How do we emigrate to the US?
Jun 5th 2003, 9:04 pm
#16
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 35
You'd probably have to visit the UK to understand - most English people LOVE the country and think my position is crazy. Where do I begin?
1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing.
2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look.
3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles.
4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all.
5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop.
6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here.
7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses.
8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss.
Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much!
1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing.
2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look.
3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles.
4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all.
5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop.
6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here.
7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses.
8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss.
Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much!
Jun 5th 2003, 9:31 pm
#17
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Birmingham, USA
Posts: 802
Originally posted by Pulaski
Since when did homes, British or American, come with attached immigration visas?
Since when did homes, British or American, come with attached immigration visas?
Last edited by jaytee; Jun 5th 2003 at 9:34 pm.
Jun 5th 2003, 11:06 pm
#18
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 37
Plus the crime rate in the UK is becoming astronomical. Another drive by shooting less than a few streets away from me, and I live in a "good" area.
Jun 6th 2003, 12:14 am
#19
Rock Goddess
Joined: Jan 2003
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 1,429
aramintaalice, the only thing I can suggest is to study nursing. It would take you 5 years (3 years University, and 2 years visa processing max.) but it's a brilliant option. Nurses and doctors are the only ones who can get an employment based green card, and you would be able to get a green card for your entire family. After you qualified here you could get sponsored by an agency that specializes in getting UK nurses to the US, and while your green card was pending you could be getting very worthwhile experience in the UK. Once in the States you would earn decent money and have unending possibilities, and would never be out of work. It's only 2 months before I finally get out to the States, and it's been hard but so worth it. If you're serious about getting to the US it may be your only option. It's notoriously hard to get in in any other way.
Last edited by Rockgurl; Jun 6th 2003 at 12:16 am.
Jun 6th 2003, 3:50 am
#20
dealing with it
Joined: Feb 2003
Location: DC
Posts: 2,916
Come On now, we do get BBC Americaa, and we get to watch repeats of Changing Rooms, Ground Force, What not to wear and some other dross...
Come on BBC...where's the Only Fool and Horses?
Come on BBC...where's the Only Fool and Horses?
Jun 6th 2003, 4:00 am
#21
Just Joined
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9
Refreshing to hear
It is so nice and refreshing to hear these positive opinions about the USA. Most of my life (I'm 39) all I ever heared from foreigners that live here is how great their country is and how they can wait until they are eligible to collect Social Security (government retirement) and return to their country (usually not a Western country).
I was raised in Brooklyn, New York, but left when I was 24 years old to start a new life in Denver, Colorado. The suburbs of Denver are very nice. We just had a senior citizen friend from
Sammonden,Huddersfield,West Yorkshire, England visit us. After leaving Denver she took a coach bus tour of the National Parks in the Western part of the USA. She had a great time.
I encourage any of you Brits to check out Denver, especially the southern suburbs. We just bought a brand new ranch house for $282,000 (4 bedrooms,2 bathrooms, 1665 sq. feet) which is kind of expensive for us, but from what I hear, is reasonable for you.
http://www.lennar.com/ushome/communi...MAPSEARCH=true
I agree with the poster regarding the nursing degree. Many nurses who aren't even fluent in English easily obtain green cards in the US.
Good Luck, Jay
I was raised in Brooklyn, New York, but left when I was 24 years old to start a new life in Denver, Colorado. The suburbs of Denver are very nice. We just had a senior citizen friend from
Sammonden,Huddersfield,West Yorkshire, England visit us. After leaving Denver she took a coach bus tour of the National Parks in the Western part of the USA. She had a great time.
I encourage any of you Brits to check out Denver, especially the southern suburbs. We just bought a brand new ranch house for $282,000 (4 bedrooms,2 bathrooms, 1665 sq. feet) which is kind of expensive for us, but from what I hear, is reasonable for you.
http://www.lennar.com/ushome/communi...MAPSEARCH=true
I agree with the poster regarding the nursing degree. Many nurses who aren't even fluent in English easily obtain green cards in the US.
Good Luck, Jay
Jun 6th 2003, 10:15 am
#22
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 4,792
Jun 10th 2003, 9:46 am
#23
Here and Loving it
Joined: Mar 2003
Location: Cornelius NC
Posts: 150
Originally posted by darrenb
free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.)
customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer)
reasonable gas prices? (My sister in laws car costs $11 to fill up where as mine costs are $55 in the UK, similar cars, hers a focus, mine an astra)
better taxes? (my mortgage interest is not deductable, nor are a range of other home related outgoings).
value for money on most things?
Hey Darren,
tell me you did inform your estate agent of the offer from your friend whilst under your agreement with them - if you didn't and they can proof that you agreed to sell before their contract with you was finished - your well and truly F***ED.
On the other hand if you did this after your estate agent contract had finshed - no probs.
The crux of this is wether you sell to family or strangers even off your own efforts to sell the property you still have to inform and pay the estate agent, if under contract
the ability to have a better quality of life on less income?
Im sure there are literally 10000's more examples.
But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer and no BBC / Channel 4. Oh well, cant have everything.
free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.)
customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer)
reasonable gas prices? (My sister in laws car costs $11 to fill up where as mine costs are $55 in the UK, similar cars, hers a focus, mine an astra)
better taxes? (my mortgage interest is not deductable, nor are a range of other home related outgoings).
value for money on most things?
Hey Darren,
tell me you did inform your estate agent of the offer from your friend whilst under your agreement with them - if you didn't and they can proof that you agreed to sell before their contract with you was finished - your well and truly F***ED.
On the other hand if you did this after your estate agent contract had finshed - no probs.
The crux of this is wether you sell to family or strangers even off your own efforts to sell the property you still have to inform and pay the estate agent, if under contract
the ability to have a better quality of life on less income?
Im sure there are literally 10000's more examples.
But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer and no BBC / Channel 4. Oh well, cant have everything.
Jun 11th 2003, 4:47 am
#24
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,590
Originally posted by mark19964
..... But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer .....
..... But you do pay the price with having to put up with dodgy beer .....
There are now a huge number of micro breweries (many of which are no longer particularly "micro") that are producing an ever increasing range of beers. Even ordinary neighborhood groceries are stocking a reasonable choice.
A word of warning - stay clear of the fruit flavored beers! :scared:
Jun 11th 2003, 8:46 am
#25
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: Birmingham, USA
Posts: 802
Good to mention.
I also started making my own beer.
www.beerathome.com
I also started making my own beer.
www.beerathome.com
Originally posted by Pulaski
Hey, the beer situation is improving all the time.
There are now a huge number of micro breweries (many of which are no longer particularly "micro") that are producing an ever increasing range of beers. Even ordinary neighborhood groceries are stocking a reasonable choice.
A word of warning - stay clear of the fruit flavored beers! :scared:
Hey, the beer situation is improving all the time.
There are now a huge number of micro breweries (many of which are no longer particularly "micro") that are producing an ever increasing range of beers. Even ordinary neighborhood groceries are stocking a reasonable choice.
A word of warning - stay clear of the fruit flavored beers! :scared:
Last edited by jaytee; Jun 11th 2003 at 11:21 am.
Jun 12th 2003, 3:25 pm
#26
Pagan Sex God
Joined: May 2002
Location: Living in Oblivion
Posts: 3,668
Originally posted by darrenb
customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer)
customer service? (my estate agent is taking me to court for their fees even though I have sold to my friend and next door neighbour as a private buyer)
In NC if you sign up with a Realtor to help you find a house and you find a house privatley you still have to pay the realtor (if the private seller doesn't which they won't as it was you that signed up with the realtor).
Originally posted by darrenb
free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.)
free refills? (went to lunch the other day and paid £8 for 4 cokes.)
Reasons to hate England
they drive on the wrong side
people speak with english accents
its an island
its connected to France via a tunnel
they don't have monkey pox
they don't have hurricanes..........
If you want to leave the UK thats your decision but you really don't have to justify it as its your own decision.
Good Luck aramintaalice
Patrick
btw - thank god they don't have drive by shootings in the states as no-one has guns and there is zero gun crime, in fact there is no crime whatsoever! Just say you want to live in the US people, no one will hate you for it!
Jun 12th 2003, 9:44 pm
#27
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 35
Originally posted by Patrick
Well thats not customer service that's stupidity on your part! When you sign a contract with an estate agent it clearly says that if you sell your house privatley they still get the money.
In NC if you sign up with a Realtor to help you find a house and you find a house privatley you still have to pay the realtor (if the private seller doesn't which they won't as it was you that signed up with the realtor).
There are plenty of places that do free refills in the UK, your just being silly - if you want to find stupid reasons to hate the UK we can find millions-
Reasons to hate England
they drive on the wrong side
people speak with english accents
its an island
its connected to France via a tunnel
they don't have monkey pox
they don't have hurricanes..........
If you want to leave the UK thats your decision but you really don't have to justify it as its your own decision.
Good Luck aramintaalice
Patrick
btw - thank god they don't have drive by shootings in the states as no-one has guns and there is zero gun crime, in fact there is no crime whatsoever! Just say you want to live in the US people, no one will hate you for it!
Well thats not customer service that's stupidity on your part! When you sign a contract with an estate agent it clearly says that if you sell your house privatley they still get the money.
In NC if you sign up with a Realtor to help you find a house and you find a house privatley you still have to pay the realtor (if the private seller doesn't which they won't as it was you that signed up with the realtor).
There are plenty of places that do free refills in the UK, your just being silly - if you want to find stupid reasons to hate the UK we can find millions-
Reasons to hate England
they drive on the wrong side
people speak with english accents
its an island
its connected to France via a tunnel
they don't have monkey pox
they don't have hurricanes..........
If you want to leave the UK thats your decision but you really don't have to justify it as its your own decision.
Good Luck aramintaalice
Patrick
btw - thank god they don't have drive by shootings in the states as no-one has guns and there is zero gun crime, in fact there is no crime whatsoever! Just say you want to live in the US people, no one will hate you for it!
! Thanks for wishing us luck tho, I feel we'll need it!
Jun 13th 2003, 12:47 am
#28
Banned
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,933
Originally posted by aramintaalice
You'd probably have to visit the UK to understand - most English people LOVE the country and think my position is crazy. Where do I begin?
1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing.
2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look.
3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles.
4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all.
5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop.
6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here.
7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses.
8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss.
Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much!
You'd probably have to visit the UK to understand - most English people LOVE the country and think my position is crazy. Where do I begin?
1. I detest sport over here (my husband loves it) but your Football is wonderful. We were lucky enough to go to a match and the friendly atmosphere is overwhelming. In England rival teams supporters are strictly separated - the violence between fans is severe, sometimes fans are hospitalized whereas your fans mix in the same stands, the tailgate parties that we witnessed were amazing.
2. Everyone is friendly and talkative. Talk to a person here and they think you're a weirdo to be avoided, even a request for the time usually draws a suspicious look.
3. Cars are HUGE and automatic, roads are huge, petrol (gas) is cheap and petrol stations are everywhere. It costs me the equivalent of $90 to fill my tank up! When we first came we hired a Dodge Ram and when the pump clicked off because the tank was full my husband thought he'd broken it!! With six kids I have to drive a fairly big car and its also automatic but the vast majority of people drive tiny manual vehicles.
4. The opportunities for exploration are endless - so many diverse states each a mini country in itself - there's nowhere to go here in comparison. A few years and you've seen it all.
5. This will sound silly but, school buses. We'd seen them on films and were quite enchanted to find that they really exist. Our small roads are clogged up with parents driving their kids to school. Buses are only provided if you live in a rural area and are more than 3 miles from the school and even then that isn't a special designated bus with special 'no passing while the stop signs show' rules. We either get a local coach company sub-contracted to take the children or, as in my eldest son's case , a free bus pass is provided but this means that the children have to travel along with any members of the public who also use the service. Thats potentially hazardous because children as young as 9 may be travelling alone and this means that they could be abducted while waiting at or walking to, the bus stop.
6. The wildlife is beautiful. You have many things that we never see here.
7. Because of the vast area of land your houses, even for ordinary people, are much bigger than ours. I live in a 7 bedroom, 4 bathroom house but I bet that the total square footage would be comparable with your 4 bed houses.
8. Probably another point that some will find a bit silly but I LOVE the way you talk - both the accent and the words, sometimes we would be talking to an American and often use words that they just didn't know. It was funny to them and to us and we loved it. 9. You have lots of events like Thanksgiving etc that we don't have. I think 'graduation' is a big deal. Here nothing happens you just move on to the next stage of life with no fuss.
Its really hard to explain to you exactly and the things above by no means cover the subject, it's just a feeling that we get while there and everytime in England that we see the American flag or something that serves as a reminder, perhaps a holiday video we feel awful. Two of my children feel as strongly as we do, and my six year old son came home from school yesterday asking, 'when can we live in America cos I really want to'. Hope this gives you a bit of an insight and sorry to ramble on so much!
When we returned a few weeks back from Canada, it was kind of nice being home, if only to see the friendly faces of our American waitresses when we went out to have our first meal. The "natives" are friendly and that to my way of thinking is a big plus. Good luck in your quest. You will enjoy living here. You appear to be kind of person who sees the glass half full...
Jun 13th 2003, 2:28 am
#29
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,590
Originally posted by Ranjini
....... Something I miss over here is the sports. Especially, cricket. .....
....... Something I miss over here is the sports. Especially, cricket. .....
Jun 13th 2003, 2:59 am
#30
Banned
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,933
Originally posted by Pulaski
You could always try watching paint dry, it is very similar. Except that the paint won't break for tea, and the paint will be dry by the end of the day whereas with cricket you have another three days left.
You could always try watching paint dry, it is very similar. Except that the paint won't break for tea, and the paint will be dry by the end of the day whereas with cricket you have another three days left.
No point asking, but perhaps you aren't a fan of the limited-overs game either. But apart from that I did appreciate the humour in your comment, in case you were wondering
