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158 of 164 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A bible for anyone planning to emigrate!, 22 Feb 2003
My wife and I moved out to San Diego in 1999. It wasn't a company move, we were on our own with enough money to last three months. I happened to find this book a few months before we left and I'm glad I did. I'd already spent quite a bit of time in the States, including living there for three months over a summer vacation from university. Even that extended stay didn't prepare me for the planning and budgeting I discovered was necessary to move out there 'properly'.This book will take you through everything from job-seeking before you go, visa applications, what to do on arrival, right through to applying for citizenship. It covers all the major stuff, like buying a home, getting a US driving license, arranging schooling for children, etc right through to detail like arranging telephone service, tipping and social customs. There's even a section on illegal working - if you're thinking about risking it. There's an entertaining section on 'The Americans', although a better way to prepare for the absurdity of some aspects of American life is to read Bill Bryson's 'Notes from a Big Country' - it's fantastic. As a 'grown up' who moved out to the States and moved back having THOROUGHLY enjoyed the whole experience, the most valuable sections of this book for me were: the US tax system, insurance and credit. My top tips: arrange adequate holiday medical cover in the beginning and then get proper US medical insurance as soon as you get an address; get every other kind of insurance cover you need - and that means allowing a big chunk of your budget to cover it from day 1; and plan on your UK credit reports being worthless in the US. As soon as you get there, get a credit card, even if it's a $250 limit with an APR of 29%, and use it and make the payments. It's amazing how quickly a good US credit history will make life easier. The book includes lots of useful addresses and futher reading and is written in a practical, easy to follow manner. If you think you can just 'sort things out when you get there', read this book and think again. We ran into problems and we thought we were thoroughly prepared (like an apartment complex refusing to allow us to sign, even though we could have paid six months, cash, in advance, because we had no credit history). Things would have been unthinkably worse if I hadn't known some of the stuff contained in this book. Read this book and ENJOY your move to the States.
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by Mark A. Cooper
by Alison R. Lanier
