US to UK and loving it

My wife and I moved to the UK in 2012 because "we could" when my company offered to sponsor my work visa. And we haven't looked back.
We were caught in the downdraft of the 2008 recession, moved from Seattle to
Boston and just kept moving east.

We love it in the UK and, being boomers, find that the country we grew up in is more and more no longer in existence.

If you find it wonderful to learn that the reason something is done the way it is, is because it has been done this way from the time before Jamestown and Plymouth, then England is the place to be.

If instead, you cringe at the idea that the Planning Commission needs to approve your proposed changes to a listed building, then stay in the US where bulldozers rule.

We will apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (equivalent to a US Green card) as soon as we are able.  We have yet to find any reason to return to the US.  We may find reasons in the future, but have not done so after 5 years.

Be adaptable, interested in different ways, and willing to just being a "Yank" who sometimes forgets his "lifts" from his "bonnets" and you will love it here. Everytime we go shopping to the nearest supermarket, we go to a foreign country.

An adventure awaits those of an adventurous spirit.

Welcome!  I take it you hold a Tier 2 General and not a Tier 2 ICT visa?

Hi vassar76, welcome! 

I take it you hold a Tier 2 General and not a Tier 2 ICT visa?

I was going to ask the same thing. From one of your other posts it looks like you may have a Tier 2 ICT visa? 

Due to the legal status of the US home office and the UK EMEA office of my company, they are totally different business entities. The whole EMEA operation is conducted as a separate legal entity from the US company.

This means that I was not eligible for an ICT (intra-company transfer) visa.

While I am here at my company's pleasure (or at least their consent), I am in the UK on a Tier 2 General visa.

Some background:
In 2008, I was working for a bank.
Working for a bank in 2008 was not a good place to be.
Made redundant (aka "!aid off"!) and had a dream of making something exciting of it all.
Moved US West coast to East coast, re-connected with colleagues of the 1980s, and got a job with a company that had EMEA operations.  Ducked my head down, did the work required for my position (if not more) and made known my desire to move overseas.

The net result is that I am in the UK, looking at getting my ILR (indefinite leave to remain, equivalent to a US Green card).

Getting here and staying here has involved hard work, a bunch of $$, and figuring out what the UK office needs and making sure I satisfy that need. It has not been easy, but it is has been predictable, plan-able, and I am looking at permission to be here permanently. 

The effort to get here has had a cost, but all dreams have a cost. If you want to move to the UK, research and figure out what is required. And "Get 'er Done". And don't gripe about the cost. 

England is an expensive country. Petrol at around USD 6.00 a gallon. If that causes you to reconsider, then... reconsider.

Cheers
Terry

We are pretty familiar with it all.   

Had you been a Tier 2 ICT, you wouldn't be eligible for ILR.  Glad you were able to do a Tier 2 General.   

While I am here at my company's pleasure (or at least their consent), I am in the UK on a Tier 2 General visa.

That's good - as KFDancer said, if you were on a Tier 2 ICT visa, you would not be allowed to apply for ILR and would have to leave the UK when your visa expired.

England is an expensive country. Petrol at around USD 6.00 a gallon. If that causes you to reconsider, then... reconsider.

Don't we know it ! (I'm British, and KFDancer and larrabee have lived in the UK for several years)

Petrol actually used to be more like $8-10 a gallon but the falling value of the pound in recent years has meant that it's 'only' about $6.50 to $7 a gallon these days.

England is an expensive country. Petrol at around USD 6.00 a gallon. If that causes you to reconsider, then... reconsider.

Considering that most of us are already here, or are moving to be with spouses, it's probably too late for us to take advantage of this advice .

And this:

If you want to move to the UK, research and figure out what is required. And "Get 'er Done". 

is unfortunately simply not true for everybody. I'm glad things worked out for you, but with the UK tightening its immigration rules pretty steadily since you moved here, it takes more than a can-do attitude these days to get a Tier 2 visa. Better to be realistic about the facts of the situation so as not to give anyone false hope .

"Get 'er Done".

>>shudder<<
That phrase reminds me of my brother-in-law. 

If instead, you cringe at the idea that the Planning Commission needs to approve your proposed changes to a listed building, then stay in the US where bulldozers rule.

Welcome! Glad you're enjoying your experience thus far!

What I will say, RE this point, is my area has seen tooooo many bulldozers (the council are okay telling you your treehouse needs to be taken down as it's not got the right permission, but the big wooded area across the road is cool to be chopped down because "we need more houses and old folks homes!!!"), so I don't think you're necessarily free from that regardless of which country you're in (unfortunately).

What I will say, RE this point, is my area has seen tooooo many bulldozers (the council are okay telling you your treehouse needs to be taken down as it's not got the right permission, but the big wooded area across the road is cool to be chopped down because "we need more houses and old folks homes!!!"), so I don't think you're necessarily free from that regardless of which country you're in (unfortunately).

Yup. They're in the middle of building 2500 new houses about a mile from where we live, and there's a proposal at the council to build another 6000 houses to join up the town on one side of us to the village on the other side. All of this despite the fact that they can't get any more doctors to take on a new local medical practice, and the school they built 2 years ago to accommodate the growth is already being expanded because it's not big enough.

Ranting aside, bulldozers rule the UK, too.

Yup. They're in the middle of building 2500 new houses about a mile from where we live, and there's a proposal at the council to build another 6000 houses to join up the town on one side of us to the village on the other side. All of this despite the fact that they can't get any more doctors to take on a new local medical practice, and the school they built 2 years ago to accommodate the growth is already being expanded because it's not big enough.

Ranting aside, bulldozers rule the UK, too.

]

I know we're not, but it almost sounds like we could be from the same place! Especially with the doctor's surgery bits!

]

I know we're not, but it almost sounds like we could be from the same place! Especially with the doctor's surgery bits!

There's a lot of it going around.

Apologies if I came across a little strong.  (I am an American, after all)
The emphasis I intended was on the DREAM, RESEARCH and WORK aspects.

There is no guarantee that these three will be enough. 
My point was more that without these three, it will be real real real difficult.

Particular as the UK builds the moat and raises the Brexit drawbridge.

One needs to figure out what the dream is, visualise it and develop a strategy on how to make it happen. And then work the strategy.
And it may not happen.  Just as any dream may not happen.
But the odds of the dream not happening are greater if you don't have the dream to start with. Starting with having the dream increases the possibilities greatly.

Am I lucky to have gotten in before the Brexit vote? Certainly.  But the opportunity only happened because I had a dream and pursued it when opportunities arose. I could have sat back and never mentioned my dream to my mangers. Instead, I made my dream known. And then one day, one manager said "Really?"

So my advise is to have the dream, leavened by reality, but if it is truly a dream, pursue it.  Who knows.

Sounds like someone's been reading a lot of self-help books, or been trotted through a lot of "personal development" classes at work.

Either way, yes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."   

I find that it's actually cheaper for me to live here than where I was living in the States. Food is of better quality and the same or less in cost (proportionally), I'm paying 2/3rds of what I paid for a much nicer and larger flat than the one that I had in the States, my utility bills are extraordinarily less expensive (so far, but I haven't been through a winter yet), my medical needs are covered, and there's a decent public transportation system - which means I don't need to own a car. And, up here in Scotland, people are more relaxed and laid back, and very welcoming. It's been a "win" all around for me, so far.

So if someone was interested in living here, I would encourage them to do as much research as it takes to see if it's possible. And if so, to do it.

I find that it's actually cheaper for me to live here than where I was living in the States. Food is of better quality and the same or less in cost (proportionally), I'm paying 2/3rds of what I paid for a much nicer and larger flat than the one that I had in the States, my utility bills are extraordinarily less expensive (so far, but I haven't been through a winter yet), my medical needs are covered, and there's a decent public transportation system - which means I don't need to own a car.

Yeah I think it depends on where you're coming from/what your financial situation and/or career was prior to moving etc. I find that the quality of life I would have been able to afford at the point in my life when I moved is far greater over here than it was/would've been back in the US (especially as I didn't have a college degree because I dropped out of uni). I think my career has flourished here and I've had way more opportunity here than I would've had in the US at this point, but I can definitely appreciate that people that had established themselves within a certain career might find they were losing out when moving. I know they say the pay is lower, but I fine my money goes further. The groceries kind of balance out because in the US I feel like I paid more for fruit/veg and less for meat. Now I pay more for meat and less for fruit/veg so it's all evened out more or less (and I have loads of options of where I want to buy the groceries from ranging from posh to cheaper options).