Life in America
The Transition
Originally, the transition from one society to another had its easier and harder aspects. Creating a new life in a country 3,200 miles away from the place you have called home your entire life is difficult for anyone, fortunately, the Garners found some of the general differences between the two countries to be simple, "It was easy language wise, and culture wise there's a lot of overlap" Andy says. Andy believes that the more subtle things are what made the transition a little difficult at first. Andy says that, "leaving your support network, and all your friends and family, and coming across with no history" played a role in the difficulties of creating a new home in Boston.
The Challenges
Leaving behind the support networks in the United Kingdom made some of the small things difficult to get used to. Things such as, "buying anything or getting a phone is tricky to start with as you have no bank accounts". Additionally, "Shopping takes four times as long because you don't recognize anything". Overall, Andy believes that, "the little things take a lot longer than you anticipate, but the big things are similar from the UK". While the difficulties were tricky to get used to, Andy makes it clear that the opportunities that Massachusetts gave his children were amazing, "having my kids and family over here with all the different things they can do; all the sports they can do, it's just tremendous compared to the UK".
Andy watching his son, Sam play soccer
The Benefits
The overall opportunity that Boston gave Andy and his family was the deciding factor in what led the Garners to move, and to eventually stay in Massachusetts, "[Massachusetts] has definitely given me more opportunity, I helped set up a company here, and the amount of money we could raise to make medicine is way more common here than in the UK". The financial aspect that Massachusetts gave Andy and the Garners was a pivotal factor in extending their stay in Massachusetts. Beyond the financial benefits that American society offered, the benefits for Andy's family were a game changer in the U.S, "the culture here, it's very kid focused". Andy believes that his sons, Sam and Callum, would not receive the same education, focus, and life if they were to grow up back in England. Andy finished on the fact that in the U.S, "from a school level all the way to a business level, theres just more of an investment in the little things which add up to the big things".