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Ask HN: living and working in US

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Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#41

Post by gone35 »

Sorry if this doesn't sound as much but... do your research. Ex ante it appears you and your wife are under a lot of misapprehensions and, if I may say, grass-is-greener media/cultural European clichés about the US --too many, perhaps, to disabuse in a single "Ask HN" thread.

Like others said below, a good idea would be to come live in the US for, say, a summer or so under a short-term tourist or student visa (eg maybe for a career-related summer course or unpaid internship) and see for yourself.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#42

Post by showsover »

larrybolt wrote: post #21
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.

I'm from Belgium as well, and in the 3 years I'm working, I've worked for 2 startups, both in Ghent. There are quite a few startups here in this city, and it's not the biggest city in Belgium as well.

My education was a footnote on my CV, a good starter for the talk with recruiters. They generally know you know 'nothing' when you're fresh from school, so they have their expectations set accordingly.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#43

Post by levosmetalo »

mpcadosch wrote: post #7
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.

Go to the US for an extended vacation (month or so), interview with as many companies as you can, and find one that will sponsor an H1-B visa. It'll be hard, but it's worth it.

And then wait 5 or more years until your wife is allowed to work there legally, pay obscene amounts of money for child daycare and schools, all while waiting for a green card.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#44

Post by hellbreakslose »

You didn't mention the visa thing at all.

You said you are EU citizens. It's ok for you moving around EU but moving to the US is going to create immigration problems for you.

One of you will need to get sponsored for a long-term working visa not the temporary one. Then still I think according to US laws your Wife won't be able to work until you get a Green Card. I heard that they are trying to change that law but still.

Sorry to break it down to you like that, you can still try and make it, but its not an easy thing to move to the States especially having a family with you.

I'd suggest you apply to 20 companies+ and try schedule them all within a week. So you and your family can go there for a week do your interviews and see if you can get someone to sponsor you.

It's not like you said I am just going to move there... If you say that to the officers in the airport asking you the reason for your visit they are definitely not going to let you in.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#45

Post by gcp »

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 think you mainly missed "good local job market" in the can't have it all list, otherwise I agree that much of southern Europe qualifies.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#47

Post by schwarzie2478 »

May I ask what your bad experience in Belgium entailed? I'm curious, being belgian and a programmer... Although IT management here ranks very low in my humble opinion, it's not bad working here in the IT sector ( unless you work for banks and financial institutions, those are jerks :-) )

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#48

Post by BugBrother »

kovrik wrote: post #30

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 tr…

In Scandinavia, most immigrants from Netherlands and Germany I met are the kind of people which spend all free time in a forest or in a canoe on a lake. If nature is important for you, select area carefully in some countries.

Also, if you are from south Russia, be aware of the winter dark in Norway.

Note that Scandinavians are shy, it is a culture historically from small villages, it takes years to get local friends. Finland has most Russian expatriates, afaik.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#49

Post by mhurron »

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…

> the restaurants are there for eating and not for socializing

I went there to eat, how is this a problem? I don't like people, having to talk to them when I'm trying to have dinner would be annoying.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#50

Post by davidw »

comrade1 wrote: post #40

For the sake of your child you should probably stay in Europe. The education system in the u.s. is terrible. 100% of my European friend couples have moved back to Europe as soon as they've gotten pregnant or gave birth in order to provide a better education for their children.

100% of European couples probably also want to be around the child's grandparents, ensure the child learns their own language, and so on. My wife would find it tough to leave Italy for this reason, for instance. Also, as a parent, I think you want to feel somewhere that feels like 'home' - or maybe that's just me. Without kids, I would feel pretty comfortable in a lot of places, but now that we have them, I think I would be less comfortable going somewhere completely new.

The educational system isn't that bad in the US if you're in the right place. It varies a lot from state to state and between towns or even areas in a town.

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