joasal

Hi all,

Let me introduce myself, Joe, 28 years old, married, no children, currently living and working in France near Swiss (Geneva) border. My wife and I lived in Ireland before and now since 4 years in France/Switzerland. We both work for big multinational company and have recently bought a house over here.

Now after 4 years, no kids, we a feeling the desire to move again and see bit more of the world. Moreover, last May my wife got letter that she got selected for a Greencard via the Greencard Lottery

So now we are bit in a dilemma situation. Normally interviewing would start near May 2009, so if we wanna go ahead we need to start NOW with paperwork.

Question is do we really wanna go, especially now with 2009 going into one big RECESSION :curse::curse::curse: Obama has won so this is good but change will not be quick. Europe is as affected by credit crunch as USA so basically life is gonna be tough everywhere. BUT do you wanna make a move in 2009 when situation is gonna be so bad. We need to sell our house over here (not ideal when prices plummet) and basically I will need to find a job. OK via my currenty work there would be possibilities to explore but nothing concrete yet. So big question will be GO OR STAY over here.

I must admit, US has always been like a dream, from childhood. Now that the chances of going are there, all becomes less ideal.

Family says don't go over there, don't give up your current life to start all over. But this is understandable as US would be far away.
Friends and colleagues say we should go for it ! Chance in a lifetime... As otherwise it is not easy to move over there.

OK, if we go where to go ? lol US is so big. American colleagues of mine tell me to go for a big city, with lots of employment oppies. We would personally be looking for a nice and warm climate, all year round. Does not have to be huge city, but there should be enough employment oppies. We thought of TEXAS (HOUSTON/AUSTIN) or CALI (SAN FRANCISCO). We have been to Cali before, we visited LA twice. Don't know if I could actually live there but apparently for a European SAN FRAN would be the place to be. Only thing about CALI is the high cost of housing/living. If we move we would be renting first as we will need to build credit first We also have a big dog so we would look for a house, which is much more expensive than apt. Texas seems to give more value for the money. OK it is not CALI but you need to start somewhere in the US. And apparently economy wise TEXAS isnt doing so bad at all ! Plenty of jobs and oppies, eg HOUSTON. And housing which is half the price of CALI.
Alternatively we would also consider Florida and North Carolina, nevertheless Job Market will be tricky. Maybe risk of finding no job is too big over there !

As for salaries, my American colleagues tell me that I would make half over there in the US, compared to Switzerland. OK point taken but Geneva is very expensive. So cost of living is extremely high over here. Shopping, petrol, mortgage...etc it is very expensive over here. But with our salaries we can cope and still save a good amount. So on the salary we would expect a big CUT. I am in SALES, worked in IT industry before and now in FINANCE industry. I am not specifically specialized (like a doctor, engineer, ...etc) so my skills and experience are more SALES related (Master degree Languages). My wife has worked in the tourism industry and now she works in order management role, also for big multinational.

On the other hand if we would move to TEXAS and find a good job the house we would be living in will be TWICE as big too CALI would be different story I think, but yeah we would have the perfect climate

As for cost of living, we have no kids but if we would have kids living in the US, this is going to be a lot more expensive over there. Here in Europe schools are not expensive. But US costs a fortune.

Medical care is another thing to consider, although company would pay for most of it.

Holidays in US, i will not even discuss :curse: Although via my current company they will be similar to Europe.

All in all we would appreciate the advise of people who made the same move. We know it is a risk, but hey we are both still young and you don't always get a chance like this. Would you advise to take the step and go for it, especially under current market conditions. If we would go, which places would you recommend to us.

Greetz,
Joe

Octang Frye

Come on over. It's all unicorns and rainbows now that Obama is coming.
Get in line for your free puppies.

For myself, I would say stay where you are. We don't need any more people who think like you do. America for Americans!

Octang Frye

Why do you capitalize random words?

joasal

Octang Frye,

welcome too ! I thought this was the Expats forum with the emphasys on E X P A T S.

Maybe you should visit Europe once, I have a lot of American colleagues, who made the opposite move from the US to Europe ! They already welcomed me before I had even considered the option of moving.

dunroving

If you are in the service industry/finance, I'd say now is about the worst time to think about moving to the US.

penguinsix

Hi,

I would try to whittle down the list of possible cities based on career opportunities, housing cost, educational choices, climate, etc. Come up with a list of say 5 cities and do more specific research on them.

A lot of what you are hearing you will need to take with a grain of salt. People say and believe a lot of things about the US while in Europe, mostly because of slanted media, distorted Hollywood movies, rose-colored glasses and or bitterness or envy. The truth is always a shade more grey.

Education is free in many places, but in some inner cities the societal ills that prevail in the population are also in the schools. In many suburban and more exclusive areas, you have excellent (free) schools though you 'pay' for it in having to have a more expensive place to live. You'll need to do some homework when you have lowered down to a few cities. Medical care is sometimes paid by the employer, but often you have to chip in a certain amount per month or each time you go to the doctor (which can add up).

'San Francisco is so European' is something they said in the South Park episode ridiculing San Fran. That episode also had all the locals smelling their own farts, which is also about as true. It might have some traits similar to a European city, but also many many differences. My point is, if you are looking for a place that will compare to Europe, then stay in Europe. You won't find it here. The US will always pale in comparison if you or your wife are one who will be constantly making comparisons and you'll just drive yourself miserable.

I think you should look at the cities available and judge them for what they are and have to offer. Some of the things that are different might turn out to be the things you really like.

San Fran is a nice place, don't get me wrong, and definitely one to consider. You might also like Boston or NY, and perhaps Washington DC (large tech and somewhat 'recession-proof' due to the large government sector). Personally I'd stay away from Florida, but that's just me.

But before we get into all this, have you looked for a job yet on some of the US websites? Do you have a general idea what a person of your qualifications would make per month, and how much you would have available for other expenses? I think you should try to get together a budget based on some average salaries for certain areas vs. housing costs etc and try to see if the adventure would make financial sense. Would help you before you go come up with some idea of whether or not to give it a try.

I'd also recommend, once you have a few cities in mind, doing a recon trip to check out the places, maybe for a few days actually looking at a few houses and exploring.

Lots to be done, especially since it is basically a blank slate, but let us know what you're thinking and folks might help you narrow down some options.

Octang Frye

It's a dilemma for sure. These opportunities are quite rare and usually should be jumped on. Yes, the economy is queering things. I guess it depends how energetic and resilient you are. Good luck.

Chrissywissy100

Congrats on winning the greencard lottery!

I second the view of Penguin six!

We moved from Uk to East Bay, CA (25 miles NE of san Fran) in April.. the best time really for us, when the GBP was strong against the $ so we were quids in, and hubby had a job to go to with his company from the UK.

I would really recommend you get an idea of cost for rentals etc in a commutable area (we pay $2500 per month for a 1600 square foot 3 bed property with a good sized garden) to where you will be looking to work (http://craigslist.org), and you will find that food and utilities (at least here in SF area) are comparable or slightly cheaper to europe / england.

Definitely have a job lined up before you come here although its no guarantee of it being permanent, and consider how you will live if you get laid off, which is a very real possibility if you come to California at the moment. Probably most of the US too, that said! You can check out how much the type of job you are looking for will pay too on www.glassdoor.com.

Personnally, I love this area, I love SF, and whilst I can understand the views of others in regards to it being very european, you have to visit to get a feel and whether you think you'd fee comfortable. After all, it isnt Europe, its USA, but not so different in culture and popular opinon that you would feel like a complete alien!

dbj1000

Ignore Octang. He plays at being deranged, and only posts in order to bait other users on the site. Apparently he finds himself wildly amusing. He's also a Brit, and possibly even a Liberal (gasp!).

Bob

Houstons a shithole...but anyway, location, depends where you can find a job, and then what kind of lifestyle your after.

Your IT/finance and sales could do well in Waltham/Boston area, but if you hate the cold and endless snow and winter, it won't exactly be ideal and all that.

TruBrit

Tracym

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I absolutely loathed Houston when I visited. I wouldn't prefer to move to a third-world country instead of Houston - but I had to think about the choice.

Apologies to those who like it, obviously a lot do as the city isn't empty

TruBrit

no need to apologize to me tracy, we're only here to collect the pay check.....home is a long way from here thank goodness

rincewind

Any reason why you haven't mentioned Dallas?

Manc

we certainly don't

an 8 million majority is quite enough.