Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Jun 9th 2022, 10:46 am
#48
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2021
Location: Dayton, OH
Posts: 20
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Jun 10th 2022, 2:04 am
#49
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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 1,189
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Emory University hospital system is a world class medical facility. When minor visual issues lead to a MRI and the discovery of a benign pituitary tumor I researched the best place for surgery. The neurosurgery department at Emory was the most highly rated for this surgery. I had surgery there over two years ago and couldn’t have received better treatment. It is 200 miles away but was worth the inconvenience.
Jun 10th 2022, 2:06 am
#50
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Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Jun 10th 2022 at 2:19 am. Reason: Fixed quote
Jun 10th 2022, 3:09 am
#51
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Location: Near Lynchburg Tennessee, home of Jack Daniels
Posts: 1,406
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Many maybe most pituitary tumors are discovered at autopsy and were never causing symptoms. I was having a slowly rising TSH that wasn’t enough for thyroid hormone but my diagnosis was due to visual field changes. However after surgery my TSH returned to normal.
Jun 10th 2022, 3:14 am
#52
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Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
Funny you mention TSH, I had my thyroid assayed for a sleep disorder (turned out to be apnea), discovered insurance pushes back on that particular screen. Cost me $25!
Jun 11th 2022, 3:57 pm
#53
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Joined: Sep 2017
Location: Miami
Posts: 466
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
I don't want to harp on about schools every time someone asks these sorts of questions. I would recommend in a State like FL, private schooling is likely the only way to go. I will leave that there.
Re: rent. I was very fortunate to have extremely low rent in Boston in the late naughties, however, sharp rises were common year after year. I came to a compromise with landlord to have contracts written for two years (I was an exceptional tenant from their point of view), with smaller but longer guaranteed increases for them. Quality of tenants can be a terrifying prospect for landlords, it is good leverage if you pay your bills on time. However, the market is so crazy right now, these points could be moot! Friends who are renters are now paying ~2-300 USD over asking/month, and writing cover letters to even be considered. Cost of progress I guess..
Re: rent. I was very fortunate to have extremely low rent in Boston in the late naughties, however, sharp rises were common year after year. I came to a compromise with landlord to have contracts written for two years (I was an exceptional tenant from their point of view), with smaller but longer guaranteed increases for them. Quality of tenants can be a terrifying prospect for landlords, it is good leverage if you pay your bills on time. However, the market is so crazy right now, these points could be moot! Friends who are renters are now paying ~2-300 USD over asking/month, and writing cover letters to even be considered. Cost of progress I guess..
Jun 11th 2022, 6:19 pm
#54
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2019
Posts: 226
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
If you’re coming on a H-1B visa I probably wouldn’t sell the house in the UK. Might be better to rent it and then you’ve got somewhere to go back to should the company either release you (research “at will employment”), collapse, or decide to not extend your visa beyond the initial expiration date.
So you’ve been made an offer with a salary of $110k per year? Sounds low for a family of 4 with a spouse who will not be able to work (H-4 visas do not permit work). Do people survive on less here? Absolutely. But they didn’t leave a life behind in the UK for it. And they have more local support (grandma or auntie Susan offering free babysitting, for example) and US citizens are eligible for welfare if their incomes are low enough. As visa holders with no family support network you’ll be paying out for everything and won’t be eligible for any public assistance. No child benefit, etc in the US for you. Also, if your wife currently works and will be giving up her career for this, there is also the loss of future gains to consider. Depending on her industry she may end up completely out of the loop if she doesn’t work for several years. This will affect future promotions and pay raise opportunities. In some cases could even ruin a career. Is she happy to make such a sacrifice for a bit of sunshine? Is she happy to not be working? It would drive me crazy to not be legally able to work.
As someone else said, ironically if you enjoy holidays in Florida then living to Florida is one of the worst things you can do. You will actually be spending less time on holiday in Florida than if you stayed in the UK with its more generous annual leave allowances and flew here a few times a year. Or is your employer honoring your UK annual leave allotment?
If the company has more than 50 FTE then they are required to offer a healthcare plan to the full-time employees. So I would ask them for a copy of the benefits guide. This will detail the monthly paycheck deductions and how much your out-of-pocket responsibility is.
What breed of dog? Some dogs cannot go on airplanes. For some breeds it’s because they can’t breathe (dogs with no snout such as pugs, Boston terriers, etc) and some breeds are banned (and the list of those names makes for surprising reading - it’s not just pit bulls and Rottweilers). Also check the rules of where you are planning to live. There’s an HOA near us that won’t even let you have a Labrador dog because someone complained once.
So you’ve been made an offer with a salary of $110k per year? Sounds low for a family of 4 with a spouse who will not be able to work (H-4 visas do not permit work). Do people survive on less here? Absolutely. But they didn’t leave a life behind in the UK for it. And they have more local support (grandma or auntie Susan offering free babysitting, for example) and US citizens are eligible for welfare if their incomes are low enough. As visa holders with no family support network you’ll be paying out for everything and won’t be eligible for any public assistance. No child benefit, etc in the US for you. Also, if your wife currently works and will be giving up her career for this, there is also the loss of future gains to consider. Depending on her industry she may end up completely out of the loop if she doesn’t work for several years. This will affect future promotions and pay raise opportunities. In some cases could even ruin a career. Is she happy to make such a sacrifice for a bit of sunshine? Is she happy to not be working? It would drive me crazy to not be legally able to work.
As someone else said, ironically if you enjoy holidays in Florida then living to Florida is one of the worst things you can do. You will actually be spending less time on holiday in Florida than if you stayed in the UK with its more generous annual leave allowances and flew here a few times a year. Or is your employer honoring your UK annual leave allotment?
If the company has more than 50 FTE then they are required to offer a healthcare plan to the full-time employees. So I would ask them for a copy of the benefits guide. This will detail the monthly paycheck deductions and how much your out-of-pocket responsibility is.
What breed of dog? Some dogs cannot go on airplanes. For some breeds it’s because they can’t breathe (dogs with no snout such as pugs, Boston terriers, etc) and some breeds are banned (and the list of those names makes for surprising reading - it’s not just pit bulls and Rottweilers). Also check the rules of where you are planning to live. There’s an HOA near us that won’t even let you have a Labrador dog because someone complained once.
Last edited by steph0scope; Jun 11th 2022 at 6:22 pm.
Jun 12th 2022, 3:57 am
#55
Deep in the woods of CT
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 7,017
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
So many people do this type of thing and then do nothing in Florida except party. I'm looking at you, Disney cast members.
What do you hope to gain from the experience? What are you visiting Florida for that you cannot do in the UK? Determine that and then be extremely deliberate about it. You can work a shitjob and party wherever you want. Learn to kite surf or pursue another cool hobby that Florida has to offer, and devote time to it. The shenanigans and partying will continue, but you'll most likely have met a cool community of people to do it with. Have a good time.
What do you hope to gain from the experience? What are you visiting Florida for that you cannot do in the UK? Determine that and then be extremely deliberate about it. You can work a shitjob and party wherever you want. Learn to kite surf or pursue another cool hobby that Florida has to offer, and devote time to it. The shenanigans and partying will continue, but you'll most likely have met a cool community of people to do it with. Have a good time.
Perhaps you should check the genesis of this thread. The OP is a family man with wife, children, and dog. He isn't coming to the US to party.
Jun 12th 2022, 4:04 am
#56
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,591
Re: Moving to USA (Florida) from UK - Very new to this
