Er... okay, as the title indicates, this is a rather huge subject to tackle, and I hardly know where to begin. I am mainly looking for advice from people who have done this (and there's a good chance this conversation will move into NB exchanges if people are willing).

My situation is thus: I am an American citizen hoping to move, ultimately, to the UK - ideally to the wotmania capital of the world, Edinburgh. Thing is, my connection to Europe lives in Belgium, not Scotland.

As I understand it, there are three basic ways of obtaining a visa to live in another country:

A) Work visa.
(Not really likely because the employer has to sponsor you, and I am not a professional right now. I would have to find an international company with a strong base in Edinburgh, then hope that they eventually offered me a position something there. Could literally take five years or so. Not willing to wait that long, but very willing to take this route if someone can suggest other ways to make it work.)

B) Fiance visa.

C) Studying abroad.
(Tough. My academic standing could be better... but more importantly, I don't have the money to pay for tuition over there. How do British universities handle grad students? Is there a tuition waiver/stipend, or is that only for citizens?)

Okay, so basically I would really like to hear about people's different experiences with each of these three options. Or, if they found another way, obviously I want to hear that too.

In survey form:

1) Have you ever done this? If so, which way did you go?
If not, would you consider it? - and skip to question 9, please.

2) How long did the process take you, from start to finish? (Let's say that finish = spouse visa or some other form of semi-permanent resident standing.)

3) How much, roughly, did it cost you?

4) What was the most difficult part about adjusting to life in a foreign country?

5) How did you go about moving your possessions?

6) How did you go about finding a place to live when the desired city/location was many miles away?

7) Did you invest in any kind of professional assistance? (Immigration lawyer, accountant, moving company...) Do you think that was worth the extra costs?

8 ) What's one thing you really, really wish someone had told you ahead of time?

9) If you moved to a country with a language different from your mother tongue, how long did it take to achieve fluency? (And what level of proficiency did you start with?) - Am happy to hear answers from people who have just studied or lived abroad for a bit, too.

10) Which domestic products do you miss the most when traveling or away from home?

11) Which more intangible things do you miss, if anything? (For example: climate, or a general sense of space, or social norms, like the basic level of friendliness between strangers.)

12) This is kind of a fun hypothetical question. Let's say you're romantically involved with someone, but you haven't been able to live together long term because you are separated by geography. The simplest way to fix this is to get engaged and have a civil ceremony for marriage. But, you've always been of the opinion that people should live together (ideally for a good long time) before getting married. Would you go for it, or would you back away slowly from the insanity?

Thank you so much, in advance, to anyone who answers. I know I'm not the only Rafonaut who will benefit from your replies.