Hello!
My husband and I (mostly I) have been kicking around the idea of living abroad for a few years. We love the states but want to experience a bit more of this world than just the tiny bubble we are in. Here is the rundown of our situation so I can see if I'm being naive or if this really is something we could do within the next 5 years or so...
We are married with 2 kids, a 5yo and a 2 yo. My husband is a highly skilled furniture and cabinet maker who has owned his own business for about 6 years and had many of his pieces in art galleries close to us. I am a stay at home mom who is also a skilled seamstress although I rarely have time for it at the moment. Based on this I'm not sure what visa we might qualify for or if we even would.
We also own a home here which we would probably rent out for more than our mortgage while we are gone and we have no real debt aside from a few medical bills.
We are aware that it is a lot to just up and move across the world and wouldn't want to take any furniture or things of that nature with us. We actually prefer thrifted things and keeping possessions to a minimum so other than clothes and some of my linens I would probably look for a partially furnished place or get stuff there.
Does this seem possible? What are the real costs of life abroad and moving? Are there tons of things I'm totally missing here? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Tosha
I'm wondering if we can pull this off.
Hello osha.
Welcome to Expat.com! 
Hope you'll get some feedbacks from other members.
In meantime, you can read this thread on Cost of living in England.
Thank you,
Aurélie
Hi Tosha, the only thing I can think of that might work for the UK would be the Entrepreneur's visa which your husband might qualify for. But he would need to relocate his business to the UK semi-permanently and it must be of such a scale as to provide at least two full-time jobs to British citizens. Failing that, I think the best you could do is go for 6 months as tourists if you can afford a 6-month vacation from work.
Thank you so much for the response! Im pretty sure he doesn't want the stress of starting a business there. If he were guaranteed a job before we moved over would that make ay difference? There would be no way we could or would come over with no job nailed down.
I guess Im still not sure how the sponsorships work with the larger corporations and while we may get lucky enough to work for a larger shop, Im pretty sure businesses such as the ones we are looking into don't do that kind of thing. Can smaller businesses vouch for you or something? lol Or would that even matter?
What are visa options for say artists? Could that be something to look into?
Thanks again,
Tosha
Hi there, A sponsored work visa is another possibility. Take a look at the UK shortage occupation list under 'related documents' on this page: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/busin … ationlist/
Well, that is a bit discouraging... unless he takes up a medical profession or learns to dance..
I guess we will just have to see where we are at in a few years and really start exploring things then. And at least this helps us to know what avenues to take or do to prepare for that in the future. How long is a work visa valid for? Is that something you get right before you go or can you qualify for one and then still have it valid to use in a few months or so?
That list gets updated every year so there's no telling what might be on it a few years from now. In the past it has included sheep shearers, hovercraft pilots - you name it. Work visas are typically valid for 2 to 5 years. Basically you find a company who wants to employ you and they get you a work visa so how soon you start is between you and them. If the UK looks impossible you might want to consider Australia or New Zealand - you might find more opportunities there for skilled craftsmen. I think they would be sufficiently different to the US to be interesting.
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