HD is pretty much offered everywhere, but costs etc...broadband, some areas have superb service, a lot of areas have mediocre service and some areas are just plain crap and DSL is considered broadband.

New Comcast customer etc can expect to pay around $100 a month for phone, cable TV and basic internet, and then add on the extras for decent speeds and additional channels, all adds up.

Best thing to do, stick in the zip code into Comcast, Fios, Direct TV etc and see if they service the area and what they offer.

As for utilities, find random houses in the neighbourhoods you're interested in and call local utility company and ask for the previous 12 month high/low and average cost and you'll get a general idea of what people are paying...won't be cheap though and there won't be much in the way of options.

Banking, it really is quaint and like walking into a previous century or two.

I don't pay any banking fees with Citibank. My direct deposit from work is the reason and no fees for checking account, two private savings accounts and 4 savings accounts for the grandkids.

Have Verizon FIOS package for $125 a month and that includes land phone, high speed internet and HD TV with all the premium channels.

And yes, Airways, HD TV and 3D TV is readily available and just about the only types of sets sold in the US. Also available is blueray DVD players.

I hate regular TV shows and never watch anything on the normal channels other than the occasional Law & Order SUV or Criminal Intent. Primarily I watch HBO, Showtime and Starz. I'm hooked on Showtime's "The Big C" and "Nurse Jackie".

I've found the US to be a bit behind when it comes to consumer technology. I remember being amazed to find there were no digital mobile cell networks in Chicago back in 2001. They were all analog. I still miss my red button on the goggly box too.As for Internet speeds, the local cable company has a 60Mbps service for $90 a month. The only problem is it has a 150Gb monthly limit. You could blow through the lot in 43 minutes. Then it's $1.50 per 1Gb over.

Thanks for the laugh dude, keep 'em coming

Go on then explain please!! If they are a bad choice then I could do with knowing now. My other option is Citibank as I still have an account with them that I have had for years.

See post #14

I am not going to compare. However, one thing to remember is that the United States is quite large. Also, unlike the UK, many public functions are not centralized.

This is particularly true when it comes to electrical power -- for example, I get my water and power from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. One half mile away is the City of Glendale and they have their own agency. It you do not live in a city with its own power, in Southern California, it is provided by the private Southern California Edison. Of course, the grid is interconnected for the sale of power [witness the former Enron Corporation]. My point is that rates can vary a lot -- and sometimes, by zip code.

On telephone, internet, etc etc -- it depends. In urban areas you have your choice -- are the phone lines been upgraded to fiberoptics? Is cable available? Personally, my "high speed" is via DSL which is considered "slow" these days. However, my home wireless network is slower yet. But it meets our modest needs. And prices vary a lot. Rete lives in New York City and what she described is pretty much available here.

On over the air TV -- it has actually gotten better as of late -- analog transmissions ceased in the middle of 2009. With pure digital signals, there are many more stations available. Also, the on/off nature of digital broadcasting means that many people are getting not only more, but better signals -- and they are dropping their cable subscriptions.

On cable stuff, I know that Time Warner cable in LA has "Top Gear" but you pay a premium to get British TV. The US version of Top Gear on the History Channel sucks [BTW, the History Channel now sucks].

What you might want to do is figure out where you will be living and then plug in the ZIP Code.

I have a good idea of the zip code. What do I plug it into?

We have upto 8mb broadband at the moment which delivers around 4mb most of the time and as little as 1.5mb in the evenings. I dont do much in the way of downloading, just lots of email and surfing as a rule and watching my Slingbox.

There is little that I watch of British TV, as I mentioned before I tend to live on a diet of US TV shows. HBO stuff we get a lot of over here. I don't like the depressing drivel like Eastenders and Emmerdale nor do I like football!! Weird I know!

I am movie mad, as an example I have nearly a thousand DVD's which are an even split between Region1 and 2 so will be bringing a multi region player with me!

Or you could buy one from Wal-Mart for 30 bucks.

Little point when I have multi region, multi voltage units falling out of my ears. They are also very high end units rather than an Asda (wallmart) special.......

As long as they are multi-output you should be fine then. Not all multiregion players from the UK will output an NTSC signal, not all from the US will output a PAL signal. Also keep in mind that SCART doesn't exist in the US so if you use that then you will have to use a different connection.

Thanks for that. Don't worry I have no issues about getting stuff working. PAL, NTSC and SCART went out the window donkeys years ago. Everything is HDMI these days and format independent. An HDMI TV in the US uses exactly the same format as an HDMI TV in the UK. Thats why I am able to watch all my US Region 1 DVDs without problem.

Fair enough, I didn't know if they were older DVD players without HDMI.

It has taken a very long time for all the different standards in the world to converge. We are now almost there. Everything these days is made multi voltage and HD compliant so you can finally have portability of devices. Which does make sense as they are all made in the same factory in the far east generally!

I still have a few older things tha are HD but not multi voltage and parting with them will be a bit sorrowful!

That will be the first thing you learn about electronics in the US. For the most part they are made for the US market, won't work anywhere else and 99% of people don't care.