Immigration and Sacrifices...

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Good luck on your immigration journeys. Anyways, I was wondering....

"What opportunites and/or things did you have to sacrifice/have to give up when you immigrated to the USA?"

Was it worth the sacrifice? If you could, would you try and obtain the same again?

Feel free to add your comments, thoughts, and ideas, on this message topic thread...

Ant

[Identity 0]

Hi Everyone,

Good luck on your immigration journeys. Anyways, I was wondering....

"What opportunites and/or things did you have to sacrifice/have to give up when you immigrated to the USA?"

Was it worth the sacrifice? If you could, would you try and obtain the same again?

Feel free to add your comments, thoughts, and ideas, on this message topic thread...

Ant

Many Americans make the erroneous assumption that those that immigrate to the United States do so because they are from worse-off countries. I came from Australia. A modern democracy, more free than the United States. Safe, with socialised healthcare and a social security system such that the poor are not forgotten. Only 14 per cent of Americans have passports, thus many of them are ignorant of other cultures/countries.

I thought it was worth the sacrifice. My error was that I didn't really understand my partner until it was too late.

Would I try it again? Sure - if I met the right person. A weakness for women with American accents is also a contributing factor. Another factor is that I've lived there and I understand much more about the place than I did before.

Final thought. You better make sure that you're marrying the right person, as one may be used and controlled by the American spouse who is holding all the cards.

I will be returning to America. On my terms. Dependent upon myself.

[no one 0]

Haha. Sacrifice.

I gave up nearly everything I had when I moved here to be with my husband.

My family. My friends. My budding career.

Granted, visiting Toronto is a 5 hrs' plane ride away (plus hundreds of dollars).

It is worth it though, otherwise I wouldn't even be here.

Jason and I spent a year after our engagement agonizing over the what ifs before deciding on the K1 route. This whole immigration thing was not done on the spur of the moment. Spent many nights crying for what I had to leave behind, marvelling at the disintegration of my well laid-out life plans that I'd created in my mind before meeting Jason, ...

We're going to be working hard at making our relationship work. No way I'm re-starting my life all over again.

[no one 0]

Many Americans make the erroneous assumption that those that immigrate to the United States do so because they are from worse-off countries. I came from Australia. A modern democracy, more free than the United States. Safe, with socialised healthcare and a social security system such that the poor are not forgotten. Only 14 per cent of Americans have passports, thus many of them are ignorant of other cultures/countries.

Agreed. If it wasn't for my husband, I WOULD NOT MOVE HERE. I love my adopted country, Canada. My family is there. My friends are there. I had a career going for me. I have to smile inwardly when people think I want to move to the States because of the great opportunities.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Left a career I loved in the Air Force. Yep was worth it.

[rebeccajo 14]

My husband gave up a house he had rented for over 30 years and because of that long term rental agreement, he could have purchased it for less than $30000 US Dollars.

He also gave us socialized medicine.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I gave up my career, seeing my friends, family activities, socialized health care, my hobbies that were geographically based, personal and financial independence, 'my home and native land', and a life that I had spent 48 years developing; (I also gave up snow, cold winters, long, dark, cold nights VBG) . . was it worth it? Well, yes, but it wouldn't be if it weren't for my husband. It was the more practical reality for me to move here, but if it had been more practical for him to move to Canada, then we would have done that. I love it here in Georgia, but much of that is because of things that are specific to Georgia, and not necessarily because it is the US.

Edited February 9, 2007 by Kathryn41

[featherB 1]

He also gave us socialized medicine.

Woohoo!!

(Sorry... couldn't resist. Damn, I am going to miss the NHS and my freeee prescriptions when I get there. I wish your husband had brought socialized medicine with him.)

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Good luck on your immigration journeys. Thanks for all your replies. From the looks of it, all of you seem to have sacrificed something important when you immigrated. Nevertheless, none of you seem to overall regret that they immigrated here to the USA, which is a good thing.

In answer to my message thread, here are the things that I had to sacrifice/give up when I immigrated to the USA:

The good things...

1) My cat, which sad to say I had to leave behind in Canada (I still miss her)

2) My formal educational pursuits in Canada

3) Free healthcare in Canada

The bad things...

1) An ex-family that disowned me

2) Living in the city (yes, I do enjoy living in the countryside a lot better)

However, in return for my sacrifices, I got the following in the USA:

1) A supportive, caring, and loving husband (the most important of all, of course)

2) My "real family" that actually cares about me

3) Informal learning through meeting new people, volunteering, and travelling

4) Settling down and finally establishing a place that is "home" to me

5) A new life. Starting over, with a more positive attitude and outlook towards life

So do I have any regrets about moving to the USA? Absolutely not! It was definately worth the sacrifices! I love living here in the USA! Hey, who knew in my case that a two week vacation would end up being a lifetime in the USA? I would definately never return to my old life in Canada again!....

Ant

Hi Everyone,

Good luck on your immigration journeys. Anyways, I was wondering....

"What opportunites and/or things did you have to sacrifice/have to give up when you immigrated to the USA?"

Was it worth the sacrifice? If you could, would you try and obtain the same again?

Feel free to add your comments, thoughts, and ideas, on this message topic thread...

Ant

Edited February 9, 2007 by antocru

[rebeccajo 14]

He also gave us socialized medicine.

Woohoo!!

(Sorry... couldn't resist. Damn, I am going to miss the NHS and my freeee prescriptions when I get there. I wish your husband had brought socialized medicine with him.)

Oops. I hate when I do that.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I dont have any regrets, but if soemthing werer to happen (divorce death) I would be out of here the next day and back to Canada.

[Autumnchik 6]

This is such a great post! I am the USC and am so aware of the things my fiance is giving up to move here ..... a great job where they love him and don't mind him taking off months at a time to visit me, they give him work as soon as he returns, of course the Canadian healthcare (it is going to cost me over $400 per month to add my fiance to my insurance, we are looking at other options), friends, family (he is very close to his family and especially will miss his niece and nephews; he is accustomed to seeing them at least once a month in the winter and nearly every weekend in the summer).

I am so thankful that he is willing to move here to be with me. I have a contract to work at my place of employment for 2 years, so right now, there was no way I could move to Canada.

Oh yeah, and he is giving up Old Dutch ketchup chips, donairs, good Canadian beer and wine gums!

[Amanda-Lise 0]

I gave up my career before it truly started. I had gotten formal police training so I could re-enter the CAF as an MP. I'm giving up my family. I will be giving up most of what I scrimped and saved for over the years. The girls are leaving friends behind. I'm leaving friends behind. We're leaving free healthcare behind.

I can't say that I would do this for anyone but Ron. And if anything were to ever happen, we would return home in a heartbeat. But, with that said, new goals and dreams have been formed, and what we are giving up pales in comparison to being able to be a family.

[missy_antha 0]

I've only been here a month but I'm really missing my friends already. I'm also missing my lovely house so much. I've owned it for 12 years and slowly refurbished and decorated it to exactly what I wanted

New kitchen put in a year ago with a big American fridge - and a Tennant now is living in my lovely house in London!

Me -I'm here in the USA, in rented accommodation - with the smallest fridge possible!

Renting is very depressing - however would I give him up and go back to all those home comforts. No chance!

Also there is no such thing as free health care not only did I pay more tax in the UK than here - even in California!!! - But the National Insurance (Which pays for the the National Health Service in the UK.) that I paid every month was a massive amount and if you were to take the amount I paid each month to that compared to how much a Health care policy here costs I think I would find that it would cost me less to pay for the Health insurance here. I also had BUPA in the UK which meant I was taxed for having that and still paid my NI payment towards the NHS which I never used.

Here I'm on my husbands policy so it doesn't cost me anything.

So no such thing as free health care in the UK unless you were unemployed and didn't pay NI.

[natty bumppo 297]

This thread is about sacrifices you gave to move here (US).

Just to give equal time ... what did your SO (USC) sacrifice to bring you here (US)

I believe this type of relationship … our type … is a two-way street.