From LA to rural Scotland: The odyssey of a bookworm

When I first posted this thread, I only heard her talk about needing visas, etc and I though, ooh positive, but I didn't realise it was a back story floating around.    Makes it seem like the 'entitled' American who can move wherever they want, just because!!!!!!! 
 

My thought is that if she did do everything by the book right from the word go, then the visa part would probably feature heavily in her story of how she got here... because it would have been one of the first things she considered and sorted out, before organising everything else, and would probably have been an important part of the move.

The fact that the visa and immigration side seems to be an afterthought in the story  and there was no mention of going through the usual months of preparation for the visa and the move (but there was mention of a refused entry and ongoing legal problems), makes me think that she just thought she could up and move, and didn't research the immigration side properly.

When I talk to people about my previous moves to the US, the first thing I usually recall is getting my visas... applying to US schools, getting the visa paperwork and funding, what visa I had to apply for, how much it cost, how long it took to process, etc. I don't just say to people, 'Oh, I just decided to go to grad school in the US, so I got on a plane and moved there.' 

Kind of makes me feel like a chump. A lot of us here have spent thousands and thousands to be in the UK legally, but apparently we only needed to utilize our pushy, preferably white, American charm. 

Definitely agree with you Mrs R and DrSuperL99.

Yeah, and what hit me was how attractive and personable she appeared. I suppose that doesn't hurt, does it. 

You know us Angelenos, all of us have a promising second career as a director/screenwriter/actress/novelist. It's a requirement of residence.

Lol! Now I find myself wondering when her story is going Hollywood - looking at her charming narrative, the photos, etc, I really could see its being made into a major motion picture...

A search of the word 'visa' in her Google books preview ('Three Things You Need To Know About Rockets') brings up the part where she was pulled up by UKBA for working illegally when trying to re-enter - they read in her diary that she had been volunteering on a visitor's visa.  She gets all angry at the mean nasty UKBA lady who lets her into the country for 3 days to pack up her stuff. Even uses the line "aren't we supposed to have a special relationship with Britain?".  Cringe.

She gets all angry at the mean nasty UKBA lady who lets her into the country for 3 days to pack up her stuff. Even uses the line "aren't we supposed to have a special relationship with Britain?".  Cringe.

Ouch! At least they let her get her things. She was quite lucky, I think.

Kind of makes me feel like a chump. A lot of us here have spent thousands and thousands to be in the UK legally, but apparently we only needed to utilize our pushy, preferably white, American charm.

This. How many times do we see bright eyed and bushy tailed dreamers like her come on this forum and ask how they can get themselves to the UK, only for us to let them down? Not exactly the best example for her to set; really hope that eventually her entire visa story comes out.

A search of the word 'visa' in her Google books preview ('Three Things You Need To Know About Rockets') brings up the part where she was pulled up by UKBA for working illegally when trying to re-enter - they read in her diary that she had been volunteering on a visitor's visa.  She gets all angry at the mean nasty UKBA lady who lets her into the country for 3 days to pack up her stuff. Even uses the line "aren't we supposed to have a special relationship with Britain?".  Cringe.

Ah, interesting - I tried searching for visa info in regards to her situation the other day without much luck... in the preview I could only find mention of her having a '6-month working visa', and a discussion she had with 'Euan' over their visa options.

A search of the word 'visa' in her Google books preview ('Three Things You Need To Know About Rockets') brings up the part where she was pulled up by UKBA for working illegally when trying to re-enter - they read in her diary that she had been volunteering on a visitor's visa.  She gets all angry at the mean nasty UKBA lady who lets her into the country for 3 days to pack up her stuff. Even uses the line "aren't we supposed to have a special relationship with Britain?".  Cringe.

Oh uggggh. So the media coverage thing p*sses me off more than ever now. They bang on about immigrants - immigrants - immigrants & how awful all of us are, yet swoon all over themselves about someone who really is illegal. Grrrrrr! 

Why doesn't Euan-Shaun just marry her & get on with it?! 

Ugh ugh ugh! 

Clearwater Beach is ace - grouper sandwich at Frenchys!! And St Pete Beach. And Caladesi Island. And Ft Desoto...

Mmmm Frenchy's - we stayed a week in Clearwater Beach after Thansgiving in Vermont. Hoping to do the same this year, we loved it. Considering buying a small holiday home out there that maybe we could use in retirement.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am compelled to write some nasty comments on all those DailyFail articles!!!! I think we all should!!! 

I agree Mrs. R, this has been bugging me as well. For one thing it shows the bigotry of the media in their portrayal of immigrants as being the 'right' kind and the 'wrong' kind, and it continues to feed public ignorance about what is actually involved in moving here. And don't even get me started on the woman herself; just the sort of smug, self-satisfied attention seeker that all Americans are assumed to be like.

Agreed. A lot of people have a misconception that it's easy to move to the UK so they then hear something like this and think "why are they being victimised" and "they'll let asylum seekers in". I've had lot's of surprised people when I said what we went through and people saying "You try to do every thing by the book and you get all this hassle"

Mmmm Frenchy's - we stayed a week in Clearwater Beach after Thansgiving in Vermont. Hoping to do the same this year, we loved it. Considering buying a small holiday home out there that maybe we could use in retirement.

Yes, that'd be sweet, wouldn't it? My brother was telling me last weekend that we ought to buy a holiday place there somewhere. The best price would have been right at the property crash in 2008 or so, but things are still apparently reasonable (if you have the spare money to do it!).

Make sure yours has at least 2 bedrooms so we can come & visit you, Tykeman! 

Yes, that'd be sweet, wouldn't it? My brother was telling me last weekend that we ought to buy a holiday place there somewhere. The best price would have been right at the property crash in 2008 or so, but things are still apparently reasonable (if you have the spare money to do it!).

Make sure yours has at least 2 bedrooms so we can come & visit you, Tykeman!  

We saw an ad for a mobile home out there for about $8,000 (not actually at the beach of course!)  Seriously, had it not been on the day we were heading home we'd have gone to look at it.
If I can get another job quickly we'd have the bulk of my redundancy cash to put into it!

The thing that gets me is the sense of entitlement.  It's that 'These rules aren't meant for me, they're for the real foreigners' mentality.  Which, I should add, displays a subconscious ranking of humans as more or less worthy of following their dreams according to their place of birth and socioeconomic status.  Also she seems to have some huge objection to marrying the person she loves so they can be together, as though the decision to get married should only ever be based solely on a bluebird-singing, fluffy bunny-hopping, flower meadow-walking romance, untainted by such mucky things as real life.  Signing a legal document on the eventual wedding day will be a nasty shock.  Anyway, the whole thing shows a complete lack of respect for another country's laws, however ridiculous and heartbreaking they may be.

Here's yet another version from a month ago: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261039/The-Californian-film-maker-unlikely-passion-Britains-remote-towns-.html

All I can say is...remote?  Wigtown?  No.

When she has to spend at least4 hours traveling by car and boat just to buy some freaking decongestant tablets, then it's a 'remote town.'

This entire story is such a crock.