Alright, I have lived in the USA my whole life. I hate it. I've always wanted to move to England. (Currently I'm in New England, but that's not good enough) Can I somehow get citizenship in the UK? If anyone knows please let me know, or if you think it's a terrible idea, please explain.

Its not as simple as just booking a plane ticket, but not as bad as if I wanted to live and work in the USA!

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/content/ind/en/home.html

UK home office immigration site, should have all the details you need.

Easy. Find yourself a nice british chap or chapess, marry them, and the lovely UK government will welcome you with open arms. It took less than a week for us to get a permenant resident visa for the wife.

If only it was that easy for me to get into the States. Grrrr.

oh oh! Anyone over there want to marry me?

With the EU's recent expansion, we've had quite an influx of economic migrants, with overwhelmingly positive results for our economy. Considering this, we should be quite receptive to the idea of foreign nationals coming here to work...

Migrants are very good for the US economy, especially the illegal ones. Illegal immigrants can't get state support, so they have to get jobs, they pay taxes but can never claim anything from the government, and often work for lower wages than official residents. The US economy would be in a lot more trouble if they actually got rid of them.

Thank you beleraphon for that link, it's very helpful and I am requesting an application. In a few months maybe I'll be asking where a good place to set myself up is!

And Mata, yes, you are right, illegal immigrants are very good for the economy of the US, but not very good for people like me looking for a job at say a Dunkin Donuts (well renound for hiring illegals) because they would much rather hire someone for a much cheaper salary that is off the books. But you are right, when there is a large number of people working and putting their money into the economy and not being allowed to take social security for instance it helps. But there is also the problem of illegal immigrants buying social security numbers illegally so they have more job options. Then you're dealing with identity fraud and stuff. A very bad scene that is.

Well babe, I have a spare room so if you find yourself in Norwich thats one place to stay!

Where exactly is Norwich?

ta-da!

...i think

I was thinking of going somewhere in Surrey, but Norwich shall do if you'll have me!

You want to move to England?????? anyway.. if you do... come to surrey!1 It rules this world!!

And steer clear of Shropshire. I leave there and it is surely the most boring county in the country. End of.

That map that SPS provided us with shows the lump of land that sticks out of eastern England (East Anglia). That big clumpy thing in the bottom left corner is Proude London.

Norwich is in the sticking out bit opposite europe

its quite nice here, good goth night once a month

I think I'll stick to Surrey if I can indeed move to England. It sounds a lovely place and it's just south of London, absolutely perfect location. Anyone know of a good town in Surrey with cheap flats and decent jobs (places that will hire an American like me?)

Cheap?
Surrey?

bwah ha ha ha

nearer to london you are, more expensive it gets!

seriously, get in contact with some uk employment agencies, prep your cv and really do your homework if you are serious.

good luck!

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=55...arch.srf&dn=559

On this map of the map Sps linked too i lived right by the church, hated living there. So what ever you do don't move there it's boring and relationship destroying.

Well, I was doing a bit of searching of flats in Surrey, I saw some for 500 a month. That seems pretty cheap to me. In the area I live in the US it is about 700 a month for a studio apartment. How much does like a job at McDonald's pay over there? Also, how much would a cheap flat cost, reguardless of location. I really have no idea how much things cost in England.

Nooooo.. don't work in McDonalds!!! Too many people are falling under the influence of Ronald McDonald!! Anyway, a cheap flat.. it really depends how cheap you're talking about...

Umm is that 700$ or £700? there is a huge differance there it's about 1.55$ for £1.00. Also then work out your Council tax, which is on average £150-300++ (per year) depending on where you live. Working at Mcdonalds would definatly not give you enough money to live in your own place, you could share but definalty not live on your own (maybe at a management level, but not as shift manager).

Then you have to factor in transport to and from work, public transport in the UK is a joke, our cars over 3 years old need something called an MOT, the insurance and car tax is also expensive.

Flat's at the moment to rent in the UK are caught up in our current "housing boom" which means everything shot up in price, an average 1 bed flat in the uk to rent can cost £300 + in rent alone (per month) treble that for London.

Average Household bills PER MONTH

Water £25.00
Gas £16.00
Electricty £22.00
Phone/cable tv/broadband £50.00 (cheapest version for all 3)
Insurance £16.00 (home not car)

Living on your own can be very expensive, you may want to look into sharing. And those prices varie depending on where you live.

Well, a one bedroom here is like $700 a month here, which I guess would be like 540 there (according to an exchange rate calc), my car insurance rate is 3000 a year (2314 euro), electricity here is about $50/month (39 euro), and phone cable and tv together is about $300/month (for what I like) (231 euro). I think it would be cheaper. I work here at a movie theater and bring home about $200 a week (154 euro). It seems like it would be cheaper to live there. What I'm not sure of, is how much do people in England get paid, like what is minimum wage there? Here (in my state) it is $6.75/hour (5.20 euro). I'd prefer not to make minimum wage, but it's not like I'm afraid of it. Does England have minimum wage laws even? It seems according to those stats I would be paying 179 euro a month in utilites and such as well as around 500 a month in rent. Unless you guys only get paid like 3 euros an hour, that seems completely do-able.

Okay, I just looked up what the minimum wage was in England. For those who are aged 18-21 it is 4.10 an hour (european). That would be $5.31 an hour here. I think it is still do-able, Do most places pay minimum wage or is it usually higher than that?

Don't forget your wages will be taxed.
They you pay council tax on top of that and the numbers Spacehappy quoted were average - I pay a whole lot more and I'm on a good salary.

Go for being a lodger, you get a room and share of a house, plus bills included and if you are with someone nice they can make the whole settling in process a lot easier.
Cost will be aboput £300/month all in.
(at least thats the going rate round here)

Most places pay higher, but some places pay the mimimum wage (less if they can), as Beleraphon has said you will have your wages taxed at a rate of 22% then you will have 11% national insurance contributions also taxen off. That's a whole load of cash gone before you get your pay.

Also you need to stop converting to Euro, the UK is still run in Sterling, we have not signed up to the Euro currency (and if most people in the uk have a say we wont ever). It is also £4.85 from 01/10/04. (or 10/01/04 as you Americans do it) For a person aged 22 and over.

Sorry about the mix up with the euro/pound thing. I didn't mean any offense. I guess it's $1.86 to your pound. Making minimum wage for 18-21 year olds $7.61 per hour. That's almost a dollar an hour more than what we have in Massachusetts. There are some states where the minimum wage is ($3.25) 1.75 pounds. I think that's pretty good. I'd like to try it out, and you're right about it probably being easier just rooming with some one. Can you stay in Hostels for extended periods of time? Are there Hostels in England, or is that more like mainland Europe?

Well, hotels are pricy, but youth hostels (google 'youth hostel association') is a lot less and I think its international.

Bar work, waitressing type jobs are not too difficult to pick up, particularly if you have some experience, and in the summer and other holiday times there are jobs in shops or field work harvesting - but its very very hard work.

Minimum wage detail (from government site)
£4.50 per hour for those who are 22 years old or older;
($7.05 at current rates)
£3.80 per hour for those aged 18 to 21 inclusive;
($8.35 at current rates)

now average working hours in the uk are about 40/week
(less in some jobs I work a 35hour office job, and more in some places or if you get over time)
and you are under 22, so let us be pessimistic assume you work a full week at lower min wage.
40x£3.80=£152.00
taxed at 22% and national insurance at 11% is total reduction 33%
£152*(1-0.33)=£82.5
a month is about 4 weeks so thats
£82.5*4=£330.00 a month.

£330 a month to live on is do-able, but hard work!
But the time rent, and bills go out you will find you spend most of the rest on day to day living, food etc... Plus the cost of living is more over here, you must have heard people in the UK sulking about the prices of clothes/cd's etc...

on higher min wage you work out at about £475.2 a month, which is a bit better, but still not much.

Like I said before Do Your Homework on this! I'm not trying to scare you off, but I'd hate for you to be in the uk and in a mess because you hadn't planned everything through properly!

I appreciate your concern of me getting stuck over there. I wouldn't want that to happen either. I do have experience waitressing and farming, and regular old fast food/customer service type jobs. I will keep looking about and see if it really is feasable, thank you guys for all your help.

[quote=Asenyth,Nov 11 2004, 08:28 AM]
Alright, I have lived in the USA my whole life. I hate it. I've always wanted to move to England. (Currently I'm in New England, but that's not good enough) Can I somehow get citizenship in the UK? If anyone knows please let me know, or if you think it's a terrible idea, please explain.

I drove and guided Americans on walking tours in the UK a few years ago.

I had a great time - being paid to enjoy myself.

I have friends who work in the USA.

Job for job you get twice the pay we do.

Item for item you pay half the price.
Imagine paying about $100 to top up a little car!!!!

SOOOO - you are effectively on 4 times our pay.

The British are the among the most financially screwed peoples on the planet.

Come and live here for a few weeks holiday and live as if you were a resident full time.
Then see what it is really like.

You may be in love with a daydream.

Best of luck


Misty Rain

You could try Canada

The southeast of England is pricey.

We have friends in the north of England.

Just come back from there.

Newcastle upon Tyne is cheaper and nice.

I always found the natives really nice. (Once you crack the language)

One of our sons lives there
On his wages it is one of the few places he could buy a flat.

It is just below Scotland on the right.
Scotland is great too.

I come from the Wessvinglun and the north is heaps better than the squalid overpriced Southeast.


Misty Rain

But then they have to shell out for health insurance, save up to send their kids to college (at a pricetag of $20-30k). In real terms, there's less of a difference in pay, althought the US comes out slightly on top. Remember there's a far far far far superior welfare system in the UK.


By little car, I'm assuming you mean a Ferrari? 'Cos it costs me 30 quid to fill up my little car from empty, which is a shade under $60, taking into account the shoddy state of the dollar currently. Gas prices are just over 3 times more expensive in the UK than the US - a gallon in the US is just under $2, in the UK, it works out at about $6.30


See about - think about 1.8 times our pay


Can anyone spell melodramatic? Working 16 hours a day in a sweatshop factory in Africa for pennies would be substantially more financially screwed, methinks. We've got it easy. EE-ZEE!



Too bloody cold for my liking

As if England pays for their kids to go to college? Right. England blows, btw.

Forgetting to mention that it takes $60 to fill up your TINY little gas tank for your small underpowered car, which you will later have to squeeze into an even smaller parking space in a car park not taller that the steeple of the church in your town.


Alright, this one I agree on. English people pay more for things and get paid less for jobs and get taxed to h*ll without a doubt but they are clearly just as upwardly mobile as america or canada.


I miss america (not to be misread as I'm Miss America)

I would love to more to America and it sucks that the immigration/emmigration policies of countries are so bleedin' tight. Anyone would think I was drug lord! What exactly can't I give America???

Sorry Misty but some of your points just aren't true (as I believe Jonman has pointed out already) but I do agree with the daydream point. Perhaps Asenyth should check England out for a while before upping sticks and moving here The grass is always greener on the other side but it still needs cutting!!

A kick up the bum.

A truckfull of elephants.

An honest president.

Canada.

It's two front teeth

There's loads more things you can't give America, but I think I've proved my point.

Sort of. None of those have anything to do with my being able to do a job that I want to do thought do they

Depends, if you wanted to be president, or an elephant delivery man, or a new kind of dentist, then maybe they would...

"I'm here for the Canada treatment."

And no you can't move to England, stay out of my country. WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH I HATE AMERICA I <3 ENGLAND LET US GO PUT STRAIN ON THE NHS WAH WAH WAH.

On the plus side, in the UK we have more sensible guns laws and appear, for the most part, to be progressing in the direction of equal rights faster than the US.

Then again, there are the British who veer wildly between drunken hooligans and snobbish. As with everywhere, there are lots of lovely people too, but drunken behaviour by average members of society is a lot more acceptable on this side of the Atlantic.

I think that there are a lot of very good things about the UK, and I can see why people would want to live here, then again, I'd also quite like to spend a few years in San Francisco at some point.

As much as I dislike the idea of giving dollars to the current administration, it is doing a very good job of destroying the value of the dollar which is making it cheaper than it has been ever before to buy things in the US compared to British prices, which makes tourism cheaper for us too.

Good morning all,

I just got back to this - forgot what I said.

You are all mostly correct. The guys I quoted as living in the USA were doing a few years there for major British companies so they were insulated from all the hassles of daily life there.

Leaving out all the quotes and replies I could make, this country is the one I feel so relieved to get back to whether from work or holiday.
From a comfort and convenience point of view we all live in the best places on earth and in history. I remember this every time I have my 6 monthly dental checks.

And UK is the greatest.
So come and enjoy yourself

I will not burst into song with Land of Hope and Glory.
We went out to a Christmas dinner last night.
They had karaoke - very loud.
I still have the horrible memory of how awful is the untraned voice
And would not inflict me on innocent forum users.


Misty Rain