Sofi

Hi All,

I've lived in Manchester UK my whole life but I'm getting married and moving to Houston at the end of this year. My fiance has been living and working there for about a year and a half.

I'm really worried that I'm going to be totally homesick as all my family and friends are in the UK.

Does anybody have any hints and tips on how to settle in? Stuff I should do when I get there etc?? I visited my fiance last May and I think the move is going to be a huge culture shock!!

Any advice to help my transition will be much appreciated...........

Ray

Houston.. your beyond help ...but it will be warmer ...

snowbunny

Oh my.

Wellll.....

there are a few Brits here who live in/near Houston. The upside of Houston is that as a big city and headquarters of many oil companies, there are a lot of expats from all over the world living there. There are, as you will soon discover, a lot of flights direct to London though I'm not aware of any direct from Houston to MCR (though someone will correct me if I am wrong!).

Besides home and family most expats really miss certain foods that can't be found here.

If you search the site there are some previous posts about things to do in Houston, life in Houston, etc.

I wouldn't be *scared* but that depends on which neighbourhood you'll be living in.

(American) Amy

Bob

Ouch...houston....ouch

Anyway, welcome to BE and check the frapr map to see who's near by, there's a few out in that area from here

britvic

Welcome to BE first off, but yes it will be a huge culture shock stay around and you might be able to find a lot of support from this lot on here

farmerwife

Hi Sofi and welcome to BE.

Congrats on your upcoming marriage. Hopefully you are thinking about getting a visa sorted. Good luck on dealing with that!

Sofi

Thanks everyone for such quick replies and a warm welcome!

My fiance works for Rice University and we will probably end up living in the Rice Village area. This means nothing to me but according to 'him indoors' its a 'good' area....i'll wait and see

The visa etc is being sorted out by his employers so I don't have to worry too much about that (I hope....!)

Ray

alarm bells ..you have to be already married for most visas
or he has applied for a Fiancee visa ...

snowbunny

Yes, you will definitely be involved in the process for your visa.... do you plan to marry in the UK or the US? Is your fiance a citizen of the UK or elsewhere?

The Rice area is nice but $$$$$. Still -- if he's got the $$$$$ then I'd recommend it.

Sofi

He has a H-1 visa work permit thingy that his employers arranged for him. We are going to get married here. I will go over on my UK Passport and then that is when we can apply for my H-something visa (I think its a H-2 but don't quote me on that). Apparently it won't take long to get it as Rice Uni can have unlimited applications.

Hmm, I hope I'm not going to be unceremoniously thrown out of the country!.........Oh well at least I can have decent fish and chips again if that does happen....

snowbunny

Hmmmm.... seek out Elvira (a member here).....

If he's a UK citizen then you can marry in the UK, otherwise he'd need a fiance visa (permission to marry) in the UK.

You do realise that you will not be able to work for the forseeable future, right?

Sofi

Thanks Snowbunny. I will seek out Elvira

I keep trying to tell myself that not working for a while is a good thing - I can be a lady of leisure etc. But then I think I'm going to have even less chance of actually meeting ppl and brainwashing them into being my friends!! lol And, even worse, by being at home I'm slowly going to turn into some kind of sad Stepford Wife!!!!

Oh well....shouldnt complain I guess

penguinsix

Hi, Welcome to Houston. Google search 'scorpions' so if you see one you'll know what to stay away from.

You're going to go through a massive cultural shock. This whole messageboard is basically people's attempts to write down some of the various things they encounter and how they deal (or don't deal) with them

I think one of the keys is to come at this move with an open mind--I mean really open mind. Consider the trip to Houston about the same as a trip to Thailand--different culture, different foods, different television, different values, different social settings, religion, weather--etc. Come at it really open-minded and then start to find a few things you like, a few things you can't explain, and a few things that drive you mad.

You can dwell on the things that drive you mad, but that pretty much guarantees you'll go crazy. Anyone can find something about anyplace that drives them nuts, and if you focus on that, you'll be miserable. Check out the US expats in the UK messageboard for an example of how things you are used to drive American expats absolutely to the point of insanity.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=68.0

Feel free to come here and vent or ask questions, and when things get glum (as they will) be sure to communicate with your fiancee and family. You're going to need all the help you can muster at times.

Good luck, and go pack some suntan lotion.

Bob

You'll get an H4 out of his H1 for being a spouse, but you won't be allowed to work, so do some voluntary work, or perhaps go study

Elvira

Oh dear...

Apart from having an ace opera house , I cannot think of a single thing that Houston might have in its favour...

More importantly, however, is your anticipated status in the US. You'll obviously need to get married to get the H4. You can do that in the US or the UK.

HOWEVER, unless your fiance's employer is sponsoring him for permanent residence - and he is *not likely to be stuck in retrogression!!!* you better prepare yourself for several YEARS of idleness.

The H4 visa is known as the Devil's Visa. It sucks BIG time.

You really, absolutely, definitely need to research this thoroughly, so you know what your are letting yourself in for. Search not only for H4, but also the various categories of H1b visas - EB1, EB2, EB3. Which one is your fiance? At what stage in the green card process/labor certification is he?

If EB2 or EB3, research permanent residency RETROGRESSION and look up likely time-scales.

Don't walk into this blindly... (My husband was an EB1 outstanding professor something-or-other special categorisation........ and it still took 3.5 years before I was even allowed to work...)

Good luck!