Coming to America...
Discussion
Well, you discover a new section of PH every day!
Much like Akeem, I will be coming to America.
Unlike Akeem, I am no African prince and it will be on an L1 visa.
Circumstance -
Business transfer after 12 months with the org, but previously I worked with the org for 15 years so I know it well
Wife and 13 year old son, plus golden retriever.
Moving expenses covered mostly
Selling house in the UK (in process now) and will rent initially to get the lay of the land
Moving to St Joseph, Michigan (on the lake)
I have an agency helping with visa, another with tax, another with resettlement banks, schools, insurance etc.
Reason for posting is largely id appreciate "I wish I'd known" type advice from people who have done similar...
Much like Akeem, I will be coming to America.
Unlike Akeem, I am no African prince and it will be on an L1 visa.
Circumstance -
Business transfer after 12 months with the org, but previously I worked with the org for 15 years so I know it well
Wife and 13 year old son, plus golden retriever.
Moving expenses covered mostly
Selling house in the UK (in process now) and will rent initially to get the lay of the land
Moving to St Joseph, Michigan (on the lake)
I have an agency helping with visa, another with tax, another with resettlement banks, schools, insurance etc.
Reason for posting is largely id appreciate "I wish I'd known" type advice from people who have done similar...
I think it really depends on how into US life you are. Before we moved, we probably spent 2 months a year for a while, had some real estate, vehicles etc.
It's been almost a decade, but on reflection the one thing I would have liked to have had someone sit down and tell me is that there's little consumer protection. There's a lot that can be put in contracts that wouldn't be allowed in Europe/UK so start by reading everything.
You do have to learn how to play a slightly different game - but a slightly different set of rules...but you'll have a great time!
I don't know the part of the world you're moving to at all but the US is, in my experience, a wonderful place to live.
Welcome!
It's been almost a decade, but on reflection the one thing I would have liked to have had someone sit down and tell me is that there's little consumer protection. There's a lot that can be put in contracts that wouldn't be allowed in Europe/UK so start by reading everything.
You do have to learn how to play a slightly different game - but a slightly different set of rules...but you'll have a great time!
I don't know the part of the world you're moving to at all but the US is, in my experience, a wonderful place to live.
Welcome!
The plan is to fully embrace it and see how it goes. Everywhere that was an 8 hour flight is now a short internal flight so we fully want to explore in downtime.
Ive managed to negotiate a more European vacation allowance so we intend to utilise it and travel internally.
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wife is ceoliac which isnt convenient, but again, a detail that just needs working out as we go.
My sons under the impression he will be issued an AR-15 at the airport upon landing, I'll break it to him later is only pistols when he gets his Green card in a few years.
Ive managed to negotiate a more European vacation allowance so we intend to utilise it and travel internally.
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wife is ceoliac which isnt convenient, but again, a detail that just needs working out as we go.
My sons under the impression he will be issued an AR-15 at the airport upon landing, I'll break it to him later is only pistols when he gets his Green card in a few years.
Swampy1982 said:
The plan is to fully embrace it and see how it goes. Everywhere that was an 8 hour flight is now a short internal flight so we fully want to explore in downtime.
Ive managed to negotiate a more European vacation allowance so we intend to utilise it and travel internally.
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wife is ceoliac which isnt convenient, but again, a detail that just needs working out as we go.
My sons under the impression he will be issued an AR-15 at the airport upon landing, I'll break it to him later is only pistols when he gets his Green card in a few years.
Why only pistols? The rifles are more fun!!Ive managed to negotiate a more European vacation allowance so we intend to utilise it and travel internally.
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wife is ceoliac which isnt convenient, but again, a detail that just needs working out as we go.
My sons under the impression he will be issued an AR-15 at the airport upon landing, I'll break it to him later is only pistols when he gets his Green card in a few years.
Swampy1982 said:
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wholefoods market is good, if a little pricey. You will have to pay attention to the food; much of it is riddled with additives.
Swampy1982 said:
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
As someone who spent over a month in the US this year, you will be fine. Your local supermarket (Walmart) will have a good selection of fresh fruit and veg.Eating out is a different matter as it is dominated by burger and fries, but many places offer a Caesar salad as a side.
Or do what we did and seek out the local Chinese Takeaway.
cliffords said:
Is it a good plan to sell your house in the UK?
Nothing is forever, things change.
We talked about this extensively, We explored renting it out, but with the law changes etc it made it unattractive.Nothing is forever, things change.
If we were to move back to the UK I would move area anyway, so easier to sell now than have to do so at a later date.
Edited by Swampy1982 on Wednesday 4th November 08:31
paulguitar said:
Swampy1982 said:
I am a little concerned about the food, I love to eat fresh so I need to work out decent places to buy stuff that isnt full of antibiotics etc, but thats just details I can work through once we get there.
Wholefoods market is good, if a little pricey. You will have to pay attention to the food; much of it is riddled with additives.Its weird what you take for granted and then suddenly have to be conscious of again.
Swampy1982 said:
cliffords said:
Is it a good plan to sell your house in the UK?
Nothing is forever, things change.
We talked about this extensively, We explored renting it out, but with the law changes etc it made it unattractive.Nothing is forever, things change.
If we were to move back to the UK I would move area anyway, so easier to sell now than have to do so at a later date.
Edited by Swampy1982 on Wednesday 4th November 08:31
Worked out ok in the end but that could easily have been very different. I wouldn’t choose to do it again given the chance. It also meant a large chunk of our capital was deployed and unavailable for use in the US which I believe ultimately set us back some.
The Moose said:
Swampy1982 said:
cliffords said:
Is it a good plan to sell your house in the UK?
Nothing is forever, things change.
We talked about this extensively, We explored renting it out, but with the law changes etc it made it unattractive.Nothing is forever, things change.
If we were to move back to the UK I would move area anyway, so easier to sell now than have to do so at a later date.
Edited by Swampy1982 on Wednesday 4th November 08:31
Worked out ok in the end but that could easily have been very different. I wouldn t choose to do it again given the chance. It also meant a large chunk of our capital was deployed and unavailable for use in the US which I believe ultimately set us back some.
You're moving to a developed country so you won't have huge issues, just things that you need to get used to being different.
Most of our "issues" are just sticker-shock at how much more expensive nearly everything is - Money solves most problems !
Food quality is definitely one of the biggest things that I wish I could change over here - Admittedly my reference point is a pre-Covid time in the Uk so I'm sure the gap is not as big as I think. However the cost of weekly groceries is 4x what we used to spend in the UK and for noticeably worse produce.
e.g a Deodorant is $8 minimum out here and last time i went back I picked up 2 for 3 quid
We lived next to a farm and an organic fruit'n'veg stand so ate incredibly healthily without thinking about it. Used to eat steak at least once a week - its now more of a special treat.
I've weened myself off nearly all UK-food with the exception of Mint Sauce and Paxo stuffing !
Insurance is a lot more but does vary state to state - Home insurance in Texas is 10x home insurance in the UK.
Correct no buying pew-pews until you have a greencard but you can easily go to ranges and rent them or shoot friends guns.
Most of our "issues" are just sticker-shock at how much more expensive nearly everything is - Money solves most problems !
Food quality is definitely one of the biggest things that I wish I could change over here - Admittedly my reference point is a pre-Covid time in the Uk so I'm sure the gap is not as big as I think. However the cost of weekly groceries is 4x what we used to spend in the UK and for noticeably worse produce.
e.g a Deodorant is $8 minimum out here and last time i went back I picked up 2 for 3 quid
We lived next to a farm and an organic fruit'n'veg stand so ate incredibly healthily without thinking about it. Used to eat steak at least once a week - its now more of a special treat.
I've weened myself off nearly all UK-food with the exception of Mint Sauce and Paxo stuffing !
Insurance is a lot more but does vary state to state - Home insurance in Texas is 10x home insurance in the UK.
Correct no buying pew-pews until you have a greencard but you can easily go to ranges and rent them or shoot friends guns.
An HSBC Bank account was really useful for me - They can covert your UK credit rating to give you a headstart on credit rating out here.
And now I can easily transfer money from UK-US and vice-versa all within the safety of my own bank accounts and not needing to experiment with 3rd party money-markets
And now I can easily transfer money from UK-US and vice-versa all within the safety of my own bank accounts and not needing to experiment with 3rd party money-markets
The advice about weaning yourself off British food above is a good one. I have done the ex pat thing in four countries in the world including the US and I always try and “eat what the locals eat”. Whole foods is the place to go for decent ingredients and I found myself eating out less and less because of all the crap in the food. You will find some places that are decent though to be fair.
Bear in mind your UK credit score doesn’t transfer so you may find getting anything on credit initially quite difffult even checks for a rental etc. your car insurance will be steep too at first.
Bear in mind your UK credit score doesn’t transfer so you may find getting anything on credit initially quite difffult even checks for a rental etc. your car insurance will be steep too at first.
Shawtec said:
An HSBC Bank account was really useful for me - They can covert your UK credit rating to give you a headstart on credit rating out here.
And now I can easily transfer money from UK-US and vice-versa all within the safety of my own bank accounts and not needing to experiment with 3rd party money-markets
Great tip, I will investigate.And now I can easily transfer money from UK-US and vice-versa all within the safety of my own bank accounts and not needing to experiment with 3rd party money-markets
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