Tom: You've helped a lot of people and seen the system
change over the last 20 years and just as an introduction what are the kind of
steps just as an overview, the bird's eye view, what are the steps?
Roy: Broad strokes, you've got to be emotionally capable of
making the change. It's not going to be you moving over here with the
kids, it has to be a consensus in the family. Not because
of Mickey Mouse, Disney world, the attractions.
It is a totally different lifestyle, it's a lifestyle you are going to agree
with, that you are going to like. You are going to have to work very hard, not
everyday but very hard. There is a lot of competition, more competition than you
are facing in the UK for different things.
If you want to get into the retail business it's one thing that you're going
to be behind a desk counter and waiting for people to come in; if you want to do
service oriented work you are going to go out there, you're going to have
fun. You are going to be more proactive in your industry.
The first thing you want to do is make the decision and prepare its not going
to be a one day thing, its going to be several months before you locate what you
ant to do. The business has to qualify for an E2 visa, has to qualify
mainly as being good for your family and for you to handle it. That
one or both of you can work the business with growth potential.
You don't have to run a business for the rest of your life. Don't think
about buying a business and thinking 'Well I'm going to be doing this the rest
of my life.' You can buy a business one day, work it for 1 or 2 years put it
back up for sale, establish a brand new business before you get rid of that
business and go on in that way.
So you will have the opportunity to do something you really like every day;
play golf, sun bathe, watch sunsets, sip some gin, etc. and that's what life is
about if you're going to move to this country. Take advantage of those
opportunities
Tom: So if we go through those steps the first step is to
make the emotional decision, to check it out with the family. The next step is
to look for a business that qualifies for an E2 visa?
Roy: Yes, it's irrelevant where it is in the state of
Florida as long as you like that area. Don't think of an area before you select
a good business because you may be missing the best part of the process, which
is selecting a good business. It may be in a little town that is great for
bringing up a family, or living as a couple, for retirement for handling the
business very, very easily.
But if you are set on a specific region, city in order to locate a
business this is going to be very difficult to do, if you go to a metropolis
like Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa. There are going to be many businesses
but life is going to be more hectic than whatever it may be in London or in the
UK. So you are going to be trading something and look to trade your
lifestyle for a better one. And that's the key.
Tom: Correct me if you know, the property taxes in
these built up towns are larger than the property taxes in
smaller towns?
Roy: Yes, definitely.
Tom: So it makes the whole game skewered, to have to do more
tread and to have to pay more expenses and therefore more pressure to make more
revenue.
Roy: Yes. For instance, the cost of living in Miami is three
times as high as here in Gainesville, in Orlando it's twice as high. And the
thing is you're going to be driving, you can live close to the office, 3 1/2
blocks from here.
That's one of the things you have to consider, strongly consider, in the
sense that what is your commuting time and time spent there. The price of
gas too, and I know the price is cheap for you 3.50 per gallon here. What
do you pay 6 ½ dollars something like that?
Tom: Yep.
Roy: You are going to have to work in order to pay that. You
have to consider the place, the cost of living, the quality of living of a city
if you're going to be living in Orlando. The quality is going to be much less
than the quality in a small city by the ocean, that you can enjoy.
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