Emigration

Anyone on here currently living in a country that isn't the one they started in?

I've always wanted to move to the US myself, and now that I'm at a point in life where I'm really rethinking myself and basically going back to the drawing board, I actually want to look into this more and see if it's actually possible for me.

Too bad we can't just swap citizenship, because I've always wanted to move to the UK.

Basically, for either you to come here or me to go there, it requires some sort of advanced degree or specialized job skill that is in-demand enough that an employer would be willing to sponsor you for residency.

Hehe, yeah that would be handy indeed.

I knew it would involve some kind of qualification/trade etc. but I'm looking into doing something like that anyway, I'm just not sure what.

Our women-folk are suckers for a British accent?

I can't really put my finger on why I want someday to live in the US but the National Health Service is definitely something I would miss about living here in the UK.

Give it 20 years, it won't be around in a form recognisable enough for you to miss it, if current trends are anything to go by.

It's because of this.

Nah, but really, the NHS isn't something I'd miss really, considering so many americans get by fine without it anyway.

To put it simply, I just like it in America (granted, only been to Florida's tourist resorts). I like the vastness of it compared to our tiny island. You could get into a car if you wanted, and drive a thousand miles to another state, that's almost like another country.

I'm not sure which state I'd want to live in, but I'd really like to start by going for like, a year, maybe and travelling all around.

We really, really don't.

^^^ this
khoos moved to the U.S. from Canada to be with me. She's been sick several times that required hospitalization, and without being covered by my rather expensive health insurance, we'd be in debt for tens of thousands of dollars. We have a friend who received $4000+ bill for going to the emergency room for an ear infection. We received $8750 and $10000 bills for the two times our 3 year old needed stitches.

Having been through the immigration process ourselves and watching a couple of other members go through it as well, it is a nightmare. It is confusing and expensive. It is even more complicated if you don't already have a sponsor to provide some support, a job waiting for you, or accepted to a university to study at. I'm not saying to not do it, I'm just saying to expect to be frustrated and angered by the process.

It's a terrible health care system, but there are a lot of great places and reasons to live in the US. If you have the means, certainly take some time to travel around. The US is huge and living in Memphis isn't anything like living in Minneapolis.

Yeah, I can't even think of what would be in second place...maybe the fact that much of our regional differences are being wiped out by stripmall/walmarting?

Or the seemingly current wave of anti-anything that isn't white, male, affluent or christain happening in our government.

Current?

That why I said seemingly. Those negatives are nothing new, but they are far more noticeable now then say in the 80s before the rise of the web where most people can be plugged into what's currently going on from multiple mobile devices then like it was before where it was just tv or the radio.

Plenty of people in the UK are attracted to the USA because it is perceived as a big, affluent country which can afford to pay good wages to talented people (the so-called 'brain drain' effect where people with sought-after skills leave their country of origin to go and work in rich countries... people come to the UK for this reason and people emigrate from the UK to the USA for this reason). People want to move to the USA to make money like modern-day versions of Dick Whittington (who went to London to make his fortune because he had heard the the streets were paved with gold). Of course, I appreciate that there are plenty of people in the USA who aren't high earners; I am just talking about the perception that people have of the USA.

Also, plenty of people in the UK seem to be under the impression that it doesn't rain in the USA. Me, I rather like the rain so I plan to stay put here in the UK. Ok, you may think I am joking about people emigrating from the UK because of the weather but I really am not. For example, lots of people in the UK bitch about people from Europe coming to the UK to find jobs but the system works both ways and plenty of UK citizens have taken advantage of EU membership to go and live in Spain because of the climate (or they have bought up property in Spain so that they can live part of the year in the UK and part of it in Spain). The perception that the USA has a nice climate makes it seem very attractive to people in the UK.

The whole health care thing, is it really that bad? Is insurance really hard to get/too expensive to afford or something? I mean, surely if it was as bad as that, everyone would be dropping dead and losing homes etc due to the financial strain. I know both of those scenarios will happen, but they happen here too. Surely it can't be THAT bad, otherwise the country would be totally unfit to live in, which it clearly is not.

The UK has the NHS, but other than that, there's really nothing better about it than the US. Our politicians are corrupt/money grabbing/elitist, just like yours. We have plenty of violent crime (just with less guns), and the recession is raping us too. I'd bet that percentage wise, you'd find exactly the same, or extremely similar levels of dissatisfaction in both countries for all sorts of different reasons.

I'd say a likely scenario would be, if I swapped places with an American then we got together in twenty years, I'd be moaning about the US health care and he/she would be moaning about the many other problems the UK has, and would probably even be moaning about how lacklustre the care actually is in the NHS or something, or how a loved one caught MRSA due to poor conditions in a hospital and we'd both be just as pissed off as each other.

Every country has it's problems and while I could say "The US is so wonderful! The weather is always exactly how you want it! The streets really ARE lined with gold!" and an American could say "Yeah but the UK has the NHS which is FREE! Nobody ever dies or gets sick and nobody ever gets into debt!" we'd both be wrong.

I know it's easy to label someone who says they would like to live in the US as a whole "American Dream" chaser, but that's really not the case here. I'm bored of the country I live in now, I want a change and I like America, so I'd like to live there for a while. I am NOT expecting to be able to roll in and get an easy life, I'm not an idiot, I just want a big change.

I'll just make sure to keep a contingency ticket home ready

That seems fair. if there is one thing we have in america, its variety of climates and geographical areas and features.

Yes it is. People do lose homes due to medical debt, more frequently than you think.

Let's assume that since you'd need an advanced degree or a specialized skill, and an employer willing to sponsor you for HB-1 visa, that you'd have a good job here, that provides you with a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, and offers a group insurance plan that you can buy into. (For, those of us who don't have insurance through our employers a self-pay policy can run several hundred dollars a month, with a high deductible).

Things are going well, you've bought yourself a car, and even a home. Then one day, you're driving in your car, and someone runs a red light and slams right into your driver's side door. You're taken to the hospital. You'll be spending at least a month in the hospital, followed by several months of physical therapy. The other driver has car insurance, but only the minimum amount required by law, about $2,500 for PIP, or Personal Injury Protection. The medical service providers still want to get paid though, now, and the other guy doesn't have deep pockets. Sure you could sue him, but all that's going to do is garnish his wages over the next hundred years until he's paid what he owes you. It does nothing for you in the immediate term, not to mention that you're feeling like shit from your injuries, and in no state of mind for a legal battle. Your insurance kicks in, but because of your deductible, you're going to be responsible for the first $5,000 of your hospital stay. Lucky, you had some savings, but they all got eaten up by that deductible.

Now you've been in the hospital for a month, and are ready for physical therapy. You're still unable to work from your injuries. and though your employer has said that they'll keep your job open for you, the insurance company has a rider on the policy that says employees must put in a certain number of hours per pay period in order to be eligible for coverage. Since you're not working, you're not making any hours, and now you no longer have any insurance. You're now responsible for the remainder of your hospital stay, and the physical therapy you'll need to get back to work so that you can afford the hospital stay and physical therapy.

You're also falling behind on your mortgage because you don't have any income coming in, and the creditors for your medical debt have placed a lien on your house...

In the US health 'care' system, it's very easy for one accident, or bout of serious illness to send a person spiraling into debt, even with a good-paying job and insurance.

As crazy as it probably sounds to Brits, I want to move there because of the climate. I like clouds and rain, and cool weather. It's hard to describe, but I lived my whole life in places that have never felt like 'home'. The first time I visited Britain, it was the first time in my life that I had ever been somewhere that felt right to me; that felt like home.

That's exactly how I feel about Ontario Canada. I can literally feel my body relax as I cross the border. If I didn't feel tied to working for my father, I'd be living there now.

I was thinking of Canada as well actually, it looks like an awesome place. What's the health care etc. like there?

I did read and am referencing your whole post here, I just slimmed it down for the response.

Is the debt you'd end up in not at all manageable then? It does sound pretty crap, but you can end up in debt for all sorts of things. I mean, let's say I get a degree here and have a great career etc. with a nice house, first of all, because of university fees here, I'd probably be in a good 20-30k worth of debt already, then I could easily end up losing my job due to the shitty economy at the minute, then be left without the means to pay my mortgage/bills etc. and lose my home.

I'm not trying to argue here either (obviously my not living there kind of stops me), I'm just struggling to see how it could be so bad, purely based on the healthcare system that no one should live there.