Feeling ten years younger and its not a good thing...

One of the things we have found really frustrating is how hard it is to start life again at 30 and particularly in the states. This is a country where everything is centered around your social security number and your credit history. Both easy enough unless you choose to try to work there as an immigrant. I can only compare the frustration to one where you need a job but can't get one without having job experience but can't get the experience without first having a job. I feel like im 17 again, and I have to say, I dont like it at all.

Firstly social security numbers (SSN) are needed for everything. We naively assumed they were like IRD numbers - just needed for tax purposes - nope. We couldn't even get a cellphone plan without them. They are like an intrinsic piece of being a functioning member of society here. The hardest part of this process is that you cant apply for a social security number until you are in the country and it takes 10 days to be sent to you. 10 days where you cant buy anything that requires a credit check like a phone plan, sign a house or car lease. It even caused issues with G being entered as an employee at work, having his pre-work drug test etc as every system is based on it. The kicker is that on our work visa we are not allowed to enter the country until 10 days prior to starting work. So you arrive and literally have to spend the first ten days waiting to be able to do the things you need to do to set up your life here. We are very very fortunate that G's work has provided us with a furnished apartment and a rental car for the first 60 days so we weren't too caught out but I cant help but think of others who may can come here on a similar visa but without the support from their company.

The credit check is another hard thing when starting life again at 30. We essentially have no credit history that is recognized over here. It doesn't matter that we own a house (the value of which, with houses prices here, would buy a pretty sweet house) or that we have both had VISAS and Mastercards for over ten years. It doesnt matter what we have in the bank back home. It only takes into consideration what you have here. So we have been trying to start to build a credit history here. Ways included cellphone plans - that was out the first ten days as no SSN, leasing a car - nope need a SSN for that, credit card - yes okay but you need to load money onto it and use it more as a debit card because we have no credit history. So that's what we have had to do. Slowly starting from the ground up.

It has been a really frustrating process, every time we take two steps forward we end up being bumped back a step in the process. We have decided that we want to continue to lease an apartment in our complex after the corporate lease ends and they have a newly renovated 3 bedroom here. Nothing in Texas is small and it suits us perfectly. We have no interest in maintaining lawns etc but obviously need one for T to run around in and this is perfect. Huge grass area, couple of rugby fields big, big swimming pool, and best thing a gym on site. I can leave our apartment and go for a 40 minute run and be back in the house 43 minutes after leaving. But of course we failed the credit check because we have no credit history and G's SSN was issued after June 2011 ( why that date is important?). Sigh. Luckily we have been able to secure the house with an additional months rent as a deposit so nothing too dramatic but still meant making a simple process a lot more drawn out than it needed to be.

Another thing has been forms of ID. We need state issued ID  like a driver license to do things like lease a car (our preferred choice for our primary car here). Sweet. We have 90 days to drive on our NZ licenses before we have to have Texas ones. I have been absolutely dreading having to do a drivers test here. Not even sure I could pass one in NZ again. Then I saw the Texans drive. Need to use the off-ramp three lanes over? No worries. Wait till the last minute and then veer hard right across all three lanes at speed. The bigger the truck, the later you leave it. In fact maybe I will fail because I don't drive aggressively enough, or because I try to stick to speed limits. No consistent speed limit here, in 3 kms along the same stretch of road you can have 3 different speed limits. Not that it matters especially on the highway as it appears to only be a suggestion.The only time I see speed limits adhered to is school zones where you can only drive 20 miles per hour. Apparently the fines start at $500 so they are taken pretty seriously. Anyway 90 days to get a license. So Garth goes to sit his test in his first ten days. Nope. You have to be here 30 days before you can sit a test. Why? No reason. Its Policy. So instead of us, as immigrants and used to driving on the other side of the road, wanting to do the local testing and therefore theoretically show we are safe to drive here, we cant. We have to sit twiddling our thumbs till the magic date.

We have managed to use our passports for ID for some things. Dont worry I have been able to buy alcohol. A matter which became a bit more fun when I saw the prices ( and sizes) of alcohol here. 1.5L bottle of NZ wine for $15 no worries mate. The passport has led to a few humorous/ worrisome questions. At one pre employment check for Garth, a government employee asked Garth for ID, when he responded I have a New Zealand drivers license and passport, will that work? She looked him in the eye and responded ' I'm sorry to ask, but can you tell me if New Zealand is a state? Not a hint of sarcasm.

Im sure every country is just as bad for this kind of thing but we have found it very frustrating. We are now getting 'better' at playing the game. We expect delays when doing the 'simple' stuff. When we go to do things like sort tax numbers for me and the boys ( we don't get SSNs) we know now to take every piece of documentation we have ( a sizable folder thanks to US bureaucracy), including pieces they haven't asked for, and including printed copies of 'online ONLY - these do not need to be printed' forms from the federal database ( as we have been asked for these when applying for G SSN), we know that we all need to go to prove we exist even if the appointment is for one of us, we know to pack for a full days outing including clothes, food, toys and everything else little people require, in fact the only thing we have yet to be asked for or have needed is a vial of our blood. Im sure we will get to that though.