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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Living in America 2011

781 replies

MmeBucket · 04/03/2011 02:35

We were a few messages away from being closed on the other one. Hope everyone finds me here.

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nursenic · 09/12/2011 06:14

Sounds fabulous. A marriage of several types of habitat!

After all these years i still suffer 'flashbacks' if i drive down a certain type of dusty, scrubby, kerb less road or see scrubby mountains.

Spent a month mooning around the mountains of Sardinia this last Spring but despite my love of Italy, my profession is communication dependent to a huge degree so I need to be fluent.

kickassangel · 09/12/2011 11:59

Have you thought about Utah? Google Zion or Bryce national parks. Colorado would be another possibility

Want2bSupermum · 09/12/2011 13:21

Washington State has lots of places to climb and is nice and green. Might also want to consider Canada. British Columbia is beautiful and they recognised my mothers nursing qualifications when she moved back.

MmeBucket · 09/12/2011 21:05

I live in the leafy parts of Oregon and it is lovely. That's one of the things I love about the state, you have mountains, valleys, beach, desert, high desert all rolled into one. I actually love all your choices except anything around Appalachia of the southern regions. No experience on psyc nursing, though.

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nicobean · 10/12/2011 11:04

Hi nursenic (love the name,btw!). No experience of nursing, but I'm a physio and worked in a big US hospital for a few years. Am presently struggling with the state boards again trying to get my license as we're moving back next year.

The good things: nurses get treated much better in the US system than NHS, especially the more qualified you are. Quite rightly so!! They need you and want to keep you. Nurses Week at our hospital was amazing; massages, free lunches and breakfasts...very nice.

BUT the states have individual requirements when it comes to licensing healthcare professionals. I have a PT licence for Virginia but Maryland considers my basic education deficient in areas like chemistry and maths, so choose carefully. I've got to do a whole lot of uni courses to get a Md license, and it may not be practical Xmas Sad

Hope it's easier for you.

nursenic · 11/12/2011 20:37

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far. You have certainly given me much to think about and research! Canada is also an option but my problem is there are SO many parts of the USA that i am drawn to. It's going to be terrible trying to choose!

I'm glad to hear we'll be treated well. I love my profession and I think the concept of the NHS is truly wonderful-free healthcare from before the cradle to grave. It's just that there are so many problems involved in the supply of such a service now. I get so little time to do what i went into psychiatry to do- be with people and help.

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 13/12/2011 10:54

Hi everyone, just catching up with sleeping DD in bed, ugh lush!

All vaccination threads are getting me thinking though, we're still looking at moving in Feb when DD will be 3months, but I suppose my GP or health visitor will know what she needs to be up to date on? DS is 3 and we'll want to source childcare for him quite quickly too though.

Visa is taking soooooooo long. Apparently it is part of the 2010 allocation, even though we've not got it yet. DH called the embassy to arrange the interview and was told they can't do it until we know DD's passport number. Just a pita because if we'd known that I would have paid for a fast track service, but we sent it off last week normal way, who knows how long it will take?! And I don't feel like we can plan anything until we get the visa....

kickassangel · 13/12/2011 12:02

You can book the embassy appt online and it can be for the next day so don't worry. They give you a time, but it's not a def time. You turn up then, get a number and wait til your number is called. Then you have to wait again and this can take all day. It's like Argos mixed with waiting for a delayed flight with none of the good bits. Also, you really aren't allowed any electronics not even a watch, and you need to take your own food. You have to go through security checks to get in.

It's a real fun day out in London - not.

blackcurrants · 13/12/2011 12:36

" It's like Argos mixed with waiting for a delayed flight with none of the good bits." Lol that is SO true!

I was there to renew my visa in January, and actually, I was allowed to take my watch in (maybe cos it's got hands not digital?). No phone or ipod or anything, though. I took a really good book (oldschool!) and read most of it. They have vending machines for food, but not much else, I had a bacon sarnie before I went in at 8am and then ate a LOT of kitkats, tbh Blush.
You go for a preliminary "Check the paperwork is in order" interview at one window, then when that person is satisfied you're not missing anything, they pass it over to the next people, the ones who will actually grant or deny the visa. And you go and sit down . I found that the first interview came up pretty fast after I got there, and the second one took FOREVER to come around. That said, everyone was very pleasant and efficient, it's just boring. Take a good thriller!
Mainly when I was there, I was glad I didn't have DS with me. I DID have to express milk in (one of the TWO) ladies' bogs, though. While a queue of cross women knocked on the door. Fun times!

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 13/12/2011 20:24

thanks for the tips!! as far as we know only DH has to have an interview and he's addicted to games and his kindle so good to know about no electronics!

MmeBucket · 13/12/2011 21:13

Hi everyone. Sorry that everyone seems to be in a holding pattern right now when it comes to moving stuff. We're in a bit of one here too (although not nearly as life-absorbing) with DD. She was tested in October for TAG, and she qualified. Then they've been coming and doing other testing to see exactly where she places in certain subjects. She's coming out as a 2nd grader in pretty much everything except for handwriting. They still haven't come up with a recommendation for her, and since the holiday break comes on Friday, I'm assuming nothing will be done by then, anyway. It seems like everyone says something different as to what will be done with her, I'm very frustrated with the fact it has been 2 months and we are no closer to doing anything.

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kickassangel · 13/12/2011 22:52

Is TAG Talented & Gifted?

Still, better to do it slowly than rush & get it wrong.

I am hooked on this Christmas light display

www.flixxy.com/best-christmas-lights-display.htm

and am getting ideas for our house next year. dh think he's generous in 'letting' me have a few lights out front for December - wait til I reveal my plans!

MmeBucket · 14/12/2011 20:20

The thing is, there's not much they can do with her. She can't go to the few times a year that they hold a TAG meeting at school during class, because they are in the afternoon, and she's only there until 10:30. The extra curricular things they have are designed for 3rd-6th grade. I figured the only reason they were testing her is to be able to move her ahead a grade, which she should be fine doing, since she goes to her brother's 2nd grade for reading and math. Instead they keep testing her and testing her for purposes unknown. She had someone else come and test her today, and this time we didn't even know about it. We agreed to this, because we thought it could help, and instead, I feel she's the district's personal lab rat. (They've never tested children earlier than 3rd grade before, and I get the feeling they're trying to work out the bugs for her.)

That is one kickass light display going on. In this neck of the woods, people get the whole block to do that, and then they charge admission.

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MmeBucket · 14/12/2011 20:21

Work out the bugs with her, not for her.

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wentshopping · 14/12/2011 23:39

Hi MmeB, my DD1 and DD2 were tested and qualified for our school district's GT program (so tempted to put '&' in that), and really they didn't get much extra stuff until 3rd grade, when they would spend a day per week at another campus just for GT kids. They loved it! As they have moved on through middle and now High School, being identified as GT has really helped in terms of the classes they are put in - they are both "orchestra nerds" (their own description) and they hang out with like minded, interesting kids - ie not teenagers that you are afraid of! Looking back, I don't mind about the lack of input in 1st and 2nd grade, as it was only later that they really "got" the whole working independently and going deeper into subjects. Seems a shame if your dd keeps on being tested, though. I do know a girl here who was moved ahead a grade, and now in middle school she is the tiniest thing in her grade - would your dd mind always being the shortest if she was put a year ahead? (Or maybe shés tall anyway) Anyway, just thoughts from a different angle. (and texas!)

MmeBucket · 15/12/2011 04:33

What a great post to make me think ahead and realize the bigger picture instead of the immediate one, wentshopping.

In a very ironic twist, I actually do have experience with both DC's being the youngest and shortest in preschool. I have 2 late August borns, and we held both of them back to avoid the very situation I want to put her in now. She has just grown exponentially in what she's learned, and since she was put in the 2nd grade class, she has worked her way to the upper middle and upper levels of reading and math in that grade level. When she's in her class, she doesn't have to do anything the other children do. She either does worksheets or helps the other kids in there, or she's allowed to go to the library, which I don't think helps, because she is going to be in for a shock when she actually has to sit down and do the work along with everyone else. And it is also giving her the definite idea that she is a "big kid" compared to all the "little kids" in there. I do believe I'm so antsy because I'm looking to the school to right the wrong I believe we did to keep her back.

I got excited to see on my caller ID that the TAG people were calling. However, I was told that they are coming back with another test for her on Friday, as she had a different person come to test her this time, and the test they brought was too easy. I will absolutely keep your post in mind and bite my lip and realize that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

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wentshopping · 15/12/2011 06:44

A couple more things your post made me think of - in 7th grade (I know, that seems so far ahead!), because they were identified as GT, they were "invited" through the Duke University scheme to take the SAT/ACT test that 12 graders take. This was interesting, as Duke extrapolate the results to show strengths and weaknesses, to help you choose subjects for high school. They also invite you on special study courses, designed for GT kids.
DD1 is now in 10th grade and taking courses which will give her college credits already. Here they also accelerate math for GT students, so by the end of high school they have adequate math for demanding university courses - in math, science, medicine etc. This has been the biggest stress for dd1 and dd2, as they are working on math that is designed for kids 2 or 3 years older, so like taking A level math when you are 14.
It's interesting that you say she doesn't have to do what the others are doing - I have experience of this from the opposite extreme - dd3 doesn't have to either because she is pulled out of class to go to resource - she has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is non-verbal, so she has had to learn to read without phonics (can't make her own sounds) and to do math without manipulatives (can't add and subtract blocks etc). So I am actually wondering how much they have to do in class to get where they need to be!
Does your school run any programmes which might interest your dd and "stretch her" ? I am thinking of Odyssey of the Mind which all 3 of mine have done - at the time it seemed to be populated by GT kids. (It's a creativity competition, but bizarrely has the most rules and structure that I have ever come across).

wentshopping · 15/12/2011 06:56

Love the light display Kick; our subdivision is pretty crazy - every year I mean to take pictures - there's a house down the street where they put up a couple of shop dummies - one on the roof unravelling a string of lights, and a bikini-clad lady standing next to a campfire on the front lawn. Today when I drove past, the campfire was there but bikini girl was gone Xmas Shock - I wonder if she will will reappear in someone else's display.

kickassangel · 15/12/2011 12:12

My aunt once woke up to find her entire display had been taken - they had used bolt clippers to remove it!

I'm quite shocked about your dd not doing the same work as others. My dd was years ahead in reading and there was no hint of any differentiation and I asked about programs for brighter kids. Maybe MI doesn't have a TAG program?
Dd is the youngest in her year, and socially it can be a little hard for her. I'm also very aware that she will be younger than her peers when it comes to things like driving etc when she's older.

MmeBucket · 15/12/2011 16:31

Kickass, when DS was in K, he actually tested at a higher reading level than DD, and all he ever did was sit under a table and read books to himself. Un/fortunately (depending on how you look at it) DH was talking to one of his employees last year about how little we felt was done for DS that year, and it turned out that the employee was the teacher's best friend. Blush So she has definitely had a different mindset with DD and tried a million times harder. Like she said, when DD goes to 2nd grade for math she's adding or subtracting 3 digit numbers. When they do math in K, it is something like put 5 paperclips on this piece of paper that has the outline of 5 paperclips already on it.

Wentshopping, they are a severely underfunded district that have cut 25 days off the school year over the past 3 years. They do have OM or Lego Robotics options, but most of the program runs with volunteers, so they don't do extra stuff more than once or twice a year.

Kickass, the main reason we kept both of them back was for social reasons, and we were thinking ahead to driving, going to college early, etc. DD only has had 1 friend in the past 3 years, and even then, she really would only play with him for a few minutes and then go off by herself. I was concerned about it, the preschool teacher was concerned about it, and we talked to the K teacher about it before school started. The K teacher can't understand why I was concerned. Since school has started, DD has girls from 2nd grade saving seats on the bus for her, inviting her to their parties and calling her. She has broke into the 1st grade crowd because she got recruited to play on a competitive soccer team (WTF? at this age) for their level. DH and I call her the Pied Piper of Kindergarten, because wherever she goes, she has a crowd of kids following her all the way. We are speechless at her academic transformation in just the last few months, but are even more in wonder at how she managed to completely transform her personality in such a short time.

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kickassangel · 16/12/2011 01:08

I was thinking of dd as being 'normal bright' rather than 'super bright' so didn't expect much except perhaps a better reading group, but there was nothing unless the class teacher bothered to go that extra mile.

As a teacher, though, I'd say that if a child is intelligent, it really takes some one/thing standing in their way to stop them from learning. Even the ones who try to be 'cool kids' just get drawn in the moment that their brain is engaged. They also go through growth spurts & plateaus, just as they do physically, so they constantly 'leapfrog' each other. It is quite rare (but obviously happens) that a child really comes across as a 'genius' type.

I teach in a school for bright kids (there's an entrance test) and would say that they all come across as bright & articulate, but even there only 5% strike me as 'super bright' - the kind that will make me really have to up my game to challenge them (8th Grade).

The tragedy is, that I think there are huge numbers of kids who under-perform in state schools, because they are reasonably bright but class sizes, disruptions, parental attitude, resources etc work against them. Of course, many of them face these obstacles, but I'd love to see better education for everyone. The truth is, that state education, whilst being 'quite good', is actually very good value for money, rather than being top of the range. Even a 'good' state school is almost always like that because of the parents, not the school/education authority.

It's a bit like shopping for food. Some people can't afford to access anything much except Iceland/Happy Shopper (not so good comp) & have a limited range. Other people can pick & choose from Tesco (a good comp, prob a majority), with some extra bits but still quite basic. Quite a lot, but not all, find Waitrose quality (minor private schools), and a very limited number get a hamper delivered by Harrods (Eton).

I think that there are a lot of people shopping at Tesco who would benefit from a Waitrose experience.

MmeBucket · 16/12/2011 01:35

Since being on this site, I have always wanted to shop at Waitrose. :)

I was really impressed with something I read that Jay-Z said. He said something to the effect of he would be more than happy to be taxed at a higher rate as long as the money went to something important, like education. I don't understand why we throw billions upon billions of dollars to fund wars in countries we don't need to be in when our schools are so woefully underfunded. How are we going to stay a "superpower" when we're not investing in the future generations?

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Dolanette · 16/12/2011 02:13

Hi, I'm living in Mass, from Ireland. great to see this thread!!

My blog - post re the big move!!
bit.ly/t8K05F

MmeBucket · 16/12/2011 23:41

Hi there, and welcome, Dolanette. I read your blog post, and then did a quick sneak peek of your other posts, and what adorable DCs.

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VintageNancy · 20/12/2011 02:12

Thought I'd pop by and introduce myself - I've just moved to San Jose in California from the UK. Expecting first baby in April too!

Will do a bit of reading back now and see what you've been talking about :)

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