My daughter is 14, but I’m sure answers for kids younger or older can apply.
if you’re planning to leave because trump got elected, then be warned. the UK has similar problems
Similar risks I would say. The UK by and large chose “the sensible option” in the last general election. The equivalent of Harris/dems, or the “anti chaos” option.
Reelecting Trump vs reelecting the Tories is a fair comparison, especially as the Tories are moving further and further right wing.
In summary the labour party have about 3 years to make some noticeable impact to people’s lives in the UK, but all that against the backdrop of huge financial issues incurred during the past decade or so, increasing war and conflict and now the Trump presidency.
There very well maybe people who will follow the conservative party on their way further right. The UK already had it’s brexit moment and has not really learned from it fully.
The UK government is getting rid of conversion therapy. Labour wants to, the king wants to, the C of E wants to, and because of the last part, enough Tories want to that it will happen.
So it doesn’t have similar problems when you have a queer child.
Everywhere does right now :(
I feel like Ireland is still mostly reasonable despite some recent nonsense. Elections just got called yesterday so I may eat my words in three weeks but I don’t think so. The extremists were roundly rejected in the recent European elections which was comforting.
Welp. That’s good enough for me! I’m coming over! 😉
UK Trump is slightly younger
I have not, but I’ve done some immigration and have general advice:
Immigration is expensive and very time consuming to get the required documents.
- Figure out how you’re going to get residence, what visa you’ll be on, what visa your kids will be on
- See if you have to enroll in school ahead of time
- Test the job market by applying, interviewing, and getting offers beforehand. Even if you decline them, you don’t want to be surprised
- Make a spreadsheet of needed documentation for each person. Forgetting one thing can screw you up badly on the day you need it
- Do everything above, twice, to make sure you didn’t screw up the first time
Imo immigration is an amazing way to live the only life you have, but make sure you put in the work to make it work. I’ve seen lots of immigrants give up and go back to their home country before putting in the effort to fully realize their dreams, and it’s low-key sad
Maybe contact an immigration specialist in your country of interest?
I got no helpful advice, but wishing you and your family all the best.
We moved to NZ temporarily with 8 and 5 year ollds and they had to make new friends, be away from family and only see people from back home via video calls. Luckily the school and community are nice and welcoming so they rolled with it really well.
The visa application was long and expensive (application fees, specific medicals for immigration, etc.) so that part can get immensely frustrating.
What really helped is having similar aged neighbors for the kids to play with where we can hang out with a few beers as well.
Take a holiday there as a family for several weeks. Get out of London and see some places. See how your family enjoy their time there. It’ll give you all some perspective.
I’ve been there many times. My father is from there. I’m a citizen. Enjoyment isn’t an issue. This is about my daughter’s safety.
But since I’ve never been there to live with a school-age kid, that’s something I could use some advice on. Of course, I’m reading up on it as well, but I wouldn’t mind some pointers on this specific issue.
I live here too but I don’t have a personal perspective on the kind of move you’re thinking of making.
What I can suggest is there is plenty of data to help you inform your decision.
Here’s a map of crimes in the UK so you can input a place you’re thinking of moving to and what the crime rate is like in the area (and the nature of the crime).
Guns aren’t a fear here. Yes you can get a shotgun or an air rifle but no automatic weapons, there’s a lot of regulation, checks, and requirements. Even with gangs in major cities, you’ve not much to fear about. And even knife crime pales in comparison to the states. I’ve lived in some of the most dangerous areas and I’ve been fine. With a young woman in your family, common sense, staying to well lit areas etc and they’ll be fine.
Schools are inspected by a government agency called Ofsted so you can look to what specific area of a place you’d want to move to to be in the catchment area of a decent school.
The government department, the Office for National Statistics, has a map that shows where areas of household deprivation are by percentage of population in the area. In general, the higher the percentage on the map, the more affluent the average person is in an area. This correlates with crime so you would be better to find a less deprived area if you’ve a young family.
Flooding can be a risk so you can look for long term flood risk areas here and historic flooding areas here.
And naturally, it would be best to look for a job first as, especially if you’re looking at senior or executive positions, the org may help you with visas and relocating.
Thank you for all the helpful links! I appreciate it!
I wish you and your family the best. It’s a scary time. Love from Canada.
Thank you!
Neurodivergent kids can get an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). We’ve found this great with the right state school - break time provisions, 1:1 sessions, mental health help, extra time in exams etc.
I would say get a report from an educational psychologist (even though they say you don’t need to below) or arm yourself with evidence, most likely, like all benefits in the UK, you may have trouble with the first application, but get help from a charity or professional with wording and apply again, every time helps.
Happy to have you!
Thanks. We have a full report from a place that does evaluations with lots of test result information, so hopefully that will work.
I really appreciate all of these websites people are sharing!
I can’t offer any comparison between the Us and the UK, but I have some experience of having a neurodivergent child in the UK. We live in the NE of England, an area which is on average pretty deprived by UK standards*, however the support from the primary and secondary state schools we have used has been exceptional, with additional staffing as required and sensitive adaptions to needs throughout. There was some bullying at one point in primary school, but that was dealt with promptly and effectively and strategies were put in place to avoid social isolation - things it would never have occurred to me to do. The support for LGBTQ kids in secondary has also been pleasantly surprising - to the point that those who try to pick on trans kids find themselves becoming persona non grata pretty quickly.
There are some pretty huge cultural differences between the UK and the US, as you will know, and I suspect adjusting to those are going to be the primary problem in the move, rather than the support for a neurodivergent or SEN child.
*I feel like I should stand up for my adopted North-East; whilst it’s true that there are deprived areas, the NE is a beautiful place, the people are friendly and welcoming and the cost of living is low compared to many areas. The accents are proper canny too!
That is excellent to hear. Thank you.
Some relevant words on the UK from an energy economist here.
I’m not sure what that has to do with school, but thanks.
It doesn’t—sorry I didn’t make that clearer. I lump the conversation about emigration in with looking for a better life. I meant the article to contribute to the quality of life angle. Hope that helps.
I will look it over. Thank you.
No advice yet as I’m in the same exact boat. We’re about to get ours evaluated for ADHD privately while unconvinced it’s the best option… Ours is young enough that he doesn’t really have memories of the US and started school here, but still comes off as blatantly American. It’s been a comedy of errors learning how the school system works (putting him and my wife through school the last 3 years, somehow).
But hey, hit me up if you’re ever out near Kent, I figure I owe you a pint or three for all the work you do to keep things fresh on Lemmy.
Will do, thanks!
Why the UK, why not Ireland? It’s still a fairly conservative society but the government isn’t nearly as hostile to it’s citizens and you get to be part of the EU.
Because I’m not an Irish citizen.
Oh! I didn’t realize you already had UK citizenship. That’s definitely the easiest way to get to a better place than the US.
Yeah, we are lucky in that respect.
So, do what you need to do for your family. But I’ll say this. I spent time looking into this last go round because I knew Biden was a temporary reprieve. I’m the parent of a trans kid, we did not leave the country for several reasons.
The entire western world is experiencing this dramatic rise in fascism. There’s no guarantee that you will actually avoid this long term.
Many countries (especially the UK) have draconian immigration rules, see above note about fascism.
We ultimately decided to move to a blue state, from a red one, primarily for safety reasons, and made it happen over a couple years. We are far happier in this situation and are now able to help extract other loved ones from similar situations.
Again, do what you need to do for yours and your family’s safety, but you’re in for a tough go of it regardless of what you choose.
ETA: I went as far as interviewing for some jobs in Canada after building my immigration profile and starting the job search in NZ.
The UK is eliminating conversion therapy. The U.S. still has it and Trump has a good chance of forcing people into it.
I’m a dual citizen, I have a queer daughter. I think it’s worth taking advantage of that since my wife and I wouldn’t forgive ourselves if she got taken from us.
Somehow,.I forgot that “conversion therapy” is anti-gay cult torture-y stuff.
For a bit, I was thinking it was therapy for people who wanted to transition. Because I forgot the word transition and thought it was “convert”.
I know this is meaningless, but I felt like sharing. Lol
I wish we could all forget what it means.
