, We are a British family with 2 older children living in Queenstown New Zealand for the last 7 years. We miss the Uk & are trying to find somewhere close enough(1 flight away) which offers a similar lifestyle. Sarasota looks and sounds pretty amazing. How safe is it? Are there many brits there with older kids, if so how have they settled? Any advice really appreciated.

Noorah101

What visa do you have in mind that will allow you to live and work in the USA?

Rene

Mozi123

Hi, We will be looking at purchasing a small business in order to secure a visa. Thanks Joanne

tht

Unless there is another Sarasota that’s not in FL, I can’t see how it is anything like Queenstown... no mountains, snow, glaciers, fiords.... winter... I would think the Pacific Northeast or Maine would be more similar to Queenstown.

Nutmegger

What do you mean by older kids? If you buy a business and are able to attain an investment visa, the children will age out and have to leave the country at 21.

tht

For $1.8m the whole family could “buy” a Green Card:

https://www.uscis.gov/eb-5

Winston_the_Great_Dane

I couldn't imagine leaving Queenstown to live anywhere in the US. Maybe Colorado, but even that would be a push. Think long and hard about this move.

Rete

Aren't you living in the US now?

Winston_the_Great_Dane

Yes I am and predominantly for family reasons. I spent 3 months in QT and think it is an incredible place. The person I went with is now very settled outside Wellington.

I like where I live in Ohio. QT seems like an incredible place to me; however, I can understand a sense of isolation after a while on a relatively small island. Maybe the endless stream if tourists is frustrating after a while.

Horses for courses, but I struggle to think of anywhere in the US as great as QT.

carcajou

Sorry. For some reason I thought in your original post you said "retire to" which you did not, and answered in that context. Probably because Sarasota is so connected in pop culture to retirement.

I spent the majority of my growing up years in Florida, know Queenstown well and now live in Australia.

Concur with Winston the Great Dane. I cannot think of a place in the US that might be more opposite to Queenstown, than Sarasota. Sarasota is known as a major and premier retirement centre for over 65s, and is sometimes referred to as "God's Waiting Room." Southern Florida from about Orlando south is effectively a big, humid, hot lowland swamp. I do not see a cognate to Queenstown in the US - certainly not in Florida. Your best bet might be rural New England or some place like that. Or a place like Durango or Logan. The Remarkables are lovely but are still a fairly timid mountain chain, not like the Rockies. Sarasota also does not offer anything resembling a UK lifestyle (and, really, I don't think any place in the US does either).

You will have far more business and financial opportunities in Sarasota than in NZ, but I've done the Miami-London run routinely and it's not easy even though the distance is halved. Long haul is still long haul.

I think if you are missing the UK and Brits the best answer is to go back to the UK. From what you've outlined I'm not sure you will find what you are looking for in the US. If you are open to a lifestyle change and can actually get a Green Card, a lot more options go on the table for you.

tht

I only visited QT 3 or 4 times in the time I was living in NZ, the only place I have been that reminds me of it scenery wise is Iceland, which is also a much closer flight to the UK than Florida. Again I don’t there is much of a Brit feel to it though. Canada may also be an option.

scrubbedexpat099

If the Durango is the one in Colorado I have some tails on travel and would not consider it easy.

Sounds like an E2 and with older children raises more questions than answers.

christmasoompa

I'd look at Canada personally. Much more like NZ than Florida, a direct flight away from the UK, and assuming you'd be looking at an E-2 visa (i.e. the visa from hell for those with children), then it would also be a much better choice visa wise too as it would mean the children could stay if they wanted.

steph0scope

To say Sarasota has a similar lifestyle to Queenstown is a huge stretch. Oregon might be a closer match in terms of scenery but nowhere in the US is going to give you a lifestyle in terms of politics, social care, etc like NZ.

petepete99

I've lived in Sarasota with my fiancee since January. I love the place. I've been to NZ, though never Queenstown (Been to Dunedin and Christchurch in the South). I will say, Florida is as flat as a pancake. Some people don't realize just how much rolling hills and mountains contribute to the character of a given area. It's polar opposite to pretty much anywhere in New Zealand.

I always dreamed of moving to the USA, and while Florida was not number one on my list, I moved here anyway with work so didn't have the luxury of choosing a location. I've spent a couple of years on the Gulf Coast (Fort Myers) and moving to Sarasota was the best decision. It's a smaller town but with more character and culture than a lot of other Florida towns (known as 'cities' over here!).

You're going to get quite the culture shock if you decide to pursue a life in America. The biggest shock for me was the healthcare and guns.

Happy to answer any other questions you might have on Sarasota. I would not change my decision for the world as I met my beautiful fiancee here, and the weather is amazing, but I can't argue with many of the points that others have posted above!