I'm tossing this out there, if anyone would like to add their two pence

[Kerrytravelers]

My husband and I are keeping all our options open. We haven't necessarily said, yes, we're leaving America. But, we leave everything open.

I have been to London and fell in love with it. If we were to consider crossing the pond, anyone have any advice. What parts of London are fairly cheap to live in? How does one go about moving, finding a job, etc in a foreign country?

I'll also be posting this in the Democrats Abroad section. But, I'd like any advice that pops into your head also.

I'll keep checking back continually to see if anyone has responded.

[Double T]

1. Stay And Fight To Win Back Your Country From The Evil Empire

We Need Every Single Democrat and Liberal Vote We Can Get!!!!!

[DavidDvorkin]

2. At some point, the war is lost

And there's no reason to fight.

Sometimes, even there may be still be some faint hope of victory, people get worn out and want to have a chance to enjoy life and live in a good place.

[Double T]

3. If You Give Up The Evil Empire Has Won---This Dark Period Is Only A

Phase That This Country Has Been Through Several Times Before In Its Brief History. Sure, It Will Take A While To Repair The Damage The *
Administration Has Done To This Country, But As Always In The Past, Things Will Improve And Get Better.

[Kerrytravelers]

6. We certainly aren't packing our bags yet.

A lot will depend on how bad it gets here. We plan on having children. We really want the best life for them. Like I said, it ain't over yet, but we just want to be knowledgable in case we feel forced to make a quick decision. Especially if we see the same cycle of insanity continue in 2006 and 2008.

[Inland]

7. Dont let them forget over there

that once there was a place called America. Tell your kids about promises broken and hope lost.

[CrispyQ]

4. If BBV doesn't get national attention & action,

then the war is lost.

DU is the only place I continue to read about BBV. Even my Dem friends don't talk about it or seem concerned about it.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Exactly

The Evil Empire appears to have won, and our fighting back is irrelevant.

As that cartoon of a few years ago had it, sometimes the dragon wins.

[demigoddess]

8. If all the smart thinking people leave who is going to vote in the next

democrat president??? We will have nothing but republicans and horrible governments for decades. And it will spread to other countries. We saw that with the election of Margaret Thatcher in the UK

[sweetheart]

9. Ok, here's the straight poop

Moving to scotland:
http://www.scotlandistheplace.com/stitp/sco_display.jsp?pContentID=462&Submit=%20&p_service=Content.show&

A book on immigrating to the UK, official publication of the home office
really worth reading anyone in your position:
book title: "Life in the United Kingdom: A journey to citizenship"
http://www.tso.co.uk/bookshop/bookstore.asp?FO=1159966&Action=SearchResults

Finally, the home office (the office for all things inside the UK),
kinda like the top police person, immigration office, welfare, and all
government services to citizens in "home" meaning the Uk island chain.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/content/ind/en/home.html
The IND, is the immigration nationality directorate... have a look
around for all your info needs.

A commerical portal:
http://www.ukresident.com/forums/index.php?act=home

You can keep voting in US elections... this silly, stay and fight
mentality is not in keeping with reality... in living abroad, you
merely are not-in the US, not abandoning anyone. Frankly, it can be
a serious political awakening being abroad, as is my experience.

Best fortune to you,
-s

[tjwmason]

10. As a practical point

London is a very expense city; housing costs especially. If you're living on dollars at first (given current exchange rates), that will be made even worse. It might be worth looking elsewhere in the country (though most of the country will be expensive compared to the U.S.).

[Apollo11]

11. Don't do it for the wrong reasons

London and the surrounding areas are very expensive to live in. And if you are starting out with dollars - even more expensive.

It all depends on work and money. Find out if you will be able to legally work in the UK, and how many jobs are available in your line of work. Unemployment is not as high as it was 20 years ago - but in most professional areas the competition for jobs is very tough.

Difficult for me to understand why someone would want to leave America just because of the political situation. At least in the US there are some voices of sanity still around - like Al Gore, Michael Moore, Howard Dean, Barbara Boxer. Leaders who need supporting!

55 million people voted Kerry last November (and that's just the ones we know about. I mean - with clean and fair elections he would have got many more votes). And if you look at the latest polls, Bush is less popular than ever, which is a sign of something ...

Meanwhile in the UK, Tony Blair is about to get re-elected for his third term as Prime Minister. We are talking about Bush-buddy number one who helped sell and prosecute the invasion of Iraq, and then told a Republican dominated Congress (in July 2003) "don't ever apologise for your values" (like he shares Republicans' values).

Speaking as someone who has actively campaigned for the Labour Party since 1987 - that quote really stuck in my gut.

The 3rd party (Liberal Democrats) has good positions on most issues, but less than 10% of the seats in Parliament.

If I was a progressive American I would wanna stay and fight (for clean elections with paper ballots - if nothing else), although I can appreciate it must be frustrating at times.

[Kerrytravelers]

12. At this point in time, we're staying.

We are just thinking a bit ahead and becoming knowledgable. The company my husband works for (a very blue company- corporate Kerry supporters, whew!) have offices all over England. I teach and write.

We are thinking about our future children and other future decisions. In the beginning, it will be a bit tough, but my parents understand why we are keeping all options open and they will gelp us get started a bit if we need it.

Thank you to everyone. I really appreciate all the thoughts and the links!

kt

[Anarcho-Socialist]

13. Good luck on your future, whatever you'll do

:hi: