Hatgirl

Hi there,
I'm new to this forum, hope I'm posting in the right place...

I'm British and hoping to move to the US this summer.
I'm 18, and by the start of this summer I will have finished my A levels - and I feel like I'm ready to follow my dream to move to the States.

I was born in Maryland and I actually have dual nationality, so there will be no visa issues.Last year I went on a 3 month holiday to Florida and loved it.
I have a close friend in FL who's willing to let me stay in his 2 bedroom apartment for a very small cost until I get settled and get a job.

What's bothering me is that this feels like a huge decision to be making at 18,
because not only will I be moving out of my parent's house properly for the first time(!) but I will also be in a new and unfamiliar country.

Apart from the 3 months in Florida last year, I have no memories of my early childhood that I spent in America.

I'm really looking for opinions from Brits who have moved to the US... does this seem like a bad idea? Is there anything I should know before I do this?
At the minute I'm finding it hard to see past my vision of a sunny happy Florida life and look for any negatives.

I don't want to be talked out of it, I just want to be properly informed

goldenstate31

The first thing that immediately comes to mind, are visa issues but then you are a dual citizen so all the stress and worry about those kind of issues are not yours!
The second that comes to mind is health insurance. Make sure you have that covered.
Schooling for children, but then I assume thats not going to be an immediate problem for you.
You are young but at the same time on the outset it appears you have no ties and you also have a friend who is willing to let you stay at his apartment.
My advice, if you really want to try, then go for it!
Everybody will have different experiences, some good and some not so good, but its your experience that matters
Good Luck!

ian-mstm

You seem wise beyond your years.


I don't think it's a bad idea, but it may be difficult to transition to life in the US with no support system other than your friend.


Have you considered going to uni in the US? As a USC you're already eligible for student loans and, to be perfectly honest, getting a job with no experience and no local contacts will be difficult in the current economy... even in Florida. There are some great schools in Florida.

Ian

Hatgirl

Thankyou both for your input

I did consider uni in Florida!
But my US friend seems to think that student loans don't cover as much over there as they do in the UK,
and that they aren't as lenient about when you pay them back...

Not sure how much truth there is to this, though?

HighSpeedGrandma

Apart from the health insurance aspect, (I don't know how you would cover that), I would say 'go for it'. You may 'only' be 18 but in my experience a Brit 18 year old is for the most part more mature than an American 18 year old.
I don't want to start any wars by making that comment, all I am saying is, that in my experience, and I have been here 20 years and have 2 grown daughters who were kids when I moved here, and are now adults and living in the UK, 18 year olds in the UK are just more mature on the whole.
Most 18 year olds ( and older ) here are still considered and therefore act like kids. There are people in their mid 20's that behave like some 17 year old Brits that I know.
Don't forget though that the legal drinking age is 21 here. In England you can drink alcholol but here you can't. My daughter hated that when she came for visits.
She was treated like a schoolkid here, but was working and independent back there.
Other than that, you should give it a go if that is what you want to do. At your age you have plenty of time to try it out and if you hate it, then at least you know and you can go back saying at least you gave it a shot.

You don't always want to be wondering how it would have been.

Rete

Morning

I admire your courage. I know that I would never have ventured a thought to moving to another country at the tender age of 18. So lets see if the opinions here can help you make this a success.

AFAIR from my college days student loans can be used to pay for whatever you want in terms of college expenses. I know that my nephew used his loans to pay for tutition, books and help defray the cost of living. He also held down a part time job waitering to help make ends meet. The loans are set up to be paid back once you have finished your schooling and/or if you drop out. The interest rate is somewhat lower than a conventional loan and the repayment rate per month is determined by the amount you borrowed.

Scholarships are freebies and you might want to look into applying for some that are applicable to you and your life. There are also grants from the state and federal governments but not sure if you are eligible since you do not current live within the boundaries of the US.

Also as a non-resident, your tutition fees will be higher so you might want to set up your household, get your driver's license, a job, etc. and wait out the time period for state residency before applying to college.

Jobs in Florida are available but they are not high paying jobs for the most part. You can waitress, bartend, work in the healthcare industry in a clercial position, etc.

Since you hold dual citizenship, why not give it a try for a bit. You can still return to the UK if you are unhappy.

Also remember you have only experienced Florida. There are 49 more states to chose from and they are as vastly different from one another as I'm sure London is from Gloucester.

Jerseygirl

Hello and welcome.

If I were in your position I would take a gap year and spend it in the US. This would give you time to try out life stateside...you could also find out the cost of getting a degree here vs the UK. One thing to bear in mind is that an undergrad degree in the US will take on average 4 yrs...another 2 for a masters. That's approx 2 years more fees and lack of income than the UK.

FWIW my daughter went to uni in Canada when she was 18. OK it may be the same land mass but it take us as long to get there as it does to fly to the UK.

Good luck.

Mummy in the foothills

Have fun.
My only advice, is to keep enough money (either on your credit card or in cash in the bank) for a ticket home in case it all goes south or you decide you hate it. Theres nothing worse than working a minimum wage job, trying to pay bills and save to move home all at the same time. Call it your back up exit money and don't ever touch it.

avanutria

Hi hatgirl,

I went to uni in the US, and then also grad school in the UK but got a US loan for it.

For my undergrad studies I got a combination of subsidized and unsubsidized loans from a company called Direct Loans. I don't recall actually applying to that particular company, it's just who I ended up with after filling out the loan paperwork the uni gave me. Subsidized loans mean that they don't accrue interest until after you graduate (if then). Unsubsidized loans do accrue interest, so you'll want to pay those off first once you're graduated! (Sometimes you can request that payments be applied to particular loans.) I think these loans were paid to the school periodically, two or three times a year, and then the extra (if any) was given to me...I can't really remember.

For my grad school I applied for a loan from Sallie Mae. I got a loan for $18,500 and it was given to me in the form of a check - I think this was because the school was overseas. I had to sign the check over to my UK school to pay my tuition, and they refunded me the extra. Again, half of it was subsidized and half was unsubsidized.

The Sallie Mae one, which I can remember a lot more about because it was more recent, didn't come due for repayments until about 6 months after I graduated. I got to choose which type of repayment plan I wanted, and it was easy to make online payments - but they had to come from a US bank, not a UK one. Also I got an incentive bonus where they'd give me a rebate of 3.3% of the loan value if I made my first 30 payments on time. Through careful attention to the loan and my repayments I was able to actually make more back on the rebate than I had paid in loan interest

Poppy girl

On the health insurance side of things could you not take out a 90 vacation policy in the UK as a student maybe, and then whilst covererd look for employment that would cover you with insurance once this has lapsed, yes there could be a small break inbetween policys, but then again maybe not

Jerseygirl

IMO healthcare insurance would be a biggie...I wouldn't risk being here without it.

avanutria

I dunno, I went from ages 18 to 25 in the US without it. And Hatgirl will have the backup of going home for some illnesses (assuming travel is permitted). Also you can often get cheap basic health insurance as a student through one's university.

Obviously it's something to consider but as a calculated risk I don't think it's a dealbreaker for whether or not to come.

Just Jenney

I think it's difficult to provide any proper feedback because you don't really provide enough details about your situation. We know you're 18 and that you're considering living in and possibly studying in Florida, but that's it.

• Where in Florida are you planning on going?
• What Florida university are you thinking of attending?
• Do you know how you're going to pay for everything? This includes housing, food, basic necessities, transportation, health insurance, auto insurance, taxes, etc.
• What kind of work do you expect to find where you'll be living in Florida? What's the unemployment rate currently like in that area?
• You mentioned that your friend would let you live with him until you get a job. How much will it cost to get your own place there, since you'll have to do that at some point?
• Do you rely on any prescription medications, such as birth control or asthma inhalers, which could be expensive to refill in the States?
• Do you drive? Be aware that auto insurance for 18-year-olds is extremely expensive. If you don't drive, does this Florida location have a decent and affordable public transportation system?
• Are you the type of person who makes friends easily, or do you have a hard time coming out of your shell?

Asking these questions is not to discourage you from coming here -- quite the contrary. If you have the financial means and maturity to live here, then that's great. But these points -- and others -- should be considered very seriously.

~ Jenney

Poppy girl

I had 3 years without it, but it would be an option for Hatgirl a travel insurance for 90days.

Ray

I give you 6 months before you go home broke and dissapointed
Just finding a job will destroy you .. they just aint any ..

Getting around you will need a car...too young to rent one .. probably too young to get a lease

so for the 6 months have $10k
when its gone..... its over

Or ..shack up with a guy ASAP