Hello All

LOL is this real life?! Please tell me with "clearly not a great friend considering it led me here to this incredibly unhelpful site...".

Should have said I’m more of a Bing person myself 😂

Google is your friend.... wow you must have been overwhelmed! Tbh I wish I had found this forum ages ago as I used google to some extent for pretty much everything. Could have saved myself a lot of time but looking back I’m confident everything was submitted ok. Had plenty of time to reflect on that!
And yes I did plan on mentioning it to her and getting her to sign up once she’s here!  Am sure there is a lot she can learn from this site as I’m sure there will be some struggles adapting to unforeseen cultural differences. Maybe someone can advise on the obvious lack of sun issue (She’s from Southern California) lol
Just gotta get that darn visa approved and hopefully good to go!

Yeah, I later learned that some on the forum seemed to consider it a bit of a sport to be rude/unhelpful to newbies. 

She may not be prone to it, but if she is affected by the lack of sunshine and the short days in the winter, she might want to consider a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light.  I got one myself and I'm not sure if it's just a placebo effect or not but it does seem to help my mood in the wintertime!   

Google is your friend.... wow you must have been overwhelmed! Tbh I wish I had found this forum ages ago as I used google to some extent for pretty much everything. Could have saved myself a lot of time but looking back I’m confident everything was submitted ok. Had plenty of time to reflect on that!
And yes I did plan on mentioning it to her and getting her to sign up once she’s here!  Am sure there is a lot she can learn from this site as I’m sure there will be some struggles adapting to unforeseen cultural differences. Maybe someone can advise on the obvious lack of sun issue (She’s from Southern California) lol
Just gotta get that darn visa approved and hopefully good to go!

Hi Paul!
Welcome to the forum.  I love this place. I have generally had bad experiences with message boards in the past so I was reluctant in the beginning to join in here. But everyone here has been so welcoming and beyond helpful. There is a wealth of knowledge and everyone is more than happy to share it. I am thrilled I found this forum to help me get through this visa process. I can't imagine if I had tried to do it on my own. I'm at 11 business days today so I've still got a bit of a wait ahead. At least I can come here to chat and vent with people who understand exactly how I am feeling. It's been fun connecting with others who are in this unique situation.

I am also from Southern California, by the way. So tell your wife she's definitely not alone in the UK! We can talk about all the things we love about wonderful SoCal. And tell her to get a good vitamin D supplement to make up for the lack of sun! 

Hope you guys get wonderful visa news soon! 

The SAD light is ingenious! Thanks for the tip! We’ll see how she gets on during those 8 hour daylight days in Jan and bear that in mind! Thanks very much. And placebo is as good as the real thing if she thinks it’s working haha!
Mrs Magpie thanks for the introduction! My wife is from the LA area too I’ve spent a lot of time there these past couple of years. Funnily enough my best friend came to my wedding three months ago and met a girl there from Santa Ana (on my bachelor party) and he’s currently on a flight there now! This long distance thing is catching! Good luck on your visa! You never know it may speed up a tad as hopefully the busy season is at least calming down a bit now. My wife worries about not having the food she likes (she’s incredibly health conscious), weather, missing friends and Jack FM lol

Google is your friend.... wow you must have been overwhelmed! Tbh I wish I had found this forum ages ago as I used google to some extent for pretty much everything. Could have saved myself a lot of time but looking back I’m confident everything was submitted ok. Had plenty of time to reflect on that!
And yes I did plan on mentioning it to her and getting her to sign up once she’s here!  Am sure there is a lot she can learn from this site as I’m sure there will be some struggles adapting to unforeseen cultural differences. Maybe someone can advise on the obvious lack of sun issue (She’s from Southern California) lol
Just gotta get that darn visa approved and hopefully good to go!

Even before she moves, it can be a good resource to know what she should prepare herself for beyond the obvious. Packing up your life and moving it across an ocean can be extremely stressful (and sometimes confusing) so it can be nice talking to other people who get it and who can offer advice to make it as quick and painful as possible.

Yeah, I later learned that some on the forum seemed to consider it a bit of a sport to be rude/unhelpful to newbies. 

She may not be prone to it, but if she is affected by the lack of sunshine and the short days in the winter, she might want to consider a SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light.  I got one myself and I'm not sure if it's just a placebo effect or not but it does seem to help my mood in the wintertime!   

OOOOOH I think I need a SAD light! Hadn't heard of this before. I had heard of other UV-ray lights and they seem to be SUPER expensive but not heard them called SAD lights before so wondering if they're the same as what I was seeing before? (I knew what SAD was and I'm faiiirrrlllyyy certain that I have it/it amplifies existing mental health issues, but I hadn't looked for lights specifically under that name before)

Yes you’re prob right! I’ll encourage her to sign up!

I just love the fact it’s called a sad light. It’s abbreviated letters work out perfectly...

I had a look In the non-priority visa timeline earlier. Looks like there’s one person on same time as us still waiting and everyone before was about 55-63 days. With one very interesting ongoing thread that lead to another thread about someone getting married here without a visa that lead to a newspaper article and being held up in Calais ... now that was an interesting read...

The SAD light is ingenious! Thanks for the tip! We’ll see how she gets on during those 8 hour daylight days in Jan and bear that in mind! Thanks very much. And placebo is as good as the real thing if she thinks it’s working haha!
Mrs Magpie thanks for the introduction! My wife is from the LA area too I’ve spent a lot of time there these past couple of years. Funnily enough my best friend came to my wedding three months ago and met a girl there from Santa Ana (on my bachelor party) and he’s currently on a flight there now! This long distance thing is catching! Good luck on your visa! You never know it may speed up a tad as hopefully the busy season is at least calming down a bit now. My wife worries about not having the food she likes (she’s incredibly health conscious), weather, missing friends and Jack FM lol

What part of LA is she from? I lived in the Valley for 18 years. Was in Sherman Oaks, Lake Balboa, and Woodland Hills. I know just how she feels about the food and missing friends especially. The food thing is challenging but I find myself cooking more at home when I'm in the UK visiting versus going out to eat. I guess that's a good thing as I can control what's in my food at home and it's much less expensive.

The friends thing, though, it's the hardest part. I'm currently living with my mom in Miami as I transition to the UK. I miss my friends desperately. I was an avid tennis player. I played at Calabasas Tennis and there was such a great group of girls there. I miss being able to call one of them up for an impromptu Starbucks or lunch meet-up. I definitely get lonely and long for the connection I had with my girls. Thankfully, my husband has been very supportive and attentive. And his sister has reached out as well. But I know once I'm there settled in for good, I'll get my routine going and I'm sure I'll meet some nice girlfriends again.

I'm sure your wife will be fine though. We Angelenos are very open and friendly. She'll be sure to attract some great friends in the UK in no time! 

She’s in Whittier now, but originally from Newport. Other side to you I think! Thankfully I live in Brighton and there is def no shortage of food places here so I think that may help with the adapting! But we def eat out a lot less over here haha.

I think that has to be a challenge for anyone relacating to another country, literally leaving all your friends and family behind, different time zone etc. As you say you can’t just call them up for whatever you need when you need! I’ve resided to the fact there won’t be many ‘lads nights out’ first few months she’s here as she gets herself established and makes friends. I like your optimism though! Angelinos are very friendly often surprised me when I first started going over how friendly everyone is! I’m glad things are going ok for you during the transition! Hard as it is now I’m sure like many on this site by Christmas we’ll be looking back at this thinking what was all the fuss about!

She’s in Whittier now, but originally from Newport. Other side to you I think! Thankfully I live in Brighton and there is def no shortage of food places here so I think that may help with the adapting! But we def eat out a lot less over here haha.

I think that has to be a challenge for anyone relacating to another country, literally leaving all your friends and family behind, different time zone etc. As you say you can’t just call them up for whatever you need when you need! I’ve resided to the fact there won’t be many ‘lads nights out’ first few months she’s here as she gets herself established and makes friends. I like your optimism though! Angelinos are very friendly often surprised me when I first started going over how friendly everyone is! I’m glad things are going ok for you during the transition! Hard as it is now I’m sure like many on this site by Christmas we’ll be looking back at this thinking what was all the fuss about!

Ah, okay... Yep, she's on the other side from me as you say. You're lucky to have some good food choices down in Brighton. I think Cumbria is kind of lacking when it comes to variety. Pubs, pubs, and more pubs with a spattering of Indian restaurants to boot. Also the occasional Italian place. Very little for special diets like gluten free, organic or vegan... though I have noticed a rise in those offerings. But I always remind myself that I'm not too far from some big cities (London is 3 hours by train) if I want to get some better food every now and again.

My husband was also thrown a bit by how friendly I and other Americans are. He thought I was faking it. LOL! Yeah, you might have to give up a few lads night outs. Happy wife, happy life! 

Thanks for the encouragement. And you're right, we'll all be settling in soon and just enjoying our new exciting adventure!

Yep! The other side of the 5! Brighton is oddly similar to SoCal in some ways so I think it will make the transition easier. Music scene is big, Restaurants etc. Well at least you have a good variety of pubs! That's better than no pubs! And there is some seriously beautiful countryside in that part of the land!
Ha you're definitely American - When 3 hours isn't too far away! That's like the other side of the world for A Brit! But some of those train lines connecting north to south are so fast. I drove up to York a few years ago and it took me about 5 and a half hours, then did it again on the train - Hour and 40 or something from London! Unless you're from NYC the public transport in Europe is probably i revelation. My wife is worried about not being able to drive here, but I'd be surprised if she even needed too in the first year of being here tbh.
Yes I think a lot of Brits think Americans are faking it! It's not true though, just a friendlier culture to people you dont know. I think Brits on a whole are very friendly, more so in the North. But are not necessarily outwards to people they don't know!
Why are there no rhyme's for happy husband? Haha.

Yes I think a lot of Brits think Americans are faking it! It's not true though, just a friendlier culture to people you dont know.

This would tally up with conversations I've had with Brits when they've made comments about how overly friendly Americans are. I've had some borderline "not sure if I should be offended" comments that I know weren't meant maliciously that I've challenged and found out that it does seem to be more that Brits, as a majority, think Americans are being "over the top" friendly because they think it's fake friendliness more than a person actually wanting to be friendly/caring about how the other person is doing.

I was deemed okay with my friendly-levels because I'm from New England hahahaha Boston-area attitudes -while still more outwardly friendly to strangers - are similar to southern England's attitudes (from what I've witnessed)

This would tally up with conversations I've had with Brits when they've made comments about how overly friendly Americans are. I've had some borderline "not sure if I should be offended" comments that I know weren't meant maliciously that I've challenged and found out that it does seem to be more that Brits, as a majority, think Americans are being "over the top" friendly because they think it's fake friendliness more than a person actually wanting to be friendly/caring about how the other person is doing.

I was deemed okay with my friendly-levels because I'm from New England hahahaha Boston-area attitudes -while still more outwardly friendly to strangers - are similar to southern England's attitudes (from what I've witnessed)

Ha yes if it's not the British way, then it must be fake surely?! Lets be honest, using the tube is almost a cool cultural challenge to try your best not to acknowledge the thousands of people around you. Did you find any cultural challenges after moving here? Or did you find the change quite easy to adjust?

Welcome to UKY!  Glad that you found us, and certainly ask any questions. 

I was deemed okay with my friendly-levels because I'm from New England hahahaha Boston-area attitudes -while still more outwardly friendly to strangers - are similar to southern England's attitudes (from what I've witnessed)

LOL, I'm from New England too, and even so, I've been advised I'm very "American" in regards to my friendliness and enthusiasm levels. 

This is great, that is awesome, I'm excited about A, B, or C.  I think once people realized that's how I am, and am not putting it on, it became more endearing than annoying or suspicious.

Lets be honest, using the tube is almost a cool cultural challenge to try your best not to acknowledge the thousands of people around you.

Mints! 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/5575857/london-tube-drunk-after-eights/amp/

Yep! The other side of the 5! Brighton is oddly similar to SoCal in some ways so I think it will make the transition easier. Music scene is big, Restaurants etc. Well at least you have a good variety of pubs! That's better than no pubs! And there is some seriously beautiful countryside in that part of the land!
Ha you're definitely American - When 3 hours isn't too far away! That's like the other side of the world for A Brit! But some of those train lines connecting north to south are so fast. I drove up to York a few years ago and it took me about 5 and a half hours, then did it again on the train - Hour and 40 or something from London! Unless you're from NYC the public transport in Europe is probably i revelation. My wife is worried about not being able to drive here, but I'd be surprised if she even needed too in the first year of being here tbh.
Yes I think a lot of Brits think Americans are faking it! It's not true though, just a friendlier culture to people you dont know. I think Brits on a whole are very friendly, more so in the North. But are not necessarily outwards to people they don't know!
Why are there no rhyme's for happy husband? Haha.

LOL!! When you live in LA, 3 hours travel time is par for the course. I used to live only about 25 miles from LAX. One time it took me two hours to get there and two more hours to get back home. It was a nightmare but what can you do except blast some good music and deal with it? Glad I don't have to deal with that anymore though. I love being able to take the train when I'm in the UK. It's so convenient and less stressful than driving. But I am still planning to drive there. I practiced a lot the last time I was there. The more I did it, the less scary it became. If your wife is used to driving in the crazy streets of LA, on freeways with 6 lanes across in each direction, she can definitely master the roads and motorways of the UK 

I believe Brits are quite friendly as well but like you said, it's not as blatant or outward. I can say no one has been mean or rude to me. Not even once! But at the same time, I don't see anyone going out of their way to be friendly either. I've always been a girl's girl but I think it will still be challenging to forge any close friendships from my experiences so far. It will just take a bit of time and people getting used to me being around I guess.

I don't have much experience with people in the South. I've only been to London once. I really want to travel more in the country once I'm there. I watched this television program about the 100 greatest walks in the UK and there were quite a few places in the South that looked stunning. However, guess where the number one walk is (and about 5 of the top 10 walks as well)... In the North in The Lake District! You're right, it is absolutely gorgeous in Cumbria. It's honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been... It rivals Hawaii!