Moving to America independently (without work transfer)

[Sugarcoma]

Has anyone done it without being transferred by their work? We have a visa but now also a new baby and am getting cold feet a little bit.

We’re set on LA - have friends there, been there a lot for work, but no family.

I’m worried about things like driving (have a license but haven’t driven in years), medical insurance (I have a chronic pre-existing condition) and other bits and pieces that would usually be sorted out by your workplace if they were transferring you.

So has anyone done it independently?

(Just to re-iterate, we have the visa already).

What type of visa though? Most visas for the USA are issued on the basis of being employed by a specific employer or being a business owner or a retirement one. Just curious?

Also I would definitely get quotes for medical before going if you have a pre-existing condition!!

Also why would you want to live there?

Also I would definitely get quotes for medical before going if you have a pre-existing condition!!

Yes you should get a quote so you have some idea what your costs will be. Without an employer subsidizing your policy you're probably looking at $1000 per month in premiums for two of you plus a baby. Your pre-existing condition won't affect the price unless Trump manages to change the rules.

I did move to the US with no job or even any idea where we wanted to live. It was before kids though and we had £50k in the bank.

It worked out fine - we drove cross country for months and eventually settled in Seattle. We both found jobs quickly.

Have you looked at which areas you'd want to live in and how much that will cost?

Things DH's work sorted out for us:

• visas
• medical / dental / optical cover (choice of plans, employer contributions but also with a fortnightly deduction from DH's salary)
• shipping over our furniture, including duties payable
• our flights
• 24 hours of support to find a home, open bank account etc
• 2 hours of tax accountancy consultation

Things that we had to sort out for ourselves:

• where to live
• deposit on rental accomodation
• car lease
• cell phones (and other services and utilities)
• bringing over our pets
• school enrollment
• flights to visit back home
• registering with a doctor / dentist / optician
• driving tests / licences
• vaccinations for DCs (mandatory additional jabs needed to attend public school)
• vaccinations for pets (mandatory additional jabs, including rabies, to meet import requirements) and Pet Passports

If I were you I would focus on your medical situation. Some states are better than others, both in general (eg hot weather can be good for arthriticky joints) and in particular (eg some states require IVF to be covered by insurance, most don't). Explore the options for policies and treatment options very carefully so you understand the costs involved, including lifetime limits (where after a certain amount the insurance company will not pay out any more in connection with a condition).

Get confident driving. Unless you live in Manhatten and never ever go anywhere else, you will need to drive

All the smaller items; Social Security, housing, buying cars you can relatively easily do without the help of a giant company relocation, but it is the cost of medical care that I would focus on too. I have chronic condition and some of the bills that my insurance has covered have been eye watering!

Financial planning regarding ongoing medical expenses are key, but so are ensuring that you have a big enough startup pot to be able to; rent a home, buy a car, get a phone, buy appliances, utilities etc as all of these will require a massive outlay and with no credit history these will all be a little bit more expensive than usual - $500 deposit for utilities, deposit for cellphones, etc. Moving country is usually a huge upfront cost, so a corporate relocation, while helping you tick off the smaller items (getting a Social Security number, bank account, temporary accommodation, paying for rental car etc) also generally provides you with a financial cushion to be able to pay out for all these things.

Will you be working when you're there? That will make a huge difference in terms of your access to health care. I'm American (though live in the UK). Health care can be incredibly expensive. How expensive can vary greatly depending on what your situation is. There is occassionally the rare employer who offers paid health insurance (meaning you only pay for your health care, not the insurance premium itself). More than likely, you'll be paying a monthly insurance premium (I would estimate about $600-1000, depending on how many dependents you have), plus health care costs on top of that. If you have to source your health care yourself (not working or self-employed), the monthly premium will likely be higher. There's a lot of push to get rid of any coverage for pre-existing conditions, so depending on what type of insurance you have on offer to you, you may find it hard for them to cover you at all or it will be even more expensive.

Driving you will be fine. You should be able to drive on your UK license for a bit, I think. But you may want to take some driving lessons. I did it the other way around - learned to drive in the U.S., moved to the UK and now drive here and it wasn't hard to learn and pass a test. Most U.S. cars are automatic.

I would also be careful with your visa conditions and make sure your new baby is covered. I know we tried to do it and even with me as a U.S. citizen it was near impossible to get my husband a visa. At the time, they wanted to see we still had a house here (obviously can't afford a house in two places) and that he had a job here with a guarantee to come back to (obviously we wouldn't be moving to another country if he had a job back home just sitting around waiting for him). In the end, he didn't get the visa, and I moved the other way.

Moving all your things is relatively easy, but it can be expensive. I shipped things in boxes (via post office), then also hired a container to go by ship. Easy to do, there are lots of agencies that do it, but again, expensive and it did take about 3 months.