Those who moved to the US - yay/nay?

[Raymond Lin]

No lane etiquette in the States, but that's the "rule" so you have terrible driving. It's awful. I find the same in supermarkets, but you kind of get that anywhere outside the UK (France is just as bad until you find the shops with the things you want in).

You have to do the same with cheques and taxes here, it's retarded. The French systems are so bloated and old, much like the US in fact, but at least here you can use online banking fairly well. It's like it's been put together by a 4yr old, but it's there.
My business account in the US I was trying to get money in to it and they were like how's it going to arrive? I was like bank transfer... the guy was like... wa? I was like wire... he said oh, so someone will come in here and do it? *slaps forehead*

Makes you wonder in the movies when the bad guys steals money online, do the Americans think that is like science fiction in the realm of Star Trek, like the idea of seeing your money going from one account to an idea in an instant with a click is soooo far away.

 

[JBod]

No lane etiquette in the States, but that's the "rule" so you have terrible driving. It's awful. I find the same in supermarkets, but you kind of get that anywhere outside the UK (France is just as bad until you find the shops with the things you want in).

You have to do the same with cheques and taxes here, it's retarded. The French systems are so bloated and old, much like the US in fact, but at least here you can use online banking fairly well. It's like it's been put together by a 4yr old, but it's there.
My business account in the US I was trying to get money in to it and they were like how's it going to arrive? I was like bank transfer... the guy was like... wa? I was like wire... he said oh, so someone will come in here and do it? *slaps forehead*

The lane etiquette is partially the problem, the other part is the complete lack of drivers use their indicators. The culture here is built on competition. It is through their school system, always push push push for teams, saluting the flag each morning and remind themselves they are the greatest country on earth. This translates to everything they do (along with copious use of sporting metaphors), so if you are on a busy freeway and need to shift lanes, you indicate to change lane and it is taken as a challenge for those around you to get ahead... because if you get ahead of someone else they have lost 14 feet.

Oh yea to transfer money to the US from UK I can do it all online in any of my UK bank accounts in about 10mins, arrives 2 - 3 working days later in my Wells Fargo US account. To transfer any money home means a trip to the physical branch.

Also they won't give me a credit card, if I want a credit card they will need $1k from me to hold in "trust" and I only get $1k credit... so it is literally a rigged system for building up a credit history.

The weirdest thing I have found is the sheer expectation of basic services, if you don't have a social security number you are screwed. I had trouble getting water, gas, electricity, waste management (picking up my trash), sewage management and TV/Cable/Internet setup because I didn't have a social security number. Suddenly there are 20 more hoops to jump through and hundreds of dollars extra as deposits because I dont have a social... but I could rent a house without any trouble.

One of the things that jars me every time I see it are the stickers everywhere on everything saying it "may" give you cancer. Literally on everything. Swimming in the sea? Warning sign it will give you cancer. Drinking a bottle of water? Might give you cancer.

We joke about it from the UK, but the compensation culture here has shaped the minute details of the day to day.

 

[randomshenans]

Haha yea! I love the fact that I got a telling off in Utah last month for j walking... I didn't think it was a thing. Not anymore, you know, since people can use their eyes to cross a bloody road! No, no. Dangerous... YET!! In Utah you don't need to use a helmet when you ride a motorbike!!?

I always say to people though; wherever you move, you'll find things that grate the living **** out of you, it's just balancing those with the benefits you get from living in that place and if one doesn't outweigh the other in your mind, then it's probably not the place to be.
I put up with the useless service, bad systems, paperwork, bad drivers bla but can be in Italy in 3hrs, went to Liechtenstein for a day the other month, can ski on weekends and have cheap wine

 

[roadie]

Why what was there if you scratched beneath the surface?

JBod expresses some of the things I found well and from a much more recent perspective.

I would also like to say that from my experience, California is probably the most "European" feeling state.

The political climate and media coverage around it is also very different to here. When I lived in Florida, Iraq was invaded, which made for interesting coverage to put it lightly.

 

[OllyM]

Also they won't give me a credit card, if I want a credit card they will need $1k from me to hold in "trust" and I only get $1k credit... so it is literally a rigged system for building up a credit history.

I've been here almost 6 months now and between myself and my partner we have 6 decent unsecured credit cards, you just need to know how to go about it. I did think we'd have to go down the secured card route but thankfully have managed to avoid it.

On the other hand I did have to put down deposits for cell phones ($800 for 2 lines), Verizon internet ($125) and electricity.

 

[Jano]

My brothers been over there for about 25 years now and would be back in an instant if he could. With three kids, far better job prospects and a much nicer house there than he would ever have managed to get here, there is no chance of that happening though. When he moved out there he had family and a support network behind him which is no longer there, being on his own, especially through a particularly messy divorce was very difficult. He's also had to go through relatives being let down by the healthcare system (costs escalated to the point where they refused to cover them anymore) so has seen the good and bad of living out there.

I've been out there pretty much either every year, or a couple of times a year since I was 14, so 22 years now. I've travelled up and down the East coast and have always said I would never move out there, I'm not so sure now though, especially after the last trip as we spent a decent amount of time in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee before we went down to Florida and it was the first time the girlfriend had really seen the real US, outside of Orlando and New York. I'd also guess we'd not have too many issues getting visa's to work out there, me through my brother and her as a teacher.

Living in the south of England and looking at value for money - we'd get a mansion for the amount of money we've put into our house, then there is the weather, the infrastructure, the quality of life that's available out there really is a no brainer, it's just much much nicer there. I couldn't even say that missing family would be that much of an issue as we'd have just as much family over there as we do here now. I just don't know if I could put up with the Americans living there

 

[timmeh]

I have only lived and visited California so baring that in mind my experience is that it is the small things...

Dreadful food in the regular supermarkets (Tesco/Sainsbury style places). You can't get what we would call normal Hovis bread. Everything is full of High Fructose Corn Syrup or regular sugar and packed with salt. Things we consider basic food items are non-existent, picked onions, baked beans and salad cream (to name a few). Bags of crisps (sorry chips) are HUGE. What we would think is a bulk purchase of individually wrapped crisps are actually just big ass bags of crisps here.

Drivers are far worse than I have seen in the UK - but this could just be the famous LA traffic problems.

There are far more ghettos and down trodden areas than you realise watching US television, I know we have our own such places - Birmingham, Liverpool... for example but here I am seeing more beggers than I ever saw in central London.

There have been over 700 people killed by police officers so far this year, just think about that for a second.

Here in LA, I often wonder if that weird shaking is an earth quake, or that smoke on the horizon is a wildfire, or if those tsunami warning signs at Malibu should be taken seriously.

Then you get into their backwards banking and taxation system. All the utility bills that you have to pay because there is no council tax.... by cheque (sorry check ). Oh you can eventually setup online billing but they don't have "direct debits".

When you get your job you have to setup your own tax and do things like a W4 to best guess how much tax you should be and hope that you are right by the end of the tax year!

Someone mashed the rear bumper of my brand new Ford Fusion yesterday, of course no CCTV and no witnesses.

This is exactly what I have found in the year I've been here. I'd love some beans on toast but just try and find some normal baked beans! They have so many different kinds of BBQ baked beans but none like in the UK.

We pay our house payment by cheque every month which is completely nuts.

Mobile phone contracts are outrageous too. Me n the wife have one with AT&T and for 2 lines + 2x iPhone 6S it's $180/pcm ($120/pcm using our own phones). Quite a shock going from £13/pcm with Three in the UK...

They love advertising here too. I watch the football (soccer) on a Saturday & Sunday morning and they manage to squeeze 3 or 4 ad breaks into half-time. Absolutely everything is sponsored too. For example, every car's onboard camer in the Indycar is sponsored by a different company and the college basketball goes as far as having an 'official ladder'.

The driving is something else, although the roads are pretty nuts. There's a junction near me that if you're coming from a certain road and want to go to the supermarket you have to cross 6 lanes of traffic in about 50m. Getting off the interstate is fun too, you have about 50m of road which you share with anything trying to get on to the interstate. If there's a truck trying to get one when you want to get off, tough ****, you're going to the next junction. People also have a habit of pretty much stopping going onto the interstate too. Not sure how that compares to the UK as I wasn't driving long in the UK before I moved here.

My wife just sent me this as I'm writing this post. Sorry for the poor quality but yes, that's his foot sticking out of the window while he's driving...

 

[D.P.]

I have only lived and visited California so baring that in mind my experience is that it is the small things...

Dreadful food in the regular supermarkets (Tesco/Sainsbury style places). You can't get what we would call normal Hovis bread. Everything is full of High Fructose Corn Syrup or regular sugar and packed with salt. Things we consider basic food items are non-existent, picked onions, baked beans and salad cream (to name a few). Bags of crisps (sorry chips) are HUGE. What we would think is a bulk purchase of individually wrapped crisps are actually just big ass bags of crisps here.

You have so much more choice of supermarkets in the US though, and far more that cater to high end food, organic, quality meat etc. You are probably shopping in the wrong supermarkets, trying going to Fresh market, world market, Market of Choice, Trader joes etc.

Standard American bread is dire, but it is hardly any worse than Hovis which i would never touch in the UK either. The god thing is even the supermarkets will sell good read form a nearby bakery. .

Pickled onions are easy to buy, I get them from cheapo Kroger, Walmart, Fresh market, market of choice.
Beans, American style beans are far superior to the tasteless UK rubbish but if that is what you want then every supermarket sells them, I picked up a tin by accident from Kroger last week.

Salad cream, yuck, why would you want it. But even that is easy to find, just go to the european or British section of your super market and fill your cart up with Salad cream, marmite and hob nobs.

Chips in the US are for social occasions. Make some Guocamole and a enjoy some chips with a fresh margarita while you watch the game.

But really, when British people complaints start off with ridiculous food items you know the person should have never left the UK. God help you if you go to Europe where your crisp selection is between salted or paprika.

Drivers are far worse than I have seen in the UK - but this could just be the famous LA traffic problems.

US drivers are terrible, but their traffic laws are also different., e.g. they have a priority form the right so when they merge to the hgihway you have to give way to them.

There are far more ghettos and down trodden areas than you realise watching US television, I know we have our own such places - Birmingham, Liverpool... for example but here I am seeing more beggers than I ever saw in central London.

You do realize that LA is just one bug ghetto, it is like going to Liverpool and saying the UK is full of ghettos.

There have been over 700 people killed by police officers so far this year, just think about that for a second.

Yep, because the US has insane gun regulations. This is probably the #1 worst thing about the country.

Here in LA, I often wonder if that weird shaking is an earth quake, or that smoke on the horizon is a wildfire, or if those tsunami warning signs at Malibu should be taken seriously.

The UK is safe, most of the rest of the world suffers more serious natural disasters, but you still get deadly flooding and similar in the UK.

Then you get into their backwards banking and taxation system. All the utility bills that you have to pay because there is no council tax.... by cheque (sorry check ). Oh you can eventually setup online billing but they don't have "direct debits".

You have to pay utility bills in the UK as well. Almost all companies allow you to do an equivalent of direct debit, we do for TV/internet etc.

When you get your job you have to setup your own tax and do things like a W4 to best guess how much tax you should be and hope that you are right by the end of the tax year!

Which is very sensible. This way you can make sure you are deducting the right amount of tax based on your personal liabilities, e.g. how much your wife works, how many children you have, medical expenses, rental income, mortgage interest rate reduction. It is the UK that is totally backwards here leading you to either massively over pay or under pay your tax, in the US you can sort it out so you are nearly exact.

Someone mashed the rear bumper of my brand new Ford Fusion yesterday, of course no CCTV and no witnesses.

That is the great thing about the US, no CCTV everywhere.

I'm sure the US is a terrible country for not witnessing your car accident.

 

[D.P.]

The lane etiquette is partially the problem, the other part is the complete lack of drivers use their indicators. The culture here is built on competition. It is through their school system, always push push push for teams, saluting the flag each morning and remind themselves they are the greatest country on earth. This translates to everything they do (along with copious use of sporting metaphors), so if you are on a busy freeway and need to shift lanes, you indicate to change lane and it is taken as a challenge for those around you to get ahead... because if you get ahead of someone else they have lost 14 feet.

Yes, US drivers are bad, but on a global scale they are really pretty good. You go to Italy, Spain, anywhere south America, Africa, Asia etc. and things are far ,far worse. I got into myfirst accident in Cost Rica in the spring, I slowed down to wait for a gap before overtaking a cyclist. that is apparently not the done thing and someone smashed into the back of the rental!.

Oh yea to transfer money to the US from UK I can do it all online in any of my UK bank accounts in about 10mins, arrives 2 - 3 working days later in my Wells Fargo US account. To transfer any money home means a trip to the physical branch.

I've done it over the phone several times, with WF.

Also they won't give me a credit card, if I want a credit card they will need $1k from me to hold in "trust" and I only get $1k credit... so it is literally a rigged system for building up a credit history.

That is because you have no credit history. It is exactly the sa,me in the UK, had friends that moved to England and couldn't get a credit card. You need to just put down the deposit and get a CC with your bank., sue it as much as possible and then after 6 months get a store card, something like Macys, or a United Airline card (they are much more relaxed). Then you can cancel your WF CC and set up a new one with them.

The weirdest thing I have found is the sheer expectation of basic services, if you don't have a social security number you are screwed. I had trouble getting water, gas, electricity, waste management (picking up my trash), sewage management and TV/Cable/Internet setup because I didn't have a social security number. Suddenly there are 20 more hoops to jump through and hundreds of dollars extra as deposits because I dont have a social... but I could rent a house without any trouble.

The social security number is important in pretty much every country in the world. I couldn't even get a place to rent in Switzerland without the equivalent.

The nice things with the deposit is you actually get a really decent interest rate on them, soemthign you would never ever get in the UK. If I was you I would try to get as many of these deposits as possible! Interest rates are literally 10x what wells Fargo will give you.

One of the things that jars me every time I see it are the stickers everywhere on everything saying it "may" give you cancer. Literally on everything. Swimming in the sea? Warning sign it will give you cancer. Drinking a bottle of water? Might give you cancer.

We joke about it from the UK, but the compensation culture here has shaped the minute details of the day to day.

Litigation culture. It can go way too far but in general I actually really like it because it forces companies to think way harder about products and services. When I first moved tot eh US I saw these things, e.g. walk into every restaurant and their will be a warning sign about cancer, every menu will have a warning about raw and under cooked food. Doesn't take you long to ignore that.

 

[Tefal]

Whenever I read DP post about America I always get the feeling "buyers remorse"features heavily in it.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

I've been out to the US (Virginia) a couple of times in the last 12 months, for a few weeks at a time, as met current girlfriend online and that's where she stays...
It's not somewhere I'd ever thought I'd go, but I really enjoyed the time, and just thought most things were great. Most people you'd meet were nice, and just seemed happier, compared to the doom and gloom of Aberdeen.
I drove for the 3 weeks I was out over Christmas, and I'd say the standards of driving I saw were much better than what I experience day-to-day here.

I'd move there in a heartbeat if I could, and hopefully will be able to in the near future.

 

[Scougar]

The posts about food... you just are not looking hard enough for the things you like..like Heinz beans. They are expensive but you can get them. You also have to remember it is a different culture so eating habits and the costs of different types of food is different. I did it much easier to get decent authentic Italian over here than the uk for example.

Starting again with things is the hardest part, and wondering why they do things seemingly backwards a lot of times.

Work, multiple managers....it really is like office space lol.

Driving... generally terrible especially on the highways. I see so many accidents.

 

[D.P.]

Whenever I read DP post about America I always get the feeling "buyers remorse"features heavily in it.

Nonsense, you just sound jealous, unless you think that someone who fails to find a can of Heinz beans is a valid complaint about a country

Life is great, 2 big fat salaries, low tax, cheap living costs, a huge house that will mortgage free this time next year. In a few years we will have $1m in assets and will then look to return to Europe to be closer with the parents as they age.

Is the US the best country in the world, absolutely not. It as plenty of issues like most. It is a big step above the UK though.

We will be looking to return to Switzerland when the time is right, as long as the neo nazis don't take over.

 

[randomshenans]

Ha, let's swap for a bit... then I'll be back to Switzerland again later.

 

[JBod]

Nonsense, you just sound jealous, unless you think that someone who fails to find a can of Heinz beans is a valid complaint about a country

Life is great, 2 big fat salaries, low tax, cheap living costs, a huge house that will mortgage free this time next year. In a few years we will have $1m in assets and will then look to return to Europe to be closer with the parents as they age.

Is the US the best country in the world, absolutely not. It as plenty of issues like most. It is a big step above the UK though.

We will be looking to return to Switzerland when the time is right, as long as the neo nazis don't take over.

Hah! I was using Beans as an example. I also didn't mean to upset you about your life choice to move to the US. I was using them as examples of the little things that are different due to how our cultures differ. Heinz Baked Beans on toast has been a staple part of my diet since before I was a student - the beans here and most food (in SoCal at least) has a heavy Mexican influence. I actually dont like Mexican food. I love the taste of Hovis bread (health considerations be damned) beaten only by Tiger/Giraffe bread. Neither of which can you get here.

The food here is the victim of too much capitlisation, they try to enhance every food item to the point now you have difficulty getting the original untainted food item. Their Beef is awesome and way cheaper than the UK. Their Lamb is way more expensive and not that great. Chicken is chicken. But their baked beans have brown sugar, or bbq sauce or sausages or chilli's etc...

For the record I shop in CostCo once a month for the epic bulk bargains, then it is Vons/Ralphs most of the other time. Trader Joes is there but I don't like the food or prices, very hipster and you pay for it. There are very few Walmarts here and none near where I live. But it is frustrating to have to visit multiple supermarkets when you are use to just ordering online and having Sainsburys or Tesco arrive once a week with everything you need.

Yes I am getting a big fat 6 figure salary here, yes I live in a big detached house in one of the best neighborhoods in the country. Yes I have two brand new cars. I went full Californian American - Black Ford Explorer SUV, 3.5L V6 and about 20mpg and a Ford Fusion Hybrid that gets about 60mpg and costs maybe £20 to fill the tank that can do about 530 miles.

I am not saying dislike or regret moving here I am just addressing the little things that mar the experience on a day to day basis.

What I do have is a big silly grin as I drive one of my cars through the Santa Monica mountains and along the Pacific Coast Highway to work every day.

I actually think their road rules make far more sense than the UK but the drivers treat the rules with too much disdain due to their culture and upbringing.

 

[kwerk]

Trader joe is owned by Aldi. It's not expensive at all and the food is more european quality. The bread is still rubbish though.

 

[Peerzy]

I'm not sure I could live without proper bacon

 

[Ev0]

Good luck!

What area of the states is the role based?

Near to Atlanta

 

[jon86]

... I'd also guess we'd not have too many issues getting visa's to work out there, me through my brother and her as a teacher.
...

You'll be waiting a long time to get a green card via your brother. I looked into it and the current wait time for green cards for siblings of US citizens is about 12.75 years. However, employment based visas are a lot easier to get, which is the route I would suggest.

...
I actually think their road rules make far more sense than the UK but the drivers treat the rules with too much disdain due to their culture and upbringing.

California drivers (particularly women and BMW, Audi and Porsche Cayenne drivers) are the worst! I drove in Las Vegas last week and people actively honked their horns when they saw people doing something considered silly/unsafe (e.g. forcing yourself into a lane when there is no gap, using the section between an off-ramp and the highway as a merge lane , etc) that would have all been regular occurrences in California.

 

[thedoc46]

The nicer parts of the US are nicer than the nicer parts of the UK (taking architecture & history out of the equation)

The slums are much worse and more dangerous than the slums in the UK.

Healthcare is much better if you can afford it or get good insurance.

Without it, its much worse.

The TV is painful. Mainly because of local ads and non stop commercials. But to get around this, just watch netflix, Vudu, Hulu Amazon Prime, or subscribe to premium channels such as HBO, Showtime, Cinemax etc..... and a DVR is a must. Americans seem to think its acceptable to sit there and watch pharmaceutical ads and Better call saul type ads 15x per hr.

Food? Whole Foods, Trader Joes, its all there if you want quality...

Biggest downside for me is getting to visit Europe & family is more of a challenge and expensive..