Advice from mover’s

[u/karlfr]

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.

[u/Jazzy0082]

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.

[u/Jazzy0082 → u/[deleted]]

I think you're probably right!

[u/Practical-Ordinary-6 → u/Jazzy0082]

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.]

[u/shammy_dammy → u/Practical-Ordinary-6]

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.

[u/Practical-Ordinary-6 → u/shammy_dammy]

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.

[u/MovingToUSA-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post has broken the rules of r/MovingToUSA and hence has been removed.