Coming to America!

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I hate heat tooo!
probably why I like the Pacific North West lol

 

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Sounds like a great and scary adventure. Good luck with it.

I was thinking about heading out there myself a few years' ago but the culture is so different from that of Britain, I wasn't sure I could handle it (no offence to US members - in general I think it's a great and beautiful country). But I do sympathise with you fancying a change from the UK - gawd, it seems crowded and expensive... not to mention the long dark nights at this time of year. No matter how I try, I still can't get used to it getting dark at 4pm every evening right now... I need sunshine!

I quite fancy Canada. Some friends emigrated to Vancouver a couple of years ago and they love it - insanely happy. Skiing, hiking, sailing - woah. Too much!

That said, some others recently left for NZ. They're insanely happy too, and it's summer there right now. Aaargh! I'd better shut up before I drive myself mad with wanderlust...

Phoenix I'm envious - have a great time.

 

It's dark by 5 p.m. where I live, zapski (southwestern Idaho). My daughter goes to school in Tacoma, Washington (near Seattle) and it gets dark even earlier. You'll want to live someplace in the southern part of the country to avoid it getting dark *too* early in the winter. That would rule out Canada by definition.

I suppose we all look at an exciting change of scenary every once in awhile. When I interviewed for a job at Microsoft in Redmond some months back, I was daydreaming of what it would be like to live there and get a fresh start. I didn't get the job and who knows...maybe it's for the best. No offense taken about your not being sure the US would be the place for you. I'm sure the culture is *quite* different and the US is such a big country, the "culture" is different just depending on what part of the US you live in (for instance, I can't imagine what it must be like to live in Tennessee where BosonMichael lives).

 

WI is a very pretty state green with gentle rolling hills yet lots of field too. And if you would like to see something that would amaze you go spot lighting one night when it gets chilly. You will see huge heards of deer. The biggest herd I ever saw, I swear had a 100 in them. It was really cool. Great fishing there and nice rivers to float in a inner tube down. It does get cold there with lots of snow but that is why god invented snow mobiles and hot choclate for!

 

Am impressed and amazed at God's architectural handy work. Well all I can say is God bless America and the rest of the world too

 

Hey tripwire45,

Yes, I see what you mean, Washington state is very far north in relation to the rest of the US (granted - not as far north as Alaska - but then not much is!). I've just Wiki'd Idaho so I know roughly you are - looks like some amazing country out there! Very beautiful.

Longer nights never used to bother me too much, but now I'm on the lower slopes of middle age, daylight seems to have acquired a kind of nutritious quality!

Of course, you're right - the US is massive comparitively - thousands and thousands of miles of luxurious space to roam in. And I guess enough space to develop a unique local identity within the wider US culture. So I guess it makes perfect sense that there are many, many facets to US culture.

I confess I haven't been over there, although I do love the idea of a coast to coast road trip some time. What route would you recommend?

 

Some years ago I took 3 road trips across the USA (not all at once, of course).

They were Dallas to LA, St Louis to SF and Minneapolis to Seatle.

Each of them was memorable in its own way. So I'd be hard put to make a favourite!

Harry.

 

Some mates and I are planning an orbital road trip from SF to Seattle via the Pacific coast, then back via Utah and Las Vegas..
looking at a 3+ week trip, looking to be an awesome little trip


of course we had planned this before i decided to move there.. holiday is a little shorter in the US than here hehe

 

Idaho does have some beautiful country (some is pretty dog ugly such as the high desert area just east and west of Boise).

I've never taken a coast-to-coast drive and the days of "Route 66" (The original two-lane highway from Chicago to Los Angeles immortalized in the TV show of the same name during the early 1960s) are long gone. That said, I have driven from the Los Angeles area to Omaha, Nebraska as outlined on this map (scroll down):

http://www.mapquest.com/directions/...&2pl=&2v=&2n=&2pn=&2a=&2c=omaha&2s=ne&2z=&r=f

You have to cross some ugly desert between central California through Nevada (some of it can be beautiful through parts of Utah) but then you enter the mountains and eventually the Rocky Mountain range in Colorado which is just fantastic. I find that the flatlands of the midwest also have their own beauty, but then I was born in Nebraska.

My family (nuclear plus my parents) did take a trip from Omaha to North Carolina but didn't quite make it to the Atlantic. The route wasn't exactly how you see it in the following map since we went down to the area of Branson, Missouri to drop the kids off at some massive Christian sports camp before moving on. We did go through Memphis and Nashville, TN before going into North Carolina.

http://www.mapquest.com/directions/...=&2v=&2n=&2pn=&2a=&2c=charlotte&2s=nc&2z=&r=f

My father loved to travel so as a kid, we were always driving someplace. The thing about the US is that you can experience a fantastic variety of scenary, environments, and cultures and never one have to use your passport. To do the same thing if you lived in the UK, you'd have to travel through several countries (which isn't bad actually, and I've sometimes envied the lot of you having Europe so close at hand).

If you ever get a chance to visit the US, I highly recommend it. There really is a lot to see.

EDIT: One trip I'd highly recommend is driving the Coast Highway between San Francisco and San Diego. I did that once quite a number of years ago and it really is beautiful.

 

I've driven all over...

Seattle to Nashville
Monterey (CA) to San Angelo (TX)
Nashville to/from Chicago
Nashville to/from Detroit
Nashville to Boston (one way)
Nashville to Beckley (WV)
Nashville to/from Hatteras (NC @ Atlantic Ocean)
Nashville to/from Myrtle Beach (SC @ Atlantic Ocean)
Nashville to/from Savannah (GA @ Atlantic Ocean)
Nsahville to/from Gulf Shores/Destin (AL/FL @ Gulf of Mexico)
Nashville to/from Tampa
Nashville to/from Dallas
Nashville to/from Kansas City

...and MANY places in between on these "legs". Each trip's different.

 

Wow, that's cool... I guess the grass is always greener. I've wanted to move to London since I was 16, and I've never even been there. I just think that the culture and history in the UK as a whole is amazing.

Anyway, as far as Austin goes, that place is great. My wife and I are actually looking to move from Michigan out that way to just outside of Austin. The IT market out there is supposedly really hot right now, and the median age is like 26-32, so that would work for us.

Anyway you look at it, good luck on your move. I'm sure it's a huge decision, but I'm sure it'll be fun for you!

 

Hey guys, first bit of good news!

The I-130 Petition was approved on the 17th of January!, 2.5 months after submitting it
I was so worried we would get a RFE (Request for Evidence) but so far so good!

This means I should be getting a package from the Embassy soon with the Visa application itself, and as soon as I have all the supporting documentation I can send it back and tell them I am ready for an interview, it should then take a month to get the interview, during which time I have a medical test too

Could be as little as 2 months now, if I'm lucky even less!

More to come

 

That's excellent news Ryan! I hope (and am sure) things will work out for you.

Simon

 

You're as good as in mate.

 

Oh no! There goes the neighborhood!

Just kidding...good news.

 

woohoo wtg ryan! GL with the rest.

 

Got a bit itchy and called the £1.20 a minute hotline on monday to see what was going on with my case, after all I posted my package back on February the 21st
They finally confirmed that my DS-230 (visa application) had been recieved and was being processed, but that my DS-2001 (ready for interview) was not on the system, the guy informed me that was normal and may not always show up until after the DS-230 is processed, he gave me the weekly code to email the consulate directly and get some answers (there servers bounce any email without a special code in the subject line, changes weekly, how clever

So I emailed the embassy on Monday afternoon and got a nice reply on Tuesday (despite the automated response telling me it could take 4 - 5 days

The response was 'All forms relating to your case have been processed, we have scheduled you for an interview on May 15th at 9am' written confirmation will follow blah blah

Greeeeat! now the expensive bit kicks in
I have to have a medical exam, over 300 quid
vaccines, get them done on NHS before the medical exam or they are like 70 quid a pop
Psyc test, god knows how much
the Visa itself if approved (a few hundred)
and then everything involved with moving half way around the world! ahh well at least were getting closer to an answer

It's put me in a bit of a pickle as I have been reluctant to take on a new full time job since I started the process, didn't feel it would be right knowing I wouldn't actually be sticking it out, my last day at my current job is Friday (finally blew a fuse a few weeks back, saw the light and told them to bugger off) so I may be lucky enough to have a few weeks off to actually sort all this out! fingers crossed

 

Having lived in and also explored a vast majority of Canada, I hope I may be qualify to pitch in a suggestion for location!

I would personally recommend Toronto as I feel it offers significantly better opportunities for IT workers than Vancouver does (or at least that’s how it appeared to be to me). That said, Calgary is an industry hotspot too so don’t rule that one out, plus the pay is better there too compared to other parts of Canada. Plus you get a bit of a tax break in Calgary too!

For pure aesthetics and a more laid back lifestyle, it’s got to be Vancouver all the way. Toronto and Calgary will probably be a bit too similar to London for you I think (especially Toronto).

Good luck with everything though, wherever you end up! Oh and you won’t be too far from the Caribbean if you need a vacation in the future! (And while your at it, if you visit Cayman you can smuggle me a bunch of electronics and clothes in haha!).

 

By the time you get through all the red tape, I'll have forgotten what you look like when you finally make it over here. Fortunately, you've posted your photo as your av, so I have frequent reminders.

Good luck on the ordeal to come.