Hello from Stateless Selle:)

Hello all,
I am happy and anxious about becoming a member of the board ie an expat. It marks a new change in life but an ending also means a new beginning! I am relocating to west-midlands so my little one can be raised surrounded by family. I lost my closest family member and am a singe mom in Florida. Although I have worked hard to have tenure in my position and have a great place close to the beach to live, my focus is on what is best for my little one and that is having family to know and depend on. With that being said I am planning the big move in early summer of 2017 but will be visiting for an extended stay during the holidays to re-aquaint myself with uk living.
I've gone to nursery school in the UK and visited a handful of times when I was older but don't have a complete grasp of living there, other than; my moneys worth less, taxes are high, its easier to lose a job, gas prices are ridiculous, and no more beach living:(!:)
I look forward to learning from and getting to know others in this new journey of expat life.

P.S. I am not really stateless but because I hold citizenship in more than two countries it can get quite confusing and often makes me feel stateless:/

We seem to be hearing from a lot of Floridians lately (I am from NW Florida)....is something going on?

Welcome.

Hi stateless, welcome to the forum! 

We have lots of dual cits. here but I suspect those with three or more are pretty thin on the ground!

Welcome!  Another Florida native (I pretty well cover the center of the state with Clearwater, Orlando, and Melbourne).  I hope to move back at some point but that has more to do with a lack of a support system here (and no work/life balance and the weather), but hey ho!  I'm sure you will love it!

We seem to be hearing from a lot of Floridians lately (I am from NW Florida)....is something going on?

Welcome.

Lol. Well Florida has always been seen as the black sheep of the US, people are very...off in their thinking here ::)but the reason for my move is support and family

Hi stateless, welcome to the forum! 

We have lots of dual cits. here but I suspect those with three or more are pretty thin on the ground!

Thank you for the welcome Larrabee!
You are quite right about that! The comings and goings of traveling, benefits, rights, etc leaves me in a blur

Welcome!  Another Florida native (I pretty well cover the center of the state with Clearwater, Orlando, and Melbourne).  I hope to move back at some point but that has more to do with a lack of a support system here (and no work/life balance and the weather), but hey ho!  I'm sure you will love it!

Lol thanks for the weather KFdancer
Im not quite a Florida native, but since I understand the Floridian life may as well be
I really do hope to love it! The support system is what I need! The weather doesnt bother me as much but I do think I'll miss the convenience, it seems that getting things done in the states is much easier...although it only took about 7days to get my QTS status to be fair
I'm in south florida, MIAMI, and yes i want to leave

I'm in south florida, MIAMI, and yes i want to leave

I actually had a nightmare a while back about being stuck in traffic on I-95 where the turnpike and 826 join in.

I'm not envious of Miami.  My husband really wants to visit there (and we will at some point).  But I'm always like, "Miami?  Really?"  hee hee

I thought the weather wouldn't be an issue (I lived in Colorado for a few years before moving here).  But alas, it does!  It certainly doesn't affect everyone though. 

I actually had a nightmare a while back about being stuck in traffic on I-95 where the turnpike and 826 join in.

you definitely know the miami traffic!

I'm not envious of Miami.  My husband really wants to visit there (and we will at some point).  But I'm always like, "Miami?  Really?"  hee hee

I thought the weather wouldn't be an issue (I lived in Colorado for a few years before moving here).  But alas, it does!  It certainly doesn't affect everyone though.

I'm in agreement with your husband Miami is a great place to visit! but to live...even if I had family here, it is not the greatest. I mention the weather because even though I live in the sunshine state, usually the days I actually feel like going out and getting things done are on the cloudy days, go figure Think maybe its a seasonal disorder syndrome

Hello all,
I am happy and anxious about becoming a member of the board ie an expat. It marks a new change in life but an ending also means a new beginning! I am relocating to west-midlands so my little one can be raised surrounded by family. I lost my closest family member and am a singe mom in Florida. Although I have worked hard to have tenure in my position and have a great place close to the beach to live, my focus is on what is best for my little one and that is having family to know and depend on. With that being said I am planning the big move in early summer of 2017 but will be visiting for an extended stay during the holidays to re-aquaint myself with uk living.
I've gone to nursery school in the UK and visited a handful of times when I was older but don't have a complete grasp of living there, other than; my moneys worth less, taxes are high, its easier to lose a job, gas prices are ridiculous, and no more beach living:(!:)
I look forward to learning from and getting to know others in this new journey of expat life.

P.S. I am not really stateless but because I hold citizenship in more than two countries it can get quite confusing and often makes me feel stateless:/

The Florida connection is funny because in so many ways Florida is the exact opposite of England.  In Florida, you hang out.  In England you awkwardly stand around.

BTW, I'm not so sure about the things you listed as things you know about the UK.  I'd think that it is way easier to get fired in the US, especially in a right to work state.  I think the working conditions are a lot better here, with shorter hours, more holidays and maternity leave.

Taxes are not that much higher, but you get a lot more for your money, including health care.

We do have beaches here as well.

I'm back in the US at present and find food more expensive. Here's a link to a 28 day economical menu plan which has up to date ingredient costings, which I thought you might find useful: http://www.tinybudgetcooking.com

I'm sure you'll find the NHS a welcome change from having to pay for everything medical, and benefits and employment laws are more generous. And, depending on where you live you might have easy access to public transport! Wishing you luck in your move, please do let us know how it goes

I'm back in the US at present and find food more expensive.

Last time I was back there it seemed to be more than I remembered.

Last time I was back there it seemed to be more than I remembered.

Definitely agree with that.  And my husband is Coeliac (gluten-free) and our daughter is dairy free and I found alternative foods to be CRAZY expensive.  While all our allergy foods make our food bills very high in the UK, they are less than what they would be in the US.