Repatriating to the US

[Jodester]

Hi Everyone -
I am new to Mumsnet - looking for some greatly needed advise.

I am originally from So Calif, have lived overseas for the last 16 years. Now, after a divorce and 2 amazing kids later, I am returning.

My kids, 13 & 11, have never lived in the states and are very British. Has anyone had a similiar experience? Just want to be careful of the transition and make it as easy as possible.

Thanks alot!

Jodie

Good luck Jodestar. I am not moving back but I am also from SoCal (been in UK 17.5 yrs). Have you sorted out health insurance?

My kids moved over there when my eldest was 8, so probably not very helpful for moving with teens. I think you are probably going at a good time with a year or two breathing space before High School.

One of the things that we did was include the children in our planning. Even with the internet in 1999, this was pretty easy to do. It will be so much easier now. You can show them where they are going to live by looking at Google Earth/Streetview. You can look up the school district websites so that they get an idea of what the school day is like.

One of the hardest things for them will be language. It is so different from British English - everything is in sporting analogies (or so it seemed to me). My kids picked up American accents straightaway, so people didn't realise they didn't grow up there so didn't know to make allowances.

They are leaving a lot behind, but are also gaining a lot. There will be ups and downs along the way. You will feel the same (presumably you have spent your entire adult life in the UK?). Don't underestimate the power of your conflicting feelings.

And Good Luck!

We have actually been in Dubai for the last 6 years - they are definitely travelers as I'm sure your kids are.

Insurance? Yes will be onto that shortly along with bank accounts, drivers license, etc etc. Good idea about the involvement with the kids - I am doing just that. They love looking at the houses and the different areas, schools....

Just hope the culture shock is not too bad - or maybe I'm more worried about ME!!

Thanks for the support!!!

Bank accounts are tricky to open now. Even when we moved, we needed a reference to get a fully functioning account with credit card. Do as much forward planning as you can to research the most suitable account for you while you still have access to your money.

As for the DL, I think in California, you have two weeks to get your license after taking up residence. You can plan ahead by researching what you need to know for the written test online before you arrive. When I moved to Ohio, I was able to take my written test about four days after arriving, and then I had to wait a further week for the driving part. I was really pleased to get my driver's license more or less immediately, as it is a license to live as much as a license to drive.

Sounds good - My mother and sister live close to where I will be moving to so I will start planning the bank account immediately. Maybe one of them can be my reference.

Are you moving back to California? You could come and join us on the [http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/living_overseas/718452-Living-in-America-visitors-welcome Living in the US thread]]

Trying again

you may find things easier, being us to start with but we only got a bank a/c cos dh's boss went in with us & said he needed to be able to pay dh.
even then , we had to wait until dh had a SSN before we could use it.
we can't have a credit card at all, dh has a 'secure card' where he has had to pay them money to get it set up, we'll get it back eventually
getting a mortgage was unbelievably difficult & we have a high rate. this should get better once we have had 3 'lines of credit' for a year, but so far, no-one iwll give us a credit card, so no credit rating ...
hope it all goes well. i should think being near family will make things a little easier.
good luck