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

TwoThingsAndAThimble · 08/02/2023 10:35

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

@poetryandwine @maranella - I think it depends on what type of visa you have. I was there on a spousal visa but my husband wasn't American - he was only allowed there because he was sponsored by a UK employee who had an office in Texas. So I was pretty far down the chain in regards to employment rights if that makes any sense? If you work in a skilled profession, have an American spouse etc. things might be different. The reasoning was that by working 'for free' I'd be taking a position that an American worker should be paid for.

poetryandwine · 08/02/2023 11:28

That sucks, @TwoThingsAndAThimble . Really sorry

AliceOlive · 08/02/2023 13:38

mathanxiety · 05/02/2023 17:28

On the topic of identity - my DCs were always aware of a different perspective (held by me) on America as they grew up. They heard songs and stories and a different accent, they ate foods their friends weren't familiar with. They realized the world was a wide place and that different societies solve problems in different ways.

At the same time, I threw them wholeheartedly into those aspects of American childhood that were available to them - there was a lot to choose from that was very positive. T ball, softbalk, and baseball were so much fun, as were all the middle school sports and drama productions, and all the rituals involved in homecoming, prom, etc. They all applied for their Irish passports as teens, and have traveled under their own steam to visit their Irish family as teens and young adults. Doing study abroad programmes in France and the UK while they were at university meant some of them could pop over to see rellies in Dublin. DS is currently planning a graduation trip.

They developed a degree of cultural fluency in two cultures, yet within their American culture they are obviously rooted in a certain place and time, just as a British identity could involve the Yorkshire dales or SW1. I think all identity rooted in real relationships is local in the end. I don't see a spreading or thinning of the wider national or ethnic identity as a loss.

I suspect children of families from cultures other than the majority one around them often grow up with a stronger ties to that cultures than if they grew up in the midst of it.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 08/02/2023 18:50

TwoThingsAndAThimble · 08/02/2023 10:35

Show quote history

Yes - work visas like H1-Bs often don’t allow spouses to work or volunteer. It is very frustrating and definitely something people should think about when deciding whether to make the move.

It sounds like the OP would be immigrating as the spouse of a US citizen so she would be allowed to work.

Flip

1 2 ··· 12 13 14 15 16 17