Shaun

LOL For those who are not used to different countries / cultures I guess NY and USA can come off as a bit of a shock to the system. I recall when my brother and his wife first visited us they had to get a connection in Atlanta Hartsfield and asked for directions to the gate..... "walk to the center of the Terminal, take the escalator downstairs, catch the train..." To which my SIL replies in a panic "I do not want to catch a train, I need to be on a plane to Orlando"?

My wife (Finally - 10 years after my citizenship) did her application and it was "done and dusted in 8 weeks!! From the time the application was mailed in to the oath ceremony was literally 8 weeks (And could have been 7 except she had an appointment she could not break). Granted she is originally a Brit (Lived in SA for some 23 years) so MAYBE that helped but we were astonished at how quick it was! Currently waiting on her passport so she will have both UK & USA citizenship.

As has been said, the job market right now is fairly hot & good for job seekers. Naturally that can vary by city & State but in general job seekers do have the upper hand with more jobs than job seekers in many cases. That being said there is talk of a looming economic "slowdown" happening in the next 12 to 18 months or so the experts would have you believe so best to act soon before that advantage goes away.

Very true statement - it is that stupid <1% you need to watch for and they exist everywhere, not just the US. The worst part of that encounter is that my dog was super kid friendly and wanted to say hello to his about 7 year old son (Who was totally excited about that fact) but the father freaked, adding "to the "keep your viscous dog away from me" with Can't you see my son is terrified?". I am assuming that my laughter and sarcastic comment which was something about grown men being babies while his kid was cool was the reason he stormed off in a huff dragging his poor son with him. 👼 At least that is what my wife tells me!!!

Bear in mind that law suits can be all too common from those looking for a quick payday (Think Eagles song "Get Over It") and IF your dog is not on a leash or behind a fence and bites somebody then you could face either a law suit or, if the area you live has some regulations about fences / leashes / under control dogs, you could also face charges from the local authorities. This is not to say that you should not have dogs or be constantly concerned about law suits but simply apply a dose of common sense and logic as to how you proceed is all. The US is no different from the rest of the First World in "Protecting the stupid" as it appears taking responsibility for ones own actions is an increasingly scarce occurrence in many countries so, if I get bitten because I patted your dog after you said I should not, then clearly that is not MY fault now is it?? 99.99% of the time you will not have any problem but be aware of that 0.01% of the idiots out there. When we lived in Florida my roughly 10 Lb Maltese cross Jack Russell (Very friendly) wagged her tail and tried to greet a stranger while we were on a walk (Full grown 6 ft male) who shied away and shrieked that I should keep my "viscous dog" under control before it attacks him??

As a landlord myself I can confirm that it is my right to decide who / what gets to stay in my house regardless of state / local law. I have specified that no dogs over 20 lbs be allowed and neither are multiple dogs. If my insurance company had additional costs tagged to the policy for pit-bulls (Some do and some do not - mine does not) then I would either not allow pit-bulls or charge a premium for the additional cost that I would incur.

Super useful for monitoring your score and getting free credit reports. Have used it for years

Well that clears it up thanks. Seems for those of us who live in the US permanently there is no issue despite the scare mongering I have seen on some sites and in Facebook.

What exactly is this 2020 rule that is coming up? I am in a similar position with having no SA income for the past 18 years and not filing any tax returns as a result but I do have an RA over there still and have not done the financial emigration obviously. Unlike you though Sen I did not do the retention of SA citizenship (Did not know about it at the time) so technically have been deprived of that.

Did that first time and was not taken with (And still not) the over powering cinnamon that things tend to get coated with and simply cannot get into pumpkin pie!! Now there are other things though ...... Apple pie being one ❤️

Happy Thanksgiving to all. A special "Happy" to all the first timers who have arrived in the US in the past 12 months. A strange experience for those. Ours was a great one where a couple we had met a month before invited us for Thanksgiving Dinner with their whole family.

A very Merry Christmas to all of you and hope that you are having a great time. For those who are new to the US and having a first Christmas here - may it be a wonderful one and the first of many more to come.

My wife sent a package to her nieces and, like you, all declared itemized etc. On arrival the local PO wanted to charge over R400 in duty and my SIL said hell no - reevaluate that duty. A 2 week wait and the parcel came back with a now R40 customs charge!!! Shake down of the first degree and this is not the first time either. The parcels normally get sent First Class Mail here which does provide an international tracking # and this has (So far anyway) helped ensure it all gets there OK as a phone call to the local SA P.O. quoting the tracking # is usually sufficient to get it to suddenly "appear".

Congratulations on making it at last and good luck.

Sherryl The fact that people now live here does not necessarily mean that "here" is perfect. We can (and will) find something "wrong" no matter where we live and yes, there are far less things "wrong" here than in SA but that by no means makes it perfect nor should anyone be constrained from voicing an opinion, regardless of who agrees with that or not. After all as Americans now (As you pointed out) the right to free speech is one of the civil liberties we enjoy and is enshrined in the constitution. How about you let folk enjoy the rights they are entitled to without them being scolded like school kids?