BPII and International Study

[RealityPixie]

Hello again fellow crazies;

If you hang around in the outreach thread you may have seen my post about my opportunity to study in North America in 2011 for a year. This is an awesome oppertunity, and I can't really pass it up! But I'm quite worried about how I'm gunna handle it with my BP and all. I've never lived out of home (my home is walking distance from my uni, work, doc, free rent/food/utilities, etc, no need to move!) so jumping to living overseas is gunna be a leap. So anyway, I need your advice, as I havn't figured out which area or uni to attend. I'm starting my research but it's always best to ask the people themselves, no?

I was thinking California, probably san fran because I'm a bit 'alternative' (think white girl dreads and fleshies, haha). Also, weather is a huge trigger for me, so I thought something similar to home would be good. However, I'm worried that the US doesn't have public healthcare, so am considering Canada. I can deal with cold, it's just wet and rainy for long periods that does my head in. I know Canada is cold, but is it wet and rainy and dark all the time? I did have the option on London where I'd be able to stay with my brother, but the weather there would screw with my head too much!

In terms of living, I need my own space for those times when I get a bit funny and all that (I rapid cyle so that can happen alot to me). I'm fine to have a room mate/s, so long as I have my own bedroom and then maybe a communal living space or whatever...how do your uni dorms work over there? Is that kind of thing an option? Or should I just look for an apartment or whatever out of the campus (lol....apartment...I've never lived out of the suburbs or semi-rural areas...)

Yeah...as I mentioned, I'm quite worried about moving to the US without public healthcare. I've already looked it up, and I can't get travel insurance that will cover mental health stuff. Should I be worried? Even though I rapid cycle I'm generally pretty stable, so I'd only need to go in for check ups and maybe the occasional script.

I'm studying youth work, but also do units in psych and councelling. Any ideas what the best unis for those sorts of social worky things would be?

Any info would be appreciated, cheers guys

The Real Pixie.

 

[Alive again]

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[Alive again]

Hey, I live in the Pacific Northwest. Where Seattle (large city right on the Puget Sound and near beautiful mountains) would be a place alternative would fit in great. But the winter is gray cloudy and rainy. I am very effected by the weather and I do well with light box. I have friend in Montana (less population and beautiful countryside, but I do not know the alternative scene there) who says they have cold, but a great deal of blue sky in the winter. Pretty much anywhere in the Midwest gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Southern US stays nice. Eastern seaboard north cold and south warm. Frisco indeed is more alternative friendly than many areas, but there are also other wonderful choices in the US.

Healthcare. . . in most states there is a significant waiting period to be seen by a pysch MD. There are Nurse praticiton and PHysian's Assistant who can write for meds but again getting in can be a probl;em. Other options are county mental heath care or free clinicsa. Coutny can be overwhelm and free clinics few and far between. Can someone there write scripts for you, or do you need to see someone??? Can you get them filled there and mailed to you??? Do you have any of those kind of options???

 

[RealityPixie]

Healthcare. . . in most states there is a significant waiting period to be seen by a pysch MD. There are Nurse praticiton and PHysian's Assistant who can write for meds but again getting in can be a probl;em. Other options are county mental heath care or free clinicsa. Coutny can be overwhelm and free clinics few and far between. Can someone there write scripts for you, or do you need to see someone??? Can you get them filled there and mailed to you??? Do you have any of those kind of options???

Yeah I've considered it, the problem is customs. When you take large amounts of gov-subsidised meds out of the country you have to go through quite a few things proving they are for personal use. Also, seeing as the US is pretty paranoid I'd be a bit worried about bringing like a years worth of drugs over....think about the customs drama. I'm prone to anxiety as well, getting in that sort of situation could stress me out even if I've done nothing wrong. Another thought...I don't wanna spend heaps of legal tender on my meds for the year, then have them lost/stolen in bagging. Mail I suppose could be an option, but I'd be pretty worried about them getting lost in the post (have had bad experiences with mail between Aust-US) I'm prrreeeettttty sure they won't honour a script from half way 'round the world as well, but I suppose I can check. Do uni's there have campus medical clinics?

For general therapy there are some free online cbt things you can do that my doc put me on to, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Get public healthcare already!! *shakes fist*

 

[Soulwings]

Yes, campuses here have medical clinics. My uni is a small state one, so it has a very small clinic, but it does do scripts and all. And there are counselors on most uni campuses, so if you got in a bad spot you could always see one of those. I don't know the best unis for youth work/psych - I would say come to my uni, haha, but no.

Hope that helps some. The weather in the northeastern US is pretty varied... we live in "soup county" where it is cloudy the majority of the time. A city that's "relatively" nearby, Buffalo (in New York, I live in Pennsylvania), is the cloudiest city on the East Coast (I think). I'm not sure which places have the best weather... sorry. I know that down South, like Georgia/Louisiana/Alabama/Florida, have pretty good weather EXCEPT for the hurricanes that hit there nearly every year.

Sorry I don't have better advice!!

 

[RealityPixie]

Yes, campuses here have medical clinics. My uni is a small state one, so it has a very small clinic, but it does do scripts and all. And there are counselors on most uni campuses, so if you got in a bad spot you could always see one of those. I don't know the best unis for youth work/psych - I would say come to my uni, haha, but no.

Hope that helps some. The weather in the northeastern US is pretty varied... we live in "soup county" where it is cloudy the majority of the time. A city that's "relatively" nearby, Buffalo (in New York, I live in Pennsylvania), is the cloudiest city on the East Coast (I think). I'm not sure which places have the best weather... sorry. I know that down South, like Georgia/Louisiana/Alabama/Florida, have pretty good weather EXCEPT for the hurricanes that hit there nearly every year.

Sorry I don't have better advice!!

Cheers soulwings, it's good to know there are campus clinics! Yeah it's a bummer I have to be so restricted by weather To give you guys a bit of an idea, this is what the weather is like in Perth: fine and blue skies about 3/4 of the year. Out of the not sunny quater, about half of that quater would be rainy. (does that make sense?) Daytime temps here range from about 10 degrees c at the coldest in winter/autumn (50 degrees f) and in the summer it is usually around 33 degrees c (91.4 degrees f) but can get up to 40 c (104 f). It gets pretty humid here in the summer too so it can sometimes feel hotter, haha. I get along pretty well in this sort of weather.

I know weather wise the South would be good....but I'm not really too sure about how an atheist/bisexual/feminist/dreadlocked/educated women would get along there. A girl in one of my psych lectures is from Texas, she told me to avoid the south at all costs...apparently my hair alone would prevent me from getting any decent employment (and I'm not cutting off my beloved dreads!), let alone my lifestyle.

Speaking of weather, summer in Australia is currently coming in nicely, it's shorts and t-shirts weather. Can't wait to hit the beach after exams

 

[Soulwings]

With those temperatures and avoiding the Southeast (the most conservative, in most places anyway), I'd say head for the Southwest. They have pretty good weather out there I think (Arizona, New Mexico, etc.) and I think that they are pretty open to alternative lifestyles. But - I can't speak for ALL areas of the SW, of course. Every town/city is different. But maybe look there? The temps are pretty high but the heat is dry heat, and it can be tolerable in the winter. Lots of deserts and mountains out there.

Lucky you, having summer already. It's just getting into winter up here... I can't wait until it snows. We had our first snow really early, in October, but it hasn't snowed since. Boo hiss. I love the snow (as long as I don't have to drive when it's on the roads!!)

 

[Brinmar]

San Franciso is my favorite, but it sounds like it would be too cold for you.

Better try the South like April suggests - I liked southern Calif San Diego - Orange County area.

My daughter goes to Crown College in Minnesota - seems like a great place to go. You'll find it on line. However, not the place to go if you don't like the cold.

Hope you find a college that you like,
Heidi

 

[mich_ellie]

I live in British Columbia in Canada. I like how you asked if its also dark and dreary all the time...
I know where I live, it's warm in the summer- like really hot. 30 or more degrees Celsius sometimes. It's not dark- that's way up North.
It gets cold in the winter, but not as cold as other places.
As long as you aren't near the coast- like Vancouver, it is not so rainy... This summer there wasn't so much rain.Just the right amount
I don't know if that helps at all, but good luck with all of those decisions!

 

[RuthD]

Yeah I've considered it, the problem is customs. When you take large amounts of gov-subsidised meds out of the country you have to go through quite a few things proving they are for personal use. Also, seeing as the US is pretty paranoid I'd be a bit worried about bringing like a years worth of drugs over....think about the customs drama. I'm prone to anxiety as well, getting in that sort of situation could stress me out even if I've done nothing wrong. Another thought...I don't wanna spend heaps of legal tender on my meds for the year, then have them lost/stolen in bagging. Mail I suppose could be an option, but I'd be pretty worried about them getting lost in the post (have had bad experiences with mail between Aust-US) I'm prrreeeettttty sure they won't honour a script from half way 'round the world as well, but I suppose I can check. Do uni's there have campus medical clinics?

For general therapy there are some free online cbt things you can do that my doc put me on to, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Get public healthcare already!! *shakes fist*

There are also free clinics in most US cities. You can get in just by waiting in line most times. I'm sorry you are having to go through all of this.May the Lord lead you.