Hotscot

What does the company do if it's not a secret?

lhpxzcnus

That's true. As long as you work hard and smart, you will be fine with salary. It's very competitive job market in bay area.

Els87

Bit of an update on this one, the offer is as expected and has a decent Health plan, small relocation package and trips back home (2 a year). Thankfully I get 1 months paid accommodation too.

I am heading out there next month for a few days with my partner to suss out locations (we will be going to the registry office by the way!) this will also enable her to stay and earn a decent wage with me.

Onwards and upwards, I expect the visa process to begin in the next couple of weeks. Back to location then....office in Bay Area 1 day a week, project office in Menlo Park 4 days a week but that could change so I am swaying more towards staying nearer Bay Area and taking the hit on rent. What is the traffic like around 6am?

Thanks for the advice so far.

Pulaski

Google is your friend, or to me more precise, Google Maps is. ….. If you choose a route you can select the time and day of the week and it will give you a time estimate for the journey.

FWIW, and not in CA, I find that journey times per Google Maps are pretty accurate. If I get lucky with lights I can beat the time by as much as 3 minutes on a short, say 15 minute journey, but only on a good day, and on longer journeys where traffic and lights average out more, I am lucky to beat Google's predicted time by more than about two minutes per hour.

Els87

That is fantastic, I didn't know you could adjust the time of day. It appears leaving around 6am makes a huge difference. Looking like a folding bike on the train is a good option!

civilservant

In the US or the UK? Be aware in the UK you are required to give several (I think 7) weeks notice of your intent to marry. Not so in the US.

Nutmegger

FIFY!

JerseyRoyal

Steerpike

A couple of times you've referred to an 'office in Bay Area' and an 'office in Menlo Park'. Menlo Park is a city within the Bay Area so what does the reference to "Bay Area" mean, in your context?

From Wikipedia ..."San Francisco Bay Area (popularly referred to as the Bay Area) is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun Bay
estuaries in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. Although the exact boundaries of the region vary depending on the source, the Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Governments to include the nine counties that border the aforementioned estuaries: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, and San Francisco. "

Els87

kevntrace

This discussion brings back memories of when I made the jump back in 1994. Joined a small consulting "body shop" on an H1B. Had never visited SF or California, had no idea of the cost, climate, start-up culture, none of it. Had no relocation package. Had no paid visits back to the UK. Company paid for flight out (as mandated by H1B) and one week of accommodation, and that was it.

I came out with the mindset I would try it out for 3 years, and then head back to Blighty. After I completed my first year, my employer offered to start the green card application process, and I turned it down.

Good luck with the process and have fun!

Steerpike

I came in 1983 as a bright-eyed 25 year old, with only a few years of (very dull!) experience in the UK. I got the flight paid for, but no shipping, no relocation, no return flights, nothing! OK, I got 1 or 2 weeks of hotel and I THINK I got a week or two of car rental. I remember frantically looking for a car and an apartment in that first week! I found a 'roommate' situation within a few days in SF, and bought a used car (Honda Accord) from a classified ad in the paper (!) for about 3 grand.

But then, we 'ad it tough. Try to tell the young people of today that and they won't believe ya ...

TexanScot

Hah.

When I moved out to Texas a couple years back it wasn't much different - two weeks hotel and car hire, plus a cash bung for "expenses". No assistance in finding an apartment, wrapping up UK affairs etc etc.

It's amazing how far 10k doesn't actually go once you get here!

sherbert

Moved here 5 years ago: flight paid for and that was that. Nothing else. No assistance from OH's employer whatsoever. No shipping, initial accommodation, flights home. It was a very stressful and expensive few months. I think there's a massive misconception among many on here that everyone (who is not marrying a USC) comes over on fat Expat packages and needs $$$$ to survive. Initially we lived in SoCal on one salary of a paltry 60K and things were really not THAT bad (we did have a substantial amount of disposal income/savings that helped with rental/deposits/furniture/cars etc). Also, I really, really do wish that people who have never lived in a place that is under discussion would not throw their 'beliefs' about said location into the mix. If you went to LA 25 years ago once on holiday, you are really not qualified to comment please and thank you. I would never dream of commenting on costs of living/where to live in New York or Texas etc. It just serves to confuse people.

Els87