From England to America!!! i need advise please!

[swiss_miss]

Well if you choose California i'd say San Diego is the best for you and your family. it has nice sunny weather, lots to do like the famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World and other attractions, plus beaches are not far, it is very safe compared to other cities, very clean,beautiful scenery, it may be a bit expensive but it is worth it

On the other hand if you choose Arizona, I'd say the best place is Oro Valley, it is a nice suburb of Tucson(dont go to tucson though! aint that great but Oro Valley is) In Oro Valley,the weather is gorgeous year round, lots of children and families, beautiful nature(the mountains are beautiful), great schools, decent parks, very clean, people are very friendly, lots of stuff to do the cost of living is alot cheaper than California, but on the downside it gets very hot in summer and you have snakes,coyotes,scorpians, so be careful!

Well both California and Arizona are fabulous places. Goodluck!

[swiss_miss]

or also Scottsdale, Arizona is a great place to live!

[MotleyCrew]

If you are also exploring California, you might want to check out a N. Ca city called Chico. We lived there for 15 years and have some fond memories. Chico State University is right in the middle of town and the town itself has a turn of the century charm to it. Very big art town, crime is not bad compared to bigger cities. The money you have for a home will buy you a very nice house there. Enloe hospital is one of the larger employers. In spite of some of the negative comments regarding AZ, we have been very happy here in Peoria and may just retire here. Crime is everywhere, and with every state and every city there is always a "something" about why it is not a perfect place to live. Hope you find your spot here.

[NICKNICK1956]

Hello Aisha and Family,


My name is Nick and I saw your notice on City-Data. You have a lot of good questions. I will try to answer them. You may have more questions after you read this.

I have to tell you that I am still in love with the England that I knew years ago. I have heard from many people that it has changed drastically. Which makes me sad.

Keep in mind that the USA a changed a lot as well. There are really good places and really bad places (good and bad for a lot of reasons). Keep an open view when choosing a place your new location to move to. It will take a lot of research to find your "ideal" location. Also, keep in mind that whatever location decide on, will change over time, as well. May be for the good. May be not. You can never tell.

So, here goes:

My father, who is from Cornwall, moved to southern Arizona. He joined the American Air Force and married my mom. I lived in England from 1970-74, 75-76 and 80-84 and I lived in Germany from 1987-1997.

I live in Tucson, AZ now.

I would think that most locations in the world get some level of drugs/violence, high cost of living, etc. Even within cities you also get a part of a city that has almost very little in the way of problems, another part of the city has some trouble and yet another part has most of the trouble. So, besides deciding on what city to move to you also have to find out what part of the city is the best.

You also want to look at things like schools for the kids, job locations, shopping, etc, to name a few.

One thing about most of Arizona is that you will have no shortage of sunshine. Most of the year it is warm to hot (generally 60-110 degrees). There are some extremes like the other day (Jan 2007) when it snowed. We get the occasional 120 degree days in June. It is also very dry here.

There is a lot to do in Tucson, Arizona, and the southern part of the USA. Not to mention, you can drive, fly or take a train out of Tucson.

Shop around so you get a good plan for your money when it comes to buying land, a home, etc. Your £300,000 (which is about $600,000) should take you a long, long way. In fact, you might be able to get something for less, and bank the rest for your children’s college future.

Yards, gardens, etc are a lot different in Tucson compared to England. However, you could develop one to your liking. In Arizona, most people like a nice swimming pool/Jacuzzi. They like to use a lot of native plants and rockery to develop the rest of the yard. Very little watering and gardening is required!

Tucson, and I believe the rest of America/world, is very diverse when it comes to people of all nationalities. I see folks from all countries and walks of life in Tucson.

You may be able to speak, read and write in Spanish due to your background. You should be able to work close, with the folks from Mexico, due to that. There might be some variations in dialect from Spain to Mexico. One thing I love about the folks from Mexico is they have a great sense of humor and can cook some great food, as well! Something you will see when you get over here.

Keep an open mind when choosing where to go. The 50 states are very diverse in a lot of ways. Maybe the best way is to come over, look around at a few places and make a decision based upon what you see.

Of course you will have to look at things like visas, passports, etc. ...and then later, things like becoming a citizen if you want to go in that direction, too.

Write back when you get a chance.


Nick

[NICKNICK1956]

Hello Aisha and Family,


My name is Nick and I saw your notice on City-Data. You have a lot of good questions. I will try to answer them. You may have more questions after you read this.

I have to tell you that I am still in love with the England that I knew years ago, but have heard from many people that it has changed drastically. Which really makes me sad.

Keep in mind that the USA a changed a lot as well. There are really good places and really bad places (good and bad for a lot of reasons). Keep an open view when choosing a place your new location to move to. It will take a lot of research to find your ideal location. Also, keep in mind that whatever location decide on, will change over time, as well. May be for the good. May be not. You can never tell.

So, here goes:

My father, who is from Hayle, Cornwall moved to southern Arizona. After he joined the American Air Force, married my mom. I was born on an air force base in California.

Then I joined the Air Force, moved to England, found the love of my life, and have been married to Marilyn. We have been married for 30 years. Marilyn is from Thatcham, Newbury, Berkshire. I lived in England from 1970-74, 75-76 and 80-84 and I lived in Germany from 1987-1997.

I have since retired and now live in Tucson, AZ. I am a proud father of 2 girls and a beautiful granddaughter.

I would think that most locations get some level of drugs, crime street gangs, violence, high cost of living, etc. Even within cities you also get a part of a city that has almost no problems, another part of the city has some trouble and yet another part has most of the trouble. So besides deciding on what city to move to you also have to find out what part of the city is the best.

You also want to look at things like schools for the kids, job locations, shopping, etc, to name a few.

One thing about most of Arizona is that you will have no shortage of sunshine. Most of the year it is warm to hot (generally 60-110 degrees). There are some extremes like the other day when it snowed and was 25 degrees and we get the occasional 120 days in June. It is also very dry here.

There is a lot to do in Tucson, Arizona, and the southern part of the USA. Not to mention, you can drive, fly or take a train out of Tucson to anywhere in the world.

Shop around so you get a good plan for your money when it comes to buying land, a home, etc. Your £300,000 (which is about $600,000) should take you a long, long way.
In fact, you might be able to get something for less and bank the rest for your children’s future.

Yards, gardens, etc are a lot different over here compared to England. However, you could develop one to your liking. In Arizona, most people like the water in a nice swimming pool/Jacuzzi. They like to use a lot of native plants and rockery to develop the rest of the yard. Very little watering and gardening is required!

Tucson, and I believe the rest of America/world is very diverse when it comes to people of all nationalities. I see folks from all countries and walks of life in Tucson. I believe that the days are gone when folks lived or stayed in groups. Now, it is just a good mix of everyone.

You may be able to speak, read and write in Spanish due to your background. You should be able to work closer with the folks from Mexico due to that. There might be some variations from Spain to Mexico. One thing I love about the folks from Mexico is they have a great sense of humor and can cook some great food, as well! Something you will see when you get over here.

What kind of work do you and your husband do? Either way, you should not have trouble finding work here.

What different kind of things do you all like to do? I believe you will be able to find whatever it is over here, as well.

Write when you get a chance.


Nick