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Ask HN: living and working in US

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Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#91
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

StP. As far as I know... Beautiful? Cultured, with lots of good art/music education? Like half London, but with nature quite close? You won't get similar big city life anyplace in Scandinavia. Barcelona, or something? [Disclaimer: Two short visits to St P, quite long ago.] I don't really know any "typical" Russians -- most everyone I ever talked to were intellectual, nerd or artistic [Edit: and none of them drank mor…

Well, I love StP, there are a lot of awesome people here and so on.

But political situation in Russia bothers me (I don't like Putin and our corrupted criminal government. I don't like current situation in Ukraine. I don't like extremely high level of corruption and so on). Stupid laws being adopted every day. Bad standard of living, a lot of bureaucracy...

If you don't have a lot of money and powerful friends - it is almost impossible to live here. If you want good medicine help - you must give bribes etc.

I understand that life in other countries is not a paradise. There are a lot of problems too. But I think that I can always come back to Russia and continue living as I am living now. And if I don't give a try - I won't know for sure.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Diversity Visa Lottery will be likely repealed in the near future by the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 so that won't be an option for very long.

Plus, the United Kingdom aren't eligible for the lottery anyway. So I guess it depends where OP is from.

The Diversity Visa Lottery can be granted on the basis of your birthplace, not your current place of residence or current nationality.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an EU citizen as well and I have to agree with you, aside from all you've mentioned plus winning a green card - moving to US is anything but trivial.

The Diversity Visa Lottery will be likely repealed in the near future by the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 so that won't be an option for very long.

That's not likely.

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744

It only has a 43% chance of passing. It's been up to the house for a year now, it's probably going to be shelved until after 2016.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#94

> 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…

While LA itself is a desert, there are mountains in the area, within a few hours drive. A few hours drive should qualify as close. If you have a house large enough for a front lawn, you can also have a back yard where you can typically maintain a small garden.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#95
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…

We would love to have you in the USA. The other countries you listed are fantastic places to live but if your passion is in programming then the USA is an excellent place to be. There are plenty of immigrant success stories here. Look at recent news, Jan Koum moved here from Ukraine, created a mobile application, and is now worth over $6,000,000,000 thanks to the Facebook acquisition!

Thank you! But where should I start from?

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#96
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

StP. As far as I know... Beautiful? Cultured, with lots of good art/music education? Like half London, but with nature quite close? You won't get similar big city life anyplace in Scandinavia. Barcelona, or something? [Disclaimer: Two short visits to St P, quite long ago.] I don't really know any "typical" Russians -- most everyone I ever talked to were intellectual, nerd or artistic [Edit: and none of them drank mor…

Well, I love StP, there are a lot of awesome people here and so on. But political situation in Russia bothers me (I don't like Putin and our corrupted criminal government. I don't like current situation in Ukraine. I don't like extremely high level of corruption and so on). Stupid laws being adopted every day. Bad standard of living, a lot of bureaucracy... If you don't have a lot of money and powerful friends - it i…

That is good, many locals around here don't realize that there are lots of advantages/disadvantages with everything.

But yes, afaik -- if you live in a corrupt place, it is probably best to get out.

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#97
A 3rd Generation US born Citizen turns his back on the USA:living the American dream in Vienna, Austria:

Lived in Silicon Valley for 20 years founding 4 companies in the process. I am an honest and decent person who was raped each and every time by my co-founders/investors. Only the soulless/ruthless succeed in Silicon Valley. SILICON VALLEY IS A TRAP! Everything is dried out and dead, including the people. Everything is about money, and everybody including your employer has their hands in your wallet. Child care is hideous. People are shallow and self centered. Homeless camps are everywhere, and there is no empathy/compassion for these older "former heroes of high tech" fucked over by the Vulture Crapitalists masters. Work weeks of 80 hours are the norm. Your company owns your soul. Schools are 3rd world. You have no life. Three hours sitting in traffic to get to the beach. No Culture. East Palo Alto is being bought up and the people tossed out on the street. Crime rate is now "off the scale" in both Menlo Park and Palo Alto (Facebook paid to construct and operate a Menlo Park Police Station just to protect its corporate HQ campus).

Lived in Boulder Colorado for 3 years. Closest thing one can find to living in Europe in North America. Fell in love with mountain climbing. Primary reason I chose to move my wife and 3 young children to Vienna Austria 11 years ago (easy access to the Alps).

I am giving up my US Citizenship this year to become an Austrian. I was back visiting my family in San Jose last year and could not believe how bad the quality of life in the US had sunk to.

Vienna Austria:Everything that the US was while I was growing up in the 1970s. Absolute heaven on earth! Those days are over in the USA. Amazing 5 weeks of vacation time. Founded my own GmbH 7 years ago. Government here is more involved with business: Austria has a high hurdle to start a business. 35,000 euros in startup capital, and avg 7 months approval time. This is actually a good thing as it eliminates much of the fraud in US where anybody can become a founder in 20 minutes and 20 dollars. Virtually no crime. Vienna is the best city in the world for 5 years in a row.

WELCOME TO THE USA: NOW BEND OVER:You have no credit history so be prepared to pay dearly for everything! Credit Card: 30% interest rate. Apartment: 6 months rent as deposit. Car loan: 40 percent. Power/Gas 600 dollar deposit.

Americans are impossible to develop deep long term and meaningful relationships with. They sure are polite, but all relationships are shallow. Everyone is waiting for you to fuck them over, so no one trusts anymore.

Austrians are cautious at the beginning, but after a time they are the most trusting people I have ever met. I have never had as many good neighbors and made true friends as I have in Austria.

Austrian education system is far superior to the USA! They invest in their peoples future with free higher education and apprentice training programs with the result of the lowest unemployment rate in the world.

Austrians, and most Europeans are "social" in "people before profit". As a lifelong capitalist pig, I had no idea that "American Capitalism" is pure theft. Socialists are not communists. Republicanism (US Representative form of government) is not Democracy, and the wealthy minority are protected at the expense of the majority. The Republican form of world government is 4 Oligarchs (US, RUSSIA, INDIA, CHINA) fighting over a lamb (the people).

George Carlin was right! George Carlin ~ The American Dream You have to be asleep to believe it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

Advice:Stay in Europe! You do not appreciate how good you have it! Do not be suckered into the fraud known as the American dream of getting rich, or of ever owning your own home (bought and paid for).

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#98
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We would love to have you in the USA. The other countries you listed are fantastic places to live but if your passion is in programming then the USA is an excellent place to be. There are plenty of immigrant success stories here. Look at recent news, Jan Koum moved here from Ukraine, created a mobile application, and is now worth over $6,000,000,000 thanks to the Facebook acquisition!

Thank you! But where should I start from?

I doubt that life quality is better in USA. But the money is better -- and your local social environment is what decides if you like living somewhere, anyway. (Tell me if you like it. :-) )

A suggested plan, with small steps:

Try the waters with Scandinavia/EU? If you travel by Finland from St Petersburg, you can get an EU VISA, right? Then you can do interviews etc in place. But maybe not for Britain? I think it is easier to move to the EU if a company wants to hire you, than getting a Green Card (disclaimer: I only really know about Sweden and Finland for non-EU migrants). If you don't like it, try USA.

(I would offer you to stay at my place and look for jobs, but I'm not in the North right now.)

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#99

A 3rd Generation US born Citizen turns his back on the USA:living the American dream in Vienna, Austria: Lived in Silicon Valley for 20 years founding 4 companies in the process. I am an honest and decent person who was raped each and every time by my co-founders/investors. Only the soulless/ruthless succeed in Silicon Valley. SILICON VALLEY IS A TRAP! Everything is dried out and dead, including the people. Everythin…

Valuable points. Appreciated!

Re: Ask HN: living and working in US

#100
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 peo…

This is a very good description, thanks! I reference this quite often lately to people asking about how it's over here.
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