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Ask HN: living and working in US

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Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#51
I faced this question at the age of 29 (late 90's) when I got an interesting offer to work in Florida (I live in Austria).

In the end, I decided against it. At the (2-day) job interview, people who worked there pointed out that the biggest benefit over Europe was the perceived freedom, the feeling that noone would bother them about their private business (this is probably no longer the case / general feeling today). I found the poverty in urban areas most shocking (loitering people, obvious racial inequality).

In the end it boils down to whether having your "dream job" (for me it was game programming) is worth both getting ripped out of your surroundings and coping with lower standards in many areas in the US over Europe (well, depends on whether you live in a poor EU country), as well as other issues like the harsher environment (floods, earthquakes). 50-60 hours was a given in the 90's, perhaps it is no longer the case now that Google/FB set the bar higher for job quality. For me it was better to stay, although nowdays I sometimes ponder moving to Switzerland, Norway or perhaps Australia (for different reasons, none involving career perspectives).

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#52
post #18
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That was the cunning plan :-)

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#53
post #12

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]

"If I visit a US city for pleasure, but work on my business at the same time, am I violating immigration law?" -> technically yes. Practically no.

The solution is to not "work" on your business, but "do business". If you're in the US and have meetings with clients, that's not considered "work" by immigration law.

Just don't tell the immigration office you're going to "work". In practice your situation is totally fine.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#54
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.…

Well, I love nature, but I am young and I like life in a big city too :)

Currently I live in Saint-Petersburg (most european city in Russia) - it is rather cold here in winters, so low temperatures is not a problem.

Also, I'm shy too.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#55
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post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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.

I'm pretty sure it's not a violation of immigration law to visit the US briefly to do some meetings and/or free promotional events. People do this all the time. It's called a "business trip". Just be honest and check business instead of tourism on the immigration form, and be ready to answer a few questions about your job and company.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#56
If there's one place you'll find a 40 hour work week, it's enterprise Java. Most of the glorified 80 hour work weeks occur in the startup realm. I'm generalizing significantly here, but enterprise is stereotypically a "clock in, check out" type of job at larger companies, and securing something that pays well without sucking up your whole life is very easily doable.

Are those 5 weeks of holiday paid? If so, that is not a common benefit in America.

Without citizenship, your healthcare coverage is likely to be either costly or limited.

Scholarships and grants exist, but a free ride through college is also rare.

If you were already a US citizen, this move would be possible (but even for the majority of Americans, what you ask for is off the table), but since you're not, I say move to Canada.

Specifically, Toronto. As metropolitan as any American city (with a sufficiently large job market), numerous strong immigrant communities, better healthcare, great food. Nice and clean, fairly safe - I'd have no qualms bringing up a kid there. The surrounding suburbs are very mellow.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#57
post #23
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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.

That's not true, it's totally legal to visit the US on a tourist visa and go to conferences promoting your product, for example. Or having sales meetings. That's not considered "work".

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#58

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.

I can second this, I left the US because my kids started going to first grade and I finally realized that all the stuff you read about is all true. It was horrid.

And this was considered a top school in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods around.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think your idea of what a "healthy start-up scene" is, is probably lacking quite some perspective. I don't want to write a political essay here, but generally speaking, Belgian law & regulations, infrastructure, politics, language barriers and the size of the country and distribution market are an extremely hostile environment for entrepreneurship, compared to say London or San Francisco.

This doesn't mean some people aren't trying anyway :)

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