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Thank you that's really helpful! We have done sums with the company offering him the job and it seems we would be much better off if we did go, for tax reasons I don't understand and the fact that his medical would be paid in full and mine and the children's half paid for.
The plan now is for him to go out there early Feb to see if he likes the company and have a scout about with an estate agent to look for suitable areas and schools (we may even be able to afford private schools). The commute from where his boss lives is only 15 mins, and the place is 40 mins(including parking) from Laguna beach and 15 mins from the mountains.
If we rented our house here for a year the price we would get for it (assuming it rents) is the same as we would pay for a similar sized house (but with less bedrooms - more floor space but bigger rooms over there). I have a large plot here with a 6 bedrooms and 130 feet of back garden alone, plus I grow out the front too, so would defo be on a smaller plot over there with maybe not so much or no space for growing. But with 300 days of sunshine it might be worth it! I HATE being cold and my hands are blue her even in the height of summer.
I can't go this time to have a look as as well as having older boys we have a 7 week old baby!
Flights there are not as much as we thought either so wouldn't not preclude visitors or me coming home to visit.
Not keen on the flora and fauna, am told there are big bugs, snakes and even tarantulas (I have severe spider phobia, had 3 lots of therapy so far) and also coyotes that would kill our cats if we let them out!
Still lots to consider, but mr janeyo is on first mission to have a look, if he hates it then it's a no-go anyway as he'd be the main breadwinner for 5 years.
The plan now is for him to go out there early Feb to see if he likes the company and have a scout about with an estate agent to look for suitable areas and schools (we may even be able to afford private schools). The commute from where his boss lives is only 15 mins, and the place is 40 mins(including parking) from Laguna beach and 15 mins from the mountains.
If we rented our house here for a year the price we would get for it (assuming it rents) is the same as we would pay for a similar sized house (but with less bedrooms - more floor space but bigger rooms over there). I have a large plot here with a 6 bedrooms and 130 feet of back garden alone, plus I grow out the front too, so would defo be on a smaller plot over there with maybe not so much or no space for growing. But with 300 days of sunshine it might be worth it! I HATE being cold and my hands are blue her even in the height of summer.
I can't go this time to have a look as as well as having older boys we have a 7 week old baby!
Flights there are not as much as we thought either so wouldn't not preclude visitors or me coming home to visit.
Not keen on the flora and fauna, am told there are big bugs, snakes and even tarantulas (I have severe spider phobia, had 3 lots of therapy so far) and also coyotes that would kill our cats if we let them out!
Still lots to consider, but mr janeyo is on first mission to have a look, if he hates it then it's a no-go anyway as he'd be the main breadwinner for 5 years.
Originally posted by batpixie
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Hi janeyo. I am usually a lurker rather than a talker, and haven't logged in for a good while 
, but I thought that my recent experiences might be useful to you.
I have lived in California (Bay Area) for just over a year now after my OH got a job with one of the big tech companies. I wont bore you with all the pro's and cons, but will try to point out some of the big things we thought about before making the decision to move and how it's actually been.
VISA's - I too am unable to work as I am on a spouse visa (I think we have an H4 and H1b, but I can't remember which is which!), however, a lot of your time at first will be spent setting up home and getting to know the local area etc. Once we got settled in I started looking for volunteer work to keep me occupied - there is loads out there! The visa's seemed fairly straight forward to get, although, I think there are only a set number issued twice a year (April and October comes to mind).
Cost of Living - In general, I have found cost of living to be higher over here. I think food seems to be pricier, but I have stopped converting it as it's not really going to influence whether or not we buy something we need. Property rental is much higher in this area than most places in the UK, but we are in Silicon Valley, so the prices may be lower elsewhere. I don't have kids, but I believe that property prices can be influenced by how good the schools are in an area i.e. prices will be higher in the catchment area of a better school. As an aside, I don't think (not 100% sure) you will be able to get your own bank account, as you will not be issued with a Social Security Number, so you will be entirely reliant on your OH for money. Also, you will need health insurance, but make sure that it is for all areas of health care (ie. dental, optical etc) and not just medical.
Weather - what can I say! As someone else posted, California is a big place, so weather can vary a lot. Where I am, last year we had not one drop of rain from March until late September and summer temperatures were hot, without being unpleasant (late 20's most of the time). At the moment, we are having overnight frosts, but it is warm enough for just a jumper by mid morning. It is fantastic, especially if you enjoy an outdoors lifestyle. You can go out in the morning in shorts and t-shirt without having to worry about taking 10 extra layers with you!
Family - this was the biggest one for me. I am very close to my family, although I lived near Manchester and they lived near Edinburgh when we were in the UK (4hrs journey v's 16+ hrs journey). I was worried about leaving them, but at the same time wanted to go on an adventure. The biggest thing that swayed me was the fact that my parents are still relatively young (early 60's) and although anything can happen, they are in good health at the moment. I decided that if we were going to do something like this, now would be the time to do it rather than leaving it until later. I haven't missed them as much as I thought I would, but I think a big part of that has been because I can see as well as speak to them on Skype and do so a couple of times a week. I can also call my nana's home phone for just over 1p a minute using skype too (although it took a lot of convincing for her to believe that it wasn't bankrupting me to phone her!
)
Wow, just read that back and it's a bit of an essay!
If you have any questions, or any more info, then let me know and I'll try to help out if I can.
, but I thought that my recent experiences might be useful to you.I have lived in California (Bay Area) for just over a year now after my OH got a job with one of the big tech companies. I wont bore you with all the pro's and cons, but will try to point out some of the big things we thought about before making the decision to move and how it's actually been.
VISA's - I too am unable to work as I am on a spouse visa (I think we have an H4 and H1b, but I can't remember which is which!), however, a lot of your time at first will be spent setting up home and getting to know the local area etc. Once we got settled in I started looking for volunteer work to keep me occupied - there is loads out there! The visa's seemed fairly straight forward to get, although, I think there are only a set number issued twice a year (April and October comes to mind).
Cost of Living - In general, I have found cost of living to be higher over here. I think food seems to be pricier, but I have stopped converting it as it's not really going to influence whether or not we buy something we need. Property rental is much higher in this area than most places in the UK, but we are in Silicon Valley, so the prices may be lower elsewhere. I don't have kids, but I believe that property prices can be influenced by how good the schools are in an area i.e. prices will be higher in the catchment area of a better school. As an aside, I don't think (not 100% sure) you will be able to get your own bank account, as you will not be issued with a Social Security Number, so you will be entirely reliant on your OH for money. Also, you will need health insurance, but make sure that it is for all areas of health care (ie. dental, optical etc) and not just medical.
Weather - what can I say! As someone else posted, California is a big place, so weather can vary a lot. Where I am, last year we had not one drop of rain from March until late September and summer temperatures were hot, without being unpleasant (late 20's most of the time). At the moment, we are having overnight frosts, but it is warm enough for just a jumper by mid morning. It is fantastic, especially if you enjoy an outdoors lifestyle. You can go out in the morning in shorts and t-shirt without having to worry about taking 10 extra layers with you!
Family - this was the biggest one for me. I am very close to my family, although I lived near Manchester and they lived near Edinburgh when we were in the UK (4hrs journey v's 16+ hrs journey). I was worried about leaving them, but at the same time wanted to go on an adventure. The biggest thing that swayed me was the fact that my parents are still relatively young (early 60's) and although anything can happen, they are in good health at the moment. I decided that if we were going to do something like this, now would be the time to do it rather than leaving it until later. I haven't missed them as much as I thought I would, but I think a big part of that has been because I can see as well as speak to them on Skype and do so a couple of times a week. I can also call my nana's home phone for just over 1p a minute using skype too (although it took a lot of convincing for her to believe that it wasn't bankrupting me to phone her!
)Wow, just read that back and it's a bit of an essay!
If you have any questions, or any more info, then let me know and I'll try to help out if I can.
Good luck with your adventure 
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