Silverdragon102

still waiting for UCIS to acknowledge my new file But atleast lawyer is getting all the next lot of forms ready

Dufas... Sorry about hijack, taken 3 yrs to get to stage of getting greencard and 1 delay after another

Silverdragon102

Taking into account what I am going through I would stick it out, even if it is to get citizenship and then go back to the UK for a while. Know it will be a couple of more yrs for you but atleast if you decide to go back to the UK and it was the wrong move it would be easier to get back into the US

Dufus

Yes, if i can hang out to get citizenship then i will do.

Have applied for some pretty good jobs, if I get one of them then things will seem a lot brighter i am sure.

Relocating permanently at the moment is something i do not really want to do, i just need the job Gods to be kind.

Hope things work out for you too.

robousy

..follow your heart.

lol. Just messing.

What you are asking is a bit arbitrary really. I mean, what you are saying is 'would you move back to the UK?'. Anyone who is here clearly wouldn't as they haven't. Don't mean to sound snotty but the point being its your call completely.

Tally off the pros and cons.

London = More money, more rain, more losing wimbledon in the quarter finals, more beer monsters blaah blaah blaah.

States = nice warm country (in some parts) prolly a lot cheaper (in most parts) and more opportunity (in my opinion).

Personally you couldn't drag me back to England with a rope around my neck and a rabid alsatian on my tail. But thats me, I like pretty much everything about texas - and nothing about the South East England.

Suggestion: You can leave the US for a yr and still return on the Green Card. Try somewhere else. Take a jaunt to the far east man...do a trip through thailand, or journey through India...that'll help give you some perspective.

Dufus

The travelling in Asia thing is something i have done, and did enjoy very much, but that was then this is now.

Really the decision at the moment is a financial one. And salaries in the UK are much higher than they are in Florida for my kind of work.

Am pondering what to do, it really depends on some job applications i have made here.

ImHere

Why dont you move to Orlando and open a pool cleaning or vacation rental business? Seems to be the thing for Brits to do these days.

Actually we live about 30 minutes north of you in Palm Beach and I know what you mean about the expense.

Dufus

No, i think i will open a garden maintenance business !

And everyone thinks Florida is so inexpensive eh....

I truly cannot get my head around salaries here. Some of the jobs I see advertised pay the salaries i would expect, but some of them are abysmal. Saying that the people across the road from me earn $850k per annum (Doctors) so someone is having fun in the sun !

I'll probably stick around, but i miss having the financial safety net of employment agencies with real jobs.

Hey ho

JAJ

If you must leave:

- make sure you get a re-entry permit (and abide by its conditions), continue filing US tax as a resident and keep a US residence. A once a year visit to the US will not keep your greencard alive
- even if you comply with all of the above, your greencard will be at risk
- even if you keep your greencard, you may find on return to the US that the 5 year clock for naturalisation has been reset from scratch.

If you see your future in the US, it's really not a good idea to think about spending any time outside the US (other than vacations) until you get your US citizenship.

If you lose your greencard you most likely won't get it back easily.

Have you thought about relocating somewhere else in the US, if you want a change?

Jeremy

Dufus

Thanks for this.

If i do go back and do some contracting, I won't be gone longer than a long vacation - say 3 months at most.

fatbrit

Be careful! You can actually lose it on the first day out, though it's unlikely! It's all to do with your intent. Think out the story carefully before they ask.

rincewind

I went through the same thing when I first came here. I struggled to find work and that added to the home sickness deal. But I decided that regardless of what country I was in, I would still be unemployed and being British doesn't mean I can walk straight into a job after getting off the plane if I flew back home.

But, my wife and I rode it out and it's paid off and things are getting better.

Manc is right, it's a big country and if you're struggling to find work locally, take a drive around and see what's out there. Plenty of other cities and States to look at.

Chin up and start looking further out. You'll get something.

ImHere

Set yourself up as a Plastic Surgeon...plenty of call for that in and around Miami Beach, monies are good and so are the tits..i mean tips.


Seriously, if you want to stay in FLA then look a bit north. We are moving a bit upstate next year, housing and general cost of living is much cheaper and salaries are comparable to south fla beleive it or not. Just contracted to have a house built so once its done we are moving. Its everywhere below that tropical line from West Palm Beach across to Sarasota thats double the cost of places above it...its expensive to be able to wear shorts 360 days a year

franc111s

I think this thread is a no brainer. IMHO.

To wait 2.5 more years is a small price to pay to get your citizenship. If you file 90 days ahead of time, it should take 6 months after that and your done.

Getting your citizenship is a life changing event and the reason I did it. I can now work anywhere in Europe, as can my kids or the USA for as long as I like. The future possibilities and flexibilites for all of us are huge - and for their kids and so on.

Now, of course I can't take into account you emotions which are understandable, your age, your family and all those things. I would try to look at this brutally and say for the sake of another 2.5 years, you and your family would be in a very strong envious flexible position.

Heck, have you considered taking a long cheap vacation and travel. Go back to the UK for 3 months on a contract - go to Hawaii. Maybe use the time to get re-educated, learn something new.

All I'm saying is, have a look and think outside of the box to cover you for 2.5 more years. If the answer is still the same, then go back, good luck and God bless. This is always easier for someone else to say on the otherside of a thread so please take suggestions with the kind spirit they are sent with.

Dufus

Thanks, I appreciate what you have said.

My main reasons in posting this thread was some way of expressing the frustration i was feeling with salaries in South Florida. I really don't want to move back to UK, well move anywhere really, moving here was bad enough.

However.... I was feeling concerned about finances of living here, huge mortgage, huge taxes etc, etc - now this is kind of my fault but i did until recently also have a pretty good salary to pay for all of this. Redundancy made me look at the local market very hard and there is just no safety net here IT wise as there was in the UK, in my field anyway.

So, when i applied for lots here and heard nothing, then applied for 2 very well paid contracting jobs in London and was offered them all it kind of set me thinking.

The fact is, 1 month contracting in London would cover my expenses here for 4 - 6 months, very comfortably.

What i did not include in my original post is that i have a Saint Bernard dog, that i will always include in my plans, and so it is not so easy to go back to the UK for big chunks of time. However, doggy day care can handle that if need be, she could live there for a while, she loves it there anyway.

So, I guess i will keep applying for jobs, and contract in the UK if i really must. GreenCard wise it will be fine.

Thanks, and i know that i should wait for citizenship but i am feeling much poorer than i like to feel.

Cheers

ladylisa

[QUOTE=franc111s]I think this thread is a no brainer. IMHO.

To wait 2.5 more years is a small price to pay to get your citizenship. If you file 90 days ahead of time, it should take 6 months after that and your done. Getting your citizenship is a life changing event and the reason I did it. I can now work anywhere in Europe, as can my kids or the USA for as long as I like. The future possibilities and flexibilites for all of us are huge - and for their kids and so on.



I know what your saying makes complete sense here it is a fantastic opportunity to give your children the freedom to work and live in any country. However the only point I would make is that my British in laws have 3 children that all live in different places, one in Oz, one in USA & one in London. They encouraged their children to make good careers for themselves and this is what their children have done. However they are now in their 70's and living on their own. Seeing their children and grand children about once a year, some years not at all. I wonder if they ever consider how nice it would be to have all their children around them like all their friends have.