No-one can write that fluently and speak little/no English. My Son is a USC, but were we to move back to the UK he would have no relatives here.

Haven't come across many Swiss expat sites, have you? and if so, perhaps you could link to them?

Could be a troll, but the subject is harmless enough and relevant to many, so what's the problem?


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Nick, You're English seems fine to me. Hell, even the Americans aren't that good at it. If it were me, I'd just come right over and give it my best shot. What's to lose? Try to get your qualifications "converted" into US terms, and have an American peruse your CV/resume. Expect to work at MacDonalds while you jobhunt, and to be complemented on your Jamaican accent

I'm dam sure it is a whole lot better than my Swiss or German for that matter!!!!

LOL over the comment re Jamaican accent, probaly will happen.
Suzie

Thanks everyone for the advices.

In one sentence, the big question so far is : which city/region in the US is the appropriate one to start the "new life"

You recommend:

- North Carolina
- Miami (I don`t speak spanish....)
- the east coast in general

do you have some other tips? for me this question is crucial because I have no idea about the structures in America. I mean the prices (living costs), job opportunities and so on.

considering the following 2 scenarios:

A) I move to NY city. After 1-2 weeks it should be possible to be employed by BurgerKing and live in a room that costs about 1000$. Thanks to my savings and my 5$-job I`m able to survive during about 5 monthes.

Now I feel sure enough to send my resume and to face an interview.

B) I move to North Dakota. After 1-2 weeks I work for BurgerKing. The room I live in , costs maybe 500$. But for sure for example I need a car and don`t earn as much I would in NY.
To find a better job in ND is much more difficult then it is in NY, so that I will have to move again what is another $-factor.

So in NY I have much more possibilities to find a job in the bank sector than in ND. Otherwise I can live longer in ND on my savings if I can`t find a job.

mmhhh, not easy to decide.

Why not try to get a job in USA before you move....
The following link has over 2000 bank clerk positions available in USA...

http://www.careerbuilder.com

Much more stable way to move... Could allways fly over for a week for interviews.......

thank you for this link, could be very helpful in the future.....

I have a friend, (married to an american citizen) and he tried to find a job before joining his wife in the US. He told me, that almost no firm answered to his applications, probably because he was too far away ??? he has good qualifications.....

once he was on place, it was much easyer to find a job he told me.

the second problem is that I don`t feel ready for an interview yet concerning an interesting position because of my English, that`s why I thought to spend some time in the US before looking for a job I want to do in long term.

but you are right it`s a much more stable way.

cu, Nick

Ahh, North Dakota. It's like Switzerland without mountains, money or people. It other words, it's cold and there's not much there.

That was rather an example to illustrate the dilemma: start the new life in a more economicly weak region which is cheap in terms of cost livings or move directly to a big expensive city with better job opportunities. ???

I have an other question :

In a book about emmigration to the US I have red that the credit history is very importent.

Is there a way to built up the credit history before moving ? Is it perhaps possible as holder of an american express credit card here in Europe ? maybe the european office could transfer my "european credit history" to the office in the US just before I move ??

So I would have already a CH ..?!?!

Or are there other ways?

does anyone has experience ? that would help the start in the US, I guess.

I was going to suggest San Francisco. Lots of Swiss expats there and here at Tahoe.Swiss and Germans seem to feel VERY at home here and there would be lots of support to help a newcomer to adjust. Strong sense of community. I actually met a Swiss lady in DC last week who lived in SF for 35 years and skied at Tahoe regularly.
She now has an apartment in DC for business reasons but lives mostly in Switzerland. I am invited to visit anytime. WHOHOO!!

Downfall - not the cheapest cost of living but most young single people quickly find someone to share an apartment with and the rates of pay are better than many parts of the US imho.

San Francisco would be a nice place too........since I found this pictures I`m interested in

http://www.foto-julius.at/reise_san_bericht.html


Nick

If I were you, I wouldn't put California as your starting point in the States. Once you've settled in the US and saved some money and got a employment history, you could make CA the second place you live and work.

The cost of living in CA in general would wipe out most of your earnings if you start work as a young grad without any American employment history. e.g. housing, utility bills, gas (petrol), car insurance, food.

thanks Penguin, for your answer.

probably you`r right and California is not very realistic.......rather a dream.

After some lecture I think the good in-between-solution is Chicago. I saw housings for about 600-800$, for example this one:

http://www.apartments.com/search/oas....x=82&cont.y=3

there I don`t need a car what is another argument and Chicago is cheaper than e.g. SF, NY, Boston, ..., and it is still a financial center...

I will concentrate my research on Chicago.....what do you think ?

Till next year I hope to save ~ 10 000$ (depends on the exchange rate) that would allow me to survive min. 5 months without a job.....

In a nutshell, the answer to your question is "no". My British credit history is not recognized in the US nor would any credit lender take it into account. I have just bought a house and my mortgage lender would not look at my British credit report.

If you have an American Express credit card, it might be worth asking them if you could transfer your credit limit to a US based American Express card.

There have been numerous threads on the topics of establishing a credit history and getting credit in the US.

Do you have an American parent? If so, if they have lived in the US and have American issued credit cards, you may wish to ask them if you can become an additional credit card holder (if they will alllow you to do this). By doing so, you'll acquire some of their credit history. However, only do this if the American parent has good credit because you don't want bad credit to go on your credit report.