All Posts in "Yank"

[ad#ad-1]

Nothing can really prepare you for the life change when you move from one country to another. You can read about different issues that affect your new country, but you cannot really know how different it is until you live there. The only thing I didn’t need to worry about in moving to the UK is the language. Though that may not be entirely true.

British English is definitely different from American English. And I don’t mean just the accent. There are various accents over here, some more easy to understand than others, but that is not very different from the US, is it? And the Brits will tell you that they are the arbiters of the language. Therefore, if you want to speak true English, you will have to follow the British example.

My husband had pointed out some differences when we lived in the US; and he certainly pronounced words differently, such as, ‘garage’ with the emphasis on the first syllable, or ‘depot’ with a short ‘e’. There are many other words that are pronounced differently, and it takes time to get used to hearing them pronounced that way. But after being in Britain for a while, I noticed many other differences. One is the US habit of adding ‘-ing’ to the end of nouns to make them adjectives; for example, ‘drinking’ or ‘shocking’. The Brits would never use them as adjectives, only verbs. Whereas Americans would say that someone has a drinking problem, the English would say a drink problem. Similarly, we hear about shocking news, but the English hear shock news. In the US, we would say that someone goes to school or work, but then add ‘the’ to hospital. Why is that? Here, it’s always ‘to hospital’.

Then, of course, there are all the swear words and other pejoratives. I remember reading about Bono calling Chris Martin a ‘w@%&#!’. I had no idea what that was all about and had to ask my father-in-law. He laughed and said I must know what that is. He started to spell it out and my mother-in-law finished it. I just looked at them and asked what a ‘wanker’ was. Though I didn’t get a direct answer, I was led to believe it was a male anatomy. Other terms that seem completely inoffensive to me, such as golliwogs and Pakis, are considered pejoratives over here. I guess that just points to differences in culture.

There is also a fondness for acronyms over here. That’s not to say the US does not have its own acronyms. Perhaps, I have been so used to the ones used in the US that it doesn’t seem unusual to me over there. Whereas, the acronyms here are new to me. I don’t know. But it does seem that acronyms are used on signs and if you have no idea what it is to begin with, you wouldn’t know if it was what you were looking for.

What something may be called in the US may not be the accepted term over here, even if it’s understood. For example, instead of asking for a bathroom or restroom, it would be easier to ask for a toilet or water closet (WC). Better yet, ask for a McDonald’s.

So, even though we use the same language, so to speak, there are variations on that language. Some would argue that’s what makes the English language so rich, while others may bemoan the deterioration of English as spoken in other countries. At least, wars won’t be fought over it.

 

Yank by — March 12, 2009 in British Culture 1

[ad#ad-1]

Yesterday, Oxford and Cambridge announced their teams for this year’s boat race on the Thames, to take place on Sunday 29th March.

We plan to be among the 250 000 people who line the Thames rooting for their favourite of the ancient universities. (Hopefully from Chiswisk Bridge as a victorious Cambridge boat crosses the line!)

Traditionally, Americans seem to be more aware of Oxford than Cambridge and root for them accordingly. And with 4 Americans (and no less than 5 Olympians) in the boat it’s likely to be the same this year.

Cambridge have named 1 American, 2 Australians and the rest of the contingent British, 5 of whom were in the losing boat last year.

I’ll be rooting for Cambridge who I tip to beat the heavily favoured, Olympian-laden Oxford boat.

Yank by — March 5, 2009 in British Culture 0

[ad#ad-1]

It is great to know that as a foreigner, there are places to go for advice. Of course, there is always the American Embassy for some big issues, but you don’t want to have to go to London every time you need advice on everyday matters. In Britain, that’s what the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) is for.

There is a CAB in every town and it is essentially run by volunteers trained to give information to ordinary everyday folks. The CABs serve only residents within their county boundaries. Some places require appointments, while others are exclusively run on a “first come, first served” walk-in basis. You can get information about how and where to find a doctor, what you need to know about getting your license, how to resolve disputes, issues with your landlord, etc.

In recent years, with the increased rate in immigration, the CAB has turned into a stopping point for immigrants to get information on how to get benefits and other issues related to living and working in the UK. From the leaflets, posters and other advice on view, it seems the CAB deal a lot with immigration issues. The other big area that the CAB seem to focus on is discrimination – of all kinds, sexual, racial, sexual orientation, etc.

I don’t think there is an equivalent institution in the US, although you can get some information through your Town Hall. The CAB is distinct from the Town Hall as it can provide semi-legal advice. If the volunteer does not have the answers readily, he/she can look in their database for the relevant information or point you in the right direction. It is a wonderful and reliable service, even if you might have to wait for an hour before being seen. Any newcomer to England should be aware of this invaluable institution.

Yank by — March 5, 2009 in British Culture 0

[ad#ad-1]

This is a follow up to a previous post about the peculiarly British phenomenon known as TV licensing.  Several readers were decent enough point out answers to questions raised in that post, for which I am grateful.

In the light of ITV’s recent announcement that they will be laying off 600 employees in reaction to falling profits and asset depreciation, I felt I had to comment on another bizarre offshoot of the whole TV licensing situation in the UK.

My understanding is that a TV license is required in order to watch or record any live TV.  That’s any live TV.  So, no matter whether you watch ITV or Channel 4 or Sky or BBC1 on a TV then you must own a TV license.

However, the BBC take all the proceeds from the TV license.  So we have a very unique, anti-competitive situation where if you want to watch only Sky (as many people do), or even only ITV, then legally you must subsidize its principal UK competitor.  Is this fair market competition?

How has this situation remained unchallenged in the law courts for so long?  Perhaps there is something about the British psyche I have yet to fathom.

Yank by — March 4, 2009 in British Culture 2

[ad#ad-1]

We were almost in an accident today. Why? Because the other driver decided to go around a parked truck without even stopping to assess the safety of the move. He came around the bend, found the truck in his way and decided he wanted to get around, not even bothering to take into account that we were approaching on the opposite side. We had barely enough time to react and both cars were forced to stop before he could squeeze through, with us backing up a bit.

With the stringent driving test in this country, I am surprised to find so many reckless drivers. Is it because they are so used to the cramped conditions that they feel somewhat complacent about safety? So often, people disregard the right-of-way rules that exist and insist on getting through first. We are always on the defense while we are driving. Though that should always be the case when driving, some people out there only know about being on the offense. Which necessitates us being more vigilant.

The roads in Britain are narrow, even without comparing them to the US. Because it is an old country, with construction already complete in most areas, these roads cannot be widened any further. They are rendered even more narrow when there are parked cars on the side. It can be very dangerous because the leftover space cannot always accommodate two vehicles. Usually, one side will give way to the other to avoid an accident. The person will signal for the other to proceed in such cases. But when one decides he will take the right-of-way without considering anyone else, he is asking for an accident to happen.

Yank by — March 3, 2009 in Travel 0

[ad#ad-1]

One of the reasons we decided to move to the UK was for our children to get a better education. At least, that was our intention. Has it turned out the way we expected? Well….. Let’s just say the jury’s still out on that one. We’re considering letting them take the CAT this year, to see how they compare to last year, when they were home-schooled in the US.

We chose the school based on Ofsted reports, even though two headteachers sort of pooh-pahed the whole thing. As it turned out, the Ofsted reports were completely unreliable, as I’ll explain later. The school is OK – it is not terrible. However, it does not seem that academically superior in any way to the school they had previously attended in the US.

I especially oppose this notion of combining classes of different levels. For some of those mixed classes, it was based on their birthdays. The older kids of one year combined with the younger kids of the next year. We had been told that the kids were taught based on their ability, not on their age. Yet, when you combine a classroom like this, how are you distinguishing them based on their ability. Does that mean that our daughter, who is a younger member in her class, will be moved to the mixed class where she will be with the older kids from next year’s class? From what I’ve seen of these mixed-classes, one of which our other daughter is in, all the students are taught the same material but given work based on their school year level or ability (I don’t know which criteria is really used). Our older daughter seems to be doing work she has done in previous years of schooling and which our younger daughter is already familiar with.

Our goal is to get them into academically strong schools to give them an edge for the future. But are the schools living up to our expectations? Even the natives complain. There have been so many changes in the way kids are taught nowadays (it’s exactly the same complaint in the US). We were told to look up Ofsted reports to determine which schools are good. We have since determined that Ofsted does not reflect on a school’s academic performance in any way. They are an organization that is focused on children’s welfare. Not only do they give reports on schools and daycares, they are also involved with social services for child welfare. Therefore, their ratings of schools are based on how well the schools offer support to children of all backgrounds. It is a social report. A good or positive Ofsted report does not equate to an outstanding school. Neither does a bad or negative Ofsted report reflect a bad school. Lesson learned.

We’ll see this year through and have them take some tests at the end to determine where they’re at. At the moment, we cannot afford to send them to private schools, so we’ll have to look at other options.

Yank by — March 2, 2009 in School 2

[ad#ad-1]

Well, I figured out how to input a foreign address into the TaxCut Online version.  You had to go back to a previous page and mark that you have a foreign address in order for it to adjust the form.  Sorry, my mistake.  However, if that was the case, they should have included that into their answer rather than tell the user that they can accept a foreign address and don’t tell you how.

Anyhow, it looks like we’ll be able to file online for free this year.  Same with the state tax – but we have been able to file that for free in previous years.

Yank by — March 1, 2009 in Money 0

[ad#ad-1-front]

We used to do our own taxes on paper. But when the children were born, we found that we might have extra deductions and were confused about them. That’s when we decided to buy TurboTax to help with our tax preparation. However, after a couple years, we switched to H&R Block’s TaxCut because it was cheaper. We found no difference in the quality of the software. After many years of doing our taxes via software, and filing electronically in the last couple years, it seems we have forgotten many basics about tax preparation. And what we have just realised is that using tax software was completely unnecessary.

We’ve made our mistake and I worry that we will have some difficulty in rectifying it. It was easy to go along with all the hype that TurboTax and TaxCut want you to believe – that you might be doing your taxes wrong, you might be missing out on deductions, etc. They will help you through all the new legislation, blah, blah, blah. All you have to do is punch in the numbers and data they ask for and they do all the work. In later years, you can import data from the last return. They made it so easy. But then I realise I had done our taxes by hand previously. Yet, when I look back at the paper files we had, I find that I cannot understand how we did it back then. This year, we may have to go back to paper filing and I find the task almost daunting as we have been pampered in the last several years.

Yes, there may be many advantages to using tax software. For example, it is true that they update their software (even while you’re using it) to encompass any new tax legislation that come out during the tax year. And, some even offer tax help or advice via phone or email. Both TurboTax and TaxCut have different versions, with different levels of service from Basic to Premium. We were fooled into getting Premium one year, but found it was unnecessary and have stuck with Basic since. All that nonsense about getting the DeductionPro as an added benefit to either program is a waste for most people. We recently found TaxCut also has a Standard, which is cheaper than Basic. I do not have all the details but I believe it may be because the DeductionPro is not included. Do you need DeductionPro? As I said, for most people, no. To determine if you do, find out what your standard deduction is for the tax year. If you think that your gifts, donations and contributions to charities, etc., for the tax year exceeds the standard deduction, then you will want DeductionPro. This program allows you to itemise all your deductions to maximise on your refund.

In preparing for the tax season this year, we also found some free online software. One is available through H&R Block. However, in order to use it, you must answer all questions in sequential order according to what they want. Although they claim they can use your international address, the software did not accept our responses. We had to put in fake details in order to get through the program and see what our refund would be. It’s a nice way to get a preliminary. There may be others like this out there but we have not explored all of them yet. We also came onto the IRS website and found that they have two free online options. One is free software, which you need to download from one of several companies. This option is only available to those who made less than $56,000. The other option is essentially a blank IRS form which you can go through and fill in, then file electronically. This is sort of a ‘help-yourself’ option as it only offers help by having you scroll through the instructions. If we are unable to find a software that can support our international address, we will be forced to use this option. We would rather file electronically as the refund gets deposited into our account directly and quickly. Paper filing would mean they would have to cut us a check, mail it to our international address, then we’d have to mail it back to our bank.

Of course, to even complete the task of filing, I will need to dig into our boxes and find our last year’s return. That will be a task unto itself.

Yank by — February 27, 2009 in Money 0

[ad#ad-1]

It seems that spring comes much earlier here. The days have been getting warmer, although the last few days have felt a bit nippy at times. The flowers are growing. Every spring I anticipate seeing them, and the snowdrops and crocuses have lived up to expectations. Not only that, the daffodils have come up, though they have not bloomed yet.

If I were in the US, I know that I would be speaking too soon. Very often, we would get a spring snowstorm sometime in March. It never seems to fail. Yet, the weather has been too nice for me to believe that any such thing would happen here. I will have to wait and see. For now, I am content and look forward to spending time outdoors again.

Yank by — February 27, 2009 in My Journey 0

[ad#ad-1-front]

Tax time again. Just got my W-2s, so I’ll have to get down to filing that return. Unfortunately, I’ve already run into some obstacles. The first is that we now have an international address and that may cause problems. And until we resolve those issues, we cannot file.

Yes, even though we’ve moved out of the country, we still have to file taxes. Our reason is obvious, though. We are expecting a refund. However, even if we weren’t, they recommend that we do. This is to ensure that we will be able to claim deductions in the future. Apparently, expatriates are not aware of that. However, their website does state that those expatriates who want to make up for the past should download the last 3 years of tax forms and start filing. There are no deadlines and they will not be fined. In addition, the filing deadline each year for those living abroad is automatically extended until June 16th. Nevertheless, if you owe money, it needs to be sent by April 15th. If you cannot file by June 16th, you must submit a request for extension by that date, in order to extend the deadline until October 15th. They will accept whatever date is postmarked on the envelope as the filing date.

Expatriates need to also be aware that if they live and work outside the US, their income may be liable to taxation from both the US and the foreign country. The current level of income that is excluded from US taxation is now at $85,700. Anything above that would be liable for US taxes. However, when you file, you may be able to claim foreign tax credit – that is, you may be able to deduct the taxes that you paid towards the foreign government. For more information, you should contact a tax advisor at the US embassy.

I think the real killer in this taxing business is the exchange rate. It is not based on the current exchange at all, but on the rate in 2007. For example, the UK exchange rate is currently at $2.0018 per pound sterling. That means, if I earned 40K in the UK it equals a little over 80K in the US, rather than closer to 60K, at the current exchange rate. Only a few more grand and I would be liable to double taxation. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am currently unemployed.

Some people may be confused about which forms to fill out for filing their taxes. The simple rule is to assume your status in the US prior to living abroad. That is, if you are a US citizen or if you had been a resident alien, you should file Form 1040. If you were and are a US nonresident alien, then you use Form 1040NR. Nonresident status only applies to those who were not given full residential rights, such as temporary students.[ad#ad-1]

Finally, if you choose to file your taxes on paper (we have not done this in years), you may either turn it into the US Embassy in London, Paris, or Frankfurt (depending on where you live), or you may send it to Austin, Texas. And, if you have any questions, the US Embassy may be able to answer them. Or, if you were as lucky as I was, you will get a message stating they are understaffed and you may not have your call answered. They will instead direct you to call their Philadelphia office. I wonder what their walk-in service would be like.

Yank by — February 25, 2009 in Money 1