am i being realistic?

Hello. I'm a 21 year-old currently living in Maryland who just graduated from college. I've lived in Maryland all my life and desperately need a change. I visited London as a teenager and loved it, and just recently decided to look into moving there. I knew there would be some paperwork involved but had no idea it would be so complicated and/or potentially not even possible, as I've come to believe after browsing through this site. I have no friends or relatives living in England. I had simply hoped to find an apartment and work as a bartender on my own. Money is not an issue, and if it is simply a matter of time and paperwork I'm still completely interested. But I just want to know if this is a feasible dream or if I should just look into relocating within the US. I hope someone reads this... I wasn't sure which topic to post under.

Justin

Hi there.

I'm also from Maryland but a good bit older than you. However, I think I can tell you that I'm fairly sure there are some programs which allow young US folk to live and work in the UK for a period of time (a year maybe?). I don't have any web sites right now but will have a look if someone doesn't beat me to it.

If I'm wrong and there aren't any such programs (or you don't qualify), your best bet is to come over as a student... would you consider doing an MA? For full-time they are only a year and you are allowed to work 20 hours a week.

I don't have any suggestions other than the already mentioned student visa.  I'm sort of in the same situation really.   I'd like to be able to move over, but don't seriously see a way of it happening!  Well, no easy way of getting there for the time being for me.  If you come up with something, let me know   Best of luck!

Go to the BUNAC website, you might qualify for their student program that will allow you to go to the UK and work for up to 6 months.

http://www.bunac.com/

Yes--BUNAC is the best way to go.  I know a lot of people that have had great luck with it.  Pretty inexpensive for a visa, too!!

I can't think of any more advice to give other than the two that have already been suggested, but I wanted to say welcome and I wish you luck!

BUNAC does look like a great program and reading thru their site got my hopes up, but then I saw that already being totally graduated from college makes me ineligible  I can't believe I was so naive as to think I could just move to anywhere in the world I wanted for as long as I wanted. I had been so excited after deciding London was where I wanted to be. It's rather depressing to realize I'm pretty much limited to the US now. I really appreciate all the well-wishes and suggestions tho  Thank you!

When did you finish school? It says this about graduating seniors:

Graduating college/university seniors are eligible for up to a semester following graduation as long as their final semester is full-time. Many graduates regard the program as a résumé-enhancing experience before commencing their ‘real’ job search in the USA. If you finish school in June, you may enter Britain and activate your Blue Card as late as December 31st in that same year (providing you meet all other eligibility requirements).

Yes, read the fine print carefully before you give up! And remember, you could come over for a maximum of six months as a visitor. You can't work, and you'd have to prove you had enough money and bonafide plans if you intended to stay the whole time, but it could be done with very careful planning. I can't stress the last bit enough - there are lost of posts about the 6 month visit so do ask us questions if you think about doing that.

Ah, I did misread that part of the BUNAC site... looks like there may still be hope for that  As far as being a six month visitor and not being allowed to work, I don't think it's financially possible or even as appealing. Working and meeting people that way was one of the things I was most looking forward to. I'm going to look thru that whole BUNAC site 

I can't believe I was so naive as to think I could just move to anywhere in the world I wanted for as long as I wanted.

Don't blame yourself.  This seems to be a pretty common impression-I'm always seeing movies where people just pack up and move to a different country, and it's never mentioned how incredibly difficult this is.  It's no wonder people think this is easy-nobody ever says otherwise until they actually look into it!

Good luck with BUNAC!

In your first post you said money was not an issue... if that is indeed the case, I do believe there is something along the lines of an 'artist visa' which you can get... not sure for how long, or if it's any better than what you're looking into; but I do remember reading about it, and it saying something about if you're only planning on working/ earning money as an 'artist,' then you could qualify... artist being defined as 'performer, painter, writer...'
Soooo... maybe?

And hey, the US ain't a bad place for variety if that's what you end up with!  From Maryland?  Maybe move to.... Hawaii or Alaska!   

I can't seem to find anything on the artist visa but it sounds interesting. I'm a DJ as a hobby but haven't attempted to make any money with it yet. I wonder if that would qualify if I started doing it seriously. I'm a regular bartender which I thought would be great since I can use that anywhere but I don't think that alone will get me to the UK. And I was just thinking yesterday how if I can't get out of the states Hawaii might be an interesting choice 

This is where I found all my answers when I first started asking the legal questions:

www.britainusa.com

That should tell you everything you need to know; and my own experience when I called them to ask questions (I was in Los Angeles), they could not have been more helpful, patient and friendly.

It does look like there's a catch to the artist visa:  it says something about having worked for a year solely as an artist...
Anyway, check it out, and good luck!

 

Off-topic but..

Don't blame yourself.  This seems to be a pretty common impression-I'm always seeing movies where people just pack up and move to a different country, and it's never mentioned how incredibly difficult this is.  It's no wonder people think this is easy-nobody ever says otherwise until they actually look into it!

Yeah.. I cannot tell you HOW MANY TIMES a friend or relative has said to me, 'well why doesn't Sean just move over or why don't you move there?'.. You know.. because it really works like that.. thanks for that suggestion, it'd never crossed my mind all these years.  Freakin.. errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr  :frustration:

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But yeah.. good luck with your hunt.  If you're looking to meet people and money is no issue, maybe consider a volunteering visa if the BUNAC option doesn't work out.  That or befriend an English girl.