dfrbrowne

So myself and the family are moving to Florida, from Ellesmere Port, (on the Wirral near Chester and LIverpool) if anyones if from that area.

We are moving to Tampa, it’s a career move with a lot of help and assistance.

In England now the summer is drawing to a close with the chill of autumn in the air.

I have a lot of feelings about the move, mixed emotions of excitement and trepidation.

My wife is all excited, firstly she is French and leaving England for the US is not her leaving home, she already did that. It's her career move, I am a self employed graphic designer so my skills are completely portable As long as I have my mac I can design a brochure anywhere.

My children aged 8 and 5 are excited and also nervous, my 8 year old is upset to be losing his friends and is worried about how he will be welcomed in a new school.

Anyone in the Tampa area who can help me understand what to expect?
Is there a Brit/Irish community in the area?
Will I miss the seasons?

Will I love the year round sunshine, the beaches the lifestyle...

I am 52 years of age, I have travelled a lot, been to New York and LA in the US on holiday.

I think I will want to try and continue to be self employed.
I will want to replace my UK motorbike and get a another motorbike over there.
I have a collection of 30 rare malt whisky's which I don't know if I can bring with me.
I am excited that with year round sunshine I can do more of my other hobby, Sailing, which is a very rare occurrence over here.

You see I may have a lot of time on my hands when we first move, my wife will be straight into work, the children will start school and I will have to find things to do and friendships to make....

All advice and comments very welcome.

mikelincs

First question is, will the visa she is getting allow you to work?

dfrbrowne

Yes I will have a working visa.

civilservant

Presumably you are received a derivative L2 from your wife's L1?

dfrbrowne

Yes thats the one, an L2 visa.

Anything I should know about this kind of visa?

civilservant

Not especially, we just like to be clear what you are receiving since there are some types of working visas that do not allow the spouse to work. With the L2 as long as you have an EAD (Emplyment Authorisation Document) you can take employment.

Is your intention to remain permanently in the US? If so, has your wife discussed petitioning for a Green Card with her employer?

Pulaski

What is the nature of your self employment? ... You may need to hold an appropriate licence and register with the state.

Flabound oneday

we are about 90 minutes south of tampa, made a similar move 3 years ago.............will you miss the seasons ? only if you enjoy being cold or soaking wet 3/4 of the year !

summer is yes unbearably hot but that's why we have pools and AC, but we are about a month away from the real beautiful weather.

Tampa is nice, big but a nice place.....there is lots to do and some good shops and restaurants, where about are you going to live ?

the good news for your kids is junior soccer season starts soon and if they are half decent they will be welcomed with open arms by one of the MANY clubs around.

im not sure how big sailing is, but boating is HUGE, we had never been near one (well ok the Dover -Calais ferry) but now own one that we potter about on going to remote islands and dolphin watching...........

yes its a culture change, but adapt and you will enjoy it............don't expect the locals to do anything at ANY speed.........you will soon learn 'IT's Florida' stands for ...whenever.....

there are some nice areas further North of Tampa for you to explore,,,,,,

good luck

Flabound oneday

oh one other thing....motorbike.......forget it IMO. I also was a bike rider...around here its more dangerous than kicking gators for fun....wait till you see the driving !!!!!!!!!!!

dfrbrowne

I am a Graphic Designer so would be self employed designing and organising the printing of brochures etc.

I love riding my motorbike so would hate to think I would have to give that up, the drivers over here can be dangerous as well!

Flabound oneday

with an L2 you can work for anyone, you could easily set up a company and do it that way.....

I thought the same about bikes but the roads are so straight and boring and seriously the drivers are FAR worse than England....most of them are 100 and cant see beyond their noses

TimNiceBut

Fla has some "special" drivers, like the proverbial little old lady who has to find the road by looking *through* the steering wheel of a 70s land yacht.

I rode a lot in the UK as the bike over there was my major from of transport, I still ride but not quite as much - probably about 4000-5000 miles/year instead of 15k. Some of this is because riding in winter here is not advisable, though.

Bikes over here are much more of a hobby then they are in the UK, so you tend to find a lot of shiny bikes that haven't been maintained that well, and it appears to be perfectly OK for the mechanic to have your bike for a week because he's waiting for a part or is too busy/can't be bothered etc.

Pulaski

Yes, the driving has to be experienced to be believed. With your automatic car or big@$$ truck on cruise control, needing to hold onto the steering wheel is an irritation to be tolerated while talking on the phone, texting, eating, drinking (not always beer! ), smoking, reading a book, eating a bowl of cereal (complete with a spoon! WTF! seriously!), programing your sat-nav, dealing with your kids in the back seat, etc.! I have seen ALL of these while commuting over the past ten years, most of them frequently.

Twelve years ago when I moved over, the annual fatalities in the US averaged around 36,000, compared to the UK's 3,600 at that time, so the US had five times the population, but ten times the fatalities! In the past 12 years, the fatalities have halved in the UK, but are still the same in the US as they were 12 years ago!

Many of the fatalities are just plain dumb, driving off the side of the road for no discernible reason, then either hitting a utility pole or tree (most states), over a cliff (any mountainous area), or into a river, pond, or drainage canal (Florida, southern Louisiana), OR over correcting, coming back onto the road and ploughing into oncoming traffic. Reports of this appear pretty much every DAY in the newspaper of the largest city near where I live, and several times a week in the small town newspaper too! It is beyond ridiculous that so many people are killed just because they can't keep their vehicle between the curb and the centre line!

Also drunk driving is a much bigger problem here than I think it ever was in the UK. Generally I try to avoid being out on the road after 10pm.

dfrbrowne

Wow, lots to consider on the driving! Isn't illegal to talk on the phone while driving?

Thats something I wanted to ask though, are cars expensive to buy, I would be looking at buying a 2nd hand car 3-5 years old. Is it easy to find a stick drive or is mostly automatics?

scrubbedexpat099

Not if you are doing your make up and eating your Breakfast at the same time.