Originally Posted by neill

Rural GA and SC are great, very easy and laid back living.
On the H-1B front, you have about a yearly 1 in 4 chance of getting the visa through the lottery system, all else being good.

Originally Posted by Peter124

I don't know just how large this lump sum would be, but to some extent you seem to be optimizing for the short term, but giving up a big long term benefit ... i.e. Australian citizenship.

I went through the whole process of applying for Oz citizenship before I moved to the USA. Unfortunately things were a bit delayed, and by the time I was called for the final interview I was already in the USA. I could have flown back, but the cost of the flight put me off. Looking back, this was one of my biggest mistakes. 40 years ago, now, but I still have regrets.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

I'm ex-Sheffield (a long time ago), now in NC - been here almost 17 years, and don't plan to leave, ever.

IMO Lake Norman is expensive, over-rated, and is party central in the summer.

Depending on where you need to commute to (is it actually up-town Charlotte? (Charlotte doesn't have a downtown )) there are better lakes to live near than LKN, if lakes are your thing.

I agree with the factual observations in this post, but not the conclusions. I live in a semi-rural area "the county", not a city, and I do so out of choice. I find everyone here to be friendly, and it is no more my business what they think than it is their business what I think. My neighbors include both ends of the political spectrum but I will admit that I filter my conversation to fit whoever I am talking to. In short, living in a rural area in NC has significant benefits for me, and few downsides, which is why I love it here.

Originally Posted by Pulaski

I'm fairly certain that I am more likely to agree with you on that point than most BE'ers, but even I think that it is a bit of an overstatement - they are similar, and for some groups, very similar, but I see increasingly (British) people coming to BE are "disturbed" by the idea that healthcare in the US isn't run by the government, whereas the opposite would often be a concern in the US! Similarly, there is concern that the US operates "hire and fire" employment law (little job security) and doesn't offer open-ended unemployment pay, whereas US citizens often express surprise that the UK (and other countries) allow open-ended leaching off the state!

I'm expecting an E-4 to be created as part of the US-UK trade deal.

Originally Posted by carcajou

I spent most of my growing-up time in Florida and now I am in Australia.

Charlotte is a business city, kind of like an Atlanta Jr. It has a lot of millennial and Gen X professionals because of that, a lot of people from the northeast moved there with the downturn in manufacturing and the upturn in banking. It used to be back in the day the Americans had laws in place to prevent superbanks from forming as that was seen as a threat to the economy, it used to be a really big deal to open up a bank account in another state and often showing that you had done so was proof enough that you were resident in that state. That was all lifted in the 80s or 90s and a bank called NationsBank out of North Carolina led the early charge on acquiring other banks and became huge. They ended up merging with Bank of America (which was in San Francisco) but kept the Bank of America name and BoA left California and took up the Charlotte headquarters.

The Carolinas and Georgia are on an extended growth curve, the Raleigh-Durham area is a major university and technology area, Atlanta is a massive business city. Charlotte is not a place Americans tend to seek out but more they wind up there for employment. Nothing wrong with it so many stay.

Considering the relatively low odds of getting pulled out of the lottery, I would continue on a dual track and apply for Australian PR unless you are sure that an Australian future is not for you. I wouldn't just stay in a holding pattern pending whatever happens with the US.

The PR is taking a while now (about a year) and that's not counting a month or two or more of getting all your documents etc together so that you can apply in the first place. There has to be some way for people to pull their Super out if they are not PR anymore (ie their travel facility has expired), I used to see links on the ATOs web site all the time for that, saying "Don't leave your Super in Australia?"

I live regionally in Australia, my doctor is British and loves it. How would you do if you pulled out of Sydney and set up a practise in a place like Orange, Katoomba, Warrnambool, Byron Bay or Toowoomba?

I am thinking, with the seeming low odds offered better to make back-up plans for Australia.

However, the upside financially for a doctor leaving here and going to the US is massive.

As you have seen plenty of expert advice on offer here if you follow through on Charlotte.