Kinda new to the UK

[Meggen]

Hi guys,

Been lurking round the boards for a while decided to introduce myself and tell you all my story. I Moved to the UK in January 2003, with the intent to stay here permanently. I got married in June and have been waiting for the home office to approve my visa since july 8th :cry: I can't work currently since I don't have the visa yet so being home 24/7 doesn't help much with the dieting. I get very bored, since the only person I really know here is my husband. I've gotten some new ideas lately from you guys for things to make to add some variety back into my meal plan, but still quite bored and i think a lot of that is being stuck home all the time. When I lived in the states I use to work 60 - 70 hours a week, so sitting home just isn't for me. Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with not working, it's just not for me personally. Lately I been stalled on losing and was thinking the pure boredom of it all might be whats doing it so was wondering if any of you have suggestions of things to do around here (not too expensive as i'm not working yet)? I live in SouthEast england in Surrey. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Meggen

[LittleAnne]

Hi Meggan

Welcome to this website, the UK and this forum. I hope you get your visa soon.

Where about is Surrey are you? There are a number of other members around that part of the world.

I can appreciate that you are getting bored being at home all day. Have you thought about getting involved in voluntary work in the area? I don't know if this appeals to you. You could try to local library or the council offices for more information in the area. As an alternative you perhaps could offer your services to the charity shops in your area. I would get very bored if not working and in my spare time I work with GirlguidingUK running Brownies, amongst other things. These groups will always welcome an extra pair of hands.

You might want to drop by any of the following journals as these all belong to US citizens in the UK, many of which have not been here that long: AFWife, Deeanna, LMK.

We are having a low carb get together in central London on Saturday 7th February. I will post more about this soon. Perhaps you will be able to come to that. We had a great meet on 6th December. See the posts in this forum attended by 8 of us. I expect to see even more in February and you will be most welcome.

Continued success and we look forward to seeing more of you.

[Meggen]

thanks for the quick reply. I have thought of volunteer work, but one other issue is i can not drive here yet (another problem from not having my visa yet). Will have to look into it a bit more, we keep being told, "we'll let you know about the visa next week" so I have been putting off making a commitment so as soon as the visa comes through I can start work (course they have been telling me this since july).

Would love to come to the get together in february, london is about an hour train ride from here (I am in guildford), so not bad at all.

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestion. :)

meggen

[tholian8]

Hi there from another expat Yank (NY--->NW London).

You don't necessarily need a settlement visa to drive. AFAIK, you can drive for a year on your American license. Some car insurers require you to have a UK license before they will add you to a spouse's policy, but some insurers don't seem to care. And sometimes it just depends who you talk to at the company!

One thing you can try, if you need to drive for a short while but are having trouble with the insurer, is getting yourself added as a "temporary" driver on the policy. That only lasts 30 days, but they usually don't care about your foreign license and at least you might be able to be mobile for a little bit. FWIW.

I hear you on the visa/work thing. I have an unmarried partner visa and because of the long and laborious process involved in getting that, I ended up being ineligible to work for two years. To make matters worse, my partner--who was, of course, the only person I knew--was obligated to take several long trips out of the UK during this time, and my ability to travel was limited. Thank God I was busy studying the Natural Horn during all of this, or I think I would have gone stark raving mad. As it was, I came out of it with a work permit (finally!) and a new skill too. But it was still a lonely and stressful time for me. :(

If you're the academic type at all, you might want to investigate Open University courses, which can be done from home (no driving necessary). They do cost money, but I don't think it's a back-breaking amount, and they are "real" college courses which count towards degree qualifications.

Dealing with the Home Office can be nightmarish, since they often have huge backlogs. Occasionally people have been known to approach their MPs for help in getting things moving! If you have not already been, the site www.americanexpats.org.uk has a forum with a large "Immigration/Home Office" section, where it seems that every imaginable problem has come up for discussion.

hth and feel free to drop by my journal (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=125822&page=1&pp=20) anytime.

Emily

[Meggen]

Thanks for the response emily. I do have my MP involved now and it's still taking forever *groans* but i'll get it eventually. As for the driving thing, I've been here almost a year already and insurance will not give me coverage without a passport (wich of course the home office has).

Seems like you are adjusting well to life here wich gives me hope. I'm still in the "OMG why did i move here?!?!?" stage of things, but i think a big part of that is not working and not having any friends here (well expcet you guys on the boards, you're all so supportive *hugs*).

I'm going to peek into your journal now ...

TTYL (or TTFN i guess is what i should start saying)

Meggen

[Tortie]

Hi Meggen

Welcome to the forum - thanks for introducing yourself.

I think helping at a charity shop is quite a good way cause you'll meet other volunteers and customers too. You might not need to make a long commitment.

Do you like art? Most of the galleries and museums in London do free lectures and gallery tours. I'm an Open University student and I would recommend study - keeps you way from the fridge if you have your nose in a book! But you might prefer a short course at a local college because Open University would give you less contact with other students. What about taking a short course to learn a new language? Or a skill? You could volunteer with the National Trust - there are some houses in Surrey as I recall. But you might have very different interests.If you've been here for a year, what have you tried?

I empathise - I think finding friends can be hard going, particularly without the opportunities provided by being in work. I know some people find the British very reserved which doesn't help.



I look forward to meeting you on 7 Feb.

[Meggen]

Been thinking about taking a class, maybe trying to learn sign language. My sister wears hearing aids and her hearing is getting worse so wont be long she'll be reduced to sign language. Having said that looking into classes they tend to be VERY pricey if your not a UK citizen :(

Would love to volunteer at an animal shelter (love animals) guess I just need to do it already.

Kept praying I would get my visa be able to work etc. Then got an MP involved in October and they keep saying "next week we'll know". Now here it is almost new years and i'm still stuck doing nothing. Worst part is knowing I can't even go home to visit my family... Home office has my passport and only way to get it back is cancel my application wich puts me back at square one.

Thanks for all the ideas guys, guess getting depressed with the holidays comming up, no family here, and getting older (don't laugh i know 26 isn't that old but when your lonely it feels like it).

All things aside, I actually did my worout video today (not to get healthy but point is i did it). So i'm starting to cheer up :lol:

[RCFletcher]

Hi Megan,

Welcome to the board. Just a word about sign language. Bear in mind that British and American sign language are different and that they can't understand each other. Why not learn a language? You could get a taped course from a local public library.

[Meggen]

was thinking of taking "american sign language" wich was universalized about 5 years ago with the growing demand for people who travel outside there own country. Have seen the class offered at a few of the community colleges. Just figured that would be "killing two birds with one stone". Haven't ruled out another language, haven't looked much into either one yet though. Holidays is hard for me being away from my family.

It's a great suggestion, I ordered a catalogue from the local community college yesterday so i'll see whats available. :)

[SylviaUK]

Welcome to the UK, Meggen :D

Sorry to hear that the Home Office is being its usual inefficient self :( But I hope things work out for you, and look forward to meeting you at the UK meet in February that Anne mentioned earlier.

[Katy131]

Hi Meggen

Welcome to the UK!

I sympathise with your situation because I did a similar thing (in reverse) and lived in MD, USA for 2 years. It was tough to begin with because I was alone at home with my baby, but it did get better - honest! After a year I had so many friends I didn't want to go home - so we stayed another year!

One possible but perhaps off-the-wall practical suggestion: Do you sing? I sing with the Southampton Philharmonic Society and our Musical Director is the Associate Conductor of the Guildford Choral Society. He always makes our rehearsals lots of fun. If you are into choral singing, you could go along and meet lots of people and even get involved in their committee, as you have already thought of voluntary work (I am Southampton's Choir Librarian).

Here's their website:

http://www.guildfordchoral.org/main.pl?Join_us!

Just my 2p (cents!) worth!

[Katy131]

Btw, LittleAnne - I would like to come to the February meet, if I can fix it with dh ... :cool:

So count me in! :wiggle:

[Meggen]

Funny you should mention singing of all things. I LOVE to sing (just can't if you know what I mean). I decided to take a singing class, but it didnt go well, too many people in class not enough individual help (and i need lots of it), so that didnt work well. But I may consider trying again one day.

also just an update.

they approved my visa!!!!!!!!!!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay:

So hopefully once they mail my documents back to me I can start looking for a job :)

Look forward to seeing all of you in february

Meggen

[tholian8]

they approved my visa!!!!!!!!!!!!! :yay: :yay: :yay:

Fantastic! You're now a "real person!" (Or at least that's how I felt when I finally got mine. ;) )

Emily

[LittleAnne]

Good News Meggan

Hope the paperwork does not get lost in the Christmas post. You should have a more settled Christmas now.

Looking forward to seeing you in February.

[SarahWeb]

at least this means you can chill for Christmas and concentrate on meeting loads of new people and having fun!

(p.s. welcome by the way :D)

[Dawn Renee]

Dear Meggan

Hello! I moved to the UK 4.5 years ago, and Guildford was our first stop. My husband's job is based there, but we ended up moving to Horsham instead.

Moving from Vancouver to Guildford was really hard - I found people very quiet and if I said hello to strangers on the street, I seemed to attract a lot of negative attention. Once I got to know some people I made some excellent friends, but it took so much longer to get past the "aquaintence" stage. We don't have any regrets about coming to the UK though - we have gained so much by coming here.

I was able to get a temp administration job through an agency as soon as I had an address - I was able to start work the afternoon I applied! (a huge difference from the months usually spent in a job search in Canada!) From the temp job, I was able to spend more time finding something permanent. Good luck on your search! What kind of job are you looking for?

BTW, where did you live before you came here?

Horsham is only about 45 minutes away - let me know if you ever want to meet up!

Best wishes
Dawn

[Meggen]

Dawn,

I moved here from the US, all over, lived in Michigan, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, South carolina, North carolina, Colorado, New Hampshire, and New york. I am an as400 administrator (keep the big midrange systems at companies up and running) by trade but right now would welcome any job. Just so bored sitting home with nothing to do. Finally got my visa approved, now just waiting on it to come in the post :cry:

Would love to meet up sometime and you can tell me all about your experiences with moving here etc and with LCing.

E-mail me sometime and we can maybe work something out.

Meggenj~comcast.net

thanks,

[tholian8]

Let me know if y'all want to get together. I'm in NW London, but I can drive :) . I'm lucky in that I was able to study for a couple of years before getting my work permit, but I do understand the feelings of futility and being good at what you do, but unable to work at that profession. (I was forbidden from working in my profession for 2 years due to student-visa issues.)

Before moving to the UK I lived in New Jersey; Cincinnati; NYC (Brooklyn); Houston; Baltimore; Spokane, WA; Salt Lake City; Baltimore (again); Philadelphia.

It's been a long, strange trip. :rolleyes:

Emily