Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
Mar 4th 2014, 1:16 am
#31
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,159
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
I'm sorry you feel like that so soon. It can take a bit of getting used to if you're missing the old culture and habits.
For me initially, here in Ca, it was like being on holiday, loved my job, got to see all these places by driving instead of having to fly from the UK, lived by the beach etc...
However I grew very homesick, even with going back every year, and recently realized that the US wasn't particularly better than back in Scotland. Mainly just the weather and the price of petrol.
Been here 15 but another two years and I'm heading back.
It's also tiring me out that Americans are so polarized on every little thing...or maybe I'm reading too many forums
For me initially, here in Ca, it was like being on holiday, loved my job, got to see all these places by driving instead of having to fly from the UK, lived by the beach etc...
However I grew very homesick, even with going back every year, and recently realized that the US wasn't particularly better than back in Scotland. Mainly just the weather and the price of petrol.
Been here 15 but another two years and I'm heading back.
It's also tiring me out that Americans are so polarized on every little thing...or maybe I'm reading too many forums
Last edited by Hotscot; Mar 4th 2014 at 1:18 am.
Mar 4th 2014, 1:53 am
#32
BE Irregular
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: Tampa Bay Florida
Posts: 4,849
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
I wonder if having to invest personal money in the adventure makes it more, or less of an adventure...
Mar 4th 2014, 2:08 am
#33
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
Just moved to the US with wife and two kids. The relocation was for my wives work and her company did cover all the costs etc.
Moved in January and all I can say is that the US is not what its made out to be.
We put our house back in England up for sale so we could buy outright over here.
That strategy changed, our home in England is now up for rent, there to move back to if and when we want to. (and as far as I am concerned it is when).
Wife is on a two year minimum contract (e.g. if we stayed less than two years we would have to pay back some of the costs). The company will sponsor a green card but at the moment i don't think about that. So although in this first couple of months I am unsettled and have to take that into account I can't see me wanting to see my kids grow up here. Just the stories about affording college give me the willies!
AND... its expensive. Ok so I can fill up a ford fiesta for about £25 in petrol but thats it, everything else I have found to be more expensive and insurance... well allow 3-4 times what you paid in the UK.
And just another one, the culture is very different, I had a motorbike licence in England, I still had to go to school here to get a florida endorsement (by the way in Tampa florida). So I am in a class of twelve students, in the afternoon, we are talking about safety gear, our coach tells us about gloves, "you need a good pair of gloves, don't scrimp on quality get a leather pair" to give an example of buying quality he says, "how many of you own guns?" 11 hands go up!
he then asks "and how many of you have a licence to carry a concealed weapon".
8 hands go down, 4 stay up, one of them a quiet middle aged lady!
"well" the coach says, "you wouldn't put your $600 dollar pistol in a cheap holster would you?" They talked about guns like we in England talk about the weather.
The weather is hot and sunny, we are living in a community with a swimming pool, but there is something about England and Europe that is different and something I know I will want to go back to one day.
Moved in January and all I can say is that the US is not what its made out to be.
We put our house back in England up for sale so we could buy outright over here.
That strategy changed, our home in England is now up for rent, there to move back to if and when we want to. (and as far as I am concerned it is when).
Wife is on a two year minimum contract (e.g. if we stayed less than two years we would have to pay back some of the costs). The company will sponsor a green card but at the moment i don't think about that. So although in this first couple of months I am unsettled and have to take that into account I can't see me wanting to see my kids grow up here. Just the stories about affording college give me the willies!
AND... its expensive. Ok so I can fill up a ford fiesta for about £25 in petrol but thats it, everything else I have found to be more expensive and insurance... well allow 3-4 times what you paid in the UK.
And just another one, the culture is very different, I had a motorbike licence in England, I still had to go to school here to get a florida endorsement (by the way in Tampa florida). So I am in a class of twelve students, in the afternoon, we are talking about safety gear, our coach tells us about gloves, "you need a good pair of gloves, don't scrimp on quality get a leather pair" to give an example of buying quality he says, "how many of you own guns?" 11 hands go up!
he then asks "and how many of you have a licence to carry a concealed weapon".
8 hands go down, 4 stay up, one of them a quiet middle aged lady!
"well" the coach says, "you wouldn't put your $600 dollar pistol in a cheap holster would you?" They talked about guns like we in England talk about the weather.
The weather is hot and sunny, we are living in a community with a swimming pool, but there is something about England and Europe that is different and something I know I will want to go back to one day.
I always wonder why people come over here thinking it's all Disney World and gold paved streets and then get upset when they find it's not what they saw on TV or the movies....
Mar 4th 2014, 2:42 am
#34
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,439
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
I'm not going to address everything you said, but car insurance falls a long way over the first few years. We are currently paying $1,300 a year for good quality insurance for a Honda Accord, a Mustang GT, and a Ford F250 crew cab truck, so very comparable to the UK.
Mar 4th 2014, 2:48 am
#35
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
I hadn't realized car insurance got so cheap in the US....I paid more then that for 1 car in California....
Don't move to Canada....lol...We pay, 1,250 a year for a 1998 Sunfire, and we get a 40% safe driver discount.... 1 million liability, nothing fancy.
Mar 4th 2014, 3:20 am
#36
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,439
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
1,300 for all those cars?
I hadn't realized car insurance got so cheap in the US....I paid more then that for 1 car in California....
Don't move to Canada....lol...We pay, 1,250 a year for a 1998 Sunfire, and we get a 40% safe driver discount.... 1 million liability, nothing fancy.
I hadn't realized car insurance got so cheap in the US....I paid more then that for 1 car in California....
Don't move to Canada....lol...We pay, 1,250 a year for a 1998 Sunfire, and we get a 40% safe driver discount.... 1 million liability, nothing fancy.
Mar 4th 2014, 3:49 am
#37
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
1,300 for all those cars?
I hadn't realized car insurance got so cheap in the US....I paid more then that for 1 car in California....
Don't move to Canada....lol...We pay, 1,250 a year for a 1998 Sunfire, and we get a 40% safe driver discount.... 1 million liability, nothing fancy.
I hadn't realized car insurance got so cheap in the US....I paid more then that for 1 car in California....
Don't move to Canada....lol...We pay, 1,250 a year for a 1998 Sunfire, and we get a 40% safe driver discount.... 1 million liability, nothing fancy.
When I lived in Maine, our insurance was $650 a year and the same coverage in MA was $1500 a year for the one car.
Got a newer car now and a few years more US driving history, but one accident that has since rolled off the surcharge and it's only a few hundred cheaper a year.
Mar 4th 2014, 10:40 am
#38
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
If I lived in Florida, I'd want to go back to wherever as well. I've only ever been there once and I still can't imagine what the attraction is...
I always wonder why people come over here thinking it's all Disney World and gold paved streets and then get upset when they find it's not what they saw on TV or the movies....
I always wonder why people come over here thinking it's all Disney World and gold paved streets and then get upset when they find it's not what they saw on TV or the movies....
the attraction is nice weather and great lifestyle....
forget Disney, we are 15 minutes from the beach, we can go down in the morning and walk the dogs or at night and watch the sunset....that never gets tiring.
I can have the boat out on the gulf in less than 30 minutes watching dolphins, manatees (our dog got to swim with one), rays, even sharks.
I can spend 99% of the year in shorts and tee shirt.
yes its hot and humid for 4 months a year but far better than all the poxy snow they have had the past 3 months up north. I would far rather be too hot than too cold.
Bad bits , yes of course.....paradise don't exist, but don't knock somewhere you have only been to once
actually scrub that , its sh1t, im back off to cold grey old England , Hastings can be very nice that one day in July
Mar 4th 2014, 12:40 pm
#39
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
Just moved to the US with wife and two kids. The relocation was for my wives work and her company did cover all the costs etc.
Moved in January and all I can say is that the US is not what its made out to be.
We put our house back in England up for sale so we could buy outright over here.
That strategy changed, our home in England is now up for rent, there to move back to if and when we want to. (and as far as I am concerned it is when).
Wife is on a two year minimum contract (e.g. if we stayed less than two years we would have to pay back some of the costs). The company will sponsor a green card but at the moment i don't think about that. So although in this first couple of months I am unsettled and have to take that into account I can't see me wanting to see my kids grow up here. Just the stories about affording college give me the willies!
AND... its expensive. Ok so I can fill up a ford fiesta for about £25 in petrol but thats it, everything else I have found to be more expensive and insurance... well allow 3-4 times what you paid in the UK.
And just another one, the culture is very different, I had a motorbike licence in England, I still had to go to school here to get a florida endorsement (by the way in Tampa florida). So I am in a class of twelve students, in the afternoon, we are talking about safety gear, our coach tells us about gloves, "you need a good pair of gloves, don't scrimp on quality get a leather pair" to give an example of buying quality he says, "how many of you own guns?" 11 hands go up!
he then asks "and how many of you have a licence to carry a concealed weapon".
8 hands go down, 4 stay up, one of them a quiet middle aged lady!
"well" the coach says, "you wouldn't put your $600 dollar pistol in a cheap holster would you?" They talked about guns like we in England talk about the weather.
The weather is hot and sunny, we are living in a community with a swimming pool, but there is something about England and Europe that is different and something I know I will want to go back to one day.
Moved in January and all I can say is that the US is not what its made out to be.
We put our house back in England up for sale so we could buy outright over here.
That strategy changed, our home in England is now up for rent, there to move back to if and when we want to. (and as far as I am concerned it is when).
Wife is on a two year minimum contract (e.g. if we stayed less than two years we would have to pay back some of the costs). The company will sponsor a green card but at the moment i don't think about that. So although in this first couple of months I am unsettled and have to take that into account I can't see me wanting to see my kids grow up here. Just the stories about affording college give me the willies!
AND... its expensive. Ok so I can fill up a ford fiesta for about £25 in petrol but thats it, everything else I have found to be more expensive and insurance... well allow 3-4 times what you paid in the UK.
And just another one, the culture is very different, I had a motorbike licence in England, I still had to go to school here to get a florida endorsement (by the way in Tampa florida). So I am in a class of twelve students, in the afternoon, we are talking about safety gear, our coach tells us about gloves, "you need a good pair of gloves, don't scrimp on quality get a leather pair" to give an example of buying quality he says, "how many of you own guns?" 11 hands go up!
he then asks "and how many of you have a licence to carry a concealed weapon".
8 hands go down, 4 stay up, one of them a quiet middle aged lady!
"well" the coach says, "you wouldn't put your $600 dollar pistol in a cheap holster would you?" They talked about guns like we in England talk about the weather.
The weather is hot and sunny, we are living in a community with a swimming pool, but there is something about England and Europe that is different and something I know I will want to go back to one day.
sorry you are struggling to settle..it did seem form your pre-move posts you were apprehensive.
of course the culture is different , try and embrace it a bit more and enjoy the positives, get to the beach, enjoy the outdoors etc.
yes insurance is expensive but if you shop around you can save some money( I can happily give you our guy in Sarasota's details)...you have lots of restaurants etc in Tampa plus a short drive can take you inland to some (for florida nice scenery
as Mrs Gump says its like a box of chocolates,,,,until you open it up you don't know what you might find
Mar 4th 2014, 5:47 pm
#40
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: Plymouth Meeting, PA!
Posts: 443
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
I moved over on a visa that was obtained through work but received no relocation package as it was my request (my wife is American and lived here already). Yes I could gone the immigrant visa route but going the way I did meant I still had a job.
I did negotiate a salary increase though, as the cost of living is higher here (NE near Philly). It would have been a lot tougher if I had just taken a salary at the exchange rate.
At the end of the day, if its your choice to move and the company are prepared to pay the visa costs then you should be very grateful for that, as they could just say no and that would be the end of it.
As for whether to move at all, I am not sure I would have done if my situation had been different. Its by far from perfect here - for example, even if your company has a superb medical package, that is only part of it. My company has an excellent medical package, but having had to make use of it recently, for a recurring problem ultimately requiring surgery, I wholeheartedly miss the NHS!!
I did negotiate a salary increase though, as the cost of living is higher here (NE near Philly). It would have been a lot tougher if I had just taken a salary at the exchange rate.
At the end of the day, if its your choice to move and the company are prepared to pay the visa costs then you should be very grateful for that, as they could just say no and that would be the end of it.
As for whether to move at all, I am not sure I would have done if my situation had been different. Its by far from perfect here - for example, even if your company has a superb medical package, that is only part of it. My company has an excellent medical package, but having had to make use of it recently, for a recurring problem ultimately requiring surgery, I wholeheartedly miss the NHS!!
Mar 4th 2014, 6:08 pm
#41
Ping-ponger
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Dreich Alba
Posts: 12,005
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
My neighbour pays less than £200 (fully comp, protected NCB) for a Ford Kuga, a Mini and a Porsche ... but then he does tick all the right boxes (parked off-road, no accidents, ever, good post code, etc.)
Mar 4th 2014, 7:06 pm
#42
Grumpy Know-it-all
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 8,928
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
This gives me a few options now as I can go for the original job in San Francisco (which is still available in a way) or I can actually choose to live in a few other places - Philadelphia, Atlanta, Phoenix near a major office or I could pick anywhere and work remotely (My wife mentioned Boston).
) and the weather is okay. Plus there is a bit of a "bohemian" vibe to certain parts of downtown which definitely doesn't exist in Phoenix.San Francisco and Boston are really expensive real estate markets and if the employer isn't going to file an I-140 that sounds risky. On the other hand, if you've got the cash, could be a good investment. But Atlanta real estate is pretty good too.
So Atlanta or San Francisco, depending on how much money you've got.
Mar 4th 2014, 7:20 pm
#43
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 6,159
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
Or Orange County for a wonderful lifestyle with great weather.
Mar 4th 2014, 11:28 pm
#44
Account Closed
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
Does depend on location.
When I lived in Maine, our insurance was $650 a year and the same coverage in MA was $1500 a year for the one car.
Got a newer car now and a few years more US driving history, but one accident that has since rolled off the surcharge and it's only a few hundred cheaper a year.
When I lived in Maine, our insurance was $650 a year and the same coverage in MA was $1500 a year for the one car.
Got a newer car now and a few years more US driving history, but one accident that has since rolled off the surcharge and it's only a few hundred cheaper a year.
Issue in BC, is we have a monopoly on the mandatory insurance part, so the government dictates the price.
Mar 5th 2014, 12:01 am
#45
Retired
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,649
Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.
At the end of the day, if its your choice to move and the company are prepared to pay the visa costs then you should be very grateful for that, as they could just say no and that would be the end of it.
