mrken30

Many Jails and Police Departments run citizens academys or just allow you to spend a few hours with someone as a volunteer. This might be something you could do to see if prison is the place to be.

mamasue

I'm also a Brit in GA... and I'm actually very happy here.
I spent 5 years working in Egypt before I came here...been here now since late 2006.
I'm retired, so it's slightly different circumstances.
Any time I need a reality check, I go visit my daughter in the UK. She lives in a very nice suburb, but I hate the small roads, lack of space, and, of course, the weather.
I'm in the middle of bible-basher land...everybody's busily praising Jesus every few sentences they speak...when they're not shooting deer or going to Waffle House or church.

We picked GA randomly as a place to try....the good outweighs the bad round here.

You're definitely doing the right thing by getting your citizenship as soon as you can...worth its weight in gold.

scrubbedexpat099

If you want to get into the Religion thing it is there, but never had it from any of my friends and the only time I was accosted, by Mormons, told them I was C of E, not really true but confused them enough to go on their way.

Elk hunting next week, my is that much more involved than I was expecting, and not common activity in Essex. Good news is we we will have a heater in the tent, snow in the forecast.

A friends father is Turkish and he went back after many years recently and was shocked into how much things had changed, he had said he was going to move back but wanted to move back to how things were, not are.

agm1287

Believe me, you are not alone in your feelings... I have been in the States now for 15 years. I dont have the same issue regarding jobs, i have been extremely lucky in that way. I just returned from a trip home (mother was in hospital) and although the UK has changed a lot since living here it is and always will be my home.

Find myself missing home more and more, no matter how i have tried i have never been able to make it my home. Wont become a USC due to having to file taxes as well as some of the words you have to say in your swearing in ceremony. I live in NE PA, there is no community of English people here so i struggle really every day.

I dont know what advice i can give you for your situation. I do know as i dont really have a support system that if you ever need to talk i am available or i am sure everyone else is too.

I have kids, they wont know what i have sacrificed for them as when you have them you no longer have the right to be selfish. That being said, if life was different and i had no children i would be back home now.

Stay strong

Ali

GarryH

You`re all great!

Cheers

Garry H

scrubbedexpat099

username.exe

Often posters on BE seem to reminisce over leafy garden lanes back in the UK, and I wonder whether I'm the only one here who lived in an area where the floor is covered in chip wrappers and people store their mattresses in their front gardens?

nun

Immigrants often get nostalgic for the old country and wrap it up in a fantasy constructed from their memories. There's good and bad in all places. I like living in New England.....I like the countryside, the villages, the cultural life in Boston. The people are a mixed bag, but that is the case everywhere. I like bits of the UK too, but there's a lot that I don't like.

mrken30

I do think it's probably harder to live in the US on a minimal wage than it is in the UK. The social safety net is virtually non existent in the US. I am not sure how many others in BE are working pay check to pay check. As you have found the biggest cost is healthcare in the US which is almost impossible to pay for on $9 an hour.

nun

That is very dependent on the state where you live. I know from personal experience that MA has a pretty good safety net. It's children's services dept is in trouble right now, but things like Medicaid, fuel assistance etc work well.

scrubbedexpat099

$9 an hour and it is free.

BubbleChog

I live in GA and I have to agree with Pulaski I've not seen most of that in person. Internet is a different story. Of course I live in Atlanta so it's a big blue spot in the middle of the red state

mrken30

Is Atlanta an open carry city?
Where I live I see people walking around with AK47s slung over their shoulder. In Portland, my nearest large city, they do not allow open carry , so completely different story.

Pulaski

I don't recall ever seeing anyone carrying openly, nor with a noticeable bulge in their clothing, anywhere in NC, whether in a city, the 'burbs, or out in the sticks. Guns round here are for hunting not posing!

Bob

In theory....reality is pretty hit or miss, depending on where in the state you live.

$1600 a month for a 1 bed on the cheap housing in one town is still pretty pointless for instance.

As to the OP, any thoughts on community college, or even online for a masters, using the UK degree to get you going? It should be cheaper than a brick and mortar fancy uni.

The mention of volunteering is pretty good, if nothing else it'll get you networked and name out there and another option might be the school district? Ours have a couple of councillors part time in some of the schools, full time in the high school.