New life-new beginning (Colorado Springs, Limon: for sale, apartments, rent)

[Plamen]

Hello dear friends,
we are moving to Colorado Springs from abroad.We are from Bulgaria.We won a green card,wich gives us the possibility to move as a legal immigrants.Our status will be US permanent residents.We decided to do this big step in our life,because of our child.We believe he will have a better future in a country like America.Why Co Springs,because we have 3 friends there and it's awlays better to know somebody when you move to a new place.For sure we will take advices from them but I will appreciate any other opinion too.
Here comes the question,how difficult is to find a job,when you are new at all and you don't have work history with american employers..It's very important for me because as a men I have to take care of my family and pay the bills.I know it will be very difficult in the begining but I am sure there is a way.
I have some experience in the hotel industry,six years ago I've been working for Royal Caribbean cruise line,and after that I became a police officer here in my home country.I speak and write good in English.
So do you think I can try in the hotel or security industry or I have to look for any job.I wiil be very thankful if you give me some advices where and how to look for a job.Any information from you will be a big help for me.Thank you in advance and will be my honour to be your fellow-citizen.

[Matt314159]

I suspect that you will do just fine, because of your past work experience (I don't think it matters much if that experience was in another country). One good place to look for a job is craigslist: colorado springs classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events . Good luck!

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Plamen

Hello dear friends,
we are moving to Colorado Springs from abroad.We are from Bulgaria.We won a green card,wich gives us the possibility to move as a legal immigrants.Our status will be US permanent residents.We decided to do this big step in our life,because of our child.We believe he will have a better future in a country like America.Why Co Springs,because we have 3 friends there and it's awlays better to know somebody when you move to a new place.For sure we will take advices from them but I will appreciate any other opinion too.
Here comes the question,how difficult is to find a job,when you are new at all and you don't have work history with american employers..It's very important for me because as a men I have to take care of my family and pay the bills.I know it will be very difficult in the begining but I am sure there is a way.
I have some experience in the hotel industry,six years ago I've been working for Royal Caribbean cruise line,and after that I became a police officer here in my home country.I speak and write good in English.
So do you think I can try in the hotel or security industry or I have to look for any job.I wiil be very thankful if you give me some advices where and how to look for a job.Any information from you will be a big help for me.Thank you in advance and will be my honour to be your fellow-citizen.

You might want to check out opportunities in Corrections (prison guard in plain English). Your experience in Police work would give you an advantage over many other applicants. Corrections work pays fairly decent wages and usually has great benefits. There is a Prison at Limon. It would be too far to commute from CO Springs daily but still close enough to visit your friends in the COS area.

There are several prisons scattered all over Colorado and there may be some closer to COS than Limon. The turnover rate in Corrections is fairly high because it is a high stress job and not many people have the skill sets to handle the job. It would get you working fairly quickly and give you the chance to accumulate enough capital to do other things in the future.

Welcome to the USA,
GL2

[Carrera32]

Plamen - Not sure what the citizenship requirements are for the Colorado state prisons, but for Federal corrections and most other jobs in the Federal government, you'll need to be a citizen. Security work in private industry would be a good alternative. If you want to become a police officer in Colorado Springs, i believe your permanent residence status is sufficient to be considered. Your experience with the cruise lines should get you consideration for similar positions at the higher end hotels here, such as the Antlers Hilton or Broadmoor. There's also a new high end boutique hotel downtown on the corner of Pikes Peak and Nevada in one of our historic buildings that's being opened in a few months (hopefully) that you should consider. I'm sure they'll be hiring soon and will want experienced folks.

Good luck to you and welcome to the U.S. and to Colorado Springs.

[Plamen]

Thank you guys for the info.I think you are right Carrera,for correction officer you need to be a US citizen,wich I can become after I live 5 years in the country.For police officer I have checked the CSPD web site and it's written-US citizen,Permanent resident alien-this is my status.It means I can apply.And if they take notice of my 6 years police experience it could work.I'll check the hotels as well,thank you.And thank you for your welcome guys and for your time.

[lurtsman]

Welcome to the country. I wish we could had a more efficient system in place for bringing in responsible people like you who want to make this their home. I think you've picked a great city to move into. Have you figured out what to do for housing?

I saw nothing about the age of your child. CoS has some great public schools though. I don't know the first thing about the culture you are coming from, but you may find it much easier financially when your child is in school if you both work. It's possible to get by on one income, however it is much more difficult.

If you haven't found a place to live yet, you may want to do a very careful search. The ideal situation may be living with a friend while you learn the city. In my personal experience, I've seen people who are new to the area rent in places that aren't really safe because they were not aware of the danger signs--which can change from one culture to another. If you are thinking of renting an apartment, you may find it useful to check on here and get feedback from people who have been around there and may know if the company is honest.

Welcome aboard! When you apply to the hotels make sure to mention that you are bilingual. (I'm assuming here, you speak English astoundingly well for a second language, but I didn't think it was the primary language in Bulgaria.

[Plamen]

Thank you lurtsman,when we arrive we are going to live with one of our friends for a while,because on his address we'll receive our citizen cards and CCN.Normaly it takes 2 to 3 weeks after arrival.As far as I know without CCN you can't rent apartment and start work.So we have to wait for them to arrive.During this time I can look for a job.After that we will rent an apartmen.
My son is 9 yers old.So my wife will take care of him.She can't work in the beginning,because she needs to improve her English first.She has basic knowledge.Maybe she can do some part time job while he is at school.
The zip code of my friend is 80904 wich I think is a good area.Thank you for your info.

[dijidog]

I am moving to colorado also

[didi768]

I'm "trying" to move there lol.

[lurtsman]

Plamen. I'm not sure what work your wife would be willing to endure, but often times there are jobs (like house keeping at a hotel) which do not require excellent command of English. It clearly would help if she develops it.

Unfortunately most of those jobs will have very low pay. I'm glad you have a place arranged to stay. It sounds like you will be well prepared, though the transition is always difficult even from one state to another. I can't imagine the transition from another country.