Hawth0rn

Hello Everyone

Not long now before we go, 5 weeks Im now starting to think about the things we will have to sort out when we get there.

We dont have to sort housing thats done with work, health care covered, one car already bought. Its the little bits that Im not sure of.

Firstly how does the home phone system work, e.g contract, cost etc, we will need broadband as well. Mobiles again contracts, recommendations, we will need two of them but we are not big uses just for easy contact really.

We wont have any credit history but putting down money will not be a problem.

Thanks for your help
Jo

Weeze

Hiya

Mobile phones are unbelievably expensive in the US. You can't get a contract until you have a SSN and then they do a credit check anyhow. I was planning on betting another iPhone when I arrived but it would have been$100/month and that didn't include full data plan. I would recommend a pay as you go. I got one with virgin mobile. I think I am $25/month and that includes all texts, calls and data usage. As it's not on a contract I am not tied in. A lot of the contracts seemed to be 2 years. Cell coverage in the US can be patchy so make sure your network is going to work before you by one! I think virgin uses sprint.
We use AT&T for home phone, tv and Internet and are about $100/month. Setting up services takes a while. We were glad we had a few weeks to get the tv, gas etc sorted before we moved into our house.
Most services want a non-refundable deposit if you have no US credit history. my hubby sweet talked them all to either take no non-refundable or the bare minimum so it's world being nice to them on the phone. I seem to remember they wanted SSN as well.
Good luck and let me know if I can help. I remember all the funny little things, we have only been here a year.

Poppy girl

There are some cell phones companys that do not require a contract I remember you are going to be in Vegas, so it will also depend on what carrier will give you the best coverage not so much the best deal, no point having a cell that keeps dropping calls.

DTV and Dish will allow you to have service with no SSN BUT you will have to physically go into a dealership/franchise and request Satellite, they will charge you and stupidly will run as Weeze said a credit check, again its just part of the course, you will be looking at anything from $100 up-wards to maybe even $500 with no SSN and depending on how many recievers plus a 2 years contract....(I used to be a CA regional manager for DTV )

PS If you call the main 1877 you will get told to bugger off lol..(well words to that affect)

Kar98

We've got $15/month per cellphone here, all texts included, ten cents a minute, from T-Mobile. Bring your unlocked quadband cellphone.

For internet, we're on a $25/month DSL only thing from At&t.

Gingerert

We used to be with Sprint and they were awful! We were locked into a contract for two years, but we were continually going over our monthly minutes so they charged us an arm and a leg. Every other month it seemed like we were paying around $300 for the two phones. Outrageous! Also, the phones we had SUCKED and we were not entitled to upgrades or any other special deals for being customers.

We switched to US Cellular once our contract was up a year ago and we've been so happy with them. We get unlimited incoming calls and 1000 outgoing minutes for $80 for both of us, and texts are dirt cheap. We have yet to go over our minutes because the incoming calls are free, so our bills are predictable and low. They also have excellent coverage round here and where my in-laws live, which was really important to us. We have just reached the point where we can get free upgrades on our phones, so we're looking forward to trying out Blackberries or something. No iPhones, but we have an iPad so we don't really care.

We didn't bother with a home phone because the mobile rates were so cheap when we switched. US Cellular claims to have the happiest customers in the business, and I'm inclined to agree.

cluedweasel

Another vote for virgin Mobile here. I'm on the $25 per month 300 minutes/unlimited texts and data plan. The missus, because she yaks a lot, is on the $40 per month 1200 minute/unlimited plan.
We have a "landline" through Ooma. It's a VOIP service where you pay for the device (around $180) and nothing for domestic calls. Calls to the UK are 1c per minute.

TimNiceBut

Verizon has pretty good coverage in LV, I did get OK coverage with T-Mobile and AT&T. And yes, mobile phones here are painfully expensive.

For the home phone (we're in Northern NV so it might be partially applicable) we pay around $50/month including voice mail and unlimited calls to the US. That's via the cable company, but oddly enough the phone company here charges more or less the same.

For Internet, we didn't have the choice of DSL (living out in the sticks does that) so it's cable again, for a fast connection we're paying around $70/month. Given that I'm an IT guy and might have to work from home during the occasional bad snowstorm, that's not negotiable but painfully expensive nonetheless.

Both work OK when they're working but I had two weeks of frustration earlier last month when I only would have Internet and Phone during the day. Took a lot of complaining until that got fixed so don't expect the high prices to translate into anything like customer service that goes beyond "we'll send the cable guy out tomorrow to check your house wiring again after the last two have already made it clear that the issue isn't with the house wiring anyway". Rant over.

cranston

Another vote for Virgin mobile. No home line - just don't see the need.

For a fast home Internet try Comcast.

Kar98

The only reasons to have a fixed line home phone:

a, an alarm system requires it
b, you live in a disaster prone area and are the worrying kind.

In the latter case, find an old school phone, the kind that gets powered entirely by the phone line, because in any kind of disaster I've been through in the last few years here in the South, mobile phones were the first to go.

/don't have a fixed line
//ready to move further up North

Poppy girl

http://www.cellreception.com/coverag...gas/page1.html


As I said earlier in the thread it depends where you live on what service you can recieve and buy....T.Mobile is impossible to get in certain areas where I just moved too yet great all over Sacramento.

TimNiceBut

You forgot (c), you live in an area with really bad mobile phone reception and you'd like to be able to call 911 if the neighbour's house or the BLM land out back is on fire .

Kar98

*shudders violently*

No no, I wouldn't want to live in such an area in first place
But you're right.

lansbury

No they don't. We don't have a fixed line phone, our alarm works off its own cell. If you are in cell coverage you don't need a fixed line.

TimNiceBut

Oi! I resemble that remark .

With the way some towns and villages are spread out here in this area, that's almost inevitable.

Bob

Depends where you live.

Verizon might be a great provider and offer awesome rates, but no go to you if you can't get reception where you live, such as at our place.

The home phone, cable, internet, you might just not have a choice, there might only be one provider.