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Thoughts on moving from England to Florida

404 replies

Decisions2023 · 03/02/2023 18:29

Other half wants us to move from England to his home town in Florida. He has family and friends there etc and he can keep the same job. We have a 9 months of baby and the move is making me nervous. The thought of making my child American is making me nervous as it would become his home and all he knows. I'm not sure if I'm thinking rational. We are not well off and the thought of making this big decision on my childs behalf makes me anxious/nervous.

Do you think I would be putting my child at an advantage or disadvantage?

Thanks in advance.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
Pallisers · 06/02/2023 15:17

I can buy an organic chicken for $8 and two dozen organic eggs for $9 in my local Wegmans which I regard as a mid-price supermarket. I could pay more in Whole Foods or a lot more an independent place like Formaggio Kitchen. I could pay a lot less in Market Basket. Eggs are in short supply at the moment - limited to 2 dozen at a time in Whole Foods.

mathanxiety · 06/02/2023 16:16

@QuizzlyBears

Your pricey chicken is a reflection of a particular issue in chicken farming, namely bird flu. Even with the bird flu, you can find far less expensive chicken all the same.

www.tonysfreshmarket.com/weekly-ad#!/?page=3

maranella · 06/02/2023 16:22

I can't believe this has never come up before, that only now is it a make or break thing. Did you really not discuss this stuff before you got married? Before you had a baby?

Yeah, this occurred to me too. DH and I talked through this stuff BEFORE we got married and had kids. It is SO important in an international marriage to agree on where you will live and raise your DC and if you can't agree then you don't do either of those things - you say 'This isn't going to work. Have a nice life [in Florida]'

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 06/02/2023 16:58

unsureatthispoint · 06/02/2023 13:28

I have RTFT and different prices were being discussed by TomAllenWife and Cantstandbullshitanymore

How can people have to pay $23 for meat and assume it's all fine and dandy?

Here’s a screenshot from this thread of me discussing food prices.

Thoughts on moving from England to Florida
mathanxiety · 06/02/2023 17:07

2 dozen eggs for $5 in that local supermarket whose ad I linked. They're perfectly fine to eat, bake with, etc.

I currently have a chunk of chuck roast defrosting for tonight's dinner (ragu over polenta). It cost me $6.61, priced at $2.99/lb.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 06/02/2023 17:21

My local supermarket is a Whole Foods. I can buy an organic chicken there for $10 and 12 really fancy eggs from pampered chickens for $6.49.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 06/02/2023 17:41

$3.49 for a dozen eggs in the Orlando Wholefoods.

www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/365-everyday-value-cagefree-large-white-grade-a-eggs-1-doz-24-ounce-b074h73hvj

unsureatthispoint · 06/02/2023 17:46

Well, those prices are steep but a lot more reasonable

allfurcoatnoknickers · 06/02/2023 18:00

@ZZTopGuitarSolo I was going for these fancy AF bad boys: www.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/pete-and-gerrys-organic-large-eggs-12-eggs-b00f0znk8e

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 06/02/2023 18:07

unsureatthispoint · 06/02/2023 17:46

Well, those prices are steep but a lot more reasonable

Things in the US generally seem expensive at the current exchange rate, but bear in mind our salaries also appear higher if you use the same rate.

DdraigGoch · 07/02/2023 01:03

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 06/02/2023 18:07

Things in the US generally seem expensive at the current exchange rate, but bear in mind our salaries also appear higher if you use the same rate.

Food has always been more expensive in the US than the UK (where farmers are really on the margins). Housing is cheaper though.

Nancydrawn · 07/02/2023 03:39

Oh heavens above, there are a million reasons not to move to Florida, but eggs are not one of them.

OP, not to derail, but: eggs are expensive because a massive avian flu that swept through the country and devastated large scale commercial egg farmers.

Currently, however, eggs are under $5/dozen at my slightly fancy supermarket, and under $10 for 30 at my local Target. Because I feel guilt easily, I buy them from my local farmers market, where they also happen to be $4/dozen.

That said, I am not in Florida, to which I say, thank god, because having a governor who's trying to win right-wings culture wars to out-Trump Trump isn't a recipe for happiness.

TwoThingsAndAThimble · 07/02/2023 16:48

I moved to the US from the UK for my husband's job. I loved the place (Austin, TX) but ultimately became very isolated and depressed and insisted on moving home before we started a family. A few things to consider:

Wages are better and standard of living generally higher.

School shootings happen way more often than you'd imagine. Active shooter drills are a thing in schools.

Healthcare is much better than UK but expensive (even with insurance).

Do you have any sort of support network out there? Raising kids without friends/family around is really not fun.

If things go wrong, child custody laws are different to the UK and vary by state - make sure you know what you're getting yourself into, just incase.

Will you be able to work? Do you want to work? I felt extremely isolated without any financial independence, even though hubby earned enough for both of us. It made me miserable not even being allowed to pick up a weekend shift or volunteer.

Can you drive? The US is not pedestrian friendly, depending where you are of course, but generally it's very difficult to get around without a car, even in urban areas.

I know it's English speaking but expect a culture shock when you move. I got so frustrated with feeling like a fish out of water and it really impacted my confidence. I was not prepared for it at all! We get exposed to a lot of American culture/language through TV etc, but not so much the other way around - the minute I spoke with a British accent, people treated me like an alien. And genuinely, they didn't understand what I was talking about the majority of the time. It made it very difficult to ever feel settled.

Ultimately, it was a cool place and a lot of fun for a few years, but I desperately wanted to come home in the end. No way would I want to have children out there. And I'l s ay this - I'd bloody hate to be poor in America!

poetryandwine · 07/02/2023 18:20

@TwoThingsAndAThimble Not being allowed to volunteer sounds especially miserable. Was that because of particular professional circumstances? I have a couple of doctor friends who kept a connection to the medical profession by doing volunteer work in hospitals whilst studying for their American medical licences. Similarly for other professions and vocations. But I know it can be really difficult, and I’m sorry

maranella · 07/02/2023 18:36

Yeah, I'm surprised you couldn't even volunteer @TwoThingsAndAThimble. I both did unpaid work and studied when I was in the US without a work permit - but I appreciate things may have changed since 2004.

TimandGinger · 07/02/2023 18:52

FirstFallopians · 03/02/2023 19:03

That’s unusual.

I was at school in Northern Ireland during the troubles, and my kids are at primary now. The only drills I’ve ever heard of are bog-standard fire drills, not for a bomb or shooter situation.

My kids it. At a primary school in Scotland. For a terrorism scenario. Just before covid. Not sure if they've done one since. They called it 'run, hide, tell'.

allswellthatends · 07/02/2023 19:17

I love the US, but as MrsReynolds says, at least pick a different state. Florida doesn't have state taxes so it lacks the things those taxes would fund -- libraries, parks, swimming pools, public transport, decent state schools.
As your OH is American the visa won't be an issue, indeed I presume your DC is already a citizen. But as pp have noted, if you divorce you and your child could get stuck there.

mathanxiety · 07/02/2023 20:05

smartasset.com/taxes/florida-property-tax-calculator

This is a Florida property tax calculator. ^

Property taxes pay for municipal services and amenities like libraries, public schools, police, parks and rec, and a wide variety of municipal services. There are plenty of excellent public schools in Florida, and plenty of municipal amenities. Here's what the city of Parkland offers www.cityofparkland.org/108/Parks-and-Recreation

Average class size in Florida public schools is 17.

www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/schools

www.plantation.org/government/departments/helen-b-hoffman-plantation-library/children-s-library
Plantation, Florida, Children's Library.

knitnerd90 · 07/02/2023 20:27

Average class sizes are terribly misleading, though, as they include special education which lowers the average. Some states have more detailed analyses. This has some breakdowns: nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1718_fltable06_t1s.asp

(I will say that my experience, backed by a lot of anecdotes from other places, is that American class sizes are smaller in primary, especially early primary grades, and comparable at secondary unless you're in a wealthy district. The states that consistently come top of surveys for class size are Utah, where there's multiple stories about high school classes of 45, and California.)

cheatingcrackers · 07/02/2023 20:34

I wasn’t going to contribute to this thread because it was already so long then this popped up in my New Yorker round

elp30 · 07/02/2023 21:20

allswellthatends · 07/02/2023 19:17

I love the US, but as MrsReynolds says, at least pick a different state. Florida doesn't have state taxes so it lacks the things those taxes would fund -- libraries, parks, swimming pools, public transport, decent state schools.
As your OH is American the visa won't be an issue, indeed I presume your DC is already a citizen. But as pp have noted, if you divorce you and your child could get stuck there.

States like Texas (where I am from) and Florida, where the OP's husband is from, don't have state income tax but those states have higher property tax.

Property tax pays for: schools, roads, police, fire protection and a myriad of other services.

monitor1 · 07/02/2023 21:23

It's a one-way trip. Move to the US with the child of an American citizen and you'll never be able to move back without his permission.

BackToWhereItAllBegan · 07/02/2023 21:26

I also live in a State with no State income tax. Our property taxes are relatively low but our sales tax is above average.
It's also an area popular with tourists so the City have added increased hotel tax (not resort tax) to all local hotels which is raising a fortune for local amenities.

Frankola · 07/02/2023 22:01

I wouldn't take my child to live anywhere that has the gun crime that the US has.

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