bloody immigrants (Jacksonville, St. Augustine: for sale, apartment, rental)

[richydraper]

newbies to the forum and our first post!

My names Rich and my girlfriend is Jess we have 2 dogs a husky malamute cross called diesel and an old english sheepdog called alfie... we have our first child on the way and we are seriously considering comming to Jacksonville!

we are currently home owners in Coventry in England and it has been Jess' dream to move to the US since she can remember and to be honest im in a good need of new start... dont worry its all for the right reasons!!

just a friendly hello from 8000miles away
if anyone has moved from the uk recently or has any advice or pearls of wisdom about emigrating to / living in Jacksonville then please feel free to grab me on MSN richydraper@hotmail.com we're 5 hours ahead of you lot so dont be surprised if it takes a while to get hold of us

Thanks in advance everyone

looking forward to our adventure

Rich, Jess, Diesel & Alfie

[ara^bess]

Here is a really fun link your wife may enjoy:
Virtual Home Tours by Obeo

(Choose any state, town, and price range.)

It not only gives you virtual tours through thousands of houses for sale in the USA, but you can check out neghborhood and school information without having to contact any realtors. A great deal of your choice depends on the vision you guys have as to what you are looking for in a new home. This link will give you a nice eye opener of the great diversity of prices available from coast to coast. Good Luck to you!!!

[richydraper]

ur right thats a damn good site there seems to be a hell of a lot of properties in the price range we are considering were looking at ZIP 32225 between 200k-275k with over 2000sq.ft with 3 or more beds and possibly a pool got a few bookmarked!

maybe jumping the gun a little but i think its better to be fully prepared and have a game plan than for everything to creep up on us last minute then its all a rush to get things done in time and you start making mistakes and wrong disisions and thats when it would come back to bite us in the ass!!

ho hum its keeping me occupied for a while anyway

[travelingfood]

Are you in a hurry to get a house? Do you have a clear understanding of the JAX housing locations and its neighborhoods?

Considered living in a rental apartment for short term of time while you get situated with JAX and look around for houses? (Leave any bulky belongings in a storage room.)


Why JAX?

[richydraper]

Originally Posted by travelingfood

Are you in a hurry to get a house? Do you have a clear understanding of the JAX housing locations and its neighborhoods?

Considered living in a rental apartment for short term of time while you get situated with JAX and look around for houses? (Leave any bulky belongings in a storage room.)


Why JAX?

no that weve been thinking about it much but heres the plan...

wait untill the kiddo is born, get married, get cleared for working, live in a hotel for a week or 2 untill we find a rental property, move into the rental property, get a car, look for a house, find a house,and all work permits/visas/ green cards permitting move into the house, seek citizenship and live "the dream".

we're not bring anything with us apart from the kid, dogs and load of cash!! its a proper start from scratch makes us feel like we've earnt it then.
JAX is pretty much exactly what we wanted its not stupidly hot or cold it was one of the only places on the east coast that really caught our eye and all the properties we have been looking at are ideal for our needs and close to almost everything that we would be looking for in a neighbourhood. the schools seems good the close proximity to the beach and town are both a bonus. it just seems a perfect place to start a fresh with our new family!

[travelingfood]

Originally Posted by richydraper

no that weve been thinking about it much but heres the plan...

wait untill the kiddo is born, get married, get cleared for working, live in a hotel for a week or 2 untill we find a rental property, move into the rental property, get a car, look for a house, find a house,and all work permits/visas/ green cards permitting move into the house, seek citizenship and live "the dream".

we're not bring anything with us apart from the kid, dogs and load of cash!! its a proper start from scratch makes us feel like we've earnt it then.
JAX is pretty much exactly what we wanted its not stupidly hot or cold it was one of the only places on the east coast that really caught our eye and all the properties we have been looking at are ideal for our needs and close to almost everything that we would be looking for in a neighbourhood. the schools seems good the close proximity to the beach and town are both a bonus. it just seems a perfect place to start a fresh with our new family!

Exciting life changing decisions!!

JAX is stupidly cold today though, freezing temperature. Gets stupidly hot and humid from late Spring~Fall. At least no hurricanes hit JAX (knocks wood).

Well since you'll be bringing a kid, better check out the related threads here on daycare, schools, etc kids related issues in JAX. Good schools in JAX seems to be mainly private schools, at least that's what I've heard.

Jacksonville.com
Jacksonville News, Jacksonville, Florida Breaking News and Weather - WJXT News4Jax
First Coast News - Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Brunswick - WTLV NBC 12 and WJXX ABC 25 - local news, weather, programming, sports, traffic, health, consumer and television programming information for Jacksonville, southern Georgia and St. Augusti
check out those local news site to see what's happening around here.

Hope you two can cook some good UK foods too, I believe there's only one British restaurant in JAX.

Wish you well with the planning and transitions.

[richydraper]

Originally Posted by travelingfood

Exciting life changing decisions!!

JAX is stupidly cold today though, freezing temperature. Gets stupidly hot and humid from late Spring~Fall. At least no hurricanes hit JAX (knocks wood).

Well since you'll be bringing a kid, better check out the related threads here on daycare, schools, etc kids related issues in JAX. Good schools in JAX seems to be mainly private schools, at least that's what I've heard.

Jacksonville.com
Jacksonville News, Jacksonville, Florida Breaking News and Weather - WJXT News4Jax
First Coast News - Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Brunswick - WTLV NBC 12 and WJXX ABC 25 - local news, weather, programming, sports, traffic, health, consumer and television programming information for Jacksonville, southern Georgia and St. Augusti
check out those local news site to see what's happening around here.

Hope you two can cook some good UK foods too, I believe there's only one British restaurant in JAX.

Wish you well with the planning and transitions.

i have been browsing the threads concerning childcare/education albeit not as much as living arrangements and visa threads..

on the cooking front... you guys have SUBWAY so im a happy man!!!!

both my parents are from yorkshire (north of england) so i have been taught how to make an absolutely amazing sunday roast my yorkshire puddings are sommin else if all this materialises then some of the locals may have to get invited round for a taste of REAL food

[richydraper]

the area were considering is 32225
no further north than McCormick Rd/Mt Pleasant Rd
no further south than route 10 or MAYBE 101A
no further west than kernan blvd n.
and no further east than san pablo rd n.
because its near to route 10 (which is pretty much one road straight to Tom Nehl Volvo dealership which is where i have applied to try to get work) near to the beaches and reletively close to the city!

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by richydraper

no that weve been thinking about it much but heres the plan...

wait untill the kiddo is born, get married, get cleared for working, live in a hotel for a week or 2 untill we find a rental property, move into the rental property, get a car, look for a house, find a house,and all work permits/visas/ green cards permitting move into the house, seek citizenship and live "the dream".

we're not bring anything with us apart from the kid, dogs and load of cash!! its a proper start from scratch makes us feel like we've earnt it then.
JAX is pretty much exactly what we wanted its not stupidly hot or cold it was one of the only places on the east coast that really caught our eye and all the properties we have been looking at are ideal for our needs and close to almost everything that we would be looking for in a neighbourhood. the schools seems good the close proximity to the beach and town are both a bonus. it just seems a perfect place to start a fresh with our new family!

I think that you need to work out your immigration issues before doing anything else, getting a green card is not easy. It would be a plus if you had work lined up too.
Jax can get real hot and sticky in the summer months.

[richydraper]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

I think that you need to work out your immigration issues before doing anything else, getting a green card is not easy. It would be a plus if you had work lined up too.
Jax can get real hot and sticky in the summer months.

yeah... hot and sticky is good!!! i love the summer over here! always wish it was warmer tho hahaha

immigration should be the thing that takes the longest as far as im aware... there seems to be conflicting stories between websites and stuff but tbh i dont really wanna get into which sort of visa i need untill i manage to find a placement then it will be manic trying to find and get accepted for the right one. its like ive said to jess theres no point in stressing and getting all worked up about it as it dont make anything any quicker just gotta take it in your strideprovide the services with as much as you can upon request and hope that they let us in!!
someone told me the requirements got a lot tighter after 9/11but this hasnt really phased me too much as i could think of a lot of people who would be less likely to be accepted. we'll see tho!!