Hiya :)

Hello,

I found this forum via google (trying to find help on where best to get an unrolled beef brisket) and liked what I saw so I thought that I would join up!

My name is Jessica, I'm 30 and I've been living in the UK 11 years now.  I was born and raised in Northern Michigan but am currently living in Bristol.  My mom moved to the UK to be with her husband in 1998 and I decided to give it a try in 2002 (hands down the scariest thing I've ever done but no regrets!).  I met my husband in 2008 and we were married in November 2010   I go back to the States once a year to visit with my family/friends and stock up on American goodies

I'm going to be applying for my ILR very soon so fingers crossed for me!  I look forward to chatting and getting to know everyone in due course 

Welcome to UK-Y - always great to see new people joining the forum .

How do you like Bristol? I live in Lincoln right now, but I was born and raised in Bristol (and kind of wish I still lived there) and am back home fairly often as I find myself travelling around a lot for work .

Good luck with your ILR application - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here... there's plenty of information and advice floating around .

Hi and welcome to the forum!

 

What are the American goodies you stock up on?

Hiya! Welcome to UKY 

Welcome!

How do you like Bristol? I've got a friend from CA who is living there now and she loves it.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

How do you like Bristol? I live in Lincoln right now, but I was born and raised in Bristol (and kind of wish I still lived there) and am back home fairly often as I find myself travelling around a lot for work

I really like Bristol, there is so much to see and do!  I still feel like a small town girl whenever I go into the city center and I always comment to my husband that "we're going up to the big city!" lol.  I literally cannot stock rubbernecking at all the buildings and people which cracks the other half up (he lovingly describes me as a hick  )

Good luck with your ILR application - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask here... there's plenty of information and advice floating around

Thank you for that!  I've been doing a bit of reading up on it but I think we're mostly there, just need to get this darn test out of the way and then we're good to go 

What are the American goodies you stock up on?

It can vary from trip to trip but my main staples tend to be Miracle Whip, A1 Sauce, Vlassic Dill Pickles, Captain Crunch Berries (I am still a child at heart clearly!), Coco Wheats, Good N' Plenty (for my mom), Hidden Valley Ranch, Dublin Store Beef Jerky (best in the world!), Kraft Mac and Cheese, Jif Peanut Butter (although I do make do with the Skippy's they sell in Sainsbury's) and I used to always get Saltine Crackers but I have recently found the equivalent over here which has thrilled me to no end!

Are there ever any Bristol meets?  I'd be interested if there are

I really like Bristol, there is so much to see and do!  I still feel like a small town girl whenever I go into the city center and I always comment to my husband that "we're going up to the big city!" lol.  I literally cannot stock rubbernecking at all the buildings and people which cracks the other half up (he lovingly describes me as a hick  )

Lol - glad you like the city. I didn't really appreciate it when I was growing up (my parents live 15 miles north of the city) and first thing I did when I left high school was go to university in a different city! However, I then came back and did my masters at Bristol Uni and grew to love the city in its own right, not just because it was where I grew up. I'd love to move back again, but unfortunately, it's not an option right now, as it would mean giving up my job (which I don't want to do).

It's funny because I've always thought of Bristol as quite a small city (which is odd because it's the 6th biggest in England) - but I'm definitely missing it now that I'm living somewhere about a quarter of the size of Bristol, which doesn't have half the shops I often need to go to .

Thank you for that!  I've been doing a bit of reading up on it but I think we're mostly there, just need to get this darn test out of the way and then we're good to go 

That's good . We're here if you do have questions though - quite often people get confused about the wording of the questions on the SET(M) application, or the exact requirements of the documents they need to send, so feel free to ask for help if you find anything confusing .

Are there ever any Bristol meets?  I'd be interested if there are

It's strange because I don't think there have been any before (I've been a member here since 2007 and don't remember seeing any Bristol meets being organised), but actually a couple of us have plans to meet up next Saturday in Bristol for lunch, so you're welcome to join us if you like .

The thread we've been discussing it in is here: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=76965.0;all

I suppose if you grew up in Bristol and went to London for a visit you might consider it a small city but growing up in a town with 1000 people max I consider it GINORMOUS!!    I love the shopping in Bristol so my other half and I tend to go once a month (I also hit Reflex every month or so haha).

My husband and I are going to use the solicitor that we used for my spousal visa because the whole process did confuse us slightly and we consider the fee's as money well spent!  I have been doing some reading though as it is interesting to see how other couples have dealt with the process

That is fantastic news regarding the meet!  It must be fate because that is actually my weekend off work and I would be able to go!  Would it be all right to bring my hubby or is it strictly a ladies only lunch? lol.

I suppose if you grew up in Bristol and went to London for a visit you might consider it a small city but growing up in a town with 1000 people max I consider it GINORMOUS!!    I love the shopping in Bristol so my other half and I tend to go once a month (I also hit Reflex every month or so haha).

Lol - yeah, I guess it must seem massive coming from a small town. I didn't actually grow up in the city itself - my hometown is about 30 minutes north of the city (although it still has 15,000 people) - but I spent a lot of time in Bristol growing up (dance classes, shopping, visiting my grandparents, etc.).

I really like the shopping in the city too . Lincoln, where I live now, is really small in comparison, and I have to travel 40 miles to Nottingham if I want to go to shops like H&M or John Lewis). Cabot Circus only opened in 2008 so there are a lot more shops in the Broadmead area now than there used to be (and the Cribbs Causeway mall opened in 1998 - when I was a kid, it was nothing but fields and a couple of furniture stores out there).

My husband and I are going to use the solicitor that we used for my spousal visa because the whole process did confuse us slightly and we consider the fee's as money well spent!  I have been doing some reading though as it is interesting to see how other couples have dealt with the process

Fair enough, but honestly, you probably don't need to use a solicitor unless you have a real reason to think that your ILR might be refused, such as unspent criminal convictions or previous problems with UK immigration, such as illegal working, overstaying a visa, being refused visas in the past etc. - and it's pretty unusual for ILR to be refused anyway, unless you apply before you are eligible for it, since all you really need to show is that you are still married, you have passed the Life in the UK test, you have been living together for the 2 years, you can support yourselves without accessing public funds and you (the US citizen) have not accessed any public funds in the last 2 years.

That is fantastic news regarding the meet!  It must be fate because that is actually my weekend off work and I would be able to go!  Would it be all right to bring my hubby or is it strictly a ladies only lunch? lol.

That's great .

Only two of us are able to go at the moment (amber27 and myself), as hollyberry has unfortunately had to cancel, so it's fine with me... the more the merrier .

We were thinking of meeting in the Whiteladies Road/Blackboy Hill area for some food. We have been chatting by email, so if you PM me with your email address (if you're able to - I'm not sure if you need to have a minimum number of posts to use the PM facility), I can add you to the conversation .

How do you like Bristol? I live in Lincoln right now, but I was born and raised in Bristol (and kind of wish I still lived there) and am back home fairly often as I find myself travelling around a lot for work Tongue.

ksand24, I'm curious, how long does it take for you to get to Bristol from Lincoln and is that by train, driving, ?

It can vary from trip to trip but my main staples tend to be Miracle Whip, A1 Sauce, Vlassic Dill Pickles, Captain Crunch Berries (I am still a child at heart clearly!), Coco Wheats, Good N' Plenty (for my mom), Hidden Valley Ranch, Dublin Store Beef Jerky (best in the world!), Kraft Mac and Cheese, Jif Peanut Butter (although I do make do with the Skippy's they sell in Sainsbury's) and I used to always get Saltine Crackers but I have recently found the equivalent over here which has thrilled me to no end!

I love Saltines, what are the ones you found that are equivalent? A lot of the things I guess I just take for granted, so it helps to know what others miss to kind of prep myself a little further.

Have fun with the meetup!

ksand24, I'm curious, how long does it take for you to get to Bristol from Lincoln and is that by train, driving, ?

I drive between Bristol and Lincoln because a) I need to use a car on either end and I'm only currently insured to drive one car: my own and b) it's cheaper to drive than to take the train (driving is about £25 in petrol each way, while the train is about £78 return).

It depends on the traffic as to how long it takes me - the quickest has been just under 3 hours, but usually it takes about 3.5 hours (the other week it took me 40 minutes just to get out of Lincoln because of the traffic coming out of the city), with the longest being 4 hours or so (the train takes between 4 and 4.5 hours and involves either one or two changes on the way).

Welcome to UKY Jessica. Don't worry about the ILR application, it's very straight forward and you really don't need to pay out for a solicitor.
I'm interested in how you moved over independently when you were 19 to be with your mum. The reason I ask - my wife is the American and her daughter is 23, she has visited us twice and would love to move over here.

They have crackers called Dorino http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=252928732

I think they are a little butterier than US saltines, but they get the job done. :-)

I'm interested in how you moved over independently when you were 19 to be with your mum. The reason I ask - my wife is the American and her daughter is 23, she has visited us twice and would love to move over here.

I could be very wrong and only have the EEA family permit rules to go by here, my son is 19 and we have until he is 21 to move him to the UK with us if that is what he chooses. I've been informed that after 21 it is a case of if he is fully dependent (and even before 21) on us and living with us.

Again, this is only regarding the EEA side of things (as that's how we are applying).

I could be very wrong and only have the EEA family permit rules to go by here, my son is 19 and we have until he is 21 to move him to the UK with us if that is what he chooses. I've been informed that after 21 it is a case of if he is fully dependent (and even before 21) on us and living with us.

Again, this is only regarding the EEA side of things (as that's how we are applying).

For a UK visa, the cut-off is age 18 for child dependents, so children under 18 can qualify as dependents, but as soon as they turn 18, if they want to move here, they need to qualify for a UK visa in their own right (i.e. student visa, work visa, marriage to a UK/EU citizen etc.).