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.

Let me know what you find out. Fingers crossed you're covered.

Good luck with figuring out the medical cover. Contact the HR department and have them put it in writing that it's covered, if it is. Otherwise you may not want to chance it. A few small difficulties in the pregnancy/delivery and you could be out many thousands of dollars, it's a nightmare.

Oh, I LOVE Seattle. I live in the Portland area (about 3 1/2 hours south) and Seattle is one of my favorite places, ever. I'd move there if I could, but DH lived there while going to College, and he's not one for big cities. It's beautiful, there are so many recreation options, and it is fairly (at least by Pacific Northwest standards) cosmopolitan.

Health insurance is a nightmare here. (And I'm American) there are so many different companies and policies, there isn't a hope of generalizing what might and might not be covered for you. CL gave you the best suggestion of having them put your coverage in writing.

I live and grew up in central London, so I expect moving anywhere will be a culture shock. My biggest concern is driving. I have my licence, but have probably only driven 10 times in 15 years - no need to in London.

Loving it here in the US! Have 2 kids and am hoping we can find a way to stay here permanently. DD loves it here but sadly doesn't have the same right to stay as her American born baby brother so trying to get her the same rights as him.

Anyone else got children of different nationalities?!?!

Mine are all Dual nationals. So Dh and I got both too, save problems later id we end up half and half in two different countries, at the moment Dh dd and myself are in US and the Ds's are both in UK. Not liking missing my men.

DH is American so mine have dual too. I am not planning on getting it anytime soon though. DH can't get dual because of his job and security clearance.

I actually have dual US/UK as I was born in the US to British parents. DD only has UK as I haven't lived in the US long enough for her to qualify, though that might change if we do move there (must check that out). DH has dual UK/Ireland, not quite the same, but still useful.

Oh, California if I read your post correctly, did you and your husband get US citizenship by virtue of your children having both? Does than mean that my DH could potentially do so too?

Confused. No Dh and I are born Brits and got green cards first, then he got citizenship though his Mum (she wasn't US born but citizen by descent) then came the kids born in US (then tooing and froing country) finally I relented and got my citizenship too. So now we can all be wherever. But we all want to be back in UK now. But with kids you never know where they will end up.
The kids can't sponsor parents for green cards until they turn 21.

Ah. I see. I'll need to sponsor DH and DD. I think if we do move, we'll need to get some proper legal advice.

Evening ladies

Have been lurking for ages - RL has been getting in the way of my MN time!

Firstly, big congratulations to Want2be . Great news about DC2 - I had both my babies in March and it's a great time of year (admittedly in London there was no need for snow blowers at that time of year!).

Sharklet hope that your DC doesn't keep you waiting too long - must be crazy hot in Vegas at this time of year! Thank god for AC...

Mousey and anyone else back in the UK - hope you're enjoying yourselves. The summer has been officially rubbish weatherwise so you'll be longing to get back to heat/sun by the end of it!

As for us, I've got my visa interview on Monday morning. Which is way sooner than we expected - I only got the letter yesterday, giving us a whole weekend to be prepared (so much for the month's notice!). Luckily, we're all ready and the only hassle is childcare (so both DC will come with us, even though they don't need to). Suddenly everything is starting to feel more real!

But one of my closest friends is getting married in the States at the end of Aug and I'm hoping they can delay printing my visa until after I go to that (luckily one of my oldest friends works for the US state dept in the middle east so has been filling me in via Facebook about what they can and can't do - just hope the person interviewing me at the Embassy in London is sympathetic!). We're hoping to move in mid-late Sept.

And after telling DH he could get the money and do it himself, it turns out that the recruiter was wrong and we have to take the full service package. Which is generous, and, frankly, at this stage I'm looking forward to someone else sorting out movers/flights/temp accommodation!

confused I'd recommend legal advice re visas - the info on the Embassy London website is pretty comprehensive but there's a gazillion forms and it's pretty time consuming - the britishexpats forum is also a font of info and experience. I'm married to an American and both DC have dual Irish/American and it's not been hard, just time consuming and fiddly (but actually is less hassle than the Home Office was for DH before we married - immigration is a pain whatever country you want to get into!). I've only heard good things about Seattle - never been there myself but have some friends who grew up there and loved it. But then I'm from probably the rainiest part of Ireland so Seattle weather sounds right up my street

confused we were looking at Seattle for a while before DH was offered LA, he's spent a lot of time in the former and really loves it. I've never been but get the impression that it's quite European as a city, more walk able than most cities, lots of culture etc. Americans whine the weather is terrible but it doesn't seem much different to London!

I'm home and aside from the jetlag am so pleased to be back. I know we've only been gone four months but at the moment the only thing making me want to return is the endless Californian sunshine. and actually I'm not minding the rain yet (she says - its glorious sunshine outside right now!)

How are you doing sharklet? Hope the heat isn't getting to you too much!

Yikes - DH has just told me he's been offered the Seattle job.

So much to think about before we make a decision, am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'd have a very big glass of , but I can't as I'm pg. I suspect we'll go, but I've no idea how to factor in everything else such as child care, mat leave, my career, etc ...

lies down in a darkened room and ties to calm down

Hopefully you'll come to your decision sooner than later, with a minimum of stress involved. Like I said before, I love Seattle.

How is everyone else doing? Is anyone else still here?

Flip Hope your interview went well. The forms are confusing. I never hired a lawyer for my naturalization and called up the immigration people for help filling out the forms. They were more than happy to help.

Since you are moving over mid year I would also suggest you call the IRS to find out what documentation is going to be needed for your tax return that you will need to file next year. It all depends on your personal circumstances but they will be able to give you a list of what is needed. Much easier to get the paperwork done while you are still in the UK.

Confused Congrats on the pregnancy. My sister lives in Seattle and loves it. It does rain a lot out there but that is why they have green grass and clean air. Get the healthcare insurance policy from HR. It will tell you what is covered and what isn't. I have never had a preexisting condition clause in any policy but we are in NJ. Things will be different in WA.

Seattle is a great place for finding work. If you want to work then I suggest your DH has it included in his contract that they pay for a working visa for you instead of a housewife visa. My sister was very close to joining Starbucks because they have excellent work life balance. An excellent daycare is downstairs from their offices and my sisters friend who works there was encouraged by her boss (who is male) to take whatever time she needed with her DC. Starbucks also subsidises the cost of daycare which is a HUGE benefit.

oh and thank you everyone for the messages on pregnancy. Somehow I am 10 weeks along already.

Thanks want2b.

I'm getting a bit excited about it now. The healthcare seems to cover everything, so it looks as that is ok. Starbucks sounds very interesting... has a look at the jobs board. I don't need a visa as I was born in the US, but moved to the uk when I was 3. I'm beginning to think we might just do this. although everything I know about Seattle I learnt from 90's grunge and Grey's Anatomy

So, I was wondering if anyone knows or has access to an employment lawyer. DH's friend who is an employment lawyer represents my former employer....

I was laid off at the end of April and have been job searching since. I went on Monster this week to see if there were any jobs that I had missed since I want to apply for as many jobs as possible. I was surprised to see that my job was being advertised and was first posted 30 days ago (from today so it was posted June 28th). I was laid off on April 30th so it seems to me that I was in fact fired. I am claiming unemployment but I am concerned that I shouldn't be.

Want2be sorry, have no access to an employment lawyer. But it sounds to me like your employer would be at fault (making you redundant but not actually making the job redundant - over here there may be grounds for unfair dismissal or such like). Surely if they lay you off then you're genuinely claiming unemployment? As you'd not even worry about it if you hadn't seen your job advertised? Though I appreciate that it's a completely different employee environment in the States so am no doubt totally grasping the wrong end of the stick! I hope you find a new job soon. And wow at 10 weeks already - time is passing! I agree that a lawyer isn't really necessary for the visa process - DH insisted as he had a bad experience in the past with getting a visa for his ex-wife and just didn't trust us to do it ourselves, despite us actually doing it all ourselves with the lawyer just submitting stuff [can you tell I wish we hadn't forked out for a lawyer!]. We've got a tax advisor included as part of the relocation thing and my tax return is part of the list of questions.

Also I thought your post on the other thread about US healthcare was just excellent btw.

Confused exciting about the job! Hope you come to a decision soon. The ball will start rolling quite fast once you do I imagine.

Girlwiththemouseyhair hope you're having a great time in the UK. We've even had sunshine this week! I bet you're loving showing DD off to everyone

MmeBucket hope all is good with you. Are your kids in camp or anything?

I'm sitting sipping champagne watching the Olympics - love the whole thing! And feeling productive, since drinking through our booze cupboard is part of decluttering for moving . Can't believe the Olympics has really started, after looking forward to it for so long - we could hear the fireworks from our garden last night during the opening ceremony. We're off to see the hockey next Sun morning and have family over from Ireland for it.

Also, rather irrationally, hoping to get to France for a day trip sometime in August. DH thinks it's mental but I have a huge urge to get to France, even for a day. It's making me think about how this move to the US is forever (we can indeed move back to London but it's unlikely, since we've no family here).

OK, ramble over! Hope all are well

Thanks Flip I am more worried about getting into trouble with the state. I have a job interview on Tuesday and I am hopeful because they are previous employer. I then have a final round with the board of directors a bank on Tuesday. It is a small bank but I am still nervous as heck as the job would be amazing (basically I would be training to take over from the CFO of the bank who is 60 and plans to retire at 65).

I seem to have learnt an awful lot about American healthcare. It helps that I spent so much time auditing healthcare groups over the past three years. Great that you have a tax advisor. I would reach out to them sooner rather than later.

Do the trip to France and buy nice underwear. Here there is a huge tax on it so it is very very expensive. Victoria secret just isn't the same.

Check your state's government website for information, want2b. I can tell you what the rules used to be 15 years ago in my state (back when I used to work for a lawyer) but the rules aren't the same for every state. Pretty much if you have something that states in writing you were laid off, they shouldn't be able to touch you, though.

The kids were in (American) football camp this past week. Then DS has a cartooning camp this upcoming week. Then we've got the start of the football season, which means 5 days a week of practicing for I don't know how long. And I have the 2 kids I watched earlier this summer for a week. Then I have their birthday party in a few weekends. Then I have 2 of my friend's 4 kids round the clock for 1 1/2 weeks as they're in Europe. I think I need a nap.

Thanks Mme - I don't have anything in writing but in order for unemployment to be paid my former employer had to confirm that I was laid off to the state of NJ. The state website isn't clear about when a lay off becomes a firing. They say that the job no longer exists.... Well it didn't exist for 2 months and then it did again!

I am not looking forward to the 'camp' years. I am still in shock at the prices. Having kids is so expensive.

Hello folks, just lurking in here as we may (or may not) be moving to Washington in the New Year for DH's job. With 2 DS's 6 & 4 and a newborn (EDD 19th Dec in London) - eek! We would be looking at Vienna/Falls Church to live.
Am quite well practiced as this expat/moving lark (Zambia 2004-2009, Botswana 2009-now) but have never been to the US and the idea of doing anything challenging with a newborn scares the pants off me. But hey it's all an adventure
Hope it's ok if I hang around xx

Hi, haven't been around for a while and too lazy to catch up on the whole thread.

Decided to pop in as I'm feeling a bit fed up with American bashing going on atm. Mainly around the Olympics. Yes, NBC cut out the tribute and did an interview instead, but there have been comments about how the Americans didn't know who anyone was, or what was happening etc. I haven't heard any of the same disdain aimed at the Australians, French etc. I thought the commentary was pretty goo - they obviously had loads of notes and filled in details quite well.

I think I've just lost my tolerance for sweeping generalisations about entire nations.

Flip we also had to drink the cupboards dry. It's a dirty job ...