Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Bad news, UK! I moved back from Spain this week. 🤣. I'm becoming a professional immigrant.

Hugs, Devlyn

welcome back

Quote from: Devlyn on June 20, 2026, 12:19:04 PMBad news, UK! I moved back from Spain this week. 🤣. I'm becoming a professional immigrant.

Hugs, Devlyn

Wait...

They let you in?

🤣

I distracted them by pretending to drop my cup of tea... in the harbour!

Quote from: Devlyn on June 20, 2026, 02:20:23 PMI distracted them by pretending to drop my cup of tea... in the harbour!

Nice to have you back in blighty Dev! I expect more rude place names pics!

Wow you must have a massochistic streak wanting to come here! Welcome though.

C😻

I don't mean any offense, but I'd be lying if I said I wanted to come here. It was the quickest visa we were eligible for. That's the only reason we didn't choose another country.

For anyone interested in the numbers, it's about £7,100 for the initial spouse visa. It's good for two and a half years. It will be another £7,100  for the next two and a half years (if we stay). After that we can apply for Indefinite leave to remain, and citizenship. Another £2,300 and that's with us doing all the work. If you need a lawyer it's going to be a lot more money.

Our friends and family all thought I could just move here because I'm married to a Brit....nah, mate.

Ask and thou shalt receive!

Ha Ha! We have a spread eagle pub too! There is also the Black Cock Inn up near Kielder reservoir too!

Quote from: Devlyn on June 20, 2026, 03:14:58 PMI don't mean any offense, but I'd be lying if I said I wanted to come here. It was the quickest visa we were eligible for. That's the only reason we didn't choose another country.

No offense taken! There is a reason i have no country selected on my profile. I exist here and that's it. I have absolutely no desire to associate with being from here.

Here's one that's just fun. 🙂

I shook hands with an immigrant last week on a green card.

He is from Spain.  He thinks that the USA is the best country in the world.  He and his family have opportunities here that exceed where they are from.  He is grateful.  We have many rights and privileges here.

I think many citizens here take for granted what they have here.  We should be thankful for what we have.

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on June 20, 2026, 05:51:36 PMI shook hands with an immigrant last week on a green card.

He is from Spain.  He thinks that the USA is the best country in the world.  He and his family have opportunities here that exceed where they are from.  He is grateful.  We have many rights and privileges here.

I think many citizens here take for granted what they have here.  We should be thankful for what we have.

I'm sure he will enjoy his time in the states but (and please don't take this the wrong way Chrissy) Spain has the US beat on rights and priviledges. To be honest most of Europe fares better actually.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on June 20, 2026, 06:09:57 PMI'm sure he will enjoy his time in the states but (and please don't take this the wrong way Chrissy) Spain has the US beat on rights and priviledges. To be honest most of Europe fares better actually.

Well he and his family grew up in Spain and I figure he made a sound conclusion based on his own experiences. 

I suppose it depends on what a person wants and what she or he thinks are valuable rights and privileges.

Hi Everyone

Australia is very lucky in being able to prevent Devlyn from entering the country.  We have great white sharks, Chironex fleckeri, blue-ringed octopuses and saltwater crocodiles patrolling our coastlines.  If Devlyn manages to get through all of that, the land creatures would have their go and they are too numerous to mention here.

All jokes aside, I'm British by birth and I would not go back there to live, even if they offered me large sums of money.

Devlyn, may you find a comfortable place to rest your weary bones and yes, a "Curse on a Nation!". I will let you figure that one out!

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
@Devlyn
Global Moderator

That's true Sarah, but when Australia floats by other countries, it sometimes comes close enough for people to just hop onboard. 🤣

Hi Everyone

Thats's no problem you will have to wait a few million years before it gets near any country so that one can hop on board!  Nope, not going to happen, so we are very safe!

😂😁🤣

Best Wishes Always
Sarah B
Global Moderator
@Devlyn

Will you be living up north or southern softy land?

We're in East Midlands for now.

Continuing with the theme...

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on June 20, 2026, 05:51:36 PMI shook hands with an immigrant last week on a green card.

He is from Spain.  He thinks that the USA is the best country in the world.  He and his family have opportunities here that exceed where they are from.  He is grateful.  We have many rights and privileges here.

I think many citizens here take for granted what they have here.  We should be thankful for what we have.

Quote from: Stottie Girl on June 20, 2026, 06:09:57 PMI'm sure he will enjoy his time in the states but (and please don't take this the wrong way Chrissy) Spain has the US beat on rights and priviledges. To be honest most of Europe fares better actually.

My take: Most of the people I've met outside of the US very much want to get to the US, whether to visit or move there. Most of those people are not transgender and thus they don't have to worry about the kind of discrimination that our community needs to worry about.

I can't deny that Spain, and the EU in general are much better on rights and privileges than the US or UK. But given a return to the pre-trump standards in the US... we'd move there on the next flight.

The UKs tiny houses, tiny appliances, tiny yards, tiny roads, tiny cars, tiny parking spaces...well, you get the idea... they stink. We hate all of it. This country feels like it was built for hobbits.

I frequently hear people talk about the quality of life being better here (UK), usually associated with the work/life balance. Yeah, Americans work more hours. Yeah, Americans get less vacation. But Americans can get much higher wages. And we know how to pack a vacation into a weekend with all of our toys (RVs, boats, jet skis, etc).

You forgot tiny minds-------

Quote from: Devlyn on June 22, 2026, 08:35:58 AMMy take: Most of the people I've met outside of the US very much want to get to the US, whether to visit or move there. Most of those people are not transgender and thus they don't have to worry about the kind of discrimination that our community needs to worry about.

I can't deny that Spain, and the EU in general are much better on rights and privileges than the US or UK. But given a return to the pre-trump standards in the US... we'd move there on the next flight.

The UKs tiny houses, tiny appliances, tiny yards, tiny roads, tiny cars, tiny parking spaces...well, you get the idea... they stink. We hate all of it. This country feels like it was built for hobbits.

I frequently hear people talk about the quality of life being better here (UK), usually associated with the work/life balance. Yeah, Americans work more hours. Yeah, Americans get less vacation. But Americans can get much higher wages. And we know how to pack a vacation into a weekend with all of our toys (RVs, boats, jet skis, etc).

Remind me again why you've moved to the UK Dev? You don't seem overly keen to be here.🤣 Why didn't you you just stay in Spain? I can think of worse places to be!

We have smaller houses because we are an older country. We are not a society designed around the car. Our small roads were designed for horse and cart not giant fuel guzzelling pickups. I would say we aren't as fat either but we are starting to catch up these days! The car parking spaces are too small as the regulations for car parking sizes have not been updated since the 60's and cars have increased in size significantly.

What applicances do you need that are bigger anyway?

Yes, you get more wages in the US but you have to spend it on stuff like heathcare, pensions, etc etc that we get through taxation. Food seems to cost a lot more over there from what I can see. Plus what good is having more money if you don't have the time to enjoy it? I put more value in work life balance than a big pot of cash. Too many people I've known have died straight after starting retirement or never made it there in the first place. There are loads of jetski's about where I am, loads of people have boats (mostly fishing or sailing but some speedboats) and there are tons of campervans all over the place. Is it different down South?

With the exception of my cousin who married an American man I have never met anyone who wanted to move to America. Visiting, well as much as I would like to see the natural wonders of the US, the horror stories I have heard about border control and ICE agents etc etc have mean't it is no longer in my top 20 places to go.

Quote from: Devlyn on June 22, 2026, 08:35:58 AMMy take: Most of the people I've met outside of the US very much want to get to the US, whether to visit or move there. Most of those people are not transgender and thus they don't have to worry about the kind of discrimination that our community needs to worry about.

I can't deny that Spain, and the EU in general are much better on rights and privileges than the US or UK. But given a return to the pre-trump standards in the US... we'd move there on the next flight.

The UKs tiny houses, tiny appliances, tiny yards, tiny roads, tiny cars, tiny parking spaces...well, you get the idea... they stink. We hate all of it. This country feels like it was built for hobbits.

I frequently hear people talk about the quality of life being better here (UK), usually associated with the work/life balance. Yeah, Americans work more hours. Yeah, Americans get less vacation. But Americans can get much higher wages. And we know how to pack a vacation into a weekend with all of our toys (RVs, boats, jet skis, etc).

I think the main things that bother me  in the UK are all the stupid people and the rubbish health system. I think I'd be better off in the US in terms of pay and would consequently have much better healthcare. But I definitely would hate the US working conditions. Too little time off for me even in the UK and prefer the employment security here. I worked with Disney imagineering for a couple of weeks in Florida and they often did 14-16 hour days and Saturdays. Add to that the treatment from more senior staff...nooo thanks!

I'm not sure anywhere is perfect unfortunately. I don't think i even belong on this planet tbh!

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on June 20, 2026, 07:14:25 PMWell he and his family grew up in Spain and I figure he made a sound conclusion based on his own experiences. I suppose it depends on what a person wants and what she or he thinks are valuable rights and privileges.

YMMV but as far as I have been able to see there are many countries in Europe that are quite liberal and kind of trans-ok or trans-friendly. Now, I haven't been looking specifically at the trans-friendliness but I have visited at least 25 of the countries in Europe so I have a somewhat nuanced feeling about things. Spain is generally a nice place.

I have only visited a few states in the US but I guess you cannot compare US of A as a single country. There are 50 states of which some probably are ok and some probably a lot less than ok? On top of that there's the variation among different geographic locations within a state.
So, if we view the US as 50 states and the EU as 44 states, and look at them a bit more individually then we probably end up with "some are ok" and "some are not ok" in both places.

Way up north where I live, things are probably as ok as can be expected.

💕

The plural of anecdote is not data, but when I met my wife in 2018 we compared numbers so to speak. We compared my situation (lower US tax rate, privately purchased healthcare) and her situation (higher UK tax rate, free NHS). Our outgoings were almost the same on a percentage of income basis.

Her transition through the NHS faced all of the delays and hurdles. I went from first visit to HRT in a week, and surgery in seven months.

Parking spots have mandatory minimum sizes. A parking lot owner can make the spots as big as they want to. But they don't.

Surprise surprise, we didn't have cars in the US in the 1700s and it was just cart tracks too. But it's okay to upgrade things like that when they stop being useful.

Quote from: Devlyn on June 22, 2026, 01:21:02 PMThe plural of anecdote is not data, but when I met my wife in 2018 we compared numbers so to speak. We compared my situation (lower US tax rate, privately purchased healthcare) and her situation (higher UK tax rate, free NHS). Our outgoings were almost the same on a percentage of income basis.

Her transition through the NHS faced all of the delays and hurdles. I went from first visit to HRT in a week, and surgery in seven months.

Parking spots have mandatory minimum sizes. A parking lot owner can make the spots as big as they want to. But they don't.

Surprise surprise, we didn't have cars in the the US in the 1700s and it was just cart tracks too. But it's okay to upgrade things like that when they stop being useful.

I heard that Canada is far worse than most countries, including the USA, for taxes if you are high earner.  That is considering just income tax.

The free health care is not free.  It is being paid by taxes.  Just like withholding taxes, you may not feel the tax bite (it all adds up though) but you and others are paying for the social medicine and other things the government decides to spend money on.

Then there is the waiting periods for socialistic medicine.  I wonder if when you get old they make you wait longer as you are older. 

I suppose one could argue that Medicare and for sure Medicaid are social medicine plans.  But they are monthly premiums I hear for Medicare and they can get high if you make a lot of money. 

I am not knocking any country.   

Chrissy

Quote from: ChrissyRyan on June 22, 2026, 04:53:48 PMI wonder if when you get old they make you wait longer as you are older. 

They should make us old folks wait less, as we have less time!

Let the younger ones wait the longest. They are more resilient.

Then, the likely outcome would be that everyone gets in at the same time.

Well, that won't work either.

😂

It's not just the UK with unique place names. I have been researching areas for a gold-panning day trip, looking at maps, etc.

I'll just leave this here.

  @Lori Dee
Dear Lori: 
What is the back-story on  "tits worth ditch" ? ? 
How does that name tie into Gold Prospecting?  I can only imagine. 🙃
- - - - - - - - - -

In Alaska we have Dead Horse Gulch ... a result of the Klondike Gold Rush
where prospectors overworked the pack animals going up very steep and dangerous narrow
trails going up White Pass trail to the Yukon Gold Fields in the dead of winter below zero weather. 
Not just horses and mules died but also many prospectors that were unprepared.
          https://www.nps.gov/klgo/learn/historyculture/white-pass-history.htm
                  https://www.nps.gov/klgo/learn/goldrush.htm 
Danielle

Quote from: Lori Dee on June 29, 2026, 10:56:35 PMIt's not just the UK with unique place names. I have been researching areas for a gold-panning day trip, looking at maps, etc.

I'll just leave this here.

Quote from: Northern Star Girl on June 29, 2026, 11:12:27 PMWhat is the back-story on  "tits worth ditch" ? ? 
How does that name tie into Gold Prospecting?  I can only imagine.

It is a historical name. The source of the name Titsworth Ditch comes from the historic Titsworth family, early pioneers and landowners who homesteaded and farmed along Fourmile Creek (historically known as Oil Creek) just east of Cañon City, Colorado.

Like most historic irrigation structures in Colorado, the ditch was named after the local settlers who originally constructed it and appropriated its water rights to irrigate their crops, in this instance, hay fields. The ditch holds one of the most senior, historic water rights in the Arkansas River Basin, dating back to its original priority appropriation from 1861 to 1865.

It doesn't tie directly into prospecting. The area I plan to scout is further upstream along Four-Mile Creek, the source of water for those ditches. Four-Mile Creek extends all the way up into one of Colorado's richest gold mining districts at Cripple Creek. As gold was mined there, flash floods washed gold and tailings piles downstream.

My interest is in the geology involved. The creek follows a narrow limestone canyon until it opens up into the wider valley where the hay field and farms were/are. When the valley opens up, the water pressure drops and it loses energy. When that happens, the water lacks sufficient energy to carry heavy minerals, which drop out of the stream. That indicates that the area could be rich with gold, silver, and other heavy minerals. Since it is private land and without public access, I will have to look upstream in the canyon for accessible areas where gold may have been trapped in pockets.

The problem is that Shelf Road is blasted into the cliff walls, so access to the creek requires a long, steep descent I want to avoid. So the area I want to scout will be downstream of Shelf Road, probably aligned with Nipple Mountain (which is to the east, closer to Phantom Canyon).

😁

Nipple Mountain? Now I think you're just milking this.

Quote from: Devlyn on June 20, 2026, 12:19:04 PMBad news, UK! I moved back from Spain this week. 🤣. I'm becoming a professional immigrant.

Hugs, Devlyn

You could probably whip the UK into shape, Dev. Glad to have you back as a sister. <3

Quote from: Sephirah on July 03, 2026, 03:56:42 PMYou could probably whip the UK into shape, Dev. Glad to have you back as a sister. <3

That's me, breaking down the nearly world famous British reserve... one random stranger that I just start talking to at a time. My wife tells me that I really freak people out doing that. 🤣

Hugs, Devlyn

Quote from: Devlyn on July 03, 2026, 04:22:43 PMThat's me, breaking down the nearly world famous British reserve... one random stranger that I just start talking to at a time. My wife tells me that I really freak people out doing that. 🤣

Hugs, Devlyn

Hah, that is very much a north/south divide thing, Dev. The more south in the UK you are, the more averse people are to talking to each other, or even having any sort of eye contact. It's not the same up north. I struck up a conversation with an American lass in my local supermarket not too long ago. People north of, say, Birmingham, kind of talk to each other all the time. The more south you get, the more people seem to be more misanthropic. Which is weird.

It's grim up North, but everyone is in the same boat, as it were, haha. :)

Quote from: Sephirah on July 03, 2026, 04:55:50 PMHah, that is very much a north/south divide thing, Dev. The more south in the UK you are, the more averse people are to talking to each other, or even having any sort of eye contact. It's not the same up north. I struck up a conversation with an American lass in my local supermarket not too long ago. People north of, say, Birmingham, kind of talk to each other all the time. The more south you get, the more people seem to be more misanthropic. Which is weird.

It's grim up North, but everyone is in the same boat, as it were, haha. :)

Oh I definitely stress if people talk to me for no reason. But more because of social phobia than location!

Quote from: Charlotte Kitty on July 03, 2026, 05:32:40 PMOh I definitely stress if people talk to me for no reason. But more because of social phobia than location!

I'd like to think if I saw you in a trendy coffee shop, that you would be far more outgoing than you think, Charlotte. But then I do have insider knowledge, haha. <3