Thoughts on moving from England to Florida

[Decisions2023]

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.

Would your husband's job have health insurance that would cover you all? And would it be seriously good health insurance? Because if, say, God forbid one of you got cancer, the drugs you get depend on the tier of insurance you are on.

Bristol?
All schools do them.

I would prefer the UK if you are not financially comfortable. Which part of Florida?

@RoseslnTheHospital all Uk schools do! They don't tell the kids exactly what it is for as it's nit just for shooters. But dangerous persons in general. They practise getting under the tables/hiding!

I didn't know my kids did these drills until a thread the other day and I asked them. They practice turning the lights off, closing the blinds, locking the doors and staying silent.

Yep annual drill here in leafy south Manchester suburb. Under the tables etc

Also, are you actually married? You haven't specified. It will be really hard for you in terms of visas if you are not married.....

I recently moved back to the UK after 8 years in the US. Florida is horrendous place to be politically. DeSantis is a lunatic and it’s very anti-women, anti-LGBTQ+ and racist.

When did this start happening in UK schools? I taught at a school in the Greater London area during the time of the 7/7 attacks and we had armed police at the local train station, but we never did any kind of lock down drills. My childrens school don't do them either now.

We are south coast. My kids know one long bell is fire bell and 5 short bells is lockdown and what to do. Its standard in the UK now.

@Busybody2022 someone should tell my kids primary school because my DS has never done one.

I would (and do) live in America as a British person.

I wouldn't live in Florida if I could possibly avoid it.

The politics are appalling. Climate change is making bad weather worse. It expanded way too fast in the 80s and 90s and a lot of the housing stock is poorly zoned (in my opinion). The laws are getting progressively worse for things like guns and education. It is full of people who love to talk about crypto and/or Disney. (That last point is petty not real.)

Oh, and when it gets cold, the iguanas fall out of trees.

(Not joking.)

@Nancydrawn Adding falling Iguanas to my list of reasons to avoid Florida.

I'd move back, we're Americans, but not Florida. Way too hot and humid for us. We like hot and low humidity.
Baby is an automatic US citizen you need to register hi at the Embassy and get his passport. How long are Green cards taking for wife of a citizen. Doesn't he need proof of a minimum income and if he doesn't he needs family to sign up to sponsor you to if I remember right.

@RoseslnTheHospital I'm not sure as DD is only in y1 and the school hadn't told us about it - but after reading a recent post on here I asked DD and she said yea they had practised Turing lights off , closing windows and getting under tables

Scary really to not even know as a parent they do this

Is your child a boy or a girl? Are you planning to have any more? I would worry about raising a girl in a country where abortion rights are marching backwards, especially in a conservative state.

i love Florida was there just before Xmas. It’s ridiculously expensive there atm cost of living biting back hard. The divides in society over there are huge people really struggling financially (I know that’s happening here but over there it was apparent just in everyday interactions).
that said if your finances, job etc in place then yes I would be tempted to give it a try.

I watched a fascinating documentary about sink holes in Florida. Houses were built on land that should have been written off as dangerous. Most people had to abandon their homes. Very sad.
I used to live near Wellington,and to be fair, it was lovely and friendly.

No way would I live in the US with a child, would be anxious about them going to school.

I'd worry about a family member getting a long term or complicated medical condition. Even diabetes could bankrupt you.

I live in the US and love it but I would not move to Florida (don't even want to visit there and only do so because I have a close relative there). The heat, the hurricanes, the politics.

People saying their kids haven't done drills, are you sure? Because I said the same thing and then asked them and it turns out they do. They don't tell them what it's for in primary.

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