An Expat Talks about Moving to Huntington Beach, California

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Huntington Beach

Name three things that you wish you had brought and three you wish you had left at home.

Bring - Medicine!

UK medicines - basics like cough medicine, nurofen, TCP (We haven't found an equivalent). When you are ill its nice to have your tried and trusted medicines with you. There is too much choice in the pharmacy.

Otherwise we can get what we want here, we brought a shipping container over and have used what we have. We haven't missed anything.

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What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

Assume that you'll make friends at clubs and work rather than where you live.

What type of housing do you live in? Is this typical for most expats in your area?

A three storey, 2 bed house. We're in a Community.

We haven't met any other expats.

Lots of people live in Communities, they feel secure. You're not that likely to make friends and they are very quiet in the daytime. We hardly see anyone because people travel in their cars and the garages are inside the house.

How did you choose your neighborhood and find your home or apartment?

A relocation agent helped us to look at areas around the workplace.

We settled on Huntington Beach because we could walk to some shops and restaurants. It was a great decision. Californians really do drive a lot and there is minimum public transport in the area