Living in America 2015

[rootypig]

New thread. In honour of:

1. allegedly Irish bangers discovered I saw in Trader Joe's today, which made me think of you lot and especially you Want2b, you pork fanatic - I will report back; and

2. taxes bloody argh! do I have to do this? NOW??? My green card was granted in August last year and I didn't earn a bloody penny. What am I supposed to put on a tax return

How else is everyone's American odyssey going?

yours chaotically, as ever,

rooty

Lordy I would be about 3ft wide if I lived a block from TJs. Lots of mindless eating going on since stopping work last Friday. I'm going to stop buying snack bags for the kids because I end up eating it all!

I'd also be way bigger being close to TJ's! I stick to the edges and try to avoid the (incredibly tasty!) snacks and prepared foods. I still have weight to shift from baby no 3 but am trying - definitely harder to avoid mindless eating when home with the kids all the time!

Also in a relatively unchristian part of the U.S. - lots of temples though also lots of atheists (like me!). Also lots of Catholics and various Protestant churches but not in a way that impacts my life (handy for getting to mass when my Irish mammy visits though!).

Want2 are you on vacation? I'm terrible for buying snacks 'for the kids' and then scoffing them...and now that the temps have finally gotten higher time to take the storms down/put the screens up/dig out shorts etc before we all get hot and bothered!

I'm a block from TJs too! I've lost a bit of weight but only what I put on in pre-move stress - could do with buying the bullet and joining one of the many gyms around here so I can stuff my face with more TJs food

Has anyone tried the English or Irish breakfast tea on TJs, by the way?

Thanks for the welcomes! I'm also 12 weeks pregnant so double trouble ob the weight gain front - must join a gym! 12 week scan tomorrow - eek!

Hope you have a lovely dinner kiss it is lovely to see people from back home.

I have spent a frustrating morning trying to investigate cell phones, tv providers and home Internet providers, all while keeping my 21 month old from screaming the place down in boredom! Anyone got any suggestions on which providers/deals are good? It's a challenge to know where to start! I was all prepared to just go with AT&T for everything because I was in the shop and it was raining and the toddler had run out of patience (all good reasons I think ) but then they said they'd charge an additional non-refundable fee of $500 for the cable/wifi equipment because we have no US credit history, so I figured I at least ought to investigate where we can get a better deal elsewhere...

That should have said kick!

Also, not sure how religious it is here. Lots of churches and synagogues around and we've already been invited to join a church, plus all the pre-schools seem to offer/require in some cases, religious instruction to the 3yr olds onwards, but I haven't yet sussed out quite how socially acceptable/unacceptable it is publicly to admit you are not religious. I guess I'll find out at some point. I have already been given details of the circumcision procedure at the hospital if this baby is a boy though. Had to bite my tongue quite hard on that one

I lost 20 lbs in the first month we lived here, but that was mainly from having 4 young children in a 2 bed apartment and no car. I did a lot of walking and swimming to keep them entertained.

Once we moved to the burbs, that 20lbs can came crashing back on, bringing more with it!

Welcome TTTT!

Takes Two - AT&T also wanted a $500 up front for a phone contract with us (and we would have had to buy the phone for full price).
Bundles generally aren't such a great deal, and you will have problems due to no credit rating. They also won't accept credit rating from the UK (we got ones approved for the mortgage, but had to make our own way for the TV etc.)

We bought our own TV receiver, and got a contract with Dish for TV. We don't have that any more, just use AMazon, Netflix etc. You may find your Amazon account transfers over.
Phone - I had my old UK phone and got a $50 pcm monthly payment with T-Mobile. (It would call UK but V expensive)
For DD I currently have a pre-pay phone with $5 per month going on it with Verizon.
Check cover - Verizon & AT&T tend to be best for MI, other providers not so good.

Internet - we use Charter. We're outside the city area and they're about the only people who provide to us.

Thanks kick that's really helpful. I will continue the research. I hadn't even heard if that Internet provider!

Try Comcast TTTT - we just pay the normal rate to hire the home hub and TV box thingies

Skype or Messenger over wifi for free calls back to the UK

TTTT, have you leased a car? That's a very quick way to get your credit score up. It's very hard for the Plus One to get any credit at first. We came over with our HSBC Premier account and I took out a Capital One credit card to get myself a credit history. We used to laugh at my pitiful $500 credit allowance! 2 weeks of grocery shopping and it was full!

Happily/sadly for my credit rating the cars are leased in the company name. I've had some useful pointers though to will try those providers. Good tip about the credit card too - must get one of those now I have my SSN and permanent address. Thanks all. Had enough of unpacking for one night so am off to bed!

We couldn't get credit cards to start with but had secure cards. They look and act just like a credit card, but you pay up front the amount that you want as your limit and it is impossible to go over that amount. Then you pay off the full balance each month. It helps your credit score as well.

Me too Alpaca. My phone is a complete dinosaur but still ticking over. They have nicer models but I would have to wear my glasses to use one so can't be bothered.

Lots of churches and synagogues around here. At the turn of the last century there was a lot of anger when the first RC parish was founded in my particular suburb, and the Jews were not very welcome either. In the metro area in general though, the question 'Where did you grow up?' should properly be answered with the name of a Catholic parish. That being said, I have no idea about the religious affiliation or otherwise of many people I know.

flip I'm on a 16 week sabbatical that started on Friday. Its being referred to as my properly paid maternity leave as I only took 8 weeks with DS. I'm making more than disability while out. It's wierd not working but I'm super busy with Ds. He has therapy 5 times a week plus feeding clinic once a week. DD was just diagnosed with auditory processing issue so taking her for speech therapy. We are so darn lucky that we are in nj. The copay is minimal for Ds with the state or board of Ed paying for nearly everything.

Want I hope your sabbatical goes well, and that DS and DD respond to their therapies. You are a fantastic mama to make sure they have all they need

On a slightly different note, does anyone have a recommendation for how to organise travel insurance here, through bank or otherwise? (we are with Bank of America). I'm going home for a month or so next month, and have decided that I want to be covered, as odd as it feels to get insurance for the UK!

do you mean for medical stuff or insurance against the cost of flights etc if you can't go?

Your regular med. ins. should cover the first. holiday insurance barely exists unless you book a package deal. We tried to get it after booking flights to Hawaii, but couldn't find anything just for flights. Then, two days before we left I tore my calf muscle and had to phone DH to drive me to ER.

Rooty - take a look at endsligh insurance. They have an annual policy that covers the world excluding the U.S. which is for a whole year. It covers medical as well as costs associated with late bags and delayed flights.

Are you going back on your own? If so get a notorized letter from your stbxh giving permission. I always have a hard time leaving and coming back in without DH.

I don't have comprehensive medical coverage here, kickass, since I'm at home and OH is in grad school. I have some state coverage for emergencies (I think - I cba looking into it , am just working on the basis that once I get a job I'll be sorted). Anyway I doubt it'd cover me for anything in the UK!

Thanks Want. I took DD home last year and had no problems. Ironically that was a brief trip that turned into a lifetime thanks to the US authorities if they question me about it this time I may find it hard to hold my tongue!

Want2 how great to get a sabbatical now - it sounds like you'll be busy though. 5 times a week plus feeding clinic plus your DD's speech therapy must be a busy schedule. I hope they both respond well. My eldest (now five) had a speech delay and had weekly speech therapy between 2.10. - 3.7 and came on in such unbelievable leaps and bounds. He still has problems with some sounds but all in the range of normal.

Rooty no idea about insurance!

Takestwo welcome! The $500 should be refundable after a certain period I think (trying to remember what it was like when we moved over!).

Has anyone used au pairs for childcare? Thinking about going back to work but trying to figure out the finances. We have the space for an au pair so was thinking that would be the cheapest option for 3 kids (plus I like the idea of someone from another culture and all that!). They can work up to 45 hours a week.

I'm so relieved they have said they want to do it from home. Quite frankly if I had to get to places I might just lose it as I would be spending at least an hour either side of appointments. Bad enough with the feeding clinic and doctor appointments.

It doesn't help that dd only wants to see the fab doctor we saw in millburn. Dd was sold after doctor told her she was checking her ears to make sure the princesses living in them were happy and that her heart was made of a heart shaped chocolate. I just can't face the half hour drive each way plus inevitable half hour to load everyone.

Having it done from home must make a huge difference. Is it PT? Still, your sabbatical will whizz by in a blur of appointments! It will be lovely to have a summer with the DC.

So much rain! So many tornado sirens going off! Oklahoma is really getting hammered tonight.

Wow. At this point, I can barely imagine rain. Are you ok? why are the sirens going off? false alarms, or tornado warnings?

The real deal. Sirens have been going off for about 90 minutes now, but the tornadoes seem to have passed about 60 blocks south of us. Flash flooding is more of a risk in the city; there's about 8 inches of rain at the intersection outside our house.