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Old 06-10-2009, 03:11 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 62,038,899 times
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Builders here are beyond struggling. I have a friend who is the in-house agent for one of the largest builders in central Florida, they used to have 17 in-house agents, they are down to two f/t and one who sits models on the weekends only.

The guy who built my house hasn't pulled a permit in over 2.5 years!
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Old 06-10-2009, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Devon UK
12 posts, read 17,530 times
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I am afraid I do not know what a permit is, but assume its permission to build?
Presumably, your advice would be for us to stay put for the time being, as we are lucky in that we both have well paid jobs. I guess we are having a mid life crisis! Is there anything encouraging you can think of to say about our plans?
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Old 06-10-2009, 03:57 PM
 
26,585 posts, read 62,038,899 times
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Yes, a building permit. I would certainly consider staying put for now. It seems foolhardy to me to leave good jobs to come here. Come on vacation and soak up the sun.

One possibility for you--get a job with a company that has international offices in Florida. Insurance or banking perhaps. Then look into a transfer to the States.
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Old 06-11-2009, 01:10 AM
 
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Everything is doable, times are tough and if you have a good job...hold on to it! when was the last time you visited Florida?

I have lived and worked both in the US and the UK, one thing I can tell you is that the US is expensive! no NHS and health insurance is expensive, much higher property tax compared to the council tax, utilities are also expensive. The best thing to do is really do an excel spreadsheet on your earnings/expenses both in the UK and US and compare everything!

The quality of life is better in the US especially if you like the outdoors and you will get more home for your money. Since you are a US Citizen, immigration is not a problem for you, so ask as many questions as you want on expenses and costs to better understand what you are getting into.

Just remember, everything is doable
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Old 06-11-2009, 01:12 AM
 
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
10,757 posts, read 35,435,377 times
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A little of the topic of what your asking. Living inland you do get higher temps. Check out the daily temps of both places over the summer and you will see that the closer to the ocean you are, the cooler you are.
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Old 06-11-2009, 12:41 PM
 
Location: Devon UK
12 posts, read 17,530 times
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Thank you. This is all good advice.
Salmanalk - in reply to your question, we have been on vacation to Florida for the last 3 years and just came back from a trip in May. We have really enjoyed our trips to Florida but realise that living and working there is not going to be the same. Nevertheless, since arriving back, I have started looking in detail at a potential life in the US and everything so far I have found out, corresponds exactly with everything you say. The difficulty with working out the costs, is that we have no idea of how much we could earn and whether our emloyer would provide health insurance and so even once we work out costs (which we have done roughly) we don't know where we would stand.
I do think it makes sense to stay put when the economy is so bad both here and in the US, but I have always been risk adverse, always played safe and I feel its time for me to take a risk and hope it works out.
I think the way forward is for us to make as detailed a list as possible of our costs of living in the US. Decide how much we will need to earn and then I will do my best to find a job and if I dont, then maybe wait until the economy picks up.
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Old 06-13-2009, 12:04 PM
 
196 posts, read 817,834 times
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keep posting updates!
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Old 06-15-2009, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Devon UK
12 posts, read 17,530 times
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hi salmanalk - latest development is that I sent my resume to the recruitment officer of the orlando paralegal association. he seemed quite positive and thought I was qualified to take a paralegal position and suggested he may even have an opening in his office. So, he is going to send me a list of questions and then we will speak on the phone to see how best to take things further.
I am however having second thoughts because of the cost of living. we thought we could move over and buy a nice house with no mortgage and the money we were saving on mortgage repayments would allow us to take less stressful jobs. sadly, it seems the money we would save on mortgage repayements would be spend instead on health cover, property tax and general living costs. my research has really opened my eyes to the cost of living in the US.
you have lived in both the UK and the US? May I ask which you prefer and why?
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