HampshireUK

Hi all you've got a great site here

I'm a 'trailing spouse' and have been in Colorado for nearly 6 months now. Flew out with a bit of a menagerie in July: 2 children - one has returned to UK to complete his A levels the other is in middle school here + 2 dogs (labradors) and 2 cats!

Jerseygirl

Hello and welcome to BE.

I'm pleased you think BE is a great site and have decided to join our group of British Expats. How do you like living in Colorado...we have have several members who live in your neck of the woods and they seem to really enjoy living there?

If there any questions you have about living in the US the regulars in the US Forums will do their best to answer them.

If you require any assistance finding your way around BE's many forums we have a team of concierges who will act as your tour guide...they will be pleased to help you. The concierge for the US forums is Kaffy Mintcake...please contact her if you need pointing in the right direction.

If you have any problems or concerns please contact a mod or admin. The mods for the US forums are Bob and MsElui..

Please give me a shout if I can be of further help. I look forward to seeing you in the US Forums.

Sue

Hi and welcome to BE. I am so please you have joined us. How are you settling in in Denver? I've been that way a few times to go skiing and have stayed in Denver a few times, but don't know it very well. Are you enjoying the snow and the cold?

HampshireUK

Hi Jerseygirl

Thanks for the welcome.

Colorado is great, particularly all the sunshine. Can't make up my mind whether I'm enjoying it or not - some days I can't imaginine wanting to be anywhere else, others I want to get on the first plane home!

Most difficult thing I've found to get used to so far is saying goodbye to my 16 year old at DIA - he on the other hand is having a ball at sixth form college.

Sue

I imagine that was extremely difficult. I will be sending my 17 year old (18 in August) to uni soon and am not looking forward to that at all.

Glad you are enjoying Colorado though.

HampshireUK

Hi Sue

Thanks again for the welcome to BE.

I'm living in the suburbs south of denver and we've just had our second lot of measurable snow - only 4 or 5 inches - nothing compared to the 20+ inches we had in Hampshire last winter!

Denver seems to have a pretty blessed climate as it only seems to get very cold for a few days at a time and so far it's been back to the mid 50s (even 60) within a few days. Winter has only just started thought so maybe I should answer that again in April!

Jerseygirl

I know the feeling! Are you in the US temporarily...or permanently? We came 15 years ago for a year or two...somehow we got swept along with things and are now US citizens.

Saying goodbye to your 16 year old must be very difficult. I found it difficult to say goodbye when my daughter went to uni in Canada when she was 18.

We had about 12" of snow last night.

HampshireUK

12" sounds like a proper amount to me, not sure how I'd get the car moving on the roads though, they don't plough ours! The dogs would love it - bouncing through all that white stuff, they get very excited when it's coming down from the sky too!

We're here for 3 years on L1A/L2 and very conscious that with my son being 16 we don't have that much leeway if we want to to get Greencards. We have a revue date 2 years into the contract with the company at which time they will apply for GC if we want to stay. Interestingly our visas will not cover the full 3 year contract (they came through several months before the contract started!) so the company has already ackowledged the visas will need to be extended for the contract to be completed. Will also allow our daughter to complete the middle years of the international baccalaureate/sophomore year in High School.

Jerseygirl

One of my dogs loves it...she's just come in looking like a snowball. The other doesn't but she is a tiny...it would bury her.

That's the same visa we used. We have an excellent US Immigration forum...if you have any questions about Green Cards or extending your visa...the people who post in there will advise you. We didn't apply for a visa extension so I don't know how long the process takes...but when the time comes it's best to keep on top of it and not just leave it for the company/lawyers to sort out. We have had members whose 2nd visa hasn't come through in time and have had to leave the US. This doesn't happen often but you should be aware that it can.

HampshireUK

Thanks, will keep an eye on the visa situation. I've met some Brits here who are out on a diplomatic visa, something to do with defense and GCHQ (haven't dared ask too much!) and they're in a bit of a mess with their visas about to run out. We thought we'd have a pretty good idea by next summer how things are panning out and my OH's job seems to be going well . The company have a good reputation on applying for GCs although they may decide that we should go visit another country.

My parents were expats in Hong Kong, so I could be persuaded to revisit the Far East. Not sure how the dog's would cope though.

My son was pretty cross with us about the move although now he thinks it's great. Completely changes their outlook when they start travelling home to a foreign country. He's looking at US and UK universities now, I'm wondering if I should apply for my EAD as we'll definitely need the extra money if he chooses a US one!