Is it all bad news

[mastercraft]

Hi, let me introduce us first of all. We are Graeme, Ann & callum. We are staying at our villa in Davenport and we are on a B2 visa. We love FL and we are contemplating going down the E2 route. I have been looking through the forum and understand all of the issues, frustrations that people face, education, kids not covered under E2 at 21, medical cover etc etc. Whilst facing up to these very real issues - is it all bad? Do people who have done this regretted it or on balance is it worth the pain? I have spent 30 years in banking in the UK and the thought of being my own boss, in the sunshine is very tempting. Look forward to some good discussions!

[Carla]

What business do you intend going into?

[mastercraft]

Hi, we are keeping an open mind - looking at a range at the moment and what will finally determine which one we go for will be: return on the investment (of course it will need to be right for the visa authorities) and other factors such as affordability of housing and good schooling

[florida4sun]

Nearly all E2 qualifying businesses are way over priced and usually turn out to be worth nowhere near what people pay for them, they are simply a way in (not all but most). We had nearly 5 years over there and had to leave due to health insurance problems.
We enjoyed our stay and do not regret it at all. If your healthy and have a good business, you will have a blast. If not, it will be pretty miserable and it goes downhill very quickly indeed. I would not consider retiring iover there full time, it simply is not affordable unless you guarantee no illness!!!
The only regret we have was not keeping a house in the UK. It was very hard getting back into the property market despite having a very good deposit. Your credit rating disapears once you are out of the country for 12 months.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by mastercraft
Hi, we are keeping an open mind - looking at a range at the moment and what will finally determine which one we go for will be: return on the investment (of course it will need to be right for the visa authorities) and other factors such as affordability of housing and good schooling
[/quote]

[esprit]

Firstly it is very difficult to get E2 at the moment through the London embassy, huge processing delays and many people getting turned down. Much much harder than when I got my visa or when Florida4sun got his. You could apply for change of status to Texas as you already have B2, but still have to return to London for interview and visa stamp after approval. Or you do if you ever want to travel outside the US. Then E2 visas are usually currently only being granted for 2 years and can only be renewed in the UK. Huge processing delays again and yes people do get turned down and have to leave.

As Martin says people do come unstuck. My first business was no way worth the money and was problematic from day one. I was left with setting my own business up from scratch, something I could have done from day one had I been allowed to and saved myself a lot of cash and heartache. Businesses here often are not what you expect. On another forum I am on, someone just shut up shop and went back home having lost his business and with it his life savings in just seven months. Someone else lost half their business when employees ran off with the contracts. You do hear of this and you hear of people terribly homesick, even those who have spent extensive time in Florida and going home. And then you hear success stories as well.

A few points. 30 years in banking, so you are no spring chicken, neither am I. The healthcare and health insurance costs are crippling at any age and worse as you get older. If you have any ailment pre existing, it will be worse. You work twioe as hard here as you did in the UK and with far fewer holidays. The americans just dont take them and if you want to remain competitive and business here is hard and very competitive.... and who do you trust to mind your business and not run off with it??

It is not like being here on holiday not even in the slightest. You come here with 1.8 to the pound and feel rich, but when you earn in dollars you cant afford to do the things you used to do on holiday, and as for going home, well you are a pauper back in the UK with your money almost halved. The cost of living here is expensive, especially over the first two years when you are a non person with no credit rating. My first bill for insuring two cars was $4500. Dont even get me onto the subject of how much workers compensation insurance costs.

Would I do it again?. Hard question. The first eighteen months here were hard and a huge shock to the system even though I had been a villa owner for years. Now this is home and I cant even really remember the UK. So now we are established but we know we are getting older and there is no way you can retire on E2 as the visa is only valid as long as you keep trading the business. And we also know that with the drop in the exchange rate our net worth is less than it was when we came, making retirement in the UK really difficult. On the pro side, it has been an experience and life is about experience, we will never have to say "what if"! rather we can say " been there, done that". And I do think it is a fine place for children, most kids thrive here and do well in their school system and fall into the healthy clean living lifestyle, no hanging around street corners or getting drunk at 16. Most E2 kids love the lifestyle here and desperately want to stay, making the whole going home at 21 thing that much harder.

[Robert5988]

Great post Julie.

[Kazzie]

Julie and Martin,

I think it is really good of you to reply with such honesty. Some people do tend to think that its the same living in a country as it is holidaying there, which, in reality is obviously very different. The medical insurance is obviously one of the main things to think about, and even if you are healthy at present, nobody can predict what the future has in store.

I always thought that Americans had lots more leisure time than us Brits but I suppose it all depends how well off you are and your circumstances.

Karen

[Tyreabusa]

I hope that this post doesn't get people annoyed but this is only my experience. I often hear people say that they dont get much chance for vacation time, but in my personal opinion, working over here in Florida we get 52 holidays a year...... 1 each weekend. The outdoor lifestyle, when compared to England is magnificent. When working in England you cant wait for the school holidays so that you can get out of the country and get some sun. Look at any news report from Gatwick, Manchester or Heathrow airport at Easter time. The hoards of people wanting to get out is immense. We can go to the beach, or Busch Gardens, or even Disney if you have a spare wad of money !! How about Silver Springs ?? Get in an inner tube and just float down the river watching the wildlife go by. How many times in England could we have got our BBQ's out in a year ?? Or just laid outside on the patio after work and taken in the setting sun and enjoyed the warmth of the evening ?? Perhaps I have been tainted by working in London for 28 years, but please take these facts into consideration when thinking of coming out here. If you arent prepared to work harder than in England, and work longer hours than in England then you will get a surprise. But the benefits far outway the hard work and long hours. Believe me, seeing the cloudless blue sky and feeling that warmth every day is where its at !! Hurricanes....pah to them !! Make sure you dont live in a flood zone and get good insurance coverage. Please dont bombard me with PM's as remember, this is only my experience, and as Esprit pointed out to me, I have only been here 1 year !!!

Nick

[mastercraft]

Nick & Everyone else

Many thanks for taking the time to respond - really appreciate it! I guess there are many lessons that we can learn from people who have a lot more experience than we do!
We are certainly not afraid of hard work - we have both spent our lives putting in long hours for someone else and we just feel that we have been given an opportunity that we should try and if we fail then at least we have had a go and we wont for ever be saying - "if only...."
We are and will continue to take sound advice on the businesses that we are beginning to look at and this, amongst other things seems to be key! We also have what seem to be good people advising us on the visa side who are getting people approved in London and so we live in hope!

[esprit]

Are you using a London based visa consultant? There is one recommended by everyone who has a brilliant success rate. If you arnt using her ( it is a her) and are interested, dm me.