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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

Living in America....... summer 2010!

999 replies

redflipflops · 24/05/2010 16:47

So.... new thread.... please join me

introductions:

redflipflops - California (central Coast)

OP posts:
tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 02:09

That is exactly what I'm hoping to do this year. Can't decide whether to drive or to fly. What do you recommend MmeBucket?

WhamBam · 11/01/2011 02:35

That sounds wonderful Mme, where did you stay? We have friends in southern california too. The ILs are in Orlando so we've been to Disney a few times, def fancy getting to the west coast for a bit - will depend on finances tho, just bought a house and it needs "work" Smile

jabberwocky · 11/01/2011 02:39

Hi everyone, sorry I've dropped out lately. Good suggestion Mme. Legoland is a great idea for the boys this summer. I was in San Diego years ago and really enjoyed it.

MmeBucket · 11/01/2011 03:15

Fly. My whole theory is if we can't afford to fly, then we just don't go until we can afford it, even pre-kids. That is one long, booooring drive.

MmeBucket · 11/01/2011 03:22

I forgot to say, it isn't like I don't like driving. We've had several vacations where we've put serious amount of miles on the car, but that drive is just ack.

redflipflops · 11/01/2011 03:46

Hello all - sorry not been around much to post. Hope everyone is having a good 2011!

We had a good holiday (ahem vacation!) in San Diego last November (kids 6, 4 and 1). Agree with all MmeBuckets tips. Also some great museums - the kids museum, aircraft carrier (if you have a boy like mine Grin) and maritime museum all v good.

Tad if you drive through California just be careful of timing around LA. It can be hideous if you get stuck in Traffic. With small kids (and baby) is quite nice having your own car though - you can take all the baby 'stuff' etc.. Hope your pg is going smoothly.

Our kids also really loved our RV trip. Was really fun and most camp sites have pools and play areas etc...

MilaMae good visa info on British Expats here. We did L1 route (inter company transfer) so a bit more straightforward.

OP posts:
MmeBucket · 11/01/2011 03:57

Good points, redflipflops.

I'm afraid I'm not really an objective person to ask about driving to California. I just plain hate that drive. DH and I are getting our first vacation away from the kids ever next month, and we're (only) going to Big Sur and Napa Valley. We're flying. You know why? Because I really hate that drive.

kickassangel · 11/01/2011 04:17

mila we came over on an H1B & H4 visas, but it was all done through dh's work, so no idea how they did it. in fact, we were up a mountain in rural italy, and had to faff about with a load of paperwork, in an area where FedEx DON'T delver/collect!!! (shock)

there's only a certain number per year, so best to find out when the year starts - not sure if it's jan-dec or another time - dh got his in april.

if your dh gets an h1b, you won't be able to work at all, not even as a volunteer. in fact, you pretty much won't exist 'offically', so it can be v limiting.

however, you can move from a h1b to a green card application, so if you wanted to stay, that would be a plus.

holidays we went to colonial williamsburg last summer & dd STILL says it's the best holiday ever. there's the old colonial town, and busch gardens theme park, and waterworld USA, plus jamestown, yorktown & the coast.

we were there for a week & felt like we'd done everything, but never got bored. dd was 6, almost 7, and the water & theme park were just right for her.

it was v hot & humid though!

we've also loved yellowstone & wyoming.

mme bucket - we've driven from SanFrancisco up to yellowstone & back again, all in 2 weeks! it was pre-dd though.

it IS boring, but when you live in a country where you can spend 4 hours on the same bit of road, (and I mean the same bit, not the same road), then just getting out of the cities & being able to use cruise control, and drive more than about 500 miles without being exhausted - well, it had a lot of novelty value. though i have to say, i wouldn't do that drive too often.

MmeBucket · 11/01/2011 04:41

Wow, Nevada. I forgot about Nevada. I'm not sure there's anywhere worse than driving through Nevada.

I really do love driving, and we often can take a 2 hour drive and turn it into a 10 hour one, but I think you have hit upon my two absolute least-favorite drives in the entire country.

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 04:51

Trouble is I think flying from Bend to San Diego would be really expensive and would therefore mean driving the 4 hours to Portland anyway! We did the drive down to San Francisco via Mt Shasta and that was ok, even for someone who doesn't like driving, like me. Smile Maybe if we took a couple of days and drove down the coast road, it might be an adventure!

MmeBucket · 11/01/2011 05:03

I forgot about that. When we lived in Grants Pass we never went on vacation, because it was so expensive to fly from such a small airport.

You know what, I really like Highway 1 to San Fransisco. We just can't do it, because DH gets car sick too easily. If you can make it to SF via I-5 then you've got it made. I don't know what it is about that drive, but I've actually taken of my socks and made a sock puppet play about what a terrible drive it was while in the car. And I'm not usually a crazy person. Mostly.

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 05:06

But Grants Pass is in a beautiful part of the world. We didn't quite make it there but had a lovely time in Ashland in 2009! The Rogue River is lovely.

jabberwocky · 11/01/2011 15:45

tadjenny - one of my best friends moved to Bend recently. I hadn't thought of introducing the two of you. She is really, really lovely and her husband is an amazing portrait artist.

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 17:02

Always up for meeting new people, though would either have to be in the next 3 weeks or I'll need a while to get used to being a new mother again! Does she have children? Has her husband got in on the first Friday art walk yet? It's a big thing here, though I haven't done it yet. I don't think any of the gallery owners would like my two bulls in a china shop knocking stuff over!

redflipflops · 11/01/2011 20:49

Tad we had a lovely holiday in Lake Tahoe (summer or winter is good) and would be a shorter drive! The 1 from SF to San Luis Obispo is VERY scenic (and nice places to stop - Monterey, Santa Cruz, Big Sur etc..)

But it's still a long way down to San Diego!

OP posts:
kickassangel · 11/01/2011 21:00

ok - so, here's one of those 'i don't understand' questions.

dh & i have each got a 'uni-statement' from the mortgage co. now, the mortgage is in his name alone.

apparently, he has paid in, and then drawn out, over two thousand dollars (i'm sure it's no co-incidence that it's the same as our monthly mortgage amount), to a 'security savings' account.

i have, apparently paid in just over $1,000, and it's still there.

does anyone have any idea what that's all about?

we did re-finance last jan, so i suspect it's something to do with that, or escrow. i'm guessing at escrow cos every time i don't understand something, it's to do with escrow.

either way, it would seem that i have a thousand dollars lying around that i didn't know about. or maybe i owe them? but it says deposit/credit & dates back to last jan, so i think not.

how tempting is it not to tell dh, but just go on a bit of a shopping spree? anyone care to join me - i could prob fly one of you here. Grin

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 21:40

Do you pay your property taxes concurrently with the mortgage? We pay in a set amount to cover the taxes each month and then somehow it gets paid yearly to the county. Anything to do with that?

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 21:42

We did fancy Lake Tahoe red, just nothing seemed to come off last year!

Do fancy a shopping kickass but would worry about giving birth on a plane. The little ones that fly out of our airport wouldn't have the room to do the deed at all! Grin

tadjennyp · 11/01/2011 21:43

shopping spree

kickassangel · 12/01/2011 00:03

tad - that's escrow. yes, we do that.

but how come i have my own statement? i'm not on the mortgage, just on the title deeds.

tad, i must admit, i'm not sure i'm keen on you getting on a plane atm.

jabberwocky · 12/01/2011 01:57

tad, it'll probably take a while to get things together so maybe a meetup after the baby.

Not sure about the mortgage statement. There's taxes to consider and also possibly mortgage insurance.

tadjennyp · 12/01/2011 02:23

I think we had to take out some insurance as we are foreign, although we put down a large deposit, so might have avoided it? It's not that I'm thick, it's just that I was looking after our dcs while the escrow woman was explaining the statement!

No probs jabber - the weather should have improved by then!

MmeBucket · 12/01/2011 02:46

Shopping spree? I'm in.

I don't really know why you'd get that, especially if you're not on the mortgage. We always got random checks every now and then when we had an escrow account, but we don't have one with this house, so no random checks coming in. I never knew why we got one, but I always deposited it, and we never had it taken back.

jabberwocky · 12/01/2011 04:18

Yes, you should have been able to avoid it with a large deposit. Not really sure what it could be.

kickassangel · 12/01/2011 17:57

aah, i phoned the bank.

turns out the 'secure card' i have, which has a certain co. name on it (which it sub-lets, or whatever to another financial group, who then contract out to our checking account bank - are you all following?), is actually run by the same BIG bank as we have our mortgage with.

we never knew that, and it's just co-incidence that it's the same big bank at the top of the long list of contracts.

so the statement was from my secure credit card, telling me how much i had with them (which i knew), and which i can't have back until i've had credit with them for a year, when i can move from a 'secure' credit card to a more normal one.

did anyone actually understand that?

anyway, no sudden $1,000 i didn't know about, so i guess i won't go and spend it all at once. sorry. Sad

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