DDL

Everyone's comments and suggestions are so thought-provoking; thank you.

By way of response to a few things:

Although his most recent expertise is in IT, he also has experience in a couple of other fields. He has applied for jobs other than IT - because he has a few years of estate management (with the council), he took a Property Manager's course through the local Board of Realtors, passed, and is signed up to take the State licensing exam. He has been applying for Property Manager positions, but - again - has not been successful in gaining an interview.

He definitely admits that his resumes of late are much better than the first ones he was sending out. He did some research on "Americanizing" it and did just that.

To those who posted helpful websites, another thank you. :-)

Don't know about any Brit clubs in the area, although we do know there are Brits here, but most of them are entrepreneur-millionaire types. (Really.) Charleston, SC is, relatively speaking, a small town. The idea of moving somewhere else in the South is always an option, but geez, where does one begin? Do you send out applications to Atlanta and Tallahassee and Birmingham and Gulfport and hope for the luck of the draw? Also, we do want to stay as close as possible to the coast for ease of flying back to the UK/ease of UK family getting over here. Florida, as nice as it is, is just so *plastic* IMHO. (No offense to those of you who love it there!)

And how is networking accomplished outside of employment? I have passed his information on to our IT heads where I work which, so far, has proven fruitless.

Sarah, my thoughts are with you. I know what our situation has meant to my husband's self-esteem - I fully understand what you're saying. As far as going back for a visit to help make up our mind, we don't need to: sometimes (often) we lie in bed, like on a Sunday morning, and torture ourselves :-) with comments like, "Let's ride over to Goddard's [in Greenwich] this afternoon for some pie and mash" or "Fancy tea at Runnymede (Magna Carta tea room, our fave) today?" :-) Living in West London afforded us so many, many opportunities, and most of them didn't cost an arm and a leg. While Charleston, SC is lovely ... it ain't London!!!! :-)

I forgot to mention that in addition to his diligent job seeking AND keeping everything running here at home while I'm at work all day (he does all the grocery shopping, cooking, washing, etc. which certainly makes my 85 mile roundtrip journey to work every day a bit easier), he has also been working very hard on building several internet websites for [small] online businesses that we hope to get up and running one of these days. His days are certainly full in that regard.

Thank you again, everyone, for your feedback. I look forward to hearing some more. Always good to look from the outside in once in awhile.

Dimsie

Hi DDL.
I think I remember you from the Marriage Visa section last year.
I just wanted to say I'm so sorry things are not proving easy for you both.
I can't suggest much to help, but I've read the other posts here and if I were in your husband's shoes I think I'd try to wait out the period until he can apply for US citizenship. If things still don't happen for him on the job front, then perhaps it would be time to throw in the towel.

I've felt, from time to time, like persuading my husband that we should return
to the UK (for different reasons from yours), but financially it would be a very bad move, as it could well be for you. We all put so much effort into getting here, and had such high hopes. It's sad when things don't meet expectations. I've told myself that the "stiff upper lip" thing has to come into play - at least for a while.

Best wishes to you both - I hope things improve for you.

DDL

Hello Ann ~ yes, it's me and I remember you, too. Thank you for writing. Good to hear from you.

I know how badly he wants to get his citizenship, but the thought of either him *not* working for the next 2.5 years or him working for what might equate to minimum wage for the next 2.5 years is horrifying.

I know what I could make in the UK (and there are plenty of Legal Secretary jobs and having already worked over there for a Solicitor, I wouldn't have a problem finding something; it's a great field) and I know what he could make in the UK ~ I don't think he would have the job-hunting problems over there like he is over here, especially since we lived in West London and wouldn't mind returning to that general vicinity.

Financially, it would appear we'd be further down the road in 2.5 years if we returned to the UK than if we stayed here.

It sounds like you, too, are dealing with some challenges. You are so right: we did all put in so much effort to get here, but this morning my husband finally said it out loud: that it was the wrong decision. Now the question becomes what are we going to do about it.

He has another job interview on June 30. Fingers crossed.

Take care ~ and thanks again for your feedback.

ladylisa

I really wish you both the best of luck, I hope your husband can find a job soon. Its funny how sometimes we fail to appreciate how good we have things until its too late.

polishvisitor

Hello
I read your thread and couple other threads. This is what I have to say
Originally I am from Poland but I am Canadian citizen I work on working visa and I am also IT. I dont believe that your husband is discriminated because of his origin. The only reason that comes to my mind might be poorly written resume , not enough agressive at job interview or not enough skills. Also IT job market is extremely hard presently I been here 8 years already and I dont see change for better at all, actually what I think it is better in europe or UK than here. I didnt have much problem with finding job and I speak with an accent and I am not a citizen, I dont believe that. Think about moving maybe to Atlanta there is a lot of opportunities there, also Tampa area where I live has few of them, try dice.com or hotjobs.com and local newspapers. Personally myslef I am looking to go back to europe I would love to try in UK you have great country with great culture I am surprised that you abandon this for USA. Goodluck

stardust79

Please don't give up!! I would definitely keep on trying. I think your break will come if you keep on being persistent. Getting a job in IT is VERY HARD nowadays. I don't think not getting a job is necessarily because age discrimination or because of his non-citizen status. I had to search for over a year before I got a job in IT (the ONLY offer I ever got by the way) and I graduated from an Ivy League school with a degree Computer Science!

So please keep on trying and don't give up. Your day will come!

-Star

rincewind

I sympathize with your husband. I am the Expat and my wife is the US Citizen. I've had my EAD for nearly a year and haven't been offered one interview. Been turned down due to no GC and no Credit History. The whole job thing for me is like one big joke.

I'm giving it about two months and then I'm on a plane back to Blighty. It's been crippling to say the least. I can't afford out-of-state interviews and moving just to find a job out of state would be financial suicide. I need an escape route in case I need to fly back to England and I'm not taking any chances.

You're not alone and I hate to think that someone else is going through the same thing as us.

This is just my personal choice, but if I had a relative that would give me a loan to relocate back to the UK, I would jump at the chance.

My advice to anyone wanting to come to the States is make sure you have a job lined up first. It's amazing how quickly the savings get eaten up and the debts mount.

NC Penguin

Is your husband looking at both commercial and non-commercial positions? I say this because you say he has worked for the council in the UK and this kind of background is definitely non-commercial and so commercial employers may not find him so attractive a candidate.

Have you looked at that Yana Parker book that I've mentioned in threads about resume/CV writitng? I found it immensely helpful in constructing my resume.

<<snip>>

<<snip>>

There's was (maybe still exists) a meetup group for Charleston for expat Brits.

My local newspaper at the weekend contains a column listing clubs/associations/organizations that would be useful for networking (for jobs, etc.) Maybe your local paper prints something similar.

<<snip>>




NC Penguin

DDL

Thank you very much for your concise and helpful post. This is how he conducts his job searches: He has a couple dozen (or so) websites that he checks every single day for job openings, websites of local city and county governments, some of the larger employers in the area, etc. He searches (online) the Classifieds section of the newspaper every single day, and because he is also registered with the local Job Service, checks their job openings website every day. Most days, he will find 1 or 2 positions that he either qualifies or semi-qualifies for, so he submits an application. Depending upon their requirement, that might be via online, fax, or by post. In any event, every application form is different and every one can take 1-2 hours (sometimes more) to complete - especially if one is a perfectionist as my husband is! (It's the curse of the Virgo.)

Thank you for the information about a possible Britist expat group here. I've not seen anything in the papers, but know of a couple people I could ask.

He does have a job interview on June 30 for a county position in housing; and - good news - they may have created a *part-time* position for him (working with the webmaster) at my law office. It's 3 days/week and $10/hour (he was on £31,000/year in the UK), but we can ride into work together and $10/hour is better than $0/hour. It could also work into something - although we're not holding our breath on that one.

I still think we'll end up going back, maybe by next spring or summer. It's so funny - we lie in bed on Saturday and Sunday mornings and reminisce about places we saw and things we did in the UK ~ our favorite places, experiences we had, things like that. We mainly watch BBC America on telly; view our UK DVD's all the time (Little Britain, Blackadder, etc. etc. etc.). I wonder how many other British expats in the US do the same thing? LOL


Thanks again for your insight and suggestions.

dunroving

That last comment made me smile. Yes, I get my "Brit-fix" by watching BBCAmerica (as dire as it can be sometimes), and UK DVDs and movies, and listening to BBC radio on the computer. It helps me keep in touch with the feel of the U.K. - back when there was no cable TV/BBCAmerica, no internet, and no cheap LD calling to the UK, it was nigh on impossible to keep up with things in the UK. Every time I went back I would get a day or two of severe culture shock until I'd settled back into the rhythm of the UK.

Being able to escape (in a virtual sense) to the UK every now and again makes it easier for me to deal with not being there - but I'm determined to be back there before too long.

IN THE YEAR 2525

Stop kidding yourself.The US is not for your husband.Best of luck.

Careybear

I live in Michigan and I'm just wondering if you've tried to look at any of the local colleges, junior colleges, community colleges, universities near you because I know that Michigan State University is always hiring for some kind of I.T. position every month. I would try that.

Carey

polishvisitor

Check this link it reflects state of IT jobs in USA.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tech_job_...NlYwMlJVRPUCUl

DDL

Thank you for your suggestion. Yes, he checks regularly with all the largest local employers: City and County positions, Blackbaud (huge software corporation), both local colleges, etc. So many I.T. jobs are specialized and most of them involve Java or programming, which he is not experienced in.

As mentioned, he does not limit his job search to strictly I.T. jobs - he has other skills and qualifications, as well, but so far: nothing.

It doesn't help that South Carolina has the second or third highest unemployment rate in the nation at the moment.

DDL

Thank you. Interesting - albeit depressing - article.