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Also, the first class tickets for the train were totally worth it.
Welcome to Europe! I moved to Germany almost 20 years ago, and holy batflaps am I happy about that choice.
this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2025
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I hope I will be as happy. Thanks!
I'm both glad you made it out and jealous I don't have a similar history with another country to move to. You're a great parent for everything you do for your daughter. Hope the last bit of the trip went smoothly and you find a job quickly.
Thanks!
That’s some Grade A dad’ing Squid! Happy for ya, proud of ya. Best of luck over there!
Thanks!
Welcome to the UK. And if anyone asks, you ain't seen me, right?
Seen who?
Perfect.
I just took a look at your post history to see the origin story to this, seems to me you ARE Lemmy?! Every other post I saw seems to be from you...
Yeah, Lemmy is basically just Flying Squid and The_Picard_Maneuver. The rest of us are bots and/or figment of their imagination.
Can confirm. I am a imagination of FlyingSquid.
Hey, congrats for taking that big leap, even if it is to the UK (having lived in a couple of places in Europe including over a decade in the UK, my opinion of the UK is pretty low).
It takes a lot of guts to take yourself out of the environment you know (with all it's implicit expectations of "this is how people behave") and move into a different environment were people don't value the same things, expect the same or behave the same.
Good luck!
Thankfully, due to my British father and grandmother, I know some of the basics. But I still have a lot to learn. Thankfully I've got us registered with an NHS clinic (waiting to hear back from them) and just got our new phone numbers.
Wow, you actually did it! I remember you laying out your plan here on Lemmy a few months ago. Kudos to you
Yeah it was a fun journey to watch it all unfold!
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The UK just gained several precious people. Good for them!
Lemmy will be okay if you don't keep posting as much as you've been. Do whatever you need to do to set your family up there.
I seriously think airlines are a sham after riding a bunch of trains.
On a train:
Seats are massive. First class wasn't like 5x the ticket price. No charge for luggage. No wack-ass TSA giving you conflicting rules about if you should keep your shoes/belts on or not. You want to rent a room so you can sleep, do it. You wanna jog from one end to another? Sure.
Unfortunately in America, trains don't fully connect to most places. And because of the price, attracts some real skeevos who leave the place a mess. In most other countries, my god. It's beautiful.
yeah i find it very irresponsible from OP to not take the train from the US to UK
For some god-forsaken reason, planes are often cheaper
I don't disagree but it's really hard to find a train from New York to London.
Someone once said that emigrating is trading one set of societal issues for another. If you’re happy with the trade, awesome.
Good luck in your new homeland.
Yes, and I am trading the societal issue of possibly having my daughter tortured for being queer for the one of that not happening.
That is a valid choice.
I didn't know if England was the best choice, but right now I think Neptune is probably better than here.
It was my only choice. I have citizenship here. (Technically I am a "British passport holder" until I go to a citizenship ceremony and say God Save the King and I'm not a spy or something, but whatever.)
Better to pledge loyalty to a king who's a figurehead than one with actual power like we have here.
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Ohh that's a rough ass flight for a teen :) good luck over there!
Good luck, I hope you and your child find the UK to be less shitty than America. :)
Having emigrated to France with my kids in 2017, I think you're making a good decision.
Was this a similar move as with OP? Meaning you had preexisting ties to the country before moving?
actually no. when don the con got elected the first time, i saved up as much as i could, sold as much stuff as i could and just left. I was illegal in France for a while, but did eventually find a job that was willing to sponsor a visa for me. I had to go back to the states to get my visa issued, though, that took a few weeks. I've been here ever since, and yeah it's fucking hard to leave my family back home in the states, it's honestly much better to live here with my kids than there.
Welcome to the UK! Not sure on your final destination, but I'm based in South West England. Please feel free to reach out if you need any help or guidance, especially if you're heading down this way 🙂.
Nice now flee to Netherlands. Yes you have to learn Dutch but you can use English in shops or so. Small price to pay to be part of a civilized country
A civilized country that voted the party of “Trump from Wish.com” into office. The Netherlands is also run by far right fuck nuts, the next four years are going to be very interesting down here below sea level to say the least. Better stay in the UK while labour is in charge.
Also unless you getting that nice expat salary it will be really difficult to find housing in the Netherlands as a fresh of the boat immigrant and you can forget about social housing.
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I'm based around south yorkshire if you need anything squid. Hope you like it here
Thanks! In Blackburn in a VRBO at the moment, but I have no idea where we'll end up. Looking for work everywhere I can.
Ah you're just up the road from me. Guessing you changed at Preston? Hopefully you find something soon!
We did indeed change at Preston. And then went everywhere in the station because the lady on the train gave us the wrong directions. After missing the Avanti West Coast train two times and going on the wrong train at Euston once.
Welcome to the UK :)
Still remember your post months ago asking for advice for moving. I'm happy it worked out for you and your family squid! Hope you guys can settle down soon (I'm sure there's tons of paper work and other bullshit) and relax!
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Hey, you made it Squid. Congratulations and welcome to the UK. As I previously said when we’ve been in the same thread, anything you need that I might be able to help with just reach out.
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Ah congrats on the move, squid. We left the US for the EU in December (planned since the summer) and I can't imagine a better choice already. I know you've got a million things going on, and of course job, housing, etc are all top priority, but I have some lighter advice on getting used to a new place.
To meet some people and make some friends, there are lots of volunteer opportunities. It's a fun, helpful, community building way to give a little back.
London has a TON of ex-pats/immigrants. Not that the point is to meet a bunch of Americans or anything, but any you do have left for a reason, so they're more likely to be like minded.
Say "yes" to any bids for connection you can. Even if getting invited to an activity that isn't your jam, if you get an invite, go! It can be lonely at first, and feel like drinking is the only way to meet anyone. But social circles can spread quickly once you get them a little off the ground.
Have fun, and enjoy some piece of mind!
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