your experiences on moving abroad,usa ?
Discussion
After recent discussions with my wife,we are seriously looking into moving from blighty to the US.We are both professionals ( Healthcare ) and we luckily have a few friends in NY state who can supply jobs for us ( not NY city ).
Have you ever upped the family to do a major move to the US ? ,if so could you share your experiences on how you got on and where you went to etc...
cheers
Have you ever upped the family to do a major move to the US ? ,if so could you share your experiences on how you got on and where you went to etc...
cheers
Lived in NJ for a while.
Wonderful place - so much better than what you see from I95 as you head out of Newark.
I was there for a year or so - but I always knew it would be temporary.
As Plotters says, what do you want to know? If I can answer I will...
NY State - very nice. Bloody cold in winter. But New England is a nice bit of the US to move to for a Brit. They are "more like us" than most other Americans...
Wonderful place - so much better than what you see from I95 as you head out of Newark.
I was there for a year or so - but I always knew it would be temporary.
As Plotters says, what do you want to know? If I can answer I will...
NY State - very nice. Bloody cold in winter. But New England is a nice bit of the US to move to for a Brit. They are "more like us" than most other Americans...
Plotloss said:
Get an Amex
That way you drag a semblance of credit rating across with you.
Very handy.
Another thing I did was I got a bank account with my Bank in the US. Just so happened that at the time NatWest was also a US bank. They were able to internally communicate about credit references and so on and it speeded up getting an account no end.
Worth checking to see if your bank either has a presence in the US or a partner...
I've often considered a couple of years in the states, every now and then an opportunity comes up at work.
So New England are more like us than the rest of the US.
How much does the US vary in this way? Is it greater than the differences across the UK, i.e London vs rural Wales for example?
Where else would a Brit fit in, and equally, where would a Brit not fit in?
I might follow you over there one day!
So New England are more like us than the rest of the US.
How much does the US vary in this way? Is it greater than the differences across the UK, i.e London vs rural Wales for example?
Where else would a Brit fit in, and equally, where would a Brit not fit in?
I might follow you over there one day!
As Plotloss says, each State has it's own culture. To use his example, of Alabama and Georgia:
Alabama typifies the "old South". It's all Cotillion and Camellia Ball on one hand punctuated with trailers and monster trucks on the other. Country road muscle car racing can still be had if you know where to look. (Circa 1980 it was Bell Road in Montgomery, Alabama and the track was about 10 miles "to the old feed store and back" - don't ask how I know
)
Georgia typifies the "new South". Especially Atlanta. Billy Bob and Mary Sue now wear Armani and Prada, drink Martinis (and various ungodly permutations that call themselves Martinis) while still retaining a hint of "Southern Grace" even when being insulting. Example (overheard at a nightclub during a recent visit to Atlanta):
Bint in Nightclub (after huggin her "friend" ) :
"Why Melissa, that's a wonderful dress yew have theya. How ever did you find one in yore size?"
---
Having been to a great many of the States, if anyone wants to know the culture of a specific one, I would be happy to oblige with a description.
---
Also, Brits are almost universally loved by Americans on the whole. We have a huge contingent of ex-pats in Florida (the Car Salesman that I bought both of my Jaguars from is from Manchester IIRC).
ErnestM
>> Edited by ErnestM on Thursday 15th September 14:16
Alabama typifies the "old South". It's all Cotillion and Camellia Ball on one hand punctuated with trailers and monster trucks on the other. Country road muscle car racing can still be had if you know where to look. (Circa 1980 it was Bell Road in Montgomery, Alabama and the track was about 10 miles "to the old feed store and back" - don't ask how I know
) Georgia typifies the "new South". Especially Atlanta. Billy Bob and Mary Sue now wear Armani and Prada, drink Martinis (and various ungodly permutations that call themselves Martinis) while still retaining a hint of "Southern Grace" even when being insulting. Example (overheard at a nightclub during a recent visit to Atlanta):
Bint in Nightclub (after huggin her "friend" ) :
"Why Melissa, that's a wonderful dress yew have theya. How ever did you find one in yore size?"
---
Having been to a great many of the States, if anyone wants to know the culture of a specific one, I would be happy to oblige with a description.
---
Also, Brits are almost universally loved by Americans on the whole. We have a huge contingent of ex-pats in Florida (the Car Salesman that I bought both of my Jaguars from is from Manchester IIRC).
ErnestM
>> Edited by ErnestM on Thursday 15th September 14:16
went to uni in Mis'ipi for a couple of years and OMG!!
got 'axed' :
do y'all have fridges and microwaves over there?
are you austraalin?
you're not American are you?
,,,,'no i'm not'
.... didnt think so your english is pretty bad....
'fckwit'
...
you almost find yourself putting on some sort of cross between tryy thomas accent and south london, just to confuse them...
and....why, when i can understand most drooling american bastardisations of spoken english can none of the inbred, gun toting caravan dwellers understand me??
got 'axed' :
do y'all have fridges and microwaves over there?
are you austraalin?
you're not American are you?
,,,,'no i'm not'
.... didnt think so your english is pretty bad....
'fckwit'
...
you almost find yourself putting on some sort of cross between tryy thomas accent and south london, just to confuse them...
and....why, when i can understand most drooling american bastardisations of spoken english can none of the inbred, gun toting caravan dwellers understand me??
For all of those considering a trip to the Southern US:
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
ErnestM
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
ErnestM
i'm terribly sorry i dont speak imbecile...
this next parqgraph is 100% true i promise.
speaking to a fellow student in america( who was american), 'did you hear that gullible has been taken out of the american dictionary??'
really , why?
and there you go.....
>> Edited by funinthesun on Thursday 15th September 14:39
this next parqgraph is 100% true i promise.
speaking to a fellow student in america( who was american), 'did you hear that gullible has been taken out of the american dictionary??'
really , why?
and there you go.....
>> Edited by funinthesun on Thursday 15th September 14:39
Lived in California for a short time, but I suspect many on here have, so I won't bore you with that.
However, we moved to rural Iowa (not even Des Moines
) recently, with the wife's work - giving up my career (temporarily at least) was tough (but I work over here now), but we are young (mid 20s) and it's only for 3 years - she'll progress well whilst she's here, I'm doing o.k. and for us life is about more than just working your way up the career ladder. 
Also, with no kids we had significantly fewer ties.
Not having been an immigrant in another country, I've never been on the receiving end of a nations bureaucracy, but having said that it does seem that the American system is rather inefficient. Just getting the visa was a battle enough - you really have to look into everything before applying.
Now getting a social security number has been equally hard - it is annoying as like many immigrants, we are here to pay taxes and contribute to the American economy and society, yet we have time and again been pushed to the back of the queue and made to feel second-rate.
Another really annoying thing is people DO NOT CALL YOU BACK - you ask them, they say yes, but they never do - it's just damned rude IMO.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask :nod:
The whole 'fitting-in' thing is different. I don't think we would ever truly fit in here - we are viewed as different and as outsiders and that won't change. In a way I want to be seen as different aswell - I work on keeping my accent - I use American vocabularly, saying 'tap' instead of 'fawcet' just for the sake of it is a little petty IMO, but my accent is part of who I am.
I thought I knew lots about American culture, I watched a lot of American sports in the UK and certainly knew more about day-to-day Americana than anyone else I knew. But the level of difference here is incredible - Iowa and the rest of the rural Midwest is possibly the most 'foreign' place I've ever been, I think as you expect it to be similar to home (mainly white, broadly similar political views, economy, social structure, language), but it most definitely is not.
Furthermore I think it struck me as Iowa is middle America, not cosmopolitan or diverse, but not truly a backwater either like Wyoming or Montana, so coming from somewhere that most would consider 'Middle England' you come with some (misguided) preconceptions.
Having said that, most people where we live have never been outside Iowa, let alone outside the States and likewise rural Iowa isn't exactly a tourist hub (unless you chase tornadoes or have an unhealthy interest in pigs or corn) so you have to take the fact that there are NO foreign tourists here into account. Someone from the UK walking into their garage or shop is like them having dropped out of the sky.
I've had the 'are you Australian?' thing quite a few times, but they wouldn't know what an Australian sounded like if it weren't for 'Crocodile Dundee'. Most guess I'm from England and it immediately lights them up - which is great. I was at the State Fair a few weeks back which was amazing and watching a concert I went to buy a hotdog and a beer with a friend. When I asked for it, the (rather attractive blonde) girl serving at the concession said 'with that accent honey, you can have anything you want.... Just keep talking." She then got her mates out from the back so they could hear me speak ("its just like frikkin Hugh Grant!"
. What was great was that the next week the Fair was still on, and ZZ Top were playing - we went again and I went again to get a beer - and they all recognised me before I even spoke.
However, you do get a little tired after weeks of being asked 'where in England are you from? London?' every time you have a meal, walk into the shops, go into the bank etc. when you know they are never going to know where the hell South Oxfordshire is... It is quite nice being somewhat of the local celebrities, but that said, it does mark us out.
Also, try and get them to understand you when you say 'water'. I ask for a tuna sandwich and often end up with chicken. I ask for a bottle of Becks and get a glass of Bass. I ask for a Bass and get a bottle of Becks. I have to repeat myself pretty much every time I order anything.
Don't get me wrong, we are having a great time - our standard of living has improved IMMEASURABLY compared with home and even with a bigger house, better cars (well they will be soon), a pool etc., we can still save a lot of cash from our wages. The quality of food in restaurants is MILES ahead of the UK (although around here its pretty samey) and with our work we can travel around other parts of the States far cheaper than otherwise - we go to Denver next week, then LA, New York, Boston and Philadelphia in October for example. These are all things that are going to be very hard to accept when we go home to the UK.
Also I think the change makes you a stronger person and it'll be something you'll regret if you don't do it (one of those what ifs), but just be aware, if its anything like Iowa, it'll be a lot different to anything else you've seen
Finally (phew you think!), it'll make you glad to be away, but glad to come home again (to use a cliche) and appreciate the things the UK has to offer If you can work it out and make it work for you financially and emotionally - go for it. There is a lot of cr*p in the UK media about the US and vice versa - its best to experience it first hand and I feel lucky I'm getting to live in the 'heartland' of the US rather than the West/East coasts which are rather more liberal/cosmopolitan areas and where most ex-pats go.
>> Edited by Highway Star on Thursday 15th September 20:43
However, we moved to rural Iowa (not even Des Moines
) recently, with the wife's work - giving up my career (temporarily at least) was tough (but I work over here now), but we are young (mid 20s) and it's only for 3 years - she'll progress well whilst she's here, I'm doing o.k. and for us life is about more than just working your way up the career ladder. Also, with no kids we had significantly fewer ties. Not having been an immigrant in another country, I've never been on the receiving end of a nations bureaucracy, but having said that it does seem that the American system is rather inefficient. Just getting the visa was a battle enough - you really have to look into everything before applying.
Now getting a social security number has been equally hard - it is annoying as like many immigrants, we are here to pay taxes and contribute to the American economy and society, yet we have time and again been pushed to the back of the queue and made to feel second-rate.
Another really annoying thing is people DO NOT CALL YOU BACK - you ask them, they say yes, but they never do - it's just damned rude IMO.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask :nod:
The whole 'fitting-in' thing is different. I don't think we would ever truly fit in here - we are viewed as different and as outsiders and that won't change. In a way I want to be seen as different aswell - I work on keeping my accent - I use American vocabularly, saying 'tap' instead of 'fawcet' just for the sake of it is a little petty IMO, but my accent is part of who I am.
I thought I knew lots about American culture, I watched a lot of American sports in the UK and certainly knew more about day-to-day Americana than anyone else I knew. But the level of difference here is incredible - Iowa and the rest of the rural Midwest is possibly the most 'foreign' place I've ever been, I think as you expect it to be similar to home (mainly white, broadly similar political views, economy, social structure, language), but it most definitely is not.
Furthermore I think it struck me as Iowa is middle America, not cosmopolitan or diverse, but not truly a backwater either like Wyoming or Montana, so coming from somewhere that most would consider 'Middle England' you come with some (misguided) preconceptions.
Having said that, most people where we live have never been outside Iowa, let alone outside the States and likewise rural Iowa isn't exactly a tourist hub (unless you chase tornadoes or have an unhealthy interest in pigs or corn) so you have to take the fact that there are NO foreign tourists here into account. Someone from the UK walking into their garage or shop is like them having dropped out of the sky.
I've had the 'are you Australian?' thing quite a few times, but they wouldn't know what an Australian sounded like if it weren't for 'Crocodile Dundee'. Most guess I'm from England and it immediately lights them up - which is great. I was at the State Fair a few weeks back which was amazing and watching a concert I went to buy a hotdog and a beer with a friend. When I asked for it, the (rather attractive blonde) girl serving at the concession said 'with that accent honey, you can have anything you want.... Just keep talking."
She then got her mates out from the back so they could hear me speak ("its just like frikkin Hugh Grant!". What was great was that the next week the Fair was still on, and ZZ Top were playing - we went again and I went again to get a beer - and they all recognised me before I even spoke. However, you do get a little tired after weeks of being asked 'where in England are you from? London?' every time you have a meal, walk into the shops, go into the bank etc. when you know they are never going to know where the hell South Oxfordshire is... It is quite nice being somewhat of the local celebrities, but that said, it does mark us out.
Also, try and get them to understand you when you say 'water'. I ask for a tuna sandwich and often end up with chicken. I ask for a bottle of Becks and get a glass of Bass. I ask for a Bass and get a bottle of Becks. I have to repeat myself pretty much every time I order anything.
Don't get me wrong, we are having a great time - our standard of living has improved IMMEASURABLY compared with home and even with a bigger house, better cars (well they will be soon), a pool etc., we can still save a lot of cash from our wages. The quality of food in restaurants is MILES ahead of the UK (although around here its pretty samey) and with our work we can travel around other parts of the States far cheaper than otherwise - we go to Denver next week, then LA, New York, Boston and Philadelphia in October for example. These are all things that are going to be very hard to accept when we go home to the UK.
Also I think the change makes you a stronger person and it'll be something you'll regret if you don't do it (one of those what ifs), but just be aware, if its anything like Iowa, it'll be a lot different to anything else you've seen
Finally (phew you think!), it'll make you glad to be away, but glad to come home again (to use a cliche) and appreciate the things the UK has to offer
If you can work it out and make it work for you financially and emotionally - go for it. There is a lot of cr*p in the UK media about the US and vice versa - its best to experience it first hand and I feel lucky I'm getting to live in the 'heartland' of the US rather than the West/East coasts which are rather more liberal/cosmopolitan areas and where most ex-pats go. >> Edited by Highway Star on Thursday 15th September 20:43
Don said:
But New England is a nice bit of the US to move to for a Brit. They are "more like us" than most other Americans...
Fair enough, but for us this was why we wanted to move to Iowa and are glad in a way it was here and not New England. Its made for a far more interesting and enlightening experience
We really enjoyed our time in San Francisco.
A few things to watch out for, though. First, there's qualifying for and obtaining visas. Healthcare is an industry which does hire from overseas (for instance, nurses from the Philippines), but in general there isn't too much incentive for a US employer to go to both the risk and expense of sponsoring a visa when US residents are available. Make sure this is squared away.
Then the various admin bits and pieces including obtaining the social security number without which you effectively don't exist and getting hold of a US driving license that both allows you to drive and serves as ID which you'll need every time you use a credit card. In California, you're supposed to pass both a written and practical driving test within a couple of weeks of arriving from overseas as a long-term resident (other states appear to give you longer) in order to drive.
The only real pain is that you arrive in the US with neither a credit history (therefore no credit rating, therefore dificult to obtain credit cards etc, even if you have impeccable credit ratings in the UK) nor a driving/motor insurance history, so you start over without a no claims bonus. On the other hand, your driving points don't matter either.
All in all, worth experiencing (can't speak for upstate NY though). And you can drive a great big f-off V8 without looking out of place
A few things to watch out for, though. First, there's qualifying for and obtaining visas. Healthcare is an industry which does hire from overseas (for instance, nurses from the Philippines), but in general there isn't too much incentive for a US employer to go to both the risk and expense of sponsoring a visa when US residents are available. Make sure this is squared away.
Then the various admin bits and pieces including obtaining the social security number without which you effectively don't exist and getting hold of a US driving license that both allows you to drive and serves as ID which you'll need every time you use a credit card. In California, you're supposed to pass both a written and practical driving test within a couple of weeks of arriving from overseas as a long-term resident (other states appear to give you longer) in order to drive.
The only real pain is that you arrive in the US with neither a credit history (therefore no credit rating, therefore dificult to obtain credit cards etc, even if you have impeccable credit ratings in the UK) nor a driving/motor insurance history, so you start over without a no claims bonus. On the other hand, your driving points don't matter either.
All in all, worth experiencing (can't speak for upstate NY though). And you can drive a great big f-off V8 without looking out of place
I live in upstate NY. great place. I live up near syracuse. Great countryside. more trees than you could shake a big wooden thing at. Finger lake region is nice, and you're best to keep away fronm new York unless you are a very patient person, which I am not. very slow, and easy way of life up there, and its..erm.. just generally nice.
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