# Uk family moving to Orange County CA



## Lrmarsh (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi we are relocating to California through my husbands work. Our family consists of my two daughters age 7 & 15, my husband, myself & our two pet boxer dogs! My husbands job is based in Irvine CA so we are looking around this area for renting a home. I am really after any advise on settling my girls in school but particularly the oldest one being at that sensitive age. Also any recommendations or advise on bringing our dogs over & I'm particularly concerned about one as she is 10yrs old! We have a friend who is a vet so she'll be giving her a good check over to make sure she's healthy but I'm still worried about stress of the journey!! I will be looking for work too & I'm currently a swimming teacher specialising in baby & pre-school so if anybody has any contacts I'd love to hear from you!! My head is full of questions & worries with all that we have to do & organise before our move but I cannot wait to start our new life in California!! My husband is heading out alone as soon as his visa is through so approx 4wks & we'll hopefully be joining him by end of November! I'm also struggling with the decision on how much of our furniture to bring? My gut is saying as little as possible & only really personal items, photo's etc & obviously clothes, maybe kids bikes & a few toys, so again any advise will be greatly appreciated.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

We have a number of posters in Cali and numerous threads about Cali. You may want to surf using the search function.

Schools
Public schools - your address determines which public school children go to. Google for Orange County CA School District for info.
Private schools - you have to consider tuition plus often considerable costs for activities

Dogs 
If you plan to bring them on your flight you have to book in advance as generally the number of pets is limited. 

Employment
It depends on your husband's visa if you are eligible to apply for EAD (employment authorization document). 

Household
I would take as little as possible. Your budget for shipping and purchasing may be a factor.


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## Kevlegs (Jun 15, 2011)

My two dogs went from Switzerland to Florida and they were fine.

See if ur husbands company pays for relo. Aliied are a good choice


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## Lrmarsh (Aug 28, 2013)

Hi thanks for your responses!! Good to hear your dogs were ok flying from switzerland to Florida! my digs are aged 10 nearly 11 & the other is still a pup at 7 mths & we estimate we'll be ready to re-locate by end of nov!! my husband will be leaving in a few wks once the visa process is finalised! I guess more specifically I was wondering if anybody has any recommendations of companies that deal with arranging your pets travel & things like best places to buy travel crates! Has anybody else traveled with an elderly dog or any experience of dog getting too stressed?? Unfortunately my husbands relocation package isn't the greatest but we have just had a confirmation letter from them explaining where they are helping so alot of my questions have been satisfied like health care! The only other thing I'd be interested to hear from anybody is experiences of how their children settled into school! I travelled abroad slot as a kid & lived in Norway & Houston Texas & my experience in Norway was great but Houston was not so great so I guess I'm remembering my own issues & getting concerned for my girls!! Apologies for the long essay again, I am new to this whole forum thing but have found it useful browsing through other feeds so thought it was worth ago posting myself! Thanks for your time!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

For help with the animals, google "pet transport" - I used one called Pet Express in San Francisco a long time ago. They are still in business (and have a very helpful website), and at the time I certainly found them to be very sympathetic and helpful. (They also arrange transport for zoo animals, which has to be some sort of recommendation.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## Kevlegs (Jun 15, 2011)

I didn't use a pet transporter. My dogs flew on the same plane as me. If your youngest dog is small and light enough he can travel with you in the cabin. Different Airlines have different rules.
As for the older dogs, they would travel with the cargo in the pressurized cargo hold. I would advise against sedating them though. I made sure both my dogs had ice put into their water cup so it would melt slowly.
The cages can be purchased online, they are not always cheap but you can get them on Ebay etc.

Contact the airline as soon as you have a flying date to make sure there is room for the dogs in the cargo ( if you arrange it of course). I had to book the dogs and confirm before I actually bought my tickets. Get on top of any jabs they may need well in advance and sort the paperwork...


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 accepts a limited number of pets for cruises across the Atlantic. That's another interesting option.


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