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Its no good him looking at ANY area to live ~ we made the same mistake ~ looked through listings of real estate pages and saw some fantastic properties, got all excited about the prospect of buying a huge house complete with pool at such a low price compared to here in UK, and then come on here to have all our hopes dashed by being told the truth! No matter which area is considered *Nice* to live, its no good without having a visa or your foot in the door!! And hes already been told what avenues of gaining entry are open to him (as with us, its virtually zero, unless he has a stash of $$$$'s lying around somewhere).
Sorry, this isnt meant to be offensive in any way, but am trying to be realistic as Yolkie is probably in same boat as we were a few months back, seeing all these wonderful properties and in his head hes living the *dream* life.
I understand your frustration and you are right, getting a visa is first and foremost but all I was trying to do is answer his question and provide him with the information he requested.
tonrob, thanks for the advice regarding the easiest way to get visas regarding the partners. I'm a little peturbed that you think it's that far drawn from reality, but hey, that's your opinion and you obviously know better than I (the transfer was left out as I was hoping to get more general information rather than highlighting the difficulties of a work visa, which I was more or less aware of anyway).
Certainly, based on the information I've read here, there's a lot I've taken on board and that makes me a lot more aware than I was 48 hours or so ago.
Lindy, you're right in the sense I've been excited about the idea. However I'm not going to automatically get the dampeners based on any negative information I receive, there has to be a way, and where there's a will and all that.. Having said that I do appreciate the advice from someone who's been there.
Billdeese - thank you for your area info, you are right, I was originally after information of this ilk.
But, thanks all for your responses - I appreciate them all, especially the blunt and truthful ones which may not be what I wanted to hear!
It took me 18 months of hard work, long hours, selling everything and saving every penny so I could move to the states. Came out on an E2 visa with a $90K investment (retail) and about $30K living expenses. Sold my nice cars and house in UK and moved to a crappy apartment and bought a crappy Explorer to drive. That was 8 years ago. Today I am very happy and comfortable and currently trying to find a marina to store my boat. Do not give up yet, I was told 10 years ago that I was daydreaming. Get married and concentrate on the two of you getting out here, forget moving the rest of the family.Good Luck.
I'm a former Orlando resident. Considering the amount of trouble you need to go through, I think you'd be incredibly disappointed after a year or 2.
You cannot go to the theme parks and beaches everyday, so, much of your time in Orlando will be spent...in Orlando, where traffic is a nightmare, there is no public train system, everything is inconveniently distant, job choices are horrible (mainly retail, travel and tourism), property values have skyrocketed (higher percentage of foreclosures there than California), crime rate is high, it's ALWAYS hot and unbearably humid, even in "winter," there are down pours almost everyday in the summer, and hurricanes to worry about in late summer. I had enough of it. My sister recently moved up north. My parents have been complaining about the city for as long as I can remember and say they want to move out as well.
I hear London is terribly overcrowded, terrible weather, etc. so perhaps Orlando would have slightly greener grass, but for all the trouble you must go through just to get to the US, you should try California (South Orange County or north San Diego...similar to Orlando, but better education, nicer weather) or even Australia (less crowded, lower crime, nicer beaches, better social welfare). I am planning my next big move--after married, when I'm ready to "settle down"--to be one of those myself. I miss nice beaches, but I don't miss Orlando or Florida.
Last edited by vaga bond; 08-16-2008 at 09:10 PM..
You might be right about Orlando in general but that all depends on what area you live in. Like any large city there are good and bad areas. Again I want to mention Mount Dora just for that reason. Mount Dora is an easy commute to Orlando yet has low crime, less congestion, good schools and a beautiful area to live in.
I have visited California many times over the past 20 years and the weather is usually very nice, but earthquakes, fires, flooding and the cost to live there will all counter act any good weather!
getting immigrant visas is nearly impossible
unless you got a huge amount of money to invest or have exceptional ability in the Arts etc.
or your a vicar :-)
or a nurse or something in short labour supply here .
I was lucky my mum is US citizen sponsored me-waited 9 months for visa in 1990 but now its all changed and the wait is longer, plus you got 911 on top of that which changed a lot of things too.
Stay in UK-Much better !!
better education for your kids
better transportation system
better cultures
no GUN crime (or hardly any) i know u have some issue over thee with knives but you can survive a knife would easier than a gunshot !!
crime in Orlando is rampant
true the weathre is nice especially in Winter
and you get big houses with pools etc
and big cars
but its still all gotta be paid for and the wages down here are low.
getting immigrant visas is nearly impossible
unless you got a huge amount of money to invest or have exceptional ability in the Arts etc.
or your a vicar :-)
or a nurse or something in short labour supply here .
I was lucky my mum is US citizen sponsored me-waited 9 months for visa in 1990 but now its all changed and the wait is longer, plus you got 911 on top of that which changed a lot of things too.
Stay in UK-Much better !!
better education for your kids
better transportation system
better cultures
no GUN crime (or hardly any) i know u have some issue over thee with knives but you can survive a knife would easier than a gunshot !!
crime in Orlando is rampant
true the weathre is nice especially in Winter
and you get big houses with pools etc
and big cars
but its still all gotta be paid for and the wages down here are low.
Not so easy to move back to UK though is it? I know when we were seriously considering moving to Florida and came on this forum to ask advice, and got lots of it, and we had already said that if we were to move to US it would be a one way move, there would never be any chance of us ever returning to UK, but on the advice of those that kindly gave up their time to view their opinions and their knowledge, we decided it was a no-go situation ~ firstly my husbands occupation would not be a needed position out there, our daughter would only be allowed to stay until she was 21 (i think thats the age i was advised), I wouldnt be allowed to work, and basically the only way for us to move out to US would be to sell everything we own here, buy a business in US and then apply for the visa ~ too risky for us and even more so that you are then only allowed to stay in the States whilst your business is up and running ~ if we wanted to sell it where would that have left us?
Have just returned today from a 2 week vacation in orlando and still love the place, the people etc etc ~ despite the first 4 days being high winds and rain, then hot hot hot weather and high humidity! We did come over this time with the attitude of it being a great fun place to visit for a holiday, but not such a great place if you have to actually live and work in that type of humidity 24/7. We took off our rose tinted glasses this time of visiting, and there are lots of things that arent so great about living/working in Florida, even though I wish we were still there, even if for only a few more days ~ but from what we heard on the News you have 2 storms heading your way right now, so maybe we got out in nick of time!
Hanna is due any day now I believe then theres another one stirring itself up ~ take care and hope you all weather the storm/s without any damage to property or injuries to yourselves.
Yup -that happened to someone I know-they came over sold up everything, plucked it all into a business-all ok until it failed and then the visa expired and they were forced back to old blighty to a live with her mum and then into a rented place. lost everything-you were wise to stay put.
also working here is horrendous, I only get 2 weeks paid holiday
it seems to me here they live to work not work to live.
you get laughed at when you mention a 35 hr work week and 4 weeks paid vacation....
as for us moving back, should be ok, we dont want to buy and prefer to rent
the wifey is retired form the police dept and gets a nice pension wheich will keep us afloat until i get a part time job (im 45).
I miss the footy, the social pub life, the neighbourly spirit and the closesness of europe to travel when I want.
here its all work work work, and then go home and close your door and dont venture out.
its got worse over the years.
and and for schools- we have to BUY pens, pencils, rulers, books EVERYTHING.
Well I hope your dream of moving back to Uk becomes a reality.
We stayed in Davenport this time in a Villa which was home to some Floridians and some of the properties were obviously holiday lets and I came to realise one morning when sitting out by the pool just how lonely it would be if we lived there in that villa! We saw NO-ONE at all other than maybe once or twice another family were outside splashing in their pool, but how on earth would you ever make friends with anyone was all I thought? It was almost like a ghost town and was like we were the only family on the whole of the estate.
Considering the low wages in Florida I am astounded how you even manage to live out there, admittedly a lot of the food is way cheaper than here in UK and petrol too, but from reading on other forums about the cost of maintaining your home and all other everyday costs, it seems like its just as expensive to live out there than here but your wages are less than half what ours are, and we struggle here to keep our heads afloat!
I am 50 and my husband is 48, has his own business as an Electrician, I work as a home carer plus run a retail shop(part time) and online shop so we both lead very busy lives, and to have 2 weeks of *chilling* time is pure heaven and Florida offers so much fun and entertainment and the accomodation has always been glorious and you really get a false sense of what you are missing out on by living here in the UK as Florida seems to be *THE* place ~ sunshine, excitement, lovely big homes, swimming pool, nice cars, the list goes on and on........but without the rose tinted glasses on it is a very different matter isnt it?
At least here we get decent time off allocated as paid holiday & we can retire and draw a pension to allow us to enjoy a little time in old age which I suppose is a bonus, but the weather is sh** ~ hasnt stopped raining since we got home, and its not like in Florida where its still hot despite the rain, here its cold wet and miserable, and there is an awful lot going wrong in this country ~ we as born and bred British dont get a say in anything anymore, it seems like its all the foreigners who now live here that have the main say in everything, they come first in everything! And we have to take a back seat, and a lot of English are sick to death of being treated like second rate citizens, hence why so many are looking elsewhere to set down ground roots and start up a new life.
I suppose there are good and bad in any place you work and live ~ no where is perfect and I think had we been 20 years younger we would have taken the bull by the horns and sold up everything and tried to pursue our dream of a better life, but we are now at the age where it seems too much of a risk to do that, as would be soul destroying to have to start all over again if things didnt work out and we had to come back home ~ we would never ever be able to get back to where we are right now, so we are staying put in the UK (unless some miracle happens, like winning the lottery lol).
Good Luck anyway x
As a brit who lives out here in Orlando i just wanted to make a couple of comments about this thread and one of them concerns the comment LindyUK made about living in Davenport and how lonely it would be. I have to say that is true, but it ties in with what i have said so many times before. When moving somewhere, why would anyone in their right mind buy a property in a shrot term rental area to live in. If you need it to establish your self initially thats fine, but common sense dictates that buying to live in an area which is predominantly short term rental houses where your neighbours change on a consistant basis isnt going to be condusive to meeting locals or people who actually live here.
Secondly, the majority of people come here and buy or start up business's which are relient on the vacation business, predominantly lawn service, property management and the such. Unless you have a niche business which can survive independent of these areas then you are always going to be in a precarious business. Whilst these business's are cheap to set up and to get the visa's, if they dont survive, then neither will the owners here.
I although initially started on a L1 visa now have the luxury of looking back with hindsight safe in the knowledge of having a green card, but i think that gives me a unique perspective which i impart to my clients. Easier isnt always better. There are a great many Brits here who are very happy and would never go back, and i consider myself a member of that group. That isnt neccessarily true for everyone, but unless you take the rough with the smooth, appreciate nowhere is perfect, then it makes it harder. We have our fair share of prolems unique to the area, but if your business is failing in addition, then this puts a magnifying glass over everything and everything which would be taken as par for the course is considered outrageous and wrong. The grass is always greener on the otherside. I know people who felt that way, sold up and went back to the UK and it only hit them when they got back to the UK and wernt in the position financially to come back what a mistake they made.
Whilst many dont appreciate vacationing somewhere is completely different to living somewhere, it is for this reason many mistakes are made.
Good luck to everyone and for those who are intending to go back to the UK i wish you the best of luck and hope the move is good for you and your families because at the end of the day that is what is most important and no-one can decide that better than you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindyUK
Well I hope your dream of moving back to Uk becomes a reality.
We stayed in Davenport this time in a Villa which was home to some Floridians and some of the properties were obviously holiday lets and I came to realise one morning when sitting out by the pool just how lonely it would be if we lived there in that villa! We saw NO-ONE at all other than maybe once or twice another family were outside splashing in their pool, but how on earth would you ever make friends with anyone was all I thought? It was almost like a ghost town and was like we were the only family on the whole of the estate.
Considering the low wages in Florida I am astounded how you even manage to live out there, admittedly a lot of the food is way cheaper than here in UK and petrol too, but from reading on other forums about the cost of maintaining your home and all other everyday costs, it seems like its just as expensive to live out there than here but your wages are less than half what ours are, and we struggle here to keep our heads afloat!
I am 50 and my husband is 48, has his own business as an Electrician, I work as a home carer plus run a retail shop(part time) and online shop so we both lead very busy lives, and to have 2 weeks of *chilling* time is pure heaven and Florida offers so much fun and entertainment and the accomodation has always been glorious and you really get a false sense of what you are missing out on by living here in the UK as Florida seems to be *THE* place ~ sunshine, excitement, lovely big homes, swimming pool, nice cars, the list goes on and on........but without the rose tinted glasses on it is a very different matter isnt it?
At least here we get decent time off allocated as paid holiday & we can retire and draw a pension to allow us to enjoy a little time in old age which I suppose is a bonus, but the weather is sh** ~ hasnt stopped raining since we got home, and its not like in Florida where its still hot despite the rain, here its cold wet and miserable, and there is an awful lot going wrong in this country ~ we as born and bred British dont get a say in anything anymore, it seems like its all the foreigners who now live here that have the main say in everything, they come first in everything! And we have to take a back seat, and a lot of English are sick to death of being treated like second rate citizens, hence why so many are looking elsewhere to set down ground roots and start up a new life.
I suppose there are good and bad in any place you work and live ~ no where is perfect and I think had we been 20 years younger we would have taken the bull by the horns and sold up everything and tried to pursue our dream of a better life, but we are now at the age where it seems too much of a risk to do that, as would be soul destroying to have to start all over again if things didnt work out and we had to come back home ~ we would never ever be able to get back to where we are right now, so we are staying put in the UK (unless some miracle happens, like winning the lottery lol).
Good Luck anyway x
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