Greener Grass

OK so from my User name, you properly guessed I'm not American but here me out.....pretty please. And from the Topic name, which is tied to "The grass is always greener on the otherside of the fence" is why I am here.

I am fed up of this country and many of the people, I have decided that maybe, a new start is in order, or just a few years living else where, and by else where I don't mean over the road or "oop Norf", relating back to my grass always greener comment, my fence is the Atlantic Ocean.

Now in England, we have a common redundancy when it comes to knowing anything about anything that is not England or English related (not everyone mind you, I am very open minded but the majority are not) so I thought it was best to ask a Yankee born and bread for the help I need (I hope Yankee is not derogatory in any way, if so I do apologize). So I asked my questions to a bunch of places over here and well sod all helped.

What I would like to do is:

Move to America, No Idea where, preferably somewhere welcoming and yet not welcoming so I get the feeling of not being at my normal home and yet i don't get lynched. Somewhere big, like washington or new york, but this lead to more problems.

How do I find a job before going, how do I find somewhere to live before going, how do I get a Visa to work when I could get one but not find a job thus waisting my time and money getting a visa.......

Sorry if this makes very little sense, I kinda just typed as it was in my head and that was a mess so if you have any questions on specifics I will Elaborate more clearly.

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps.


P.S Why Yankee?? I mean American doesn't sound like yank, the only history of the word comes from the rather abusive English sayings, Septic Tank, and Sherman Tank, which are cockney rhyming slang for Yank and well there just offensive.

Hello!  Welcome to the site.  I'm not trying to pass the buck already, but for the visa stuff, you might want to try some place like diveintoamerica or other forums devoted to people going that way over the Atlantic rather than coming this way.  They have possibly a bit more experience, whereas I think many of us here are taking a British spouse back over with us and may not be as up on how to get a work visa.  I may be wrong though and we may have a US visa genius on here.

As far as where you want to go, the US has plenty of big cities, but if you want to survive without driving, the Northeast might be a better bet.  The other thing with some place like New York is that it is like London, which I think of as more of an international city than a British one.  You may be better able to get familiar treats and home comforts a bit easier in somewhere like New York because it has many people from all over the world visiting or living there (I suggest this as someone in York who really struggled with all the goodies I miss being in London, but unavailable here).  Also, in somewhere like New York, which gets many British tourists, you might not be so much an oddity as you would in say, the midwest. 

Also, talking to a friend who has recently immigrated to Canada, being somewhere near the Canadian border might be useful because my friend has noticed differences in Canada that resemble the UK way of doing things more than the American way of doing something (in my opinion).  It might be useful if you feel homesick to be able to go over the border to Canada, and have the best of both worlds for a few hours or days.  I know you may think you are sick of the UK now (I felt that way when I left the US), but that doesn't mean you might not miss a few things when you can't get them any more.   

Very best of luck with your adventure!!

Thankyou Persephone,

Well to the Canada thing, I have a friend in Ottawa, so thats a no, I have had possible the worst 2010 ever and tried the good old dealing with it but now maybe running away from all I know would be the better option. Plus I love the Sit Com "Friends" :-).

I tried asking someone english guys and gals about emigrating, to which i received the polite response, "wat is dis cuntry not gd enuf 4 u you c**t" yes sad to say that people actually have nothing better to do than hound us for wanting a change :-).

Will I have difficulty finding work, I am a self trained magician and also have lots of bar and restaurant experience, the biggest problem would be finding somewhere to live whats the going rater for a one bed place and all that.

Plus more than anything, rumour has it that American Ladies can not resist the British accent !!!!! :-)

To clarify, somewhere like a forum that's based around immigrating to the US might have more knowledge on how you'd get a visa.  http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=57  British expats in the US might help you figure out the visa process. 

And I wasn't suggesting immigrating to Canada, but Canada seems to have a good mix of both UK and US food stuffs and other items, so if you leave near Canada, you can always just head over the border for a taste of the UK if you miss it while you are living in the US. 

Any place with a Wegman's would have access to decent and relatively reasonably priced (compared to what we pay for American products) British products.  Wegman's is in much of the north east.

You should visit before you decide to leap.  Britishexpats has a pretty detailed Wiki with the immigration process.  It's harder for Brits than people from certain countries because the "Green Card Lottery" isn't an option, but there are other routes.

New York is the classic pedestrian city, but many other cities are totally livable without having a car.  Places like LA or Atlanta, probably not as much.

I understand what your saying about visiting but I like to be spontaneous, a visit to scope the place out take that away, I want to go and not look back atleast not for a couple of years. God im so 

OK so from my User name, you properly guessed I'm not American but here me out.....pretty please. And from the Topic name, which is tied to "The grass is always greener on the otherside of the fence" is why I am here.

I am fed up of this country and many of the people, I have decided that maybe, a new start is in order, or just a few years living else where, and by else where I don't mean over the road or "oop Norf", relating back to my grass always greener comment, my fence is the Atlantic Ocean.

Now in England, we have a common redundancy when it comes to knowing anything about anything that is not England or English related (not everyone mind you, I am very open minded but the majority are not) so I thought it was best to ask a Yankee born and bread for the help I need (I hope Yankee is not derogatory in any way, if so I do apologize). So I asked my questions to a bunch of places over here and well sod all helped.

What I would like to do is:

Move to America, No Idea where, preferably somewhere welcoming and yet not welcoming so I get the feeling of not being at my normal home and yet i don't get lynched. Somewhere big, like washington or new york, but this lead to more problems.

How do I find a job before going, how do I find somewhere to live before going, how do I get a Visa to work when I could get one but not find a job thus waisting my time and money getting a visa.......

Sorry if this makes very little sense, I kinda just typed as it was in my head and that was a mess so if you have any questions on specifics I will Elaborate more clearly.

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps.


P.S Why Yankee?? I mean American doesn't sound like yank, the only history of the word comes from the rather abusive English sayings, Septic Tank, and Sherman Tank, which are cockney rhyming slang for Yank and well there just offensive.

It makes absolute sense! And why not? Life is short and why not see the world a bit.  Just curious, what is it that you like about America? ( Just curious because with the EU agreement are you able to move to any EU country?).

I've lived in the U.S. my entire life -- it's a big country as you know and there's something for everyone. I would narrow down your likes -- do you prefer dry warm weather, do you like the snow, the mountains, the ocean? So many choices! There are cultural differences to consider as well.

My husband is a British citizen and adapted very well to life in the U.S. I think it's highly enriching for a person to experience another culture, so good luck to you!

Just curious have you ever considered British Columbia, Canada? I wonder if you can live there long-term without a Visa? BC is gorgeous!

Good luck to you.

In answer to your question, yes - the grass is greener on the other side.

If you think that your life in America will be like 'Friends' and that women will fawn over your "cute" accent, I think you need a serious reality check.

The questions you ask about cost of living and ease of finding a job are impossible to answer without narrowing down your search area.  If you want to live in NYC, you can pay as much as $4K a month for a one-bedroom.  Finding a job before you move will be near impossible and getting a work visa will be even more difficult as a bar/club entertainer. 

That being said, good luck to you.

Another vote for visiting first. Maybe you'll find that someplace in America is your true home. Most people, however, find that geography is not as important as attitude when it comes to a fresh start. Look all over these boards and you'll find people who moved for a change and found the same problems when they arrived that they had in their previous home.

British Columbia is wonderful...sorry it's still Canada, but just across the border from Washington State and it will be much easier visa wise for you as it is part of the Commonwealth.

If you have your heart set on the US: Have you thought about Seattle, Washington? Big ish city, but still trendy and diverse but not as HUGEish as say New York or Los Angles, plus the weather would be somewhat comperable to the UK.

Visa is going to be your biggest hurdle. At last I checked the UK is not allowed to participate in the US Diversity Visa Lottery and the Work Visa limit for the US is about 82,000 per year (which would ential you to have a job to begin with and all the requirements of it being a job that no one in the US is able to do, with a population nearing 400 million that's pretty difficult to accomplish). Plus if you've ever had any run ins with police or drugs you're going to have an even harder time as there is no such thing as a 'spent' conviction in US Immigration.

I agree with everyone else, if you can visit the US and see different places that you may want to try out. DiveIntoAmerica, Visajourney and BritishExpats forums are good places to start to look visa wise...even the US Embassy in London has information regarding non immigrant visas you may want to look at.

Good Luck to you.

If you think that your life in America will be like 'Friends' and that women will fawn over your "cute" accent, I think you need a serious reality check.

This had made me chuckly, all I can think about is Colin Frissell in Love Actually...
America, watch out...here come Colin Frissell...and he's got a BIG KNOOOOOOOOOOB
Off topic, sorry.

This had made me chuckly, all I can think about is Colin Frissell in Love Actually...
America, watch out...here come Colin Frissell...and he's got a BIG KNOOOOOOOOOOB
Off topic, sorry.

Snerk. Table, oh that sounds the same. 

I understand what your saying about visiting but I like to be spontaneous, a visit to scope the place out take that away, I want to go and not look back atleast not for a couple of years. God im so 

There's being spontaneous and then there's being...ummm..."silly".  You can't really just move to American on a whim...even people with a valid reason to move to the US can be waiting anywhere from 1-2 years for their visa to be approved.  That's not really spontaneous.

If you want a change, why not move to another EU country (assuming you are a British citizen and able to)?  You can hop in a car and drive a few hours...looking for a place to live and a job before you move...plus you don't need a visa (and don't have to pay for one...which can be quite pricey).  Also, if it goes bust, it's not such a big ordeal to get back "home" to the UK.  If you want a change, it shouldn't have to be the US (especially when the immigration laws appear to be stacked against you).

Of course the decision is yours (obviously) but personally, I wouldn't move 4,000+ miles from home just because I was bored.  It took me almost 2 years to make that decision. 

Like PP said, Friends is a TV show and people don't really live like that...and getting attention because of your accent will get old real fast.

This had made me chuckly, all I can think about is Colin Frissell in Love Actually...
America, watch out...here come Colin Frissell...and he's got a BIG KNOOOOOOOOOOB
Off topic, sorry.

LOL yes!  I was afraid that might have been where he heard the "rumour" re: American girls and English accents.  Love that movie.

P.S Why Yankee?? I mean American doesn't sound like yank, the only history of the word comes from the rather abusive English sayings, Septic Tank, and Sherman Tank, which are cockney rhyming slang for Yank and well there just offensive.

It started off as a derogatory term used by the English during the Revolutionary War but we turned it around and use it as a meaning of patriotic pride. I think you'll find very few Americans who find it offensive to be called a yank or yankee.

Although, EB White apparently once said:

"To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast."