Tell me to wise up - immigration

[bonnies mum]

Would rather go and live in Spain.

[kingstefan21]

The company I work for has offices in America but any transfer would be complicated. It’s the expectation I’ve built in my head from nice holidays compared to the reality of how difficult it is over there. It seems to be the rich then the rest. And Orlando isn’t exactly the best place to base a life on cause it’s built on theme parks and tourism. Outside of hospitality there doesn’t appear to be much.

Like someone said it could be Florida blues. I just have in my head the sunshine and dander round the malls in the evening and occasional park visit as a resident for a change. I will still have to do my 40+ hours work just when I leave the office it has all I need

[daytonababe]

Visiting Orlando for 2 weeks isn’t going to give you a feel of real life living in America ..
You need to spend time where the locals live and work

I spend about 9/10 weeks in America each year and much of our trips are spent in non touristy areas in North Carolina . And it’s very different

We would love to live there one day .. but there’s so much to consider , health insurance , utility bills that are far more expensive than ours, less free time .

Our best friend there does the same job as my husband ( hgv driver ) he’s away far more , earns similar wage but has way less disposable income than we do and far less time off.

Getting work isn’t easy either , company transfers are probably the easiest way but your not guaranteed a permanent visa even doing it that way .

Do you have children ? Because at present once they reach 21 they have to apply for a visa to stay in their own right or come back .

[Bad Pink Tink]

Originally Posted by kingstefan21

The company I work for has offices in America but any transfer would be complicated. It’s the expectation I’ve built in my head from nice holidays compared to the reality of how difficult it is over there. It seems to be the rich then the rest. And Orlando isn’t exactly the best place to base a life on cause it’s built on theme parks and tourism. Outside of hospitality there doesn’t appear to be much.

Like someone said it could be Florida blues. I just have in my head the sunshine and dander round the malls in the evening and occasional park visit as a resident for a change. I will still have to do my 40+ hours work just when I leave the office it has all I need

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yes it is the rich and everyone else. My friend lives in LA but in her day to day life she is not going to Hollywood every day or to the beach every day. She lives in LA yes, but is 2 hours drive from Disneyland. She lives in a poky 2 bedroom apartment which is the ground floor of a house and her car is about 7 years old now. They dont have air conditioning in their apartment, so it gets really hot in the summer. She is lucky that her job provides health insurance but what we take for granted here medical wise in UK and Ireland, she is worried about affording.

Crime is very different in America. My friend gets very scared about the increasing gun violence and even basic things like going to the mall or going to the cinema, you have to worry, will today be the day that something happens.

The same with the Police, my friend and her flatmate have fears not all the Police are the good guys.

Also living in LA there is the worry about earthquakes. They have earthquakes all the time, most people don't even notice the ground moving, but The Big One is predicted to hit at sometime, they just dont know when.

In Orlando, they have hurricane season every September, and people lose their houses all the time. Most homes in both LA and Orlando are wooden, not brick like we have in UK and Ireland.

[SquishTheWhale]

Originally Posted by lizzie145

Their actual working conditions are very different to ours - pay, holidays expectations, hours etc

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This is what puts me off. DH works for an American company here and we love Florida so much he's mentioned a few times that his company has locations out there. But the working conditions and complete lack of workers rights put me off completely. I also wouldn't want to bring our kids up in American schools around guns. I've told him we can spend the winters in a villa in Florida when we retire lol.

[lov2dibb]

You know, you only live once.
Why not see if there are any opportunities with your company and go for it? If you don't like it you can come back.
We had 3 years in Miami and loved every minute especially spending lots of weekends at WDW!
Decided it wasn't for us long term but no regrets in giving it a go.

[CarolynU]

The lack of holidays are horrible. Sunshine yes but no time to enjoy it.

[sparklegirl]

I have family across there and one of them is married to an Irish guy. He really struggled to get employment despite great qualifications and experience. The ethos is to employ Americans first. He had a green card and was fully legally there and only when he got his citizenship did things turn around.

They lived in DC and now are in Austin, Texas and I cant say the same would apply but a transfer is definitely the way to go if at all.

I would caution that by checking the requirements for a visa on transfer as I know coming into the UK there are conditions that have to be met and certain levels of jo wouldnt quaify.

Good luck! I love to visit but I also love to come home. I think I get blinded by being able to relax and spend time with family and thats what I love, the location doesnt matter much to me when i think about it.

[tim17]

If you're in your 20's and have no ties then go for it, it's so much harder with a family.

[daytonababe]

Originally Posted by Bad Pink Tink

yes it is the rich and everyone else. My friend lives in LA but in her day to day life she is not going to Hollywood every day or to the beach every day. She lives in LA yes, but is 2 hours drive from Disneyland. She lives in a poky 2 bedroom apartment which is the ground floor of a house and her car is about 7 years old now. They dont have air conditioning in their apartment, so it gets really hot in the summer. She is lucky that her job provides health insurance but what we take for granted here medical wise in UK and Ireland, she is worried about affording.

Crime is very different in America. My friend gets very scared about the increasing gun violence and even basic things like going to the mall or going to the cinema, you have to worry, will today be the day that something happens.

The same with the Police, my friend and her flatmate have fears not all the Police are the good guys.

Also living in LA there is the worry about earthquakes. They have earthquakes all the time, most people don't even notice the ground moving, but The Big One is predicted to hit at sometime, they just dont know when.

In Orlando, they have hurricane season every September, and people lose their houses all the time. Most homes in both LA and Orlando are wooden, not brick like we have in UK and Ireland.

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LA is very expensive though,you’d pay for a 2 bed flat there what you’d pay for a decent size house elsewhere



Crime isn’t great here though in some parts of major cities , we might not have gun crime but knife crime is rife ..

Same with worrying about something happening , things happen everywhere