Advice on what visa and if possible
#31
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 17
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
Check out the housing costs, the health insurance and car insurance - those were the ones most likely to impact what a comfortable take home equates to.
I moved to Atlanta, on $120k, employer HC but I pay $200 a month. Car Insurance on two cars started off at $380 a month, eye watering! We chose a location in a lower cost of living side of Atlanta (which is expensive, but not CA levels) which offset some of those costs. Ended up in a 5 bed house 3 times the size of what I had in Swindon, with amazing weather :-)
Moral of the story - do some research, options exist, and plenty of people live on less. It will depend largely on what you are trying to achieve, what you have today and what you expect from the move.
Oh, and get two TV's, pop CNN on one and FoxNews on the other and watch in amazement.
I moved to Atlanta, on $120k, employer HC but I pay $200 a month. Car Insurance on two cars started off at $380 a month, eye watering! We chose a location in a lower cost of living side of Atlanta (which is expensive, but not CA levels) which offset some of those costs. Ended up in a 5 bed house 3 times the size of what I had in Swindon, with amazing weather :-)
Moral of the story - do some research, options exist, and plenty of people live on less. It will depend largely on what you are trying to achieve, what you have today and what you expect from the move.
Oh, and get two TV's, pop CNN on one and FoxNews on the other and watch in amazement.
I used to work for a company in chippenham, spent a lot of time in wilts, a lot better than the midlands(walsall to be exact)
I've been doing some research and im pretty shocked at the responses, weve been looking at coming for sometime, and visiting the the us since 2003, its not a pipe dream following a holiday, all im expecting is to live a normal life with better weather, thats it.
i do chuckle at those channels, chalk and cheese lol
thanks for your input
Jim
#33
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2012
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 189
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
EB3 visa has been suggested. I came on an EB3 back in 2002. It took over 2 and half years for the application to grind through the process. No idea what the wait is like now, but your prospective employer should be informed of the potential wait time. My prospective employer didn't expect to wait that long, they kept thinking it was going to go through anytime. That's probably why they stuck with it, but to find an employer willing to sponsor you and wait a long time is difficult. Labor certification is required too, which means the employer has to prove that no US citizen is available to do the job.
#34
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 17
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
EB3 visa has been suggested. I came on an EB3 back in 2002. It took over 2 and half years for the application to grind through the process. No idea what the wait is like now, but your prospective employer should be informed of the potential wait time. My prospective employer didn't expect to wait that long, they kept thinking it was going to go through anytime. That's probably why they stuck with it, but to find an employer willing to sponsor you and wait a long time is difficult. Labor certification is required too, which means the employer has to prove that no US citizen is available to do the job.
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also
jim
#35
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
He's fully aware of the wait time hed done his research prior to contacting me, when i said a year he said wishful thinking lol
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also
jim
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also
jim
#36
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 17
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
jim
#38
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
Note that Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may allow for adjustment of the "age out" upwards. That said, description of CSPA age adjustments always gave me a headache.
#39
#40
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Joined: Jul 2012
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 189
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
He's fully aware of the wait time hed done his research prior to contacting me, when i said a year he said wishful thinking lol
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also
jim
We already know about the labour cert where he has to advertise the role in 3 places and get a salary adjudication, the previous job in tampa i got, the guy had the role on his website for 12 months and couldnt fill it, this guy has been looking in california for a long time also
jim
#43
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
Visa allocation is on Fiscal Year, not calendar year. Fiscal Year 2019 starts on October 1, 2018. HistirHist experience is for retrogression to be common in September.
#44
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
Im a destination expert on tripadvisor for a certain place's forum, I'm used to getting asked the same question a thousand times a year, rudeness or bluntness is something i dont see as appropriate when someone is looking for some advice, I dont get why youd come to a forum to be harsh, just dont help out, I came to her the truth but theres a way to say it.
Next, I didnt say I'm coming for a "better life", I have a good life, I said "a better way of life", thats not a finacial thing, its just general living thing, weather, location, as long as we get by in life thats all that matters, we are not material people, big houses and sports cars dont appeal to us, if we had them great, but its not what we strive for.
I appreciate the time you have taken in responding, a couple of questions, average salary in irvine is $69,000, how is 130,000 not going to be enough its almost twice as much, to be honest though this is a base salary with no add ons that will go up, ive just looked at a lovely 3 bed townhouse 2 bathrooms 1800 dollars a month, great for us, the local school is rated at 9-12 i actually dont understand that yet, maybe you misunderstood my original post, id love to live in the us, but im not coming to live the dream
jim
Next, I didnt say I'm coming for a "better life", I have a good life, I said "a better way of life", thats not a finacial thing, its just general living thing, weather, location, as long as we get by in life thats all that matters, we are not material people, big houses and sports cars dont appeal to us, if we had them great, but its not what we strive for.
I appreciate the time you have taken in responding, a couple of questions, average salary in irvine is $69,000, how is 130,000 not going to be enough its almost twice as much, to be honest though this is a base salary with no add ons that will go up, ive just looked at a lovely 3 bed townhouse 2 bathrooms 1800 dollars a month, great for us, the local school is rated at 9-12 i actually dont understand that yet, maybe you misunderstood my original post, id love to live in the us, but im not coming to live the dream
jim
I would question the 3 bedroom 2 bath townhouse for $1800, it certainly won't be located in Irvine for that price.
I live in the neighboring city of Lake Forest and work in real estate. The cheapest 3 bedroom townhouse to rent in Irvine currently is $2500/month and it only has 1.5 baths which means only one bath/shower. You may find rentals in cities surrounding Irvine that are cheaper but not by much more than a couple hundred dollars a month. You may find rentals advertised directly by owner but you have to be really careful as so many of the ads are scams.
#45
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 946
Re: Advice on what visa and if possible
Im a destination expert on tripadvisor for a certain place's forum, I'm used to getting asked the same question a thousand times a year, rudeness or bluntness is something i dont see as appropriate when someone is looking for some advice, I dont get why youd come to a forum to be harsh, just dont help out, I came to her the truth but theres a way to say it.
Next, I didnt say I'm coming for a "better life", I have a good life, I said "a better way of life", thats not a finacial thing, its just general living thing, weather, location, as long as we get by in life thats all that matters, we are not material people, big houses and sports cars dont appeal to us, if we had them great, but its not what we strive for.
I appreciate the time you have taken in responding, a couple of questions, average salary in irvine is $69,000, how is 130,000 not going to be enough its almost twice as much, to be honest though this is a base salary with no add ons that will go up, ive just looked at a lovely 3 bed townhouse 2 bathrooms 1800 dollars a month, great for us, the local school is rated at 9-12 i actually dont understand that yet, maybe you misunderstood my original post, id love to live in the us, but im not coming to live the dream
jim
Next, I didnt say I'm coming for a "better life", I have a good life, I said "a better way of life", thats not a finacial thing, its just general living thing, weather, location, as long as we get by in life thats all that matters, we are not material people, big houses and sports cars dont appeal to us, if we had them great, but its not what we strive for.
I appreciate the time you have taken in responding, a couple of questions, average salary in irvine is $69,000, how is 130,000 not going to be enough its almost twice as much, to be honest though this is a base salary with no add ons that will go up, ive just looked at a lovely 3 bed townhouse 2 bathrooms 1800 dollars a month, great for us, the local school is rated at 9-12 i actually dont understand that yet, maybe you misunderstood my original post, id love to live in the us, but im not coming to live the dream
jim
Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, costs significantly more than in the UK, with the exception of petrol. When you arrive, make sure you have a large pot of cash ready at your disposal (I'm talking thousands). As someone with no credit history you'll be required to pay up front/large deposits for services, such as Internet, phone, gas etc. In CA it's common to pay first/last month's rent and a large deposit. The upside is that rental properties in CA usually come with all appliances and curtains/blinds etc.
I also believe you will struggle on 130k in Irvine with a family to take care of. With two teenage kids in LA, you'll need at least two, if not three cars. When you read these average salaries, you can bet that the people earning them are struggling, living in bad areas, are indebted up to the eyeballs etc. Be careful also with housing. That affordable townhouse you saw may be in a really bad area, and neighbourhoods change from one street to the next in the US. The rule is if it's too good to be true, it is.
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Sep 13th 2018 at 8:37 am. Reason: Unnecessary comments