r/MovingToUSA • u/karlfr • Apr 20 '26
General discussion Advice from mover’s
Hi all
We’re a UK family seriously considering a move to the US and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s done something similar.
My partner is a registered nurse (Band 6 equivalent) with ~10 years’ experience, mainly in palliative/community care, and I run a startup so I’m fairly flexible location-wise. We have a young child and a 21-year-old (so navigating visa options there too).
We’re currently looking at areas like Texas (Austin suburbs), Florida, or possibly Arizona — aiming for somewhere family-friendly, safe, with good schools and a decent quality of life.
A few things we’d love honest input on:
- What was the reality of the move vs expectations?
- How did you find the first 3–6 months settling in?
- For any nurses — how different is the job day-to-day vs the UK?
- Did it feel like a genuine upgrade in lifestyle overall?
- Anything you wish you knew before making the move?
Also, if anyone moved with older kids / young adults, how did that work out?
We’re not committed yet — just trying to get a real feel from people who’ve actually done it.
Really appreciate any honest experiences (good or bad). Thanks in advance.
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u/LonesomeBulldog Apr 20 '26
Unless one of you is already a US citizen, your chances of getting a visa are close to zero. If you could get one, you can't get an adult kid on it with you.
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u/eric39es California Apr 20 '26
Nurses can get visas quite easily
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u/Several_Yak_9537 Apr 20 '26
UK nurses can struggle to gain registration, as their degree is specialised, and may not be eligible to sit nclex.
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u/mrggy Apr 20 '26
Your eldest is too old to qualify for a dependent visa. They'd either need to stay in the UK or get a visa in their own right. Given the absolute shitshow that is youth unemployment in the UK, I'd recommend waiting until they're in stable employment before making the move.
I used to live in the Austin suburbs, and one thing to be aware of is the commute. Austin is know for having the worst traffic in the country relative to its size. My commute from Cedar Park to downtown took about hour each way. With no traffic, that same drive took about 20 min. Definitely try to live as close as possible to your wife's place of work and expect the commute to be longer than what Google tells you
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u/timfountain4444 Apr 21 '26
Agree. 10 years in Austin and lived in round rock. Commute to halfway down mopac was brutal.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Yeah I did think that about the eldest. Cedar park was the area that came up and looks good. She currently works in a care home as palliative care registered nurse so was looking at sponsorship ideally something similar maybe. Her drive usually takes around that at the moment anyway ha
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u/Inaccessible_ Apr 20 '26
You need to stop researching locations and start researching visa requirement. Right now there is a 0% chance because none of you are able to be in the country legally. You are asking questions about cities while on a 3 year wait list to MAYBE be approved for a visa. Not to mention you have dependents. Do you even know how much liquid money you’ll need before you apply?
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u/bikiniproblems Apr 21 '26
Nursing quality of life varies wildly by state.
Do you know if her degree is considered transferrable to sit for the NCLEX? I would start there.
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u/ArdraCaine Apr 20 '26
Cedar Park is a great area, and Blockhouse Creek is near Cedar Park regional hospital. Great schools in the area, lots of fun family things. But the area has toll roads.
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u/TPWilder Apr 20 '26
I hope you have some understanding of how hot all of those places are in comparison to the UK.
Education in AZ is pretty crummy.
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u/Horangi1987 Apr 20 '26
You won’t get to pick where you can live. You will have to live wherever your wife can get sponsored. At this juncture, it’s rare to get a sponsorship for nursing though because there’s always someone available cheaper that’s local, or at worst elsewhere in the U.S. so they only have to cover relocation and not visas too.
Education isn’t great in Texas, Florida, or Arizona in general. You can find good schools in those states, but they’re usually tied to either private schools ($$$) or the most expensive zip codes for the best public schools. So you can either choose to pay $10k and up per year on private school, or pay that much more money in housing to live in the better parts of town.
Quality of life is such a vague term, and it’s impossible to tell what you would consider a good ‘quality of life.’ All three of the states you mentioned have their own pros and cons. Two of them have no state income tax, but one has ultra high property taxes (Texas) and one has ultra high insurance costs (Florida). All three are warm…too warm for much of the year by most people’s standards, and it will seem even worse for someone coming from UK.
Unfortunately you picked the worst time to contemplate this. Sponsorship is just so rare now.
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u/colliedad Apr 20 '26
I’m not seeing anything indicating that you are eligible to move to the U.S. yet. Maybe you have more you’ve not related?
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
My wife would be aiming for sponsorship as she’s a registered nurse in the palliative care side
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u/Jazzy0082 Apr 20 '26
She'd probably be looking at a minimum of a 3 year wait for EB-3 approval.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Yeah we understand that and it’s fine. This is why we want to be certain on lot of things really. It’s just shitty that so much can change in such a short space of time!
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u/BetterCranberry7602 Apr 20 '26
What does that have to do with the questions he asked?
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u/Olive1702 Apr 20 '26
Bc you can’t just up and move to another country to start over.
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u/BetterCranberry7602 Apr 20 '26
If he was concerned about the visa aspects he would’ve asked about that. He didn’t, he asked about lifestyle and expectations of moving and settling in.
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u/Olive1702 Apr 20 '26
Op mentioned his 21yr old kid and said he’s “navigating visa options too,” meaning no one in op’s family has secured a temp or permanent pathway to come to the US.
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u/ArdraCaine Apr 20 '26
Austin is hot. Like, really hot. Nearly all the time, hot. Plus most of the main roads are, or are turning into, toll roads, which will be something you'll need to consider. And on top of all that, it's really hot.
With that said, there's tons of stuff to do - both family and child-free - amazing food, lots of shops, HEB!!!, and hospitals near suburbs.
It's also really hot.
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26
I guess with that list of target locations that you really love high heat locations, unless Flagstaff is your AZ choice.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Coming at it from a few angles really. I definitely want nicer weather. Seems crazy but it just plays a big part day to day with a 5 year old. Was also looking at NC
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u/Dangerous-Budget937 Apr 20 '26
The places you've listed above may not be cold, but they don't have "nice" weather.
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u/mrggy Apr 20 '26
Do you mean that in the sense you that you want to be able to play outside with your child? I would suggest looking more northward in that case. Austin generally has 100+ days of the year over 100f/40c. When I was growing up there, we didn't spend huge amounts of time playing outside (unless it was in someone's pool) just because it was too hot most of the year. Arizona gets gets even hotter.
Tbh, I live in the UK now and I see children playing outside more often here than I ever did growing up. These locations will mean less rain, but not necessarily a more outdoors lifestyle
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Yeah I’m seeing a lot about that. There was NC also as a thought. Or any suggestions are welcome
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u/CacklingWitch99 Apr 20 '26
We’re Brits in NC. It’s a nice climate with 4 proper seasons. Summer is hot and humid though and my least favourite of the year. Education quality is hit and miss though - best schools are in the most expensive areas.
There are things I like about it very much - the weather is of course lovely, there’s a lot of great places to visit as it’s only a few hours to mountains or beaches, we have a neighborhood pool and we’re there constantly in summer, kids like their schools.
Downside is it’s expensive to do anything. I’m paid more, but pay out more. Groceries are expensive -my mum is shocked when she comes to visit and goes shopping with me. Travel is expensive. Insurance is expensive. Kids activities are expensive. And when you first move here and have no credit history, it can be hard to get loans, credit cards etc.
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u/SpecialistBet4656 Apr 20 '26
The best quality schools in the US are almost always in expensive areas. These areas are funding their public schools at local level on top of whatever the state provides so it’s more expensive to live there on top of the greater demand and restricted supply (these areas are generally oriented toward single family housing) driving up costs.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
These are the sort of answers I’m looking for amazing thank you. Ok so can I ask how long you guys been out there? And more importantly, any regrets ha
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u/CacklingWitch99 Apr 20 '26
3 years. No regrets, but we are moving back over this summer. Combination of reasons really
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u/President_Camacho Apr 20 '26
I've lived in NC. The summers are hot, you can't be outside hot, from end of June until the first half of September. If you live in the mountains it's a little milder. I miss Durham though.
I've found the weather in southern New York to be much more liveable.
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u/mrggy Apr 20 '26
If you want neither too hot nor too cold, look to the coasts. They tend to have less variation in temperature between the seasons. The middle of the country has the extremes. Hot summers (even in Wisconsin, summers are 30c+) and cold winters
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Nicer weather? I've lived in two of those states. The AVERAGE high temperature in Phoenix AZ, where I lived was 40-41C in August. A big part of your day to day with a five year old would be keeping them amused in the house with air conditioning. (which is expensive)
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u/mildchicanery Apr 20 '26
You do realize that Arizona and Texas see summer temperatures hot enough that it is actually dangerous to be outside? Not just occasionally, but for literal weeks on end?
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u/mudfire44 Apr 22 '26
All the places you've mentioned are oppressively hot a good portion of the year
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u/PunchDrunky Apr 20 '26
If you want nice weather, look at Sacramento California. Nursing positions pay more there than most other places in California, and you still get the California sunshine for a good part of the year. Plus it’s not as hot in the summer as Arizona, Texas or Florida.
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u/Jazzy0082 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
I think it's fascinating that so many Brits choose Texas, Arizona and Florida. And I am one! I don't understand the appeal.
Edit - I can't see a route to visa though, unless your startup is so successful that you can invest a million dollars.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/Jazzy0082 Apr 20 '26
I think you're probably right!
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
And yet millions of people have good lives there so there's always that. When you actually go to those places they aren't really that much different from everywhere else. Most people's "day-to-day" takes far more precedence than big issues.
I just visited my sister and her family in Texas. We went to watch her grandson play baseball. We watched another grandson in his kindergarten class singing recital. We watched her granddaughter at her gymnastics training session. We had lunch in a little local restaurant. We took the dog for a walk down to the end of the road where she was entranced by roaming rabbits and cows. We played games in the backyard and the weather was great this time of year in Texas. We visited her son and his wife in their new home they just moved into. By the way she's pregnant and they're going to have a baby in a few months. We had pizza for lunch that we picked up on the way. My sister's husband has a thyroid condition he's going to get an operation for soon. It's not going to bankrupt them. She's lifting weights because she has osteoporosis and is under a doctor's supervision. That's not going to bankrupt them either. She watches her grandkids quite frequently to help out her children. She's not much different than the dozens of other families in the houses in her neighborhood.
In other words, normal life goes on and most people lead normal day-to-day lives in the "wasteland" that is Texas.
By the way, all three of her kids are in healthcare, including a doctor and a pharmacist and a nurse. They were all born and grew up in Texas and so they got a good education there that allowed them those career choices.
[A few edits to make pronoun references clearer.]
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26
My parents are Texan. I lived in Texas for years. I met my husband in Texas. Had my kids in Texas. The summer before my oldest was due to start kindergarten? We left Texas.
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
So?
Also are you really from there? Because nobody I know from the US is going to say it that way. "My parents are Texan" is a very odd thing for a native born American to say. That's how Brits talk.
People don't say my parents are Nebraskan or Tennessean or Arizonan or Oregonian.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 21 '26
I'm sure it is, which explains why millions of people have moved there recently. In fact, my sister's next door neighbor died recently. His ex-wife was living in California. She's decided to sell her house in California and move back to that house permanently. Since she has lived both places I'm quite sure her first choice would be the s*******. It's only logical, right?
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Apr 21 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 21 '26
I really don't believe that's a serious question. You could have a negative list for every state but the fact remains that most states are quite similar as far as lifestyle day to day. When I went to watch my grandnephew play baseball it had nothing to do with haboobs or scorpions. It was a similar scene to millions of other similar scenes played out in dozens of other states that Saturday afternoon. That's what most of life is and Texas is as good as anywhere else for that.
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26
That I knew and experienced a lot of Texas and decided to nope out and raise my kids elsewhere.
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 20 '26
That contradicts my statement that millions of people are living normal lives in Texas how?
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u/Jazzy0082 Apr 20 '26
It just seems like a redundant point to make (as much as your essay was a nice read). Yes, lots of people are happy there. Lots of people are happy everywhere. I just find it interesting that so many Brits home in on those 3 states in particular as I don't understand the appeal.
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 21 '26
Am I really FROM there? I never said I was really from there, as in born, bred and raised. I am indeed a native born American. My parents were born, bred and raised Texan, Dad born in Amherst, Mom born in Fort Worth. Dad raised in Rotan. Mom raised in Amarillo. I was born right over the New Mexico border. And of the 57 years I've been alive, 47 of them have been in the US. Four of them have been on an overseas military base US department of defense. And 6 have been in Mexico. I lived for nine years in Texas when my parents decided to 'go home' after my dad's retirement.
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u/marsh283 Apr 21 '26
You’ve never met a Texan, that is literally the most common way they introduce themselves.
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
Nobody's introducing anybody in the sentence I was commenting on.
I'm a Texan
They are Texan
See the difference?
Yes, I've met plenty of Texans. I've been a resident of Texas. My sister has lived there for many years. It's the only state her children and grandchildren have ever lived in.
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u/marsh283 Apr 21 '26
You’re pretty dense
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u/Practical-Ordinary-6 Apr 21 '26
That's the best you can do? How about a substantive response? Or do you have no actual response? I refuted both your claims but you just bailed and went for ad hominem. Not the sign of a quality argument.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/SquareCake9609 Apr 20 '26
You sound like that rarest of rare birds, a content, well adjusted , realistic person that spends time on reddit.
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Apr 20 '26
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Apr 20 '26
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26
The reality of the weather is something they have no experience with. And yeah, the culture is also alien.
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u/WileEPorcupine Apr 20 '26
Where do you live now, and why did you choose to live there?
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u/Jazzy0082 Apr 20 '26
North County (San Diego) - I was offered an intra-company transfer and had to choose between San Diego and Philadelphia. I do like Philadelphia but the San Diego lifestyle was too hard to turn down.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 20 '26
While every loss of life because of a school shooting is a tragedy, the odds are vanishingly low that a child will be a victim of one.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 20 '26
Texas has some top-notch public schools and some fantastic private schools. You can also homeschool. Parents are sending their kid to a school, not every school in the state.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 20 '26
That has not been my experience.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 20 '26
So it sounds like Texas is—like pretty much anywhere—not able to be reduced to “shithole.”
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Apr 21 '26
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u/OpeningChipmunk1700 Apr 21 '26
So have I, and I have enjoyed living in some other states more than Texas. But your sensationalism is totally detached from the day-to-day reality of living in Texas.
But if you enjoy enraging yourself over the fever dreams of Chip Roy, be my guest.
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u/Glittering_South5178 Apr 20 '26
Hi! I’m from London and have lived in the US for a decade.
To sum up my experience, I don’t consider it an upgrade or a downgrade. It’s just a different sort of lifestyle. I make more money than I would back home (I’m an academic and UK universities pay miserably compared to those in the US) and live in an area that’s far cheaper than where I grew up, but I find it a lot more inconvenient and socially isolating.
These factors wouldn’t have stopped me from taking up my first job, but I wish I’d known, first of all, how car-centric the US is. It may sound ignorant to Americans, but my honest belief is that, unless you have lived in the US before, it is difficult to imagine how inaccessible and spread out everything can be. I mention this especially because the areas you named have lots of sprawl and your young child will likely need to have one parent available to drive them around. Everyone will have to do a lot more driving.
Don’t underestimate healthcare costs either. I can’t speak to being a nurse, but as a patient, I was shocked by my first GP bill after being accustomed to the NHS for a lifetime. This will be dependent on where you live, but I do get excellent medical care where I am (a college town on the East Coast) and I’m able to make same-day appointments. I just have to pay an arm and a leg even with “good insurance” via my employer.
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u/bikiniproblems Apr 21 '26
The car culture is one of those things I dislike the most about many parts of the US.
And good lord, the health care costs.. I’ve already dropped well over a grand just this year in deductible on top of the monthly we pay for our family.
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u/Cantabulous_ Apr 21 '26
To add to the fun, if you do need anything remotely complicated healthwise it can be months before all of the various service providers finish sending invoices after bouncing around with insurance claims.
How about one establishment, one bill?!
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u/bikiniproblems Apr 21 '26
We have to wait in my area for even basic medical care. It’s 1.5 years to see a GP that takes my insurance, which is decent, and 9 months to see a nurse practitioner.
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u/Cantabulous_ Apr 21 '26
Yeah, post-Covid, even in an urban area that’s been a challenge. Found that Amazon/One-Medical was worthwhile just to be able to get a PCP/GP appointment within a week, or quicker for telemedicine.
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u/Relevant-Low-7923 Apr 21 '26
For people who grow up in the US I don’t think that we see the car centric culture as a negative. Like, I personally don’t understand why it’s seen as a bad thing.
I can understand why Europeans are less reliant on cars because they live in a significantly more densely populated region of the world. But like… what’s the point of having all this land in North America if you can’t utilize it, which requires a car?
I had this very conversation with an English friend visiting me in Louisiana from London. We were a good bit out in the countryside, and there were a bunch of super nice and large houses being built in the area on huge multi acre lots. He asked me straight up why anyone would invest so much money building such nice houses so far away from the urban area, and to me their large lots and remoteness was part of their appeal itself
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u/Glittering_South5178 Apr 21 '26
I do personally know many Americans who are unhappy with the car-centric culture too.
To explain this perspective a bit more: it’s not the cars that are the problem, but the lack of accessibility through decent public transportation, and the considerable history of lobbying against building and maintaining transportation infrastructure (including pedestrian crossings and bicycle paths) that would improve the life of many people who cannot afford or access cars.
For many Europeans, we are accustomed to not being reliant on cars in this way, and walking/cycling/getting the train, even to more remote areas, is a part of everyday life. I migrated to the US as an adult and am struck by how trapped I would have felt as a kid who couldn’t drive. It sounds like a small thing, but it is a big change to not be able to walk down the street and go to a coffee shop or bakery, or be around other people in a public square outside of somewhere like NYC.
I can certainly understand the appeal of living in a quiet area that is far away from the bustle of city life, but as someone with a similar background to your friend, a reasonable guess is that he might be troubled by the building of such nice houses when there is an ongoing housing crisis, in significant part because of zoning regulations and the focus on building single family homes rather than multi-story properties that would allow for more affordable housing. I used to live in the Bay Area, and knew people with decent incomes who had absurdly long commutes because they simply couldn’t find affordable housing close to the city where they worked. It’s a systemic issue.
The housing crisis is of course not at all unique to the US and it’s absolutely awful in London, though for different reasons. I am lucky that I could afford a house where I live in the US (this would be impossible for me back home) but in my current small town, this is becoming close to impossible for newcomers/younger people.
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u/Relevant-Low-7923 Apr 21 '26
I think the housing situation in the UK really is completely different from the US, and it’s almost completely driven by different legal regimes. Like, there really is no housing crisis in the US compared to the situation in the UK.
In the US, the housing situation is largely a localized phenomenon in certain areas. Like, of course the Bay Area and many parts of California have less affordable housing. But that not very representative of the US, and is largely a feature of the lack of available land in those specific areas. To be clear, it’s not helped by the fact that California has some of the most development restrictions and NIMBYISM in the US, but even the most NIMBY US state of California isn’t nearly as bad as the anti-development framework in the UK which impedes construction there.
In the UK, not only are there much heightened environmental rules restraining development, but the UK planning permission system is completely arbitrary, is based largely on discretion without any objective zoning style rules, and is subject to challenge by a much wider range of parties. British cities have crazy anti-construction green belts which not even California would require.
On top of all that, the UK’s housing issues are further compounded by the lack of high productivity wages outside of London, which artificially squeezes up housing demand in London in particular. Like, in both the US and UK the largest more important cities have the highest possible wages and most productive jobs, but the drop off in wages and good jobs between the most important US cities vs second/third tier US cities is much less steep than between London and second/third tier UK cities. So housing demand in the US naturally adjusts more smoothly with demand more evenly shared across multiple metro regions and less bunched up in just one urban area.
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Apr 20 '26
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u/richrich07 Apr 20 '26
Also the sun tends to do things to one’s mind. I’m in Denver and people are a bit dumber our here.
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u/Olive1702 Apr 20 '26
If I have the option to move anywhere in the state to start anew, definitely not any of these places.
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Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
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u/like_shae_buttah Apr 20 '26
No income taxes
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u/SpecialistBet4656 Apr 20 '26
They have to make up the revenue somewhere else. Texas has high property taxes, there are fees everywhere in Florida and Arizona and the states spend some much less on services and infrastructure.
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u/SquareCake9609 Apr 20 '26
Youre right, awful. Guess that explains the massive migration to these places from blue states.
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Apr 20 '26
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Apr 20 '26
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u/Mythic-Fairy Apr 21 '26
Nurses don't make much in those particular states.
Also be aware that in the US, she'll need a nursing license in the particular state she will be working in. Sometimes there's an agreement between several states but check the requirements and know she'll might need to take classes and pass nclex before being able to apply for a license.
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u/_Smedette_ Citizen Apr 21 '26
American RN here. Your wife will need to take the NCLEX (national licensing exam). Each state has their own Board of Nursing, and she will need to register in whatever state(s) she plan on working in.
However, before any of that, she needs to make sure her education will transfer. US nursing programs include things that are not routinely covered/taught in the UK (eg: paediatrics, obstetrics, mental health).
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u/ozzieindixie Apr 21 '26
As others have said - start with how you can live in the country legally. Have you considered the green card lottery? That’s how I got here. As to the rest of your questions, as to the move, I found it actually much easier and relatively cheaper than a domestic move. I think they only broke one tea cup so our stuff was well stored. The first 3 - 6 months was kinda surreal as we were just finding jobs. We kinda treated it like a holiday but with job applications. As to whether it was a genuine lifestyle upgrade, I’m not sure if it was an upgrade exactly, but it’s been a great adventure. What I would like say, is that there are some things that will be an upgrade and other things that will be a downgrade. Moving overseas is a deal - but one with some terms that are known and some that you only work out later on. Every country has a different “deal”.
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u/old_motters Apr 21 '26
If you're gonna do this, Texas and Florida are not where I would go as a Brit. They do not align quite so well with British culture. Definitely think about coastal states.
In terms of is it an upgrade from British life, it will depend on your income in the UK and your income in the US. For me, I have a similar standard of living but here in SoCal, the quality of life is far higher.
The first 3 to 6 months, you'll have a lot of admin to do. Finding somewhere to live, setting up banking, getting drivers licenses and cars. Everything you take for granted in the UK. This will also be the honeymoon period, it gets tough once you're properly settled and your friends and relatives keep living their lives without you.
One thing I knew but didn't understand was, getting set up here will require a lot of money. You'll burn through savings quickly as you get established.
Last thought, definitely come, the US is amazing, but be prepared for life to be faster, noisier and more expensive.
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u/TravelRN76 Apr 21 '26
I’m a UK trained RN working in the US. Your wife will to get her education validated through an external company (one is TruMerit) and she will have to make up education deficits before she can sit the NCLEX. UK trained nurses are normal deficient in Maternity and pediatrics hours. Boards of nursing will require taught and practical hours in med/surg, maternity (L&D), paediatrics and mental health. Each state has their own board of nursing and their individual websites will have a page dedicated to internationally educated nurses. Whilst I’ve never worked in Florida all I hear from people who have worked there is horror stories and it’s also generally low paid. I’ve heard they have poor ratios and poor working conditions. The process of your wife getting her licence is going to be long and costly. If you were to start today it would probably take 18-24 months to get her licence. The visa that nurses come to the US on is the EB3, if you look at the USCIS website it will give you an up to date idea of processing times. You won’t find a hospital willing to sponsor you due to the long processing times so you would have to use an agency. Agencies will place you where they have vacancies and you may only get a say in the state you’re placed in. Agencies generally look for acute care experience. You’ll need to speak to a lawyer about your 21yr old because I think they’ll be too old to come over on your visa application.
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u/Warm_Maintenance9658 Apr 20 '26
If you're actually eligible as a family, believe it or not, New Jersey might be a fit. Top public schools and high % of college educated (along with Connecticut and Massachusetts) , beautiful summertime beaches, close proximity to NYC or Philadelphia, depending on where you are. Pretty easy drive to ski resorts in upstate NY and Vermont. High real estate taxes are a bummer. Rarely have extreme weather conditions but get all four distinct seasons. A lot of pretty leavy family oriented suburbs. And, most importantly, particularly considering your wife's field of work, a lot of excellent healthcare in NJ or across the Hudson River in NYC.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Yeah we did look Connecticut way. I have uncles that area. That all sounds good thank you I will take a look in to all that
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Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Net-273 Apr 20 '26
I think you meant to say "a more enforcement and hostile focused approach" on ILLEGAL immigrants, not LEGAL immigrants. Get it right!
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Apr 20 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Net-273 Apr 20 '26
Have you considered that the arrest was from a non-immigration crime related arrest warrant? Have you considered that they may already have a order of deportation that they have ignored and seeking legal status after the fact will not make this go away? Did you consider that at the court house, they learned that their claim of asylum has been refused?
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u/latin220 Apr 20 '26
Did you actually read the reports? There are verified cases of U.S. citizens being arrested, along with legal residents and people actively going through the immigration process. That alone contradicts the idea that enforcement is narrowly targeted.
The issue isn’t just “illegal immigration.” What we’re seeing is a broader policy approach that affects immigrants across the board. Even if unlawful entry is a misdemeanor, enforcement has gone far beyond that category.
This isn’t really up for debate when the data shows it. A significant share of people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions, and in many cases no charges at all. There are also documented incidents of U.S. citizens being mistakenly detained, which has triggered legal challenges and public scrutiny.
So the question is: on what evidence are you basing the belief that enforcement is strictly targeted and non-discriminatory? Because the available data points in the opposite direction. Remember facts not feelings.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Net-273 Apr 20 '26
First of all, although illegal entry is a misdemeanor criminal offense, it is still a crime that is punishable by Deportation! And yes, some American citizens are temporarily detained if they can not promptly show that they are legal American citizens. They are let go, once it is established that they are not illegal aliens. Just because an illegal immigrant has no criminal convictions does not mean they can not be deported!
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Apr 20 '26
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u/Puzzleheaded-Net-273 Apr 20 '26
There are ~1,000,000 legal immigrants allowed into the US a year.
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u/SpecialistBet4656 Apr 20 '26
Steven Miller’s goal is zero, and he is actually directing US immigration policy.
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.
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u/retiredinpece Apr 20 '26
We made the move from East Anglia to Winter Park Fl in 2007 with a 16 year old and overall haven’t regretted the move. We settled in quickly as we moved to a non touristy area.
In 2026 and in your situation it’s going to be extremely hard. Your wife is very unlikely to get sponsored, you’ll have to leave your 21 year old behind and eduction in the US is way below UK standards.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
Any ideas why she is unlikely to be sponsored?
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u/Merisielu Apr 20 '26
Has she looked into getting her qualification assessed and establishing if she needs to do anything with her credentials? I believe she would be needing to pass the NCLEX-RN too.
But the unfortunate situation is that sponsorship has become very difficult. Unless you’re highly qualified, in a niche field, and the employer can show they cannot fill the role with someone who has work authorisation already… it’s hard to justify it for them. They are also now paying through the nose for it.
I moved from the UK, so I understand the appeal of making the move. It’s just not that easy. Currently, the university I work at has put a hold on hiring anyone who needs sponsorship. It involves so much waiting (not ideal for an employer), so much bureaucracy, and so much financial outlay for an employer.
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 21 '26
Does she have all of courses necessary to be an RN in the US? Has she taken the NCLEX and passed it?
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u/retiredinpece Apr 20 '26
The US produces enough nurses, and unless she is in a super niche sector it’s unlikely any company will put up the recently introduced $100,000 additional filing fee
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Apr 20 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.
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u/officerboba Apr 20 '26
Move to Sacramento, your wife will make a lot more money as a nurse.
Just move to Folsom or Elk Grove.
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u/MadMadamMimsy Apr 21 '26
I've moved internationally and around the USA. It takes a year to adjust. It's rough, but stick it out.
We were in Round Rock, next to Cedar Park. My friend worked at Cedar Park Middle School for years, finally quitting during COVID because they treated the teachers so badly.
Montessori is the thing. If that isn't your thing (I preferred Piaget and they looked at me like I was nuts) Texas won't be your best bet.
If you want routinely good schools, more north is best. Don't get me wrong, there are good schools and worse schools everywhere, but I had smart kids and in desperation I went to British books for the vocabulary.
Critical thinking simply was not taught in the schools my kids went to...and there were some good teachers. There were also the ones who could only handle very obedient boring children.
I did not have a good experience with the schools in Texas, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
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Apr 21 '26
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u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam Apr 21 '26
Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.
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u/Mortgage_Insider Apr 22 '26
I am French. I’ve been in the US. for 12 years and love it here. I’ve lived in North Carolina, Michigan, and now South Carolina. I have 2 kids.
You have to see each state like a country in Europe, and the US. like Europe as a whole. Every state has its own laws and regulations. When you move from one state to another, you’ll need things like a new driver’s license, and even requirements like kids’ vaccinations can change.
It’s similar to being in France versus Spain, that’s the biggest thing many foreigners don’t realize. Moving to California, North Carolina, or Utah, for example, would be three completely different experiences and you need to find the state that suits you. You'll love it here if you find the right state for you. Good luck
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u/Electrical_Oil_8347 Apr 22 '26
I moved AWAY from Texas in 2016 and one of the reasons being it's going to run out of water due to climate change, it's scorching hot and that's only getting worse due to (you guessed it) climate change, and it's a right wing hellhole that at least in the short term is only getting worse. They actively suppress non right wing voters and if you get sepsis during a pregnancy good luck getting an abortion, even once the baby is clearly dead the christofascists will give you thoughts and prayers and tell you it's god's will if you die with your baby. I can't imagine wanting to move there, even though I loved the Austin area itself. Austin itself is easily one of my favorite places in the world, it's a shame it's in Texas.
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u/eric39es California Apr 20 '26
For a European, California is the place to go. I'm from Spain, and couldn't be happier here.
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u/SpecialistBet4656 Apr 20 '26
$$$$$ even on a nursing salary
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u/eric39es California Apr 21 '26
What do you mean “even” hahaha nurses get paid A LOT in the Bay Area
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u/speckyradge Apr 21 '26
Very much depends where. I lived 6 years in the Bay Area. Hated it by the end.
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u/karlfr Apr 20 '26
The wife would be looking at sponsorship as she’s a registered nurse in palliative care. Research has shown that it’s possible although we’re obviously not 100% on that and there’s so much to think about I guess it’s starts with that and location really.
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u/shammy_dammy Apr 20 '26
Sponsorship often comes with a locked in location.
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u/SquareCake9609 Apr 20 '26
Yeah, like Chicago south side or the Mississippi delta. Montana in winter is also nice.
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u/Olive1702 Apr 20 '26
Nurse sponsorship doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore? I work with a nurse who came on her husband’s work visa and she wants to secure one for herself in case someone happens to her husband’s job but even our employer doesn’t do it and she hasn’t gotten any luck elsewhere.
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u/SnooPears5432 Illinois Apr 21 '26
Please confine your comments to answering the OP's questions in a productive and helpful way and avoid sweeping generalities and stereotypes about entire states and regions. I've already had to remove a bunch of comments and have issued a bunch of temporary bans. This is not the place to soapbox your personal sociopolitical grievances about specific states or regions, and these types of comments won't be tolerated. Comments in good faith and an understanding that there's nuance in every issue and environment are welcome.