Ask HN: living and working in US • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#11

Post by mhurron » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:22 AM UTC

gcp wrote: post #5

jacquesm wrote: post #3

What countries are you from originally? Plan a holiday to the US, look things over and then make a budget (emigration is far from cheap), save and then decide to back out or bite the bullet. Don't do anything permanent until your visa is in the bag for you, your spouse and your child. Hollywood and anecdotes are not good inputs to a life determining decision like this, consider it a huge project and devote resources…

Why is Belgium disappointing you? Well, given that his wife longs for "finally have some sunshine, lots of affordable fresh food, perhaps live in a house with garden, beautiful nature close enough to actually go camping for the weekends, and friendly and approachable people." I'm going to guess: high housing prices, population density killing nature & unfriendly people. Given that this is HN, I'd add "government and…

> high housing prices

Yet they want to move to California.

http://www.hsh.com/finance/mortgage/salary-home-buying-25-ci...

I'm in the process of buying a house and am very glad I am not in California.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#12

Post by [deleted] » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:23 AM UTC

KhalPanda wrote: post #4

Just out of curiosity (as a UK resident), how would you plan on moving to the states from a legal standpoint? As far as I'm aware, if you don't have immediate family who are US-citizens, $500k-$1M to invest in a business, marry a US citizen or take employment on a H1-B (not easy), it's not possible?

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#13

Post by davidw » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:23 AM UTC

> She thinks we'll finally have some sunshine, lots of affordable fresh food, perhaps live in a house with garden, beautiful nature close enough to actually go camping for the weekends, and friendly and approachable people.

That sounds kind of like Italy. Maybe not as much sunshine as California here up north, but it's certainly better than the UK or Belgium from that point of view.

Of course, the economy is in the tank, but maybe you can work remotely or something.

Going to the US is not easy: you'll have to find a company willing to hire you.

That said, if it's what you want, don't let the naysayers get in your way - go on a vacation there, travel around some, meet people, see what day to day life is like, and then go for it! It's not perfect, but there's a lot of good stuff there - much more than some of the haters here give it credit for.

Some people work crazy hours, many people don't. As someone who is likely to have a good job, you'll have decent health care, even if the system is a bit screwy.

Edit: a few other places to check out might be:

* Colorado (Boulder, Denver, Ft. Collins). Snowy, but still quite a bit of sun. If I ever went back to the US, this is high on my list of places to check out.

* Austin, Texas. I don't know much about it, but it's supposed to be a nice place, and definitely sunny/hot.

* Bend or Ashland in Oregon. Not as sunny as California, and cold in the winters. Not as many jobs either, but nice smallish towns.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#14

Post by abcd_f » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

My all time favourite place in North America is Europe.

I am a European. I lived in US for two years, I lived in Canada for 15. I also lived in Sweden and Japan. States are good because it's just one big Walmart - everything is ridiculously cheap, but what it gets in quantity it tends to lose in quality. Canada in this respect is somewhat better, but it has the same problem - it feels ... I don't know ... diluted? Too much stuff, too little substance. It is nice, it is comfortable and affordable, but - and I am dumbing it down considerably - you can't get a decent croissant, because nobody simply gives a shit about getting them right.

On the other hand, the grass is always greener on the other side. If you move, you will have at least a couple of years of excitement and novelty.

PS. And generally working too much and not enjoying life is in fact the biggest lifestyle issue in States and Canada. No better manifested by the fact that most of the restaurants are there for eating and not for socializing.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#15

Post by stefantalpalaru » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

> we'll finally have some sunshine

You will and you'll also have the chance to discover the difference between excess and moderation.

> lots of affordable fresh food

The food is either affordable or good.

> live in a house with garden

More like a house with a mandatory lawn in a region hit by a very serious drought. You might also want to ask about the rules imposed by the homeowners association and whoever rents you the house.

> beautiful nature close enough to actually go camping for the weekends

Yes, if you like deserts and you want to live in SoCal. Note that "close" has a different meaning on that side of the pond.

> friendly and approachable people

Maybe at first. With time you realize that the friendliness is a form of politeness that hides fear, distrust and greed.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#16

Post by lingoberry » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

Unfortunately you don't just "go and work" in the US, it doesn't work like the EU. Unless you're a hot commodity and you can convince Google et al to pay for your visa ($tens of thousands) and then winning the H-1B visa lottery, you will have a tough time.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#17

Post by h1karu » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

The cost of living in the tech-scene areas are outrageous and skyrocketing, those are the facts. The sun-shine California lifestyle can be quite nice you'll need to be prepared to pay out the wazoo. Don't believe it ? Prove me wrong, start looking at the Bay Area rental market.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#18

Post by tomp » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

lbotos wrote: post #6

seminole wrote: post #2

Sorry about the formatting. * 40h workweek * 5 weeks of holiday a year * free/cheap health insurance * free/cheap education up to university level for our daughter.

Out of the 4 things listed here, in the US the only one that's "normal" is a 40h workweek. 5 weeks of vacation is a lot unless you are really senior or pulled a lot of strings. 2weeks is the average "base" here. Solid health insurance is usually expensive. Public schools are "free" but you are going to have to pay for college. I don't know of any completely free colleges anywhere in the country. (Not saying there are…

He can always send the daughter (and any other kids) back to Europe for college, it's (mostly) free (for citizens) here.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#19

Post by danmaz74 » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:24 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #9

gcp wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is Belgium disappointing you? Well, given that his wife longs for "finally have some sunshine, lots of affordable fresh food, perhaps live in a house with garden, beautiful nature close enough to actually go camping for the weekends, and friendly and approachable people." I'm going to guess: high housing prices, population density killing nature & unfriendly people. Given that this is HN, I'd add "government and…

When I read that I thought: South of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy. Any one of those would solve the majority of those wishes, and would be a lot easier to get into than the US. The problem is that no country is perfect. You can't get 'free daycare', 'good weather', 'affordable fresh food', 'beautiful nature close by', 'free healthcare', 'friendly and approachable people', '5 weeks of holiday' and 'free education' a…

I lived three years in Sardinia and it is almost perfect in those respect, if you don't have to worry about finding a job locally. And it also has very cheap flights with the UK.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#20

Post by tomp » Fri, May 23, 2014, 11:25 AM UTC

abcd_f wrote: post #14

My all time favourite place in North America is Europe. I am a European. I lived in US for two years, I lived in Canada for 15. I also lived in Sweden and Japan. States are good because it's just one big Walmart - everything is ridiculously cheap, but what it gets in quantity it tends to lose in quality. Canada in this respect is somewhat better, but it has the same problem - it feels ... I don't know ... diluted? To…

Where in the US did you live, and which places in Europe do you prefer? Both are huge, with significant regional differences.