Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Hi all!

Just joined the forum so thought I'd pop in :)

Hubby is possibly relocating with his job to Cleveland, OH and I wondered if there was anyone from that area....

I'd be interested in finding out about the different areas, and if you can recommend any particular ones for living... hubbys office is based in Independence so ideally would like to be fairly close.... with no more than 30 min commute.

I've been looking at property in Independence, Cleveland Heights, Barberton, Shaker Heights, Brooklyn and Bedford.

Hubby will be travelling around with work so I'd like to be sure that there is stuff for me to get involved with in the local area.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Congrats on your transfer. When do you move?
I'm not in Ohio never been there but I'm sure some of the other members have
Is his job doing all the Visa work and moving you all?

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Welcome to BE :)

Can't help with the area, but there are a few members in the state who might be able to :)

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Hi. Welcome to BE. You might like to look at www.city-data.com for some answers about Independence. :)

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Welcome to BE. My wife works in Independence, I work in Cleveland, we live in Cleveland Heights. I might be able to help.

Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights are very nice places to live, but with high property tax. Barberton would have more of a small-town feel than the others you list. I'm not so sure about Brooklyn... it strikes me as the least desirable on that list.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Thanks for your replies and the warm welcome! :thumbsup:

Mummy - nothing is set in stone yet... his company have said there is a job out there for him if he wants so he's asked them to come back with an offer and details... They would do the visa work, but we would do the move, so no relocation package.

Bill... with the property taxes, are they monthly? I'm guessing they are similar to our council tax. Are there any other costs to consider, and what are utility rates like.... water, gas, electric, etc?


Lisa... thanks for the link, I shall definitely check that out...

The other couple of things I'd like to know is what hospitals/clinics are out that way? I have rheumatoid arthritis, and although its in remission, I will probably still need a rheumatologist.

I'd also like to get involved with voluntary groups... as I won't be able to work with hubbys visa, plus it would help me to settle in and get to know people.

Thanks again! :D

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Property taxes are paid every six months in Ohio (usually) but only if you own the home. Renters do not pay property tax, their landlord does.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

If its an L visa which it probably will be ..you can get a work permit

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Thanks for that tamms and Ray....

Not sure what a L visa is but I'll go check out the visa thread...

Thanks again...x

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

As tamms said, property tax (if you own the house) is paid twice a year. In Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, the rate is about 3% of appraised value, eg. $6,000 per year for a $200,000 house. Tax rates for all communities in Cuyahoga County can be found here. There will be federal, state, and city income tax to pay as well. Gas and electric bills will vary greatly depending on the size of the house, how well insulated (little to no insulation in most of the old houses, like mine), how modern the heating system is, etc. Water bills and sewer bills are based on consumption.
My situation: modest 3-bedroom colonial in Cleveland Heights, built in 1925. Little insulation, most of the original windows have been replaced. High-efficiency gas furnace, central air conditioning. Just the two of us, no kids. We both work, so we reduce the amount of heating and cooling during the day Mon-Fri. Gas bills range from over $300 during the coldest months to about $30 in the summer (gas water heater, stove, dryer). Electric bill about $80 when not using aircon, about $140 in the summer. Water bill about $40-50, but higher in the summer when the missus is watering the plants a lot. Sewer bill is paid every three months (Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District), our bill is about $90 each time.

With regard to hospitals, health care is one of Cleveland's strong points. The Cleveland Clinic, about 10 minutes from my house, is one of the best hospitals in the United States. Bear in mind, though, that if your husband wants to pursue this opportunity, he MUST be sure the employer provides health insurance as part of the job. If there's no health cover, forget it.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Welcome .... I have passed through Cleveland quite often, never in summer but winter when it is like Hell ! ... The bleakest, coldest, most freezing lake front city on earth. :ohmy:

Not that I am trying to put you off cos the rest of the year it's probably very nice :)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

I live near Akron

yay me.....

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Welcome to BE :)

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Be very careful about a one way move unless:

1. You know you can get a green card quickly (some categories take years), for which the employer needs to sponsor; and
2. You are certain that a move to the United States is what you are looking for in life.

This article gives a flavour of some of the issues:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Corpor...tion-Australia

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

I've never seen that Wiki page before, very interesting.

It often amazes me the financial basis on which many expats move. It seems a lot of the Oz crowd pretty much self-fund everything (blood scary when you consider how many of them end up returning to the UK).

Others are in-betweenies - the new job helps a little, but not much. [I fall into that crowd] In academia, generally you are lucky if they pay for your flight and maybe a thou or two towards relocation. The most I ever received was $3k. But then, we have to pay our own way to conferences, etc., too, generally. Teaching is a different world - heck, I know primary teachers who buy their own class materials (definitely something wrong with that).

Corporate moves seem completely different. I read on here talk of packages that include costs of expatriation AND repatriation flights (business class, of course) and removals, cash allowance for "incidentals", rented accomodation for the first 3 months, rented car, immigration lawyer fees for GC, home leave travel costs, etc., etc.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Thanks for all that... a lot of bedtime reading but it'll certainly help....

It wouldn't be a one way move as such to begin with. We would still have property over here that would be rented out, and we would then rent over there. Once we were sure of an area then we would look to buy property.

We have talked about emigrating to the US for a while. We have both spent time out there, and hubby has worked over there. Friends have also emigrated with work, and while it has been hard, they have certainly not regretted the move. Plus my family originate from Canada so Cleveland would be ideal to visit extended family.

In the climate that we're in, property is just not selling over here at the moment so in a way it acts as a safety net for us.

Depending on the type of visa, we would not be able to come over until Oct/Nov.....

The requirement for the L1 visa is that hubby will need to have been employed at the company that is sponsoring for at least a year.... This will be the case 1st November..... If they decide on on H1B visa then it would be a start date of Oct 1st....

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Going on recent past experience, hubby's US company will need to have the H1B application submitted into the lottery ON 1st April.....all H1B visas will be gone by end of first week in April, for an October start.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

I don't think that will happen this year ...

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Verdad? Por que? = Really? Why?

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Rule 16

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Porque no one tiene money for hiring and sponsoring?

The reason H-1B became a lottery recently is that there are a fixed number of visas. In the first several years, the cap was not met. Now, that visa got very popular and these d&#%m contractor companies snatch them up so they can dump people over here to maybe work for them. The whole category got sort of abused.
But with fewer companies willing to foot the costs and perhaps fewer people willing to move country.... It will be interesting to see how this year's April 1 goes.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

You may not want to think about green card at this stage, but don't assume that the pathway will be easy or simple. And it's usually better to know the details beforehand.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Oh definitely not assuming the journey is going to be easy.... we would prefer them to apply for the L1 visa but as hubby has not worked for the company for a year, I know this won't be possible yet. I've also seen how long the visa process can be, not just a case of fill out a form and wait...

We are prepared for worst case scenario, and it will be very disappointing. However, the way I see it is we are still young and as the main office is US based, they will know the process and so I'm happy to leave it in their capable hands... and in the meanwhile I'll do my homework on the rest of it...

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

the only advice I can give, is bring a coat.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

:lol: will do! along with my thermals!!

Quick question...... what do you guys use your basements for? Always been curious....

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Some people use it as living space. My house is old so I use my for storage with built in shelves. The furnace, water heater, puppy palace, etc. are also there.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

We use ours mainly as a playroom for the kids - got the Wii down there and most of their toys. There was a pool table there when we moved in so I'm down there every now and then!:thumbsup:

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

when we were in MI we were lucky to have a fully fitted basement. 3 rooms..big screen room, games room (air hockey table etc.) and a storage room and a small bathroom. great space...miss it SO much :(

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

for catching diseases....it's a mold, manky, shit pit....also where I do the laundry....it also floods every time there is a sniffle of rain or melting snow....love the landlord for sorting that out for us...

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

The basement is an evil, crap collecting, dust generating Black Hole that I wouldn't do without. :)

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Hi - im in Columbus Ohio, husband is on an L1A visa.

If you have the choice - hold out for the L visa. As already said it will allow you to apply for work authorisation if you want it (and beware with the voluntary work thing - a lot of those roles are not allowed without work authorisation - as if is often considered a role that someone could be paid for). Also - the route onto a green card is a lot easier from an L1 than an H1 should you decide you would like to stay longer then the visa allows. You can get a SSN number too which makes life easier.

As to Ohio - I am loving it still after 15 months here. Yes it gets rather cold in the winter - we have just had snow on the ground for the past 6 weeks straight but its not as cold as say michigan. It also has lovely summers. I find the people friendly, and welcoming.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

I'd agree with all of the above. We moved to Springboro, OH (near Dayton) in Oct 2007 on an L1 and we love it here. We've started the green card process just recently and it does seem easier having the L1 although nothing is guaranteed, especially in the current economic climate.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Cleveland gets WAAAY more snow than Columbus though.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

i didnt know that!

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

lake effect snow,

cold air moving over Lake Erie picks up moisture off the lake and dumps as snow over Cleveland / Erie PA and Buffalo NY.

also happens in northern Michigan off Superior and western Michigan of Lake Mich.


Rochester / Syracuse NY get it off Lake Ontario.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

We had a big lake effect dump a week ago. Towns east of Cleveland at higher elevations, like Chardon, get it even worse. It's really bad in Erie. I'm sure Manc's aware that it's not unusual for stretches of I-90 in PA and NY to be closed because of snow squalls off the lake. My parents were stranded in Ashtabula once because of a lake effect storm. Gave me a fright... didn't know where they were for 24 hours because their dumb Canadian payg phone wouldn't work in the US :curse:

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

aye after the past 2 months, I'm loving driving to Toronto right now.

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

Me home town! Where's your destination in Toronto?

Re: Bouncing in to say hi!!
 

If you love Toronto traffic you need your nuts feelin' Manc. ;)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 4.01; Windows CE; Smartphone; 176x220))

Oakville. QEW exit 118 Trafalgar Ave.

where do you live now Bill?