Thinking Of Moving! (Manchester, Washington: real estate, low crime, job market)

[FuzzyFoxx]

I'm thinking of moving to the USA and someone i was talking to said new hampshire was a nice place to go as there is not alot of crime there etc.
I know there is crime everywhere, but i don't want to be around gangs.
I live in the UK at the moment, but i want to get away from here coz i don't like it and i just want a new start.
I get told from my mom its not a good idea to move aboard as you need alot of money or you need to run your own business.
I would be greatful if you could give me infomation about the place and what it is like to live there.
Also cost of things, crime rates, jobs and best places to live there.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to your reply.

[motoracer51]

Originally Posted by FuzzyFoxx

I'm thinking of moving to the USA and someone i was talking to said new hampshire was a nice place to go as there is not alot of crime there etc.
I know there is crime everywhere, but i don't want to be around gangs.
I live in the UK at the moment, but i want to get away from here coz i don't like it and i just want a new start.
I get told from my mom its not a good idea to move aboard as you need alot of money or you need to run your own business.
I would be greatful if you could give me infomation about the place and what it is like to live there.
Also cost of things, crime rates, jobs and best places to live there.
Thanks for reading and looking forward to your reply.

Well, I'll comment from a visitors perspective. The wife and I have been looking into moving to NH from Colorado, and we're originally from NY, also spending some time in Florida.

Crime - I wouldn't even sweat it. NH is one of the safest states in the union. The city of Manchester, the largest somewhat metro area in the state, has the most crime; but it's all relative. Manchester is safer than probably 95% of other cities the same size or larger.

Your mum might be right in having some dough saved before you come. Do you have anything saved? It's not impossible to make a go of it with no savings, but it sure would be easier. What do you do for work?

Employment or entrepreneurship either can be successful or failure in NH. It's more up to you than anything else. The economy is holding it's own up there, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Well, tell us what else you are looking for in a place?

You won't get socialized health care here (hopefully never), and you'll be able to exercise other god given rights that you don't enjoy there in the UK.

[jja100]

Your mom is right except when you are referring to the US. For instance... if you were moving from England to France or Italy I would say don't move and that your mom is correct. But in the case of the US she is not. You don't need to learn another language for one thing and the second thing is that being the capitalist country that we are it is very easy to find a job or open a business if you have a skill. Although the socialist uprising in our country has diminished the job market and illegal immigration from Mexico is not helping. We have been experiencing a weak dollar, lost jobs, and industries leaving the US since we have the highest corporate tax rate. But it is still better than any other country to make money if that is what you are after. If you are not looking to make money than the US as a country is not going to be a good choice.

My father is a living example... except he had it tougher than you immigrating from Italy without knowing English and only having $20 in his pocket. In short he came when he was about 22 years old and became a self made millionaire by the time he was 55. But you have to be willing to work hard and open your own business and save and invest. America is the one country where anything is possible. In all honesty I would suggest New York, Massachusetts, California, Seattle Washington if you want jobs and to make the real cash. But if you are coming from England with money, now is the time with the pound being nearly 2:1 against the dollar, Real estate would be cheap as hell for you and NH would be a great state if you already have the cash. I am not to familiar with the NH job market since I am a CA resident but originally from Connecticut and New York so someone that is a resident can chime in on that info I wish you the best of luck!!

[motoracer51]

Originally Posted by jja100

Your mom is right except when you are referring to the US. For instance... if you were moving from England to France or Italy I would say don't move and that your mom is correct. But in the case of the US she is not. You don't need to learn another language for one thing and the second thing is that being the capitalist country that we are it is very easy to find a job or open a business if you have a skill. Although the socialist uprising in our country has diminished the job market and illegal immigration from Mexico is not helping. We have been experiencing a weak dollar, lost jobs, and industries leaving the US since we have the highest corporate tax rate. But it is still better than any other country to make money if that is what you are after. If you are not looking to make money than the US as a country is not going to be a good choice.

My father is a living example... except he had it tougher than you immigrating from Italy without knowing English and only having $20 in his pocket. In short he came when he was about 22 years old and became a self made millionaire by the time he was 55. But you have to be willing to work hard and open your own business and save and invest. America is the one country where anything is possible. In all honesty I would suggest New York, Massachusetts, California, Seattle Washington if you want jobs and to make the real cash. But if you are coming from England with money, now is the time with the pound being nearly 2:1 against the dollar, Real estate would be cheap as hell for you and NH would be a great state if you already have the cash. I am not to familiar with the NH job market since I am a CA resident but originally from Connecticut and New York so someone that is a resident can chime in on that info I wish you the best of luck!!

I agree with you on pretty much everything except the value of the pound.

The pound has lost 11%+ in just the last month or so. The dollar is gaining on the Euro as well, so the sky isn't falling just yet. Well, maybe it is in the UK.

[dsmith77]

I wouldn't really worry about the crime. there are many palce in the states that have very low crime rate. If i were you just look around alot and take a trip or two to make sure you end up in a area you want to be in. I might be moving to NH or PENN and right now NH is weighing in the best. For the money thing always moving to another country is going to cost you. good luck and any question you have these people will be the best help.

[NH2008]

NH is wonderful but don't you want to visit before you actually move? Even as small a state as New Hampshire is, there are lots of different areas with different characteristics - from rural outposts in the woods to small towns to bustling seaside tourist hotspots and even a few cities. You certainly don't need to own your own business to live here, but you DO need a green card to work legally if you're not a US citizen. Have you looked into getting one? Re cost of living, New Hampshire is much cheaper than living in a big city in the northeast, but it's much more expensive than, say, a rural area in the midwest which would also have low crime. The US is huge, you have many choices if you're considering moving here. New Hampshire is a great one!

[jja100]

The thing about the US is that every state is like its own country. Federal law doesn't have as much impact on our day to day lives as state/municipality legislature so be sure to really focus in on the state you want to move to. A good start would be to choose a state on the East Coast and work your way west as you become more established. I think that is the smart move since you can always go back to England quite easily if things don't work out since the East Coast is not too far away.

[FuzzyFoxx]

I was picking new hampshire coz its looks such a nice place to go to and i think it would suit me, but i could be wrong.
The crime is a big factor for me and new hampshire don't seem to have much unlike other states?
I will be looking at the place hopefully sometime this year, but what are the best places in new hampshire to live?
I have looked into getting a green card, but everytime i try and apply for one it says the UK is not eligible?
Thanks for the replys so far i'm greatful.

[WannaComeHome]

Definitely look into the immigration procedures. I don't know whether/why UK would not be eligible for green cards (unless it's not needed?) unless it's more a case of we get so many refugees from 3rd world countries that they figure UK doesn't "need" to come here? dunno. But I do know that the application process is very expensive, some of the various filing fees are about $1000. So in that respect, you do want to have money saved for when you can't get a job without the proper papers but it costs to get them.

In general, we don't necessarily have as many social programs as UK - certainly NH as a state doesn't. Your health care will not be free, but then we don't tax you as heavily as UK - so there are some trade-offs.

NH is very lovely, has very low crime.. it is colder than UK (well, maybe not Scotland). Definitely try to arrange some vacation time. I believe we have a couple folks on the forum from UK, they may be of more help.

[NH2008]

Citizens of the UK are not eligible for the green card lottery, which is for immigrants from countries with low immigration to the US, but you will certainly need some kind of visa to work here (legally). Here is the link to the bureau:

Permanent Resident (Green Card)

My friends who are waiting for green cards have been waiting a while, so if you're serious about moving you might want to get started asap. But it's even worse immigrating to the UK - my dh was considering moving to London for a job at one point and when I looked into getting a visa to work, I was told there was no way it was going to happen.