Living in America 2012--Because It Is No Longer 2011

[MmeBucket]

This is what happens when I start threads--they get stupid titles. Someone else needs to start the next one. Hopefully we can get this one filled by 2013.

Link to old thread for reference

Not much happening here. The kids have been off school for 25 days. I am soooo looking forward to them starting school tomorrow. Except it is my day to help, so instead of getting a break from my two, I'll have 22 of them to deal with.

Ooo, Flip, Bend is small and I know lots of expats. Might I know them?

tad she's actually American, originally from LA (the state). She moved there a couple of years ago with her DH and 2 DC from CO. She loves it!

Your friends need to stay there long enough for you to come and visit. I want another MN meetup. (I've met 3 MNers and they've all been absolutely lovely and my family has had a great time meeting them)

DS got to start presenting his postcards to the class today. He was all excited to tell me when he got home.

Has everyone got themselves sorted for the holidays yet? DD finishes in a 2 weeks. I'll have the last 8 weeks of pregnancy in the super heat of vegas trying to occupy DD. :( Sigh.....

Did anyone see the eclipse on Sunday? DD and DH spent the day making hug3 pinhole camera tubes to view the sun. it was pretty cool.

We finish for summer on June 6th, not much longer left. That is also graduation day for my high school senior.

We were at the county fair on Sunday and did the hands together over a white tent and looked at the eclipse. It was pretty obvious it was happening as you could see it getting more and more dull even though the sun was shining, ours wasn't a full eclipse, it was 95% my friend got some good pictures of it shining though the tree onto her truck.

Over 3 months of having them at home. Don't remind me.

DH has a telescope with a solar filter on it, so we were quite set to watch the eclipse. It wasn't that great because it was very cloudy, but we got some breaks during the eclipse, which was more than we had all day, otherwise.

DD had a school zoo field trip today, and it was super rainy and much colder than it has been for a week or so. It wasn't my best time there.

Ours break up next Thursday lunchtime... I always dread those 11 weeks of keeping them entertained, but there's a month in the UK to look forward to.
I didn't see the eclipse.
It was 96 this afternoon here (36 in oC). I'm not a hot weather person :)

I am so not a hot weather person either wentshopping and I live in Vegas! It was 110 today - phew - and the aircon in my car died $800 to fix it :(

I WISH I could go back to England again this yr. Last yr we were ont he plane back on the last day of term soon as school was out. Went back home and DD went back to her old School for summer term in England (her choice) it was BLISS!

This yr am stuck in Vegas waiting for baby to make an appearance - he is due on 17th July - height of the hot season :(

Oh my sharklet that is hot! I'm in Texas and we have a very humid heat - is it dry in Vegas?
On the bright side, think of all those Birthday pool parties in the future :)

Hello everyone, if it's any consolation it's warming up in the UK too. It might actually make 25 today. Finally!

I was wondering if anyone could give me some electrical advice? We're moving from UK to DC in July, and I'm starting to wonder what to ship and what to store. Our TV and computer are crap, so we;re leaving those behind. I'd really like things like my sewing machine and magimix, but was wondering if they'd need converters or anything to work in the US? I figured it probably wasn't worth it for things like lamps as it's not hard to buy a new lamp, but is it worth it for 'higher value' items? Thanks!

We have a modified school year so only 6 weeks off for us. Back to school end of July in all the heat

Flip Property taxes are high. $20-25K a year is not uncommon and I know people who pay more than $50K a year in other towns in NJ and NY. We live in a small house so only pay taxes of $10K which is low for this area. Millburn has lower property taxes because of Short Hills Mall generating revenues for the town. There is a strong correlation in North Jersey between good school systems and high property taxes so don't let the high taxes put you off. The taxes are cheaper than school fees.

Since I wrote my initial post there have been two gun crimes in town, both of which were spill overs from Newark (no one died but it has shaken everyones confidence). Newark cut their police force last year and the crime rate increased in South Orange. People we know are starting to talk and a couple of friends said are looking to leave. If you are looking to move to SOMA PM me as there are parts of town that are not nice. Real estate agents are not able to give you this information.

whimsicalname there are converters you can get - you need right ampage for right item, but some stuff will work. I got one on amazon that will even run my airbrush compressor which I was very worried about.

Are you plannig on staying or is it short term? We are military so move every few years, we have bought dual voltage TV, DVD etc so as to make moving easier.

wentshopping yes it is a dry heat here. super dry. not fun on the nose!

hello everyone - been lurking in the dark hours of the night feeding DD (exhausted emoticon)

settling in better now we ave our own place and the Californian weather has finally picked up!

WIll catch up properly soon

Thanks sharklet. We have a 3 year diplomatic posting, and will then probably be back in the UK (although who knows what will happen to the civil service in that time), but dual voltage is worth thinking about for things we buy in the US.

Want2be interesting way of putting it about the property taxes & private school fees. DH also says that income and sales taxes are lower, so things balance out. It just still seems so to me and makes me wonder about social diversity etc. Your advice makes Millburn sound really good but we may still rent in South Orange/Maplewood initially. I'll PM you for more detailed info. And thanks for this - I can't tell you how useful it is to have advice from a MNetter [love MN emoticon]

So there's a total heatwave here at the moment. We're all basking in it after weeks of rain!

Interesting about US school holidays as well. They're more similar to Irish ones in length - I always think English school holidays seem so short! As a parent I can see how holidays are a pain but as a kid I loved having a long summer to fill!

Flip I still think SOMA is a great place to live and I would def rent here rather than Millburn. Do PM me as I would hate to see you end up in not such a great area. Don't worry so much about social diversity. While Millburn is expensive it is still diverse with a lots of Indian, Asian (Chinese I think) and European families. SOMA is more diverse in the American sense of having more of an African American population. Don't be fooled though as there is a divide which they try to address.

I forgot to say that as a new mother you should also consider joining Mothers and More. It is a great group of mothers in the area and the classified section is worth the membership fee alone. They also have an annual meeting where they go through all the daycare and preschool choices. The summary of experiences of parents using the various daycare and preschool places are available to members.

whimsicalname definately bring 220 stuff from home then, and use converters. There are some great light weight ones out there. Sony make some great dual voltage TVs and dvd players. Ours is an internet ready one so we can run netflix through it and get quite a bit more Enhglish TV content than otherwise (BBC America basically is the Jeremy Clarkson and Gordon Ramsay show 24/7) and it lets us stream our PC through the TV as well through a separate link - so I can watch channel 4 news in full as if I was at home but streaming from C4 website.

I'm guessing you will be getting the "embassy pack" of furniture etc to survive on (unless you are terribly grand) which is really not all that great. I have several friends who have come out here on Diplomoatic and Armed Forces postings have put a lot of stuff in storage then repented at thier leisure of whi did they not bring this that and the other. There are quite a few things, they simply do not have here that freinds miss. Don't do what my freinds did and just bring your clothes!!

Thanks Sharklet. We do indeed get the 'embassy pack'. I'm happy to camp out on that and hope to enjoy the experience of being able to pick up a few nicer pieces if I see anything. Most of our UK furniture is pretty crap to be honest. Except our dining room table, and we can't get that out of the house!

I didn't realise there was a BBC America. It sounds like Dave!

BBC America is a lot like DAVE!!! But there are loads of other ways of getting British Content, as well as obviously the US shows you are used to. Netflix and Hulu are both worth considering.

We are here on a 2 /3 yr posting too and are making the best of things. Hubby is with US Armed Forces though so we have all out stuff with us. I am forever lending various bit of English stuff to freinds who are here with RAF. All in all though there is tons to see and do here whilst you are posted, so make the best of it. There is a great pass called "America the Beautiful" which gives you free Entry to National Parks and other monuments and park lands. It is $80 and well worth the investment. We have had at least $250 / $300 worth of use out of it so far, bit like National Trust membership back home but without the stately homes! I know it is currently free to US Active Service military and I am pretty sure there may be some diplomatic offers too. Worth checking out.

Whimsical My father worked in NC in the 90's and it was the best place for furniture. My Dad visited NC for the first time to have custom furniture made and liked it so much he relocated his business! While it is good quality it isn't cheap. Not sure how much is made there today. Most of the furniture seen here in New York is either from China or it is custom made in some European studio.

is anyone else on a non working visa with small children? DD is 6months so starting to feel like I need to be doing something and looking for inspiration. Thought about volunteering but the stuff I'd want to do (working with women in hostels/shelters or similar) I can't really take DD with me to - and we afford to put both DC in childcare.

Am thinking of signing up for the AIDS/LifeCycle ride SanFran-LA for next year as I have a friend riding in it this, but just wondering what else you're all up to?

Gril The cycle ride sounds great. How about helping out with the foodbank? You might be able to take DD with you.

That's an idea....my other trouble is I still can't drive but I guess that means it'll be easier to narrow down what I can do as it'll have to be very local.

Getting quite excited about the ride though now (not least because it'll give me a few precious hours a week on my own!)

I'm a citizen, but I have that problem, too. DD is only in school for 2 1/2 hours, and so there really isn't a job I can do, but I can't really volunteer, either, because pretty much every volunteer opportunity won't let me take her with me, and 2 1/2 hours isn't a long time to get anything done without her. My kids' school loves me, because I pretty much live there. The principal knows me by name, and sometimes lets me have his parking spot. At least I can be of use to someone.