Does anyone have a sort of 'cycle' going on with their panicking? It seems to me that mine is always worst in the morning, on waking up and if I wake up during the night, but gets a bit better in the evening, just after work.
Isn't this kind of like the cycle for depressive symptoms? Lol someone should do a phd about this...

Well I'm definitely going now as I don't really have any other options. It's only a one year contract, so not too bad. At the very least I'll get some nice weather out of it..

I agree with kelpie. Everyone's progress is different - and this largely relates to the type of research project you took on, as well. For instance, sometimes you get results more quickly because everything goes swimmingly, and other times progress is a bit slower (or much slower), because the study in question is very exploratory.

I personally think expecting people to complete a PhD in three years is pretty tough, and depends largely on how things go with your studies. I think everybody thinks they'll crash and burn in their viva. Could you maybe ask your supervisor(s) for a mock viva to calm your nerves? Maybe your University's grad school has some advice service or something?

I think all PhD students writing up with deadlines looming are in a bit of a panic (including myself!) before the end. I just keep thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel (which, admittedly, might be a train...)

Well the PI of the lab said in the interview I would have to 'recruit people from the community', and she seemed to think it requires a car. I was hoping she might be wrong about this - when I was in America the first time round, I realized that while pedestrians/cyclists aren't well catered for in most places, it is manageable to negotiate most places without a car. It's just that I guess they have a different mindset over there as it is very common to have a car. I just don't think the PI is aware of the fact that it is a hassle for Europeans without a credit history in the States to do stuff like get insurance etc, usually they make you pay exorbitant deposits up front.

I don't think I'm being particularly negative - I'm just trying to be more careful. The first time I went to the States, I was really young, inexperienced and naive and ended up living with an ex-convict in kind of miserable circumstances...so don't want a repeat of that, under any circumstances.

So I managed to land a post-phd job (not a postdoc, mind) in a lab in the States - the only job offer I got, which is why I took it, thinking at least this will give me something to put on my CV, some time to finish writing up and the added bonus of getting a year abroad in the States.
As I'm getting closer and closer to moving, I am getting more and more concerned. To start off with, my prospective boss seemed to neither get my nor my supervisors emails - a fact which put me in a really awkward position, with my supervisors being livid about having to hang around for hours waiting for her to call them on skype for a reference at a pre-agreed time, and her not calling...
She claimed never to have received their emails and kind of hinted she thought I was trying to get away with not giving references...so that was awkward.
The job is not very well paid, and the University isn't well known or prestigious. I am fine with both, but my prospective boss kept saying about how I'd have to have a car etc which is obviously not going to be feasible for various reasons (no contribution towards moving costs means I am going to be skint, zero credit rating means I wouldn't be able to buy a car/insure it, have to get a US licence before I can even think about buying a car etc). There has also been zero help with finding a temporary living arrangement, which has meant I have had to book a hostel for 6 nights (maximum stay!) and hope that I will be able to find a room in shared accommodation within that amount of time. I don't think I'd be able to rent a place of my own/register utility bills in my name wihtou a hefty deposit.
The university is super unhelpful - contacted housing/international adviser and both zilch results. Does anyone have any advice? Am I overthinking it?

Moving to Nevada soon to work at UNLV, is there a network of international postdocs/phd students/academia types?

I can only echo what other people have said before - you are most defnitely not alone. The only thing I can say is that if you really feel academia/your phd is not for you, quite now rather than sticking with it. I am saying this because I am in a similar predicament - I realized early on in my funded studentship that I was neither interested in nor suited to the project I took on, I felt ostracized at the office and generally miserable. The difficult thing is, everyone tells you to just stick with it, rough patch, what not. I made the mistake of listening - 3 years later, my funding runs out tomorrow, and although I have managed to even publish some stuff, there is just no way I can get a thesis written/pass a viva.
Also, bear in mind that a PhD will only really help you if you want a career in academia - and you can only really have a career in academia if you feel 'vocational' about it, as in, you just would never be happy doing anything else and you are willing to do anything to get there.
as for job interviews, well, that's pretty much standard these days. Even with a PhD, you won't get any more interviews/offers - most employers in industry aren't to keen on PhDs. In terms of experience, well, I actually worked in industry before I did my PhD and did some voluntary work experience while doing the Phd - still, very scarce on the interview/offer front.
So if you are sure you aren't enjoying it, quit now or you'll regret it in 3 years' time.

Thanks for all the advice. Now I have another question - how expensive is it to have a car? I assume insurance must be pretty high if you're from abroad - do you have to get a local driver's licence first?

Thanks, this is so helpful! I'm feeling really rather stressed at the moment - I'm finishing my Phd (well data analysis - there is no way I'm going to finish writing up completely before I go), as this is my last month on studentship funding (I have another writing up year). My supervisor is pushing relentlessly for me to write as much as possible, but I haven't had time off since Christmas and I'm so exhausted! On top of that I have to plan the move, visa application etc, moving my stuff out of the flat here, etc.
Thanks to TreeofLife for the skype hint, I would have never thought of that!
I thought maybe craigslist is like gumtree here (as in, dodgy), but if everyoen uses it, I'm going to give it a go!

I am getting close to the end as well - I feel exactly the same way. I basically have two chapters and the introdcution already, because I've actually had two papers published, and I'm STILL feeling like I want to call it quits and walk away from it right now...ridiculous, right? Always helps to know you're not the only one..

So I got a job in the States. At the moment, I am just thinking about what the best way to relocate will be (I'm in the UK now). Mainly, I am unsure about how to handle accommodation for after when I arrive. Obviously, I can't rent something before I get there. The University doesn't offer any assistance, and has no student housing available to provide one months' accommodation or so. Do I get a hotel room for ~1 week and hope I'll find something? I don't know how difficult/easy it is to find something in the states, given that I won't have a car and won't know the place at all. Also I don't know whether they require references etc to get a place. In addition, I will of course have to set up a bank account etc at the same time...I was just wondering if anyone on here who has been through a similar move has any advice to offer. I would really appreciate any morsels of wisdom, as the University isn't helping at all.

Seems to me ALL phds have low job prospects at the moment

I would not advise you to submit without your supervisor's consent. This is really risky - in addition to risking revisions, re-submission and failed vivas, you would piss of your supervisor, making everything even more uncomfortable. I get what you're saying about money - but it is possible to work for a year and finish writing up. It seems like you don't think you have that much work left to do - so maybe you should take extra time, find a job, and write up part time.

I think this is one of the main problems after a PhD - particularly the way they are running funded phd programs, I mean, how can you possibly become a completely independent researcher capable of leading entire projects on your own in the course of three years, much of which you will have spent worrying about collecting data quickly enough/writing up at the same time/keeping your funders happy/applying for jobs AND publishing papers...I don't think it's realistic to expect that you are a fully formed researcher capably of leading entire projects independently after that...
It sounds like exploitation to me. I'm getting so fed up with it - you are supposed to work yourself to a pulp and worry yourself silly, feeling inadequate in the process..

My experience of skype interviews has been mostly the 'conventional' scenario of the potential employer being very far away.

I guess the rationale behind skype interviews, if you're local, is probably that they have several stages of interviews, and doing skype interviews gives them flexibility to perform a first stage of intervies with several potential candidates, then narrow it down to an even smaller applicant pool for 'proper' ie physical interviews?

Although given my recent experiences of applying for jobs, sometimes I think it's just impossible to try and figure out how the hiring process works...especially in academia.