largo413

Hello all!
I am a US citizen and have been here all 43 years of my life. I am now very much in love with a wonderful gentleman from Coventry, England and we are discussing my relocation to Coventry. Yes, we have met several times (he came here to the states). I am just wondering how hard it would be to relocate to England permanently (I have no desire to stay or return to the US) if we are not yet engaged? He has told me he can financially support me for life, we will probably marry at some point but we don't want to do it just to get me there, and I'd like to be able to work as well if possible.

Can anyone help me out with what all I need to do to make this move happen? I am on no set time frame for this move, so it's no rush.

Thanks so much!

fatbrit

Welcome to BE. You're on the wrong board, really....but do stick around if you wish. Your visa questions will be better answered @ http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

penguinsix

You will find everything you need at the opposite of this site, UK Yankee, the American expats in the UK website.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/

Everything from the legal steps necessary to whether or not to bring your hairdryer (which is a no).

However, I strongly suggest reading the homesickness and hard times section as well. It's the 'down side' of what might be your ideal trip, and you'll see many other women who married the man of their dreams in England only to discover some of the harsh realities of expat life.

On a more general note, try to get over there on a work visa for now. It's going to be rough but it will give you a bit of independence over there before marriage, and also give you a bit of a 'base' (i.e. work colleagues, your own life, etc) instead of being transported 1000s of miles from your culture directly (and often only) into another family's life, circle of friends, etc. Check to see if your current employer can transfer you or look for some large employers who would be willing to sponsor you over there.

But good luck with your move.

largo413

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction! :-) I don't have any living family ties here in the states and my job moved me around so much that I have very few friends here either. The ones I do have here are dual citizens with other countries here on work visas. I DO have some close cousins who live in London and several English friends as well, so I won't be totally lost once I get there. Even though I hear that there is a proliferation of American TV there, I still watch only BBC here and most of my favorite foods are also from England, so I am hoping I won't experience TOO much culture shock. :-)

Thanks again so much for the tips!

DeanUK2US

And to be honest, once you get over to the UK try to move from Coventry. Seriously.

There are much nicer parts of the UK to live.

Good luck!

christmasoompa

Blimey, you must be in love if you want to live in Coventry...............

DeanUK2US

largo413

Actually he lives in Coventry because he works for Pepsi there but we plan to move once I get there. :-)

Bob

I was thinking the same

Anyway, welcome to BE.

As for work visa's, they are relatively easy to get, but depends on your occupation and the ease of getting is massively helped by having a degree and experience of a field in demand, it's a tier pointed system so it is flexible but if you aren't tier 1 you'll probably find it harder.

Manc

why not?

just do it.
you only live once.

made of kent

My thoughts exactly, we used to joke when I lived in Leicester, that the Nazi where trying to improve Britain! and failed! like they did with everything else!
but Coventry is close to my beloved Staffordshire, Shropshire, Wales and Leiceseter, lived in Shropshire , Staffordshire 6 years each if memory is right, leicester on my late 20's amazing place, I and hubby would be back in the blink of an eye if we could ( he is Glasgow born and bred, met him in leicester), me travelled a lot with parents and myself, born Isle of Thanet, Kent, UK. my heaven on earth, the only problem with the other places was NO BEACH!
PS feel free to take the piss about me being from Margate, but I love it and the Beaches in Thanet are miles better the one's I have seen in CT and I didn't have to PAY!
Oh BTW I am an unusual Thanet person not naturally blond! people get freaked out a school photos from there, most kids are blond!

chartreuse

That reminds me of the John Betjeman poem:

made of kent

love that as I love john betjaman, I not really into poetry but I love the war poets, Segfred Sassion, Wilfred Owen, AND what gets me are the german names of our best poets! I also like Yates and WH Auden.
WH Yates is rap! but having a convo with hubby I realise I hate poetry in its word form, he pointed out the amount of times in the UK we went to see John Hegley cos I love his funny and also deep poems, but would always say NO! I do not want a book by him!! BECAUSE unless their is a voice behind poetry I don't get it, it like music to me, imagine a song lyrics on paper, meaningless, i got the war poems from a hippy teacher in the 80's and she spoke them so well and then she gave us poems and the history for us to speak, very moving. even amongst a bunch of no hopers!

made of kent

confused drunk night train WH Auden! idot! yates is Irish

Jerseygirl

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