Cazrock

Hi all. I am new to the this site and forum. 👋I wondered if there were any Brits in Covington GA or Alpharetta GA. we’re planning to escape the U.K. in 2021 all being well with the world at the moment..we like Covington for the space and elbow room and large houses with pools or pool space...but simple research is suggesting not much happens there & its a poor area ? We have a small child who would go to elementary school so it’s all about her and her social life and happiness at the moment. Alpharetta seems to be polar opposite to Covington and I can imagine some of you nodding ! but we can’t get property over 1 acre unless we pay big bucks or even
millions 🤷‍♀️Any advice on Covington would be appreciated please for those who are on the ground. We’re planning a trip next Easter 🤞to get things moving. Thank you

old.sparkles

Are you or your spouse a USC?

If not, what visa are you planning to make the move on?

I can't help with Georgia though, but I do know those are the first questions.

robin1234

More info as to why you’re interested in Covington, GA? After all, cheap houses, lots of land, but not much happens and poor area would be true of much of the US! My town in rural New York fits the bill for instance.

Edit; I just looked at the Wikipedia article about Covington. It looks like a beautiful town. Very odd sentence in the article though;

“Covington was founded by European immigrants to the United States.”

Yeah, isn’t that true of everywhere in the original colonies .. ?

Lion in Winter

Can't help with Georgia per se, but if you are thinking about schools do your research on them and their respective cachement areas carefully. The usual thing in the US is for those lines to be hard and fast - she will be going to school based on your exact street address. It's not uncommon for a street to be divided down the middle, with one side going to school a and the other to school b.

Small-town America is not the place to go if you like things to be "happening" beyond local school sports, etc. And church. For a more urban cultural life you will need a city, such as Atlanta.

Cazrock

hi there thank you. Would be an E2 VISA

Nutmegger

The E-2 manager, or purchasing a small E-2 worthy business? Be very careful about purchasing a small business in the current climate -- so many have gone bust because of Covid restrictions. Georgia is a state that has not handled the pandemic particularly well. Additionally, you say you want things to be good for your child; then why move her to the US on a visa that does not have a clear path to permanent residence and on which she would age out at 21? Whatever you are "escaping" in the UK will exist here, in spades . . .

Cazrock

hi there. We love Atlanta and Georgia and seemed a good location to be 30 mins drive from Atlanta but having space and a decent house. Sorry my comment wasn’t meant to cause any offence and I wasn’t aware about the rest of the USA but that’s an eye opener. Shows I need to do a lot more research. However where I live in the U.K. is classed as a poor area demographically however our neighbours are all hard workers and have nice houses 🤷‍♀️So unless I am in the ground one won’t know I guess.

yes it looks like a lovely place and new investment which is why we were thinking maybe in the come up in terms of investors. Large movie studios being built and two hotels. All pre Covid if course so will be delayed. Having other people’s opinions is great though and I appreciate your time commenting.

yes the wiki entry is funny as that’s most of America 🤣

Cazrock

hi there thank you. This is one area I have researched and very similar to the U.K. set up with catchment areas. Yes we want to have a mixed down time so exactly where we reside can determine your social life. Where we live here in the U.K. we have to go to London for culture or further afield in three directions.

Cazrock

thank you. Would be to start a business. Yes you are correct. Lots to consider. We’ve wanted to move to the USA for a very long time even per children however no time will be the right time. Covid isn’t helping though!

scot47

E-2 visa does not lead to permanent residence ?

Cazrock

i have read it can but of course comes with terms

christmasoompa

There is no direct route from E-2 to a green card, that's why it's known on here as the 'visa from hell', particularly for those with kids. If you have a child, I'd definitely look at other visa routes (do you have a business in the UK already?), or have a Plan B to try and move to a visa that will allow you to stay i.e. your spouse gets a job that may lead to green card sponsorship.

SanDiegogirl

You sound as though you have visited Atlanta and Georgia regularly. Is this so.....?

What type of business will you be obtaining an E2 for?

scot47

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-2_visa

This suggests that dependants may have problems when they reach 21.

Cazrock

hi yes we’ve been lots of times and we’ve got contacts there. Re business we have some options but not decided yet.