nicola9

Hi everyone

Please bear with me this is my first time on here and am probably going to make a complete mess of this but here goes!

Firstly a little bit about my situation...

My dad is an american citizen (through marriage) and finally after 7 years I have got my green card!

My family currently live in Florida but my boyfriend has just been offered a contract coaching football in California starting in June so we looking to move in about 4 weeks, we are in the process of selling our flat in the UK and are selling pretty much everything we own!

Apart from the minor details such as where we are going to live my question as stupid as it seems is can we bring things like the playstation and a DAB radio? Has anyone any experience of taking over things like this?

It's all quite scary selling off my life and it's very strange the things that I have become attached to! I'm all for making a fresh start but it would be nice to have a couple of familiar things around!

Thanks in advance!

TruBrit

hi there, you'll find lots of info on BE re your questions, just use the search button at the top...

ChocolateBabz

Hi, I understand how you feel. We move at the end of May and are busy trying to sort out what to throw away/give away/take with us.

For electrical items it depends on the voltage of the item (according to my husband). Check the back of the item and see if it will work on both 110v and 240 v. If it does you should only need a new adapter to make it work in the US. We are bringing our sons PS2 but remember that you will only be able to use your UK games - US ones wont work. Also most things with an element or motor won't work (kettles, drills etc.).

My husband loves his stereo so plans to have the transformer (inside bit) changed when we get there so it will work. We are also taking a couple of lamps as he says all we have to do is re-wire and change the plug.

Most people advise not to bother bringing anything as things are so much cheaper to buy but thats easy to say if you are not on a budget.

Bill_S

Hold on a second... what is your boyfriend's citizenship? If he's American, that's great. If not, does he have a visa yet?

nicola9

He isn't American, but he does has a visa, it's only 3 months work at the moment so all very legal and above board otherwise wouldn't be going!

MsElui

3 months visa? or 3 months work?

nicola9

Visa enabling him to work for 3 months!

sambapink

Hey Nicola.. I sent you a PM.. We live in California., I'm guessing that your boyfriend will be Coaching an AYSO team.. ?? I'd love to 'trade' advice with you... I can try and help you out with tips on Cali... and i'd be really interested about how your OH got to work for AYSO. I've been trying to get my brother to look into it.. My kids went to a Soccer School last summer and the fellas were English.. Just think its a great opportunity! Good Luck and let me know if I can be of any help..

chicagojlo

Definitely bring your PS2 if you plan to play any of your existing games, but you'll have to buy a new one here when you want to buy new games. The good news about that is you can connect your UK one to the power with the power cable from the US one so you won't need to use a converter. (We used to do this in Europe with our US PS2 and it works both ways). They are also a lot cheaper here...
My advice on what to bring - try not to bring too many electricals, if you can bring your kitchen stuff and linens - it might not seem a big deal to give away 4 duvet covers and a bunch of sheets but when they are $30-50 a set and you are trying to replace them it adds up. Everything is cheaper here but replacing so much from scratch soon becomes expensive. At the very least try to sell as much as possible rather than giving it away.
Also give a lot of thought to what clothes you plan to bring, the weather will be different and you will end up firstly not needing most of what you have and secondly wanting to buy a lot of new stuff when you see what everyone else wears.

MsElui

i dont know any visas for 3 months. Does he mean the visa waiver program (vwp) which is for 3 months? He cannot work on that one though so could be shooting himself in the foot if he gets caught as he would find it much harder to ever go back to the us. or does he mean some other visa ?

TruBrit

i've never heard of a 3 mth working visa... maybe the visa peeps on here will confirm.

chicagojlo

I was thinking it was some kind of summer job thing, like Camp America or something. Maybe the OP will confirm...

Jerseygirl

I assumed it wasn't a normal working visa...he's probably coaching kids...lots of young Brits come to the US for a few months in the summer to do this.

TruBrit

yes i know of two lads who have done just that and come to the US on the VWP but the OP and boyfriend are selling up their uk home

MsElui

i hope it is. last thing he wants to do is get himself in a tangle now what with the gf moving over!