Was there ever any question which of you would relocate?

[ChasUno 101]

My other half absolutely loves London and would love to live there, but there's just no way we could afford it. We looked at the cost of buying/ renting, even in the home counties, but it was still way more expensive when compared with the USA. For what we paid for our house in Bradenton, Florida ("Hi!" to all the VJ'ers in Tampa - just up the road!), we'd be lucky to get a 3 bedroom terraced house (with no garage or parking) in the home counties of the UK. In Bradenton, we have a large 5 bedroom house, double garage, swimming pool and a nice sized yard. Then there is the climate, we're still enjoying temps in the 80's and being out in the sun/ pool, whilst the UK is starting to get cold, dark and damp. Sure the summers are hot and humid in Florida, though everything is air conditioned and once you acclimatise to Florida, it's hard going back to a colder climate and I won't miss those long nights and cold, chilly damp days that the UK seems to have for 6 months of the year. Work-wise, I would also earn more in the healthcare field here than in the UK too. Basically, in the USA I'd earn more for the same job, houses cost less, cost of living is generally cheaper and the climate is warmer and sunnier than the UK. Thus other than the cost of healthcare in the USA, it was a fairly easy decision, almost a no brainer, for us to have me relocate to the USA/ Florida rather than my partner relocate and we try and live in the SE of the UK.

[Heather&Kevin 25]

It used to be yes, and then the new government took over.

US citizens are classed as non-EEA citizens, this means strict rules apply relating to financial test of means and there is no 'free movement' that would apply to EU specific citizens. Only the finances of the UK citizen are taken into account. There are no co-sponsors, offers from friends or family, or even specific living arrangements taken into account. The UK citizen must make £18,600 per year in a job that they have held for at least six months. For each child this increases a further £2,4000. The UK citizen can use savings, but this must be in the amount of £62,500 and held for six months. For each child this increases a further £6,000. You can do the conversion math on this and you suddenly realize the amount compared to the US is quite large. The statistics on this is staggering.in that a large number of Britons live on different means compared to those who may live in more wealthier economic areas. A large percent of the population would never be able to bring their spouse over to live. These rules have separated families and has been challenged multiple times, the latest will be heard in the Supreme Court. It has also made it more difficult for non-EEA spouses to even simply visit their UK citizen loved one. Many UK citizens immigrate to the US with the hope of bringing their spouse back with them one day, without realizing the difficulty. It's a subject of heavy debate.

Thanks very much for informing me. Hadn't heard about all that. Have looked more into and it does seem draconian. I guess it's no homecoming for me and my new bride anytime in the near future - unless we strike gold in the New World.

[Qilin 2]

Hi again.

Sorry I asked a question and disappeared. Life got busy! But it was great to come back and see that my thread turned into a nice discussion (and possibly a future VJ meetup in Tampa for the Florida folks!).

Your stories raised a lot of good information and food for thought.

I think we have made our decision, as of yesterday. We've been looking into several things I've learned through questions I asked elsewhere on VJ, but what brought us to a decision point was actually the attacks on Paris that happened Friday night. Graham lives in an English city that has seen several young people go off to the Middle East to join ISIL and is also a likely target for terror attacks in the future. He's half Indian, and as a result of his mixed heritage, he actually looks like he could be from the Middle East himself, and he's been running into some discrimination/prejudice from strangers lately. In light of Paris, he's ready to get out of the UK. I don't blame him.

So the U.S. it is.

Ooooh! What are the new rules about coming to the UK? I haven't looked into that at all. I thought it used to be really quite simple.

We didn't have any debate - well, she did mention not liking the cold... But for me, moving to the USA is all part of this amazing journey - I feel lucky to be presented with this new enormous country to live in and discover - and she is very happy to stay at home. (She also has two dogs who wouldn't like to emigrate)

I really wanted to move to England for an "amazing journey" of my own, but I'm happy to share my husband's with him instead. It will still be pretty amazing for me, too.

He has mentioned the size of the U.S. quite a lot. He likes the idea of having so much room to roam, and so many possibilities for places to settle for the long-term.

Do you two plan to do a lot of U.S. travel? So many Americans never see much of their own country. It would be so much fun to not only see places we haven't already, but also to see familiar places through our non-native partners' eyes. It adds a whole new dimension to traveling our own homeland. I hope you guys get to see and do a lot!

My husband doesn't have pets, but I have an elderly dog and a parrot. Neither one would do well in quarantine so I had planned to leave them with friends. The decision for Graham to come here will allow me to keep my pets, which does make me very happy. I've had both of the for a very long time.

We definitely back-and-forthed for a while, and at one point actually decided on the UK. There are pros and cons either way, but in the end it was the easier system to get into the US and there's the size issue.... in the US, once you're inside you can go anywhere in a giant country. The UK, by contrast, is less than half the size of Colorado.

Also there were climate and family considerations... it was a difficult decision and we still sometimes wonder about it. Definitely pros and cons either way.

It's so interesting to read comments about U.S. immigration being easier. It seems the very opposite to me. The UK process looks (?) so much shorter and less labor-intensive. The financial requirement for sponsorship is greater, and I do understand that it can be harder to meet on many UK incomes. It makes me realize how lucky my husband and I are that he has sufficient income for us to have a choice.

Climate was never a consideration for us, as the climate in upstate New York is pretty similar to the general climate in the UK. Dark, cloudy, and chilly.

As for family, that was the one factor that leaned entirely towards him coming here. He has no living family in the UK. My family adores him, and will be a fantastic support to us. That's especially important because we're older adults and Graham's health isn't great. As long as it looks like we can work out the healthcare issues (and after doing some research, I'm confident that we will), life in the U.S. really does seem like the way to go.

[Heather&Kevin 25]

Do you two plan to do a lot of U.S. travel? So many Americans never see much of their own country. It would be so much fun to not only see places we haven't already, but also to see familiar places through our non-native partners' eyes. It adds a whole new dimension to traveling our own homeland. I hope you guys get to see and do a lot!

My husband doesn't have pets, but I have an elderly dog and a parrot. Neither one would do well in quarantine so I had planned to leave them with friends. The decision for Graham to come here will allow me to keep my pets, which does make me very happy. I've had both of the for a very long time.

THANKS! No plans currently - but a definite intent to explore more and more as the months and years go by.

She loves a roadtrip - and has seen quite a few places already - so more of that is on the cards as the dogs love driving to. And one day we want to find somewhere to live by the ocean. It's all wonderfully flexible and there are so many amazing options in the USA.

I'm happy for your dog and parrot. They would miss you terribly. So really glad you get to keep the family together. Good luck with the visa process.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Heather&Kevin

[Boiler 43,576]

Before we reversed directions I had looked at the UK process and had friends who had gone through it, very quick and very simple. A friend did his in less than a month and said that was because he was not in a rush.

[Heather&Kevin 25]

I'm currently working in Edinburgh while I await my interview in London.

The weather is a tad chilly. Constantly raining. And so very dark all day. Very short days too. I LOVE this city. The people are amazing. The scenery and architecture is brilliant. But... GET ME BACK TO THE NV DESERT SOON PLEASE!!!

Edited November 15, 2015 by Heather&Kevin

[ChasUno 101]

I should add that in my case, technically both me and my partner relocated. He's from Ohio, and I'm from the UK, and we moved to south Florida within a week of my arrival to the USA. Whereas I emigrated from the UK to the USA and he moved to another state, we're both now in an area that is so much different from what both of us previously called 'home' it almost feels as if we've both relocated. Kind of made the whole process exciting for both of us!

Edited November 16, 2015 by ChasUno

[AMZJ 60]

SO and I both have little girls. I could afford to sponsor him but I don't meet the income requirement for an additional child, so right from the start I knew I'd be going to the US. My boyfriend has a nicer house, a better job, a car. I have a tiny flat in a terribly noisy building. No car, a low paid job and his family are much closer than mine are. My little girl wouldn't miss my family as much as his daughter would miss his as they are daily involved and I'm lucky if I see mine once a month.

[vanity08 66]

Very nice discussion. Hubby is moving to the UK, we have started the process, as I meet all the new requirements. We decided to stay in the UK because am waiting on a waiver to be approved,but is taking longer than normal, as we have a little baby,hubby is missing out a lot in the baby life. Plus with the UK is quicker than the usa, you can opt for faster process and pay extra. The usa for me is too long process than the UK. I never like the USA when I was there,I don't know if because I was not driving, unlike UK you can move around feel, with the bus,train etc. Hubby is in Ohio Columbus. Enjoy your journey everyone and stay bless

[bec_goe 4]

My husband has a 3yo son with his ex and I have a 10yo daughter which makes things quite difficult!

We thought about him moving to Sydney but decided that I would move there for various reasons -

*My husband has been going through a custody battle for the past 2 years and has spent in excess of $100K to have some time with his son. If my husband moved to Australia, she would certainly make things very difficult for him to see his son.

*Husband's employment - he works as a grip in Hollywood (amazing work opportunities!) while I work as a Legal Secretary in Sydney. He has the career while I merely have a job that pays the bills.

*The ability of my daughter having permission from her dad to join us in LA = new beginnings!

It all pretty much added up to our decision that I would move there and it's probably a good thing that I quite like LA!

Edited November 25, 2015 by bec_goe

[6yearslater 4]

I should add that in my case, technically both me and my partner relocated. He's from Ohio, and I'm from the UK, and we moved to south Florida within a week of my arrival to the USA. Whereas I emigrated from the UK to the USA and he moved to another state, we're both now in an area that is so much different from what both of us previously called 'home' it almost feels as if we've both relocated. Kind of made the whole process exciting for both of us!

You aren't too far from me then I'm really looking forward to moving ( I leave on Monday ) I feel so much more at home in America because I grew up in American schools my whole life in various countries.. I never really connected with the UK.

Such exciting times! How are you liking Florida life?

[lost_at_sea 995]

We had some debate, and decided that he would move to London for a while while I was working at a new job I wanted and his work allowed him to temporarily relocate. We could have done the UK spouse route and we did consider it, but decided that wasn't worthwhile at the time.

When his temporary relocation ended, we had to make the choice again and I felt that since he had made sacrifices to live out in London far away from his main team that it would be best for him to be back here with them, and job prospects for me in tech were always going to be better over here. I'd had a good run at the job I had in London and finding new work wasn't likely to be an issue, since I'm also in tech. Plus...for him to take the same job he had in London vs. his job in San Francisco would have meant a 2/3rds pay-cut, so money-wise, it was just a no-brainer. We're much better off now and we were able to buy a flat here in SF (crazy, but still cheaper than London!).

I think we'd both like to live in London again at some point (I definitely would), so if he gets tired of his job here or something else comes along that makes being there seem like the right thing, we'll do it. I've also taken a fancy to Tokyo lately, so I wouldn't mind doing 6/12 months there some time.

Moving was tough on me, psychologically, but looking back at it now it feels like it was the right choice and we have a great life now, so although I was really, really, upset about leaving London and I miss my friends there dreadfully, it's all worked out okay. I still get to visit and now my friends have an excuse to take a holiday and crash with us, which I love!

[TabeaK 516]

It was difficult to choose.

Me: Family in Germany, fluent in Englisch, good education, but also established career in Germany, previous experience working internationally, living in a small place that is not very international.

Him: US Citizen of Latino decent, no German knowledge, good career in US but no classic formal application/degree, no living family in US.

We were really torn - both the US and Germany are great places to live, Germany has a better social net etc pp. Deciding factor was that while it should be reasonably straightforward for me to establish a career in the US, for him it would be nigh on impossible to establish a decent career in Germany lacking formal education and language skills. Means I have to leave my family behind, sadly.

Still looking foward to it, but expect the transition to be rough. Being together is more important though.

[nobbie 105]

We did not debate it as much as we should, mainly because I work away and it makes no difference to me (from UK) where I live. However we should have thought about it more. I've been in the US a bit over 2 years now and don't really like it at all. Housing is very expensive where we are, well above UK prices. Shooting is just the norm, see todays news in Colorado. 12,000 gun related homicides in the US every year vs 12 in the UK

Taxation is outrageous, my first years earning were taxed, after allowances and expenses etc, at a whopping 38%. That's about 22% federal, 6% state and 15.2% social security.

Health insurance is $1100 a month for 2 of us, or around $13,000 a year.

Property taxes are $5000 a year. Mobile phone charges are well over UK prices as is TV/Internet/Phone.

Very hard, if not impossible to find a greengrocers or butcher.

We have had 2 shootings more or less outside our house, one fatal. House is smaller that I had in UK for pretty much the same price, so we're looking at heading back to the UK.

I know the US is huge and there's tons to see, my preference is to have the equally huge Europe on my doorstep with different food, culture and language.

So think long and hard before deciding it's a no brainer, there are big houses to be had, petrol is cheap, (needs to be though as you have to drive everywhere) people are generally nice (especially where they're not armed) but there's a lot to be said for the UK, transport and the NHS in particular..

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

As for family, that was the one factor that leaned entirely towards him coming here. He has no living family in the UK. My family adores him, and will be a fantastic support to us. That's especially important because we're older adults and Graham's health isn't great. As long as it looks like we can work out the healthcare issues (and after doing some research, I'm confident that we will), life in the U.S. really does seem like the way to go.

It's always such a tough call.

We thought like you that we could work out the healthcare thing. We're older also. Especially now, ten years into this marriage.

Just from our experience, I'd suggest anyone with a chronic condition think long and hard about it before giving up the National Health Service.