CurlyJack1980

Hello everyone im Jack, 28, single male born and bread in England. I have managed to get myself a job at Whistler Blackcomb this winter which will last a minimum of 6 months, my visa is for 12months.
Now i know many many people may ask these same questions but im slowly getting through all the articles and discussions so im sorry if these kind of questions bother people.

I have been working for Royal Mail for almost 7 years and lately my life just seems boring, ground hog day so to speak. All my friends are settling down in relationships, marriage, buying their own house with a partner and having children. This is great and im happy for them, but guess what im the one whos missing out. I feel that im stuck in a rut and need to get out!
I am single, only renting a house and have no commitments(family have told me to go for it) when it comes to mortgage,family etc. So i applied through CCUSA and BUNAC and chose the working in Canada programme. Royal mail offer "career breaks" that start at one year and can be extended to 3 years so I can go through with this.

Now i know i might not fit into any skilled workers categories but i passed secondary school with 8 GCSE's and obtained a BTEC national diploma in engineering when i went to college. Unfortunatly this didnt lead to any work in the required field as i was in the "too experienced and not enough experience" for every job and course i applied for at that age, which really got me down.

Anyway this gets asked all the time im sure, but realistically what are the chances for someone like myself (young free and single so to speak) staying for more then a year or living on a permanent basis in Canada or any other country infact. Such as Australia, New Zealand, USA and any other country popular with british citizens. If it helps i have family on my fathers side living in Australia(his cousins and uncles) and some distant relatives in Canada and the USA but i know this wont count for anything.

I just feel i need a big change in my life and the "rip-off" britian effect seems to be taking hold of me, i need a new lifestyle, change of scenery, new challenges etc
So id be interested to learn from anyone with advice, similar stories and experiences just to tell me what they did etc

Like i said above im probably one of thousands of posts regular people on this site read about all the time and may get bored of and for that I apologise but i feel that talking to people who have been there and done that will give me a better understanding to all the things i can do, as sometimes the offical websites just seem to quote jargon which dosnt help anyone.

Once again thanks for reading and I look forward to getting through all the articles on the site(not all of them, but the ones that appeal to me haha

penguinsix

Hi,

First, can you end up in another country. Probably. Will it be the USA, probably not.

The visa requirements here are incredibly tight. The best way to think of it is 'the USA does not want or need you in any way, now try to convince them otherwise'. Absent a university degree and/or a lot of luck, that's not going to happen.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Please read that (we get asked daily so that's a good starting point).

Unless of course you meet some beautiful American snow bunny while working at the ski resort....that could change everything.

Basically, try to marry an American.
Try to get a job with a large multinational in the UK and get 'transfered' to the USA.
Try to marry an American.
Get rich and buy a business in the US.
Try to marry an American.
or find some other small bit of that above link that applies.

CurlyJack1980

Hi,

First, can you end up in another country. Probably. Will it be the USA, probably not.

The visa requirements here are incredibly tight. The best way to think of it is 'the USA does not want or need you in any way, now try to convince them otherwise'. Absent a university degree and/or a lot of luck, that's not going to happen.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Please read that (we get asked daily so that's a good starting point).

Basically, try to marry an American.
Try to get a job with a large multinational in the UK and get 'transfered' to the USA.
Try to marry an American.
Get rich and buy a business in the US.
Try to marry an American.
or find some other small bit of that above link that applies.

American snow bunny...thats plan B. i did get offers last time i went in November, but this was Vegas! lol

Poppy girl

I maybe wrong but I am guessing by your profile name your 28yrs old right!

Australia used to and may well still have the 1 year working programme I believe this was for folk under 30yrs sure I will get quoted on this!!

But the Aussie option might be worth looking into as you have family there as well.
I think its a student work experiance, but you don't have to be an actual student to apply.

Good luck

CurlyJack1980

Im 27 didnt realise i put 27. yes it seems Australia, new zealand and canada offer these programmes for non-students. i guess i could just gor from place to place for a few years

lisa67

Just spent a few days up in Whistler...absolutely fabulous place and would imagine it's spectacular in the winter....the 2010 Winter Olympics are being held there..why not try and find a way of staying in Canada ? Unfortunately your chances of getting into the US are extremely slim, but hey, if you live in Canada you can easily come over and visit...Good Luck

augigi

If you can get a skilled worker visa for Australia, you can apply for residency in I think 2 years. There is lots of info on the Aus govt website.

mayhemuk

Mate
I was having similar 'life issues' and took a sabbatical/career break.
I would not now be in California if it wasn't for meeting my wife on said travels.
If I had my time to pick place to live from where I travelled it would be New Zealand. But my wife is Californian so here we are.
I am enjoying it here but the problems of the UK do exist here if in slightly different guises. Same records different mix/DJ etc if you get me.

By all means do the trips and BUNAC etc and get a taste of life abroad but unless you're minted you'll still find yourself with a daily grind of life to deal with.
It just might be you're doing it somewhere with less/more rain/sun etc etc.

Maybe revisit the career decisions and see if you can make some changes in that arena aswell.

Good luck and all but the grass is not always greener. It is sometimes astro turf!

starky

Interesting post, I am in fairly similar position to your self, 30 years old, currently live in Dublin, have a fairly good job here but like you all my friends are settling down and buying houses, the pressure to buy a place is fairly intense with my bunch of friends, its all “your crazy paying rent” and “you will have to take the plunge and start paying a mortgage soon” and so on. Truth is I just don’t see my self living here long term, I am totally sick of the even greater Irish rip off, I am earning well above the average industrial wage, and while I am not on the bread line or anything, I am certainly not overly comfortable. While I was born here I grew up mostly in the UK and moved here in my 20’s so I have never had that connection that most of my friends seem to have with this country.

I have been banging on for the last few years about getting away for a few years, so I weighed up my options and figured it was going to realistically have to be Australia, New Zeeland, USA or Canada. Mostly for a change more then anything.
I was really interested in going somewhere for a good few years, I was not interested in getting some temporary visa, or some work related sponsorship visa that was set to a specific time line. I basically wanted to know that I was not going to have to arse about with further visa applications down the road, and knowing the complexity of US immigration, and the fact that it is near to impossible getting a permanent work visa for the US I decided to concentrate my visa efforts on OZ, have a good few friends there and that. I had begun the initial stages of an application for a migration visa for OZ, and then in the mean time I was extremely lucky to have won an entry in the US diversity lottery. As I am an Irish born citizen I was eligible for it. I, like you just fancied doing something different for a few years, before I get too much older and while I was lucky enough to get a US visa I would have been as happy with a visa for OZ either. If things don’t work out for me In the US then OZ will definitely be next on my list! I am sure that Moving to the USA no doubt for me will have a whole list of new problems, and at the end of the day I will have to get a job and get up and go to work everyday over there, but I have to do that here anyway so at least I will be doing it somewhere different for a while, don’t know if it will be better or worse but I am looking forward to a change at least.
I think if you feel the way you do then you should do your best to get a few years way some where so you don’t have any regrets.
Best of luck what ever you decide….

Bob

From what you've said, slim to sod all realistic chance of a long stay move unless you marry a local bird or come over to study, which won't be cheap.

Post office here won't help as you'd need a greencard before you could even work there.

What about Canada, or any other country with a skills points system?

goatherder

Hi

Similar situation here as well - just a bit older these days....

I left Australia in 2000 travelled for 9 months and then landed in the UK on a working holiday visa. Managed somehow to get a work permit and a company to sponsor it and I've been here ever since. I'm now actually a British citizen as well.

On my travels I found an american and married her - now have 2 kids as well!

Don't worry about the visa / immigration stuff - I've never really had too many issues - a few nervous weeks yes. Once you are in a country legally you can sort most things out somehow and if you don't its been a great experience.

As a UK citizen you can go to Australia, Canada and New Zealand on the working holiday visa - its a great option with little expenditure and no commitment - think of it as try before you buy.

Also as a UK citizen don't forget about Europe. Plenty of options there without the visa hassle.

You aren't born in Northern Ireland by any chance ? I think the Diversity Visa (Green card Lottery) in the US is available NI born UK citizens.

So get applying and pack your backpack and get out there.

Goatherder.

HoosierDaddy

Bob - I thought you need to be a Citizen to work for Cliff Claven's mob? You saying only a GC will suffice?

Scouse Express

And a gun......for when you decide to go "Postal"


Jim.

Bob

They changed the rules a couple years ago to allow greencard holders to work for the post office, not for all aspects of it I don't think, but certainly for sorting and being a postie.

scrubbedexpat099

Yep, GC will do it but not EAD.