We are seriously considering relocating to the US (I have a US passport, but have never lived there). We have just spent an amazing month there, but I'm very aware that a month's holiday is NOT the same as daily life. We love the heat (we were in Texas, although during their rainy period, so it was cooler than normal), and I'm craving a slightly more relaxed lifestyle (we live in London). BUT, I know traffic is terrible in lots of parts of the US (not even considering the quality of the driving, or lack there of). So, I'm trying really hard to get a realistic idea of the pros and cons, and whether it would be a better lifestyle. So, please, tell me what you love about life in America, and what you hate, and whether or not you enjoy your lifestyle. I should perhaps say that we wouldn't have a massive income, I think it might be something like $130000 before tax (which does sound huge, but is obviously not much compared to banking/tech incomes).
We could potentially move anywhere (dependent on me getting an Assistant Professorship in a good University department), and so I'm also really interested to know what life would be like in different parts of the US. The parts I know best are California, which I understand is quite expensive, and Texas, which we actually quite like. I don't know anything in the middle, or the east coast very well at all. I do know that I like the diversity and tolerance of London - but possibly it isn't wise to go to the US to expect that.
Finally (for now), how easy/hard is it to make friends? I realise that is going to be very dependent on the individual, but we wouldn't be part of any church communities etc. and I'm worried that that might be a barrier (particularly if we ended up in Texas).
Any thoughts, experiences, suggestions, advice would be very appreciated!
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Life in America with primary age children
81 replies
WhattodoSue · 07/09/2016 10:41
OP posts:
DixieWishbone ·
07/09/2016 15:25
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