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Ask HN: living and working in US

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Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#21

Post by larrybolt »

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…

I'm still a student myself, but from the things I've heard and seen about the startup scene here, in Belgium, it's not that big as in the states.

It also seems that education is payed a lot more attention to than some other countries. Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of having a good education, but in the tech-world I cannot believe a certificate/diploma is worth more than visible passion and experience.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#23

Post by lbotos »

[deleted] wrote: post #12
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]

Define "work on your business". If you were just hacking on some code and managing your stuff I think it'd fly under the radar. On the other hand, if you were running around promoting a product, organizing events and essentially raising your profile I'd expect they might catch wind and give you some trouble.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#24

Post by BSousa »

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…

South of Portugal and Spain fit most if not all of that, except jobs. In Portugal there are some dev jobs in Faro (but then you have either a long commute or live in an apartment in the city and pay is quite low to be a one provider kind of family) and in Spain Malaga does have good dev jobs around (not sure about Java but iOS/Ruby can get a decent salary there) and there are some places around that fit the bill that are within commuting distance to Malaga companies.

For better pay, there is Gibraltar and living in the South side of Spain. Sometimes you have to endure a long border cross, but the pay in Gib compared to cost of living in Spain may be worth it (and there are a few well paid of java/php jobs in Gibraltar in the betting companies)

If you want more info about the area, companies or plan/think moving here, shoot me an email (profile).

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#25

Post by ColinWright »

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.

Generally you have up to 2 hours to edit your post, which is reasonable if you also add a line saying you've done so for formatting purposes.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#26

Post by bowlofpetunias »

"And change we got, but not the good kind."

This raises a bit of red flag, because lots of people migrate with a vague idea of "the grass is greener" without knowing what they're getting into. Since Belgium is not a bad place to live, I'm wondering what it is you're running away from.

And since you put a work/life balance, cheap health insurance and cheap education top of your priorities (all things Belgium already offers) and don't seem to know very much about the US, I wonder why you're not considering the much less complicated and safer option of another EU country? (Also, of all continental European countries, Belgium is probably most like the UK with it's post-industrial similarities.)

What is it that makes you think you and your family be happy in the US?

I'm getting a strong sense you don't really have a clear picture of that, and are just looking to flee to a magical land far away from your current troubles. I live in a place with lots of expats, and that scenario usually doesn't work out well.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#28

Post by jacquesm »

BSousa wrote: post #24
jacquesm wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

South of Portugal and Spain fit most if not all of that, except jobs. In Portugal there are some dev jobs in Faro (but then you have either a long commute or live in an apartment in the city and pay is quite low to be a one provider kind of family) and in Spain Malaga does have good dev jobs around (not sure about Java but iOS/Ruby can get a decent salary there) and there are some places around that fit the bill that…

The good bit for the OP is that he might be able to work remote, and spend local. That's the best of both worlds.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#29

Post by adriaanm »

Do not underestimate the cost (time & $$$) of immigrating and the in(s)anity of US immigration law. Winning the H1b lottery is probably the easiest way. Getting a green card requires a pretty dedicated sponsor willing to spend $5-10K, not to mention the >1 year wait (this is assuming best case: EU citizen with "US equivalent" of a Masters).

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#30

Post by kovrik »

I'm a 25yo Java developer from Russia. My gf and I don't like (almost hate) our country and we want out.

We choose between USA, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not a well-known software engineer, not an outstanding genius (yes, I'm not very confident about my skills) - that is why it seems very difficult for me to get a job outside Russia.

But I love programming, I try to learn something new every day, improve my skills and knowledge. And I hope we will get out someday (hope dies last :) ).

I wish you good luck - don't worry, everything would be alright!

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