Jerseygirl

What you really mean is that the cost of living in some parts of the US is cheaper than in some parts of the UK.

drlol

Well yes. I would say like for like the cost of living in the US is generally cheaper than the UK, except for healthcare. But correct me if you think I am wrong. But I don't think that was the point of this person's post.

Pulaski

I am somewhat inclined to agree with you, but then I moved from London to rural NC, and pulled off the apparently fairly unusual trick of moving to America and not paying more in property tax than I did in the UK. We also have a house almost four times as big as our home in London on a lot fifty times as big!

The reason I made my second point, with which you disagreed, is that without a decent job and income to match, life can still be pretty crappy even if you live in a low-cost area. In other words, without good qualifications and skills you'll be poorly paid even in a low cost area, and things such as restaurants, airline tickets, and cars are going to take a much larger bite out of a small pay cheque than a larger one, as of course is health insurance.

tom169

I agree.

I think money breeds money a lot easier in the US than the UK with a plethora of retirement, savings and investment vehicles to choose from.

Extra to this, it seems that the better jobs usually come with better health insurance options, meaning a cost saving for the individual. So higher pay and lower expenses.

I'm still of the belief that my weekly grocery bill is more costly here, but not sure if that is the cost of living in a city - albeit in a cheaper state.

Other insurance are higher here too like car and home owners.

drlol

Yes the health care is the tricky one. I have worked with people in both countries who have low incomes and I have been on low income myself at one point in the UK. Here in the US people seem to have 2 or even 3 jobs and seem to have two cars and a nice 3 bed house which doesn't cost a great deal. They work hard. In the UK life can be a big struggle on a low wage.

Asg123

It's an even bigger struggle on a low wage in the US. But with a good job life is better in the US.

Perky74

We moved here on Tuesday this week after an 8 month lead time. It was exhausting packing up and moving - and felt very overwhelming at times especially as my husband was already in the US so I was managing everything on my own. Emotionally it has been a major roller coaster for me and the children, more downs than ups before we got here. Even on the way to the airport I was thinking 'what have we done' as everyone was crying after saying goodbye to family and friends. Anyway we are here now and are settling into our new home. the kids seem fine and we are enjoying exploring and finding out all the differences. We are excited about what is ahead and although my husbands job is a permanent role, we have said to the children that we will give it 2 years and see how we all feel. It is an amazing opportunity to love in a different country. We have facetimed our friends and family every day and it just feels natural - not sad. Is that your dog is your profile pic? Is is a fox red? We have one called Jasper who won't be coming til July for one reason and another - we miss him the most as he doesn't do FaceTime
You will be fine when you get here. It's just the unknown. Don;t worry about having wobbles. It's very natural.

Orangepants

They do all seem to have two cars and a nice house but also many of these people are 2 pay checks away from loosing all those things that they "own" on credit. Over extended and under-funded!

tom169

From what I've heard there is a lot of keeping up with the joneses that goes on in some of these suburbs.

sarasota chic

I'm feeling much calmer still have the occasional negative thought but on the whole feeling positive.😀😀
Yes that is our dog on my profile picture he is a yellow Labrador who is huge we love him to bits.🐾🐾

KK85

I'm so glad you're starting to feel calmer and more positive.

aless02

That's to hear :-D. Nothing wrong with some negative thoughts, perfectly natural in this process, but always nice to hear when the positive shines through.

Grapes

I'm just starting to hit my 'wobble'... I fly out on 29 April and the magnitude of what I'm doing has hit me all at once. I've spent the last 18 months or so building up to this point and I guess I've just had that much going on I have pushed the negative aspect of leaving the UK aside.

I'm excited, don't get me wrong and the fact that I finally get to live day to day with my fiance is something I cannot wait to do but leaving my friends and family is going to be tough; I had my stag do over the weekend and it got very emotional a couple of times being with life-long friends that I know I won't be able to hang out with any more. To be honest, I can't even think about what I'm doing to my parents and the guilt eats away at me all the time...

I'm moving out to North Georgia and we get married in Savannah on 10 June; my parents and a large group of my friends are flying out at the end of May for a couple of weeks to celebrate with us so in reality, I probably won't know how I'm going to feel out there until after that's all over with. I do know that as scared as I am and as sad as I am to be leaving, I really can't wait to see what life has in store for me over there.

KK85

I'm going to start sending out daily doses of empathy, in the form of this emoji: , to anybody and everybody I see posting words like these. I absolutely get it.

I married my USC husband while visiting the States under the VWP, and a small handful of my family flew out to join us. We 'honeymooned' in Manhattan for a couple of days afterwards (bizarrely, I found honeymooning with my mum and dad in tow nothing but pleasant!), and it wasn't until my husband and I said goodbye to them that I had my first taste of waving family away while I'm still in the States. I foresee those goodbyes of the future perhaps being one of the most difficult elements in all of this, and so I understand your fears, there.

Focusing on what you're gaining, as opposed to what you're losing, is absolutely the best way forward, as you know. And we are extremely lucky that we live at a time when our friends and family can easily communicate with us. One of the things that made me most sad was knowing I wouldn't be around to watch my baby nephews grow up, but a Cardiff-based friend of mine - whose brother lives in Arizona - told me that her son knows his uncle by name, will often ask for him, and recognises his face as soon as it pops up on Skype.

I take comfort in telling myself that the fact that I'm feeling and processing these emotions now is a good thing. I appreciate that we haven't a clue what's in store for us on an emotional level until we get there and have lived the reality, but doing our best to prepare for what we imagine we'll find difficult will surely only hold us in good stead.

Good luck to you, and have a fantastic wedding day! How lucky we are, to get to live our lives across two continents.

Grapes

You are absolutely right, KK85! We have all been given the opportunity of a lifetime - whatever our reasons for moving - and I'm not going to let the negatives spoil what should be an amazing time in my life... I just have to accept and be prepared for the low points and get through them.

We're giving ourselves a year then we will take stock. My fiance is very keen to try life in the UK at some point, she absolutely loves it here but for a number of reasons it made more sense for us to begin our lives together over there. My gut feeling is that we'll be very happy in Georgia and won't be back to the UK any time soon, but who knows.