Anyone emigrated to the USA?

[lynblu]

I was backwards & forwards across the pond (for 3 month visits) over a period of 4 years. I decided to apply for a 6 months visitor visa, sent off the application & fee, went to the US Embassy in London & queued for 6 hours. I was armed with proof of self sufficiency (bank statements), proof that I owned my own home here in the UK, address of a friend I'd be staying with whilst there etc. Only to be told within minutes 'Sorry, No' didn't even look at the paperwork I'd taken. Their excuse was 'We think you will get over there & not come back'!!! Would I have gone to the trouble of officially applying if that was the case, I would have just stayed there on my last visit & 'kept my head down'. There are so many that do it but it wasn't for me (couldn't have my own bank account, couldn't travel back n forth to visit the UK). I worked for the Home Office processing applications for people wanting to visit/settle in the UK & it's so much easier to enter the UK than it is The States. Not always been the case, my friend has been there bout 20 years now & got citizenship. It was a damn site easier then but guess it's a sign of the times ...........

[lyndloo]

I haved lived in the states for 30years now but miss Sheffield very much ! I was born in Wincobank on Vauxhall rd ...I will come home someday .. but I know it wont be like I remember it .. sniffle ...

[911wasalie]

Sorry to change the subject but I've researched the 911 incident and the conclusion I've come to and many others is it was an inside job.

 

For instance the 757 ( flight 77 ) was at a recorded altitude of 230 feet 3 seconds before recorded impact. This means that the aircraft would have broken up due to G forces and bodies, luggage etc. would have been scattered over a wide area if the aircraft had done what the US government claim.

 

Go to pilotsfor911truth and learn something.

[911wasalie]

LynBlu,

 

The easiest way is to contact somebody over here and form a business partnership. Starting a business is like falling off a log, I started a boat building business, now closed, I'm 80 Y.O., but I have no qualifications, I was an electronics Tech.

[911wasalie]

I was here legally for 10 years before I discovered that after 5 years I was entitled to social security payments based on my wifes earnings from the US government. My wife gets social security payments from the UK based on my earnings.

[soft ayperth]

My son works in Washington D.C. and lives in Maryland and loves it.Wouldnt come back for anything.Reason he went.? Income Tax & Council Tax a killer over here. Kills any incentive young people have.

 

I'd be interested in feedback from expats living in the states re: the medical system there. This is what stops my wife and I travelling south of the Canadian border right now as she has a medical condition which, if treatment were required, could prove to be horrendously expensive in the US. In the debate over proposed changes to the US medical system, much has been made recently by the Republicans of the decision of one of our premiers in Canada to have his surgery done there. What they fail to mention is that the premier concerned, Danny Williams of Newfoundland, is a multi billionaire, who can afford whatever he wants. So, yes, taxes are lower, but what have been your experiences regarding health care?

[Gerry]

I'd be interested in feedback from expats living in the states re: the medical system there. This is what stops my wife and I travelling south of the Canadian border right now as she has a medical condition which, if treatment were required, could prove to be horrendously expensive in the US. In the debate over proposed changes to the US medical system, much has been made recently by the Republicans of the decision of one of our premiers in Canada to have his surgery done there. What they fail to mention is that the premier concerned, Danny Williams of Newfoundland, is a multi billionaire, who can afford whatever he wants. So, yes, taxes are lower, but what have been your experiences regarding health care?

 

We emigrated to Toronto in 1974 and 8 years later I was transferred to Chicago. The company I worked for hired an immigration lawyer and after 3 years I obtained Green Cards for my family and 5 years later we received US citizenship.

Medical insurance is usually provided by the employer and coverage is as good as the company can afford. You get what you pay for. After retirement the Government provide medical coverage under Medicare but most people find it necessary to buy a supplementary insurance to cover what Medicare does not cover. Medical treatment is very expensive in the US, but doesn't the Provincial Health Care system provide for medical treatment when travelling overseas?

[soft ayperth]

Medical insurance is usually provided by the employer and coverage is as good as the company can afford. You get what you pay for. After retirement the Government provide medical coverage under Medicare but most people find it necessary to buy a supplementary insurance to cover what Medicare does not cover. Medical treatment is very expensive in the US, but doesn't the Provincial Health Care system provide for medical treatment when travelling overseas?

 

Provincial Health Care only covers what the equivalent costs would be in Canada, Gerry. So we tend to travel to countries where the costs are somewhere comparable, such as UK and Europe. Private medical insurance for travel overseas will not cover pre-existing conditions. News programs and documentaries here report on cases of people who have had to sell their homes and relinquish their retirement savings to cover medical costs while travelling in the US. But, to return to the theme of this thread, Sheffielders who have emigrated to the US, I just wanted to make the point in response to Pattricia's comment that lower taxes are an incentive for young people to move to the US, that in the big picture, there are plusses and minuses with any system. As you get older, and alas, I speak from experience, benefits like medical and national pension plans become more important to you. Sheffielders, used to a British social security network, much like that of Canada, undoubtedly noticed a difference in moving to the US.

[Gerry]

Provincial Health Care only covers what the equivalent costs would be in Canada, Gerry. So we tend to travel to countries where the costs are somewhere comparable, such as UK and Europe. Private medical insurance for travel overseas will not cover pre-existing conditions. News programs and documentaries here report on cases of people who have had to sell their homes and relinquish their retirement savings to cover medical costs while travelling in the US. But, to return to the theme of this thread, Sheffielders who have emigrated to the US, I just wanted to make the point in response to Pattricia's comment that lower taxes are an incentive for young people to move to the US, that in the big picture, there are plusses and minuses with any system. As you get older, and alas, I speak from experience, benefits like medical and national pension plans become more important to you. Sheffielders, used to a British social security network, much like that of Canada, undoubtedly noticed a difference in moving to the US.

 

Having lived in the US for the last 28 years and as much as I have missed the UK I have to say that I enjoy living here, especially since I participate in shooting sports, however rogG, living here tends to make you less dependant on the Government. If you are lucky enough to work for a company that provides good health care insurance and are able to save for retirement then this is as good a place to live as any. Having said that, the last 8 years of the Bush administration kind screwed things up somewhat and now the Republicans are talking about doing away with Medicare and Social Security. So who knows?

[soft ayperth]

Having lived in the US for the last 28 years and as much as I have missed the UK I have to say that I enjoy living here, especially since I participate in shooting sports, however rogG, living here tends to make you less dependant on the Government. If you are lucky enough to work for a company that provides good health care insurance and are able to save for retirement then this is as good a place to live as any. Having said that, the last 8 years of the Bush administration kind screwed things up somewhat and now the Republicans are talking about doing away with Medicare and Social Security. So who knows?

 

I hear you, Gerry. And in the profession from which I recently retired I would undoubtedly have benefitted from a decent group medical plan had I lived and worked there. Back in the late 60s when there was all that unrest on university campuses in the states, I was offered a job in Riverside, California. I turned it down and instead went to Newfoundland, of all places. I used to get ribbed about it at international gatherings. "Hey, I want to introduce you to this guy who turned down a job near Palm Springs to go and live in somewhere called New Finland." The guy who did this the most was the one who took the job after I'd turned it down. You've guessed it - another Canadian.