Im gona move to NY (New York, Greenwich: house, buy, living in)

[minan]

[quote=LunaPie;88542]Ok, ok, ok.
I feel compelled to give you some advice, New York style.

Finally. I feel like am I the only New Yorker sitting here going Oh my god, this kid is going to starve, and live on the street a month after he arrives? I think people do not get how difficult this city can be for people who are new and have no support network. It is possible to get in with some religious cult and live with other cult members in a compound somewhere in the Bronx (I know of people who've actually done that).

Seriously, it is not easy for an 18 year old to get work in the city WITHOUT support, without a place to live, without family or friends to support. However, people have done it but I doubt they know what they've bargained for. I am afraid for this guy and he does not seem very street smart. Not a good combo.

[dullnboring]

I certainly don't think it's a wise move to move to New York from another country without a job, without a place to stay, with more or less little money and seemingly not having done much research, but since he seems determined to come here, I'm just trying to give him some advice soften the blow as much as possible for him. If he were asking about coming to the States under the same circumstances, I would strongly advise him against it, but he's not asking, he's telling us that he IS coming and asking for advice.

It can be done. People have done it the past and will continue to do so in the future. People sneak across the border from Mexico with no money, no job, no sense of direction, no contacts (well, some people; I think the majority nowadays though tend to know at least one person somewhere in the US that can help them out for a bit) and manage to scrape by. By "scrape" however, I mean SCRAPE. Barring some incredible good luck, it's going to be very difficult for him here in New York.

I understand the desire to see the world and go someplace on a whim. Hell, I'm practically a gypsy myself. I move somewhat frequently despite at times being in a personal situation where most people would (and did) call me crazy for doing so. When I was 22, fresh out of college, I moved out to Los Angeles with only my car full of crap and $400, knowing no one, with no job lined up and unsure of where I was going to stay. I've done other moves similar to that. Of course, I was also four years older than Chemi, have traveled extensively, have a college degree and most importantly, American citizenship.

Chemi, again, I would strongly encourage you to buy a return ticket to Australia just in case. As I said earlier, oftentimes, one-way flights are more expensive or only a bit cheaper than round-trip airfare so you don't really have much to lose. Cancel your ticket/flight (you'll face a slight fine/penalty most likely but whatever) and buy a round-trip ticket if possible. Make the return ticket for something like three weeks after your arrival date. After this period of time, you should be able to get a good gauge on what the situation will be like for you, job-wise and financially, and whether or not you can survive here. Take everything everyone is saying to heart. If you do come, definitely abide my Minan's checklist of things to do/bring.

You should be scrimping and saving every bit of money you can for this trip. I'm not sure of your departure date, but I know it's soon, but even if you can pick up a second job, or do some odd jobs (mow some lawns, babysit, whatever) during the next few weeks, do it. By your own admission in one of your posts, you're somewhat ignorant of what life in the US is like and I can't help but think that you've been heavily influenced by MTV and the like just by your interest in neighborhoods to live in. As much as it's glamorized, the ghetto is no joke. There's nothing nice about it. This isn't Australia. There are guns and murders and rapes (not that these don't happen in Oz but the violent crime rate here is MUCH higher). It may seem romantic if you're sitting in a nice middle-class boring suburban neighborhood, but living in it is a different story.

I think everyone here is just concerned because of the questions you've asked, it seems clear that you haven't even researched some of the most basic aspects of living in the U.S. and New York is the hardest place for anyone (American or non) to make it.

[Chemi]

dam! haha
some 1 acctually made an account called chemi-isanidiot
well i respect ur point of view, you might think im an idiot, im cool with that.

1. yes i have bought a plane ticket, a return one so i can get back if i find it hard, already checked that.
2. i have got 1800$ now not 700, i made more money and now i have 3 jobs, 2 on weekend and 1 on weekdays.
3. i live with my aunty right now. Both of my parents died of reasons i dont want to share, but lets say it has to do with violence and "revenge". So you cant say Australia is all nice where people give each other hugs all the time.
4. if its really hard, ill be a gypsy myself... im not saying more lol

chemiisanidiot made me feel bad thou , i mean put aside the name but dam!
As i said i already bought a ticket and i should be there by the end of october...
By then i should at least have 4000$ which i belive is enough and if i keep the jobs...

i have a friend who is coming with me yes
and i have an australian passport so dnt worry about that side of the case
i have a friend who is in Corona, Queens, a place full of dominicans and he can help me find a place to live or at least a job, i meet him in real life before (not a net friend) and he is a well known person so he should be a good help.
I have already collected names/adresses of salv army, churches, hostiles, resturants etc...
newyork.craigslist.com is exellent by the way
im taking notes from that site as we speak

i found few jobs in the US army that dont require US citizen, i already E-mailed 2 of them my resume and info. oh and they are looking for arabic speaking/writing people...jackpot!

[dullnboring]

Chemi, it sounds like you've got a better plan than you let on earlier. I'm glad to hear that you'll have more money and will have a contact here in New York and that you already have been researching jobs and have some possible leads. See, I figured there had to be some way where you could use your Arabic knowledge to help find employment in this country since there is such a need for it in the federal/defense sector. Just be careful with working for/with the military given the current situation. You wouldn't want to come to the U.S., find a job, only to be sent to Iraq to help translate or fight or whatever a few months later.

I'm glad to hear you bought a return ticket as well as backup, since I thought I remembered you saying you were only planning on buying a one-way ticket. Corona is a decent area. It's not the ghetto but it's not the greatest area either but all things considered, isn't too bad of a place to get started.

I think that it's still going to be incredibly difficult for you, but you're approaching things in the right way and making a lot of steps to place yourself in a better situation when you land in New York. I don't think you're dumb or crazy or anything. I thinks it's brave (although some of that "bravery" might be a bit of naivete) that you're willing to make such a drastic change in your life, and as a gypsy myself, I can understand the want and need for such a change, even as everyone else tells you that you're crazy.

[minan]

[quote=Chemi;89308]dam! haha
some 1 acctually made an account called chemi-isanidiot
well i respect ur point of view, you might think im an idiot, im cool with that.

Hey, sounds like your plans have drastically improved! From the beginning of the thread your plans really sounded terrible, quite frankly, but now you've gotten together and that's great. It will still be hard, even with $4000 USD (which is, IMO, the minimum amount you should bring consider rents are so high in NYC) but I believe you now have more than a fool's chance of making it. I'm so glad that you took the advice here and wish you the best. You MUST keep up here and tell us how it goes!!

BTW I very much agree with dnb's warning about the US army job. Be very skeptical about these jobs because in the current political situation you could easily be handing your life over for a comparably lousy salary - you must think about what your life is worth. You should be wary if an organization are willing to take just about Anybody... You might consider trying to work as a page or even a translator at the U.N. - or even better, related non-profit organizations. It's a stretch considering the competition (pages are usually college students, and the rest are college grads with advanced degrees), and you'll definitely need papers and connections - but that's another place where you don't need to have American citizenship to work there. Dare to dream (with a good plan, of course).

[Chemi]

yeah i thought about Iraq today while i was working, i dont want to go there really...
i am not accepting any job until they assure me 100% no Iraq is going to be involved, or ill just run away...
i was talking to the girl i bought the ticket from and she told me that return would be cheaper so yeah i got a return ticket

good to see im getting some positive responses :P

[TITERE4JESUS]

Waz Up Dude.....i Wish I Could Go On Such An Adventure Like You Are About To Go On...do It....while You're Young And You Can.....plenty Of Jobs Especially If You Have A Cool Australian Accent Or Any Other Accent For That Matter.....go For It.....you're Not Married...you Don't Have Kids....go For It....even If In The Long Run It Doesn't Work Out...so What...when You're Young You Can Just Try Something Else...do It!!!! You Will Love It...the Good And Any Bad That May Come Of It...take A Chance...while You Can.....no Fear.....don't Listen To These Other Negative People...they Probably Wish They Had The Cojones To Do What You're About To Do...but They Can't....they're Stuck In Their Dull Boring Lives....so Sad.....go For It Dude....THE DOMINICANS, THE PUERTO RICANS, THE COLOMBIANS, THE MEXICANS, THE IRISH, THE ITALIANS , THE ARABS, THE AMERICAN INDIANS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS,KOREANS,RUSSIANS, JEWS, BRAZILIANS, GAYS, STRAIGHT, LESBIANS, CHRISTIANS,BUDDHISTS, HINDUS, MUSLIMS ,GERMANS ,FRENCH, POLISH, JAPANESE, ALBANIANS,BRITISH, PHILIPINOS, CHINESE, AFRICANS, AND AUSTRALIANS ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU, AND EVERYBODY ELSE I FORGOT..... YOU'RE NOT ALONE DUDE....YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN....UNITED WE STAND .....DIVIDED WE FALL....

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by TITERE4JESUS

Waz Up Dude.....i Wish I Could Go On Such An Adventure Like You Are About To Go On...do It....while You're Young And You Can.....plenty Of Jobs Especially If You Have A Cool Australian Accent Or Any Other Accent For That Matter.....go For It.....you're Not Married...you Don't Have Kids....go For It....even If In The Long Run It Doesn't Work Out...so What...when You're Young You Can Just Try Something Else...do It!!!! You Will Love It...the Good And Any Bad That May Come Of It...take A Chance...while You Can.....no Fear.....don't Listen To These Other Negative People...they Probably Wish They Had The Cojones To Do What You're About To Do...but They Can't....they're Stuck In Their Dull Boring Lives....so Sad.....go For It Dude....THE DOMINICANS, THE PUERTO RICANS, THE COLOMBIANS, THE MEXICANS, THE IRISH, THE ITALIANS , THE ARABS, THE AMERICAN INDIANS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS,KOREANS,RUSSIANS, JEWS, BRAZILIANS, GAYS, STRAIGHT, LESBIANS, CHRISTIANS,BUDDHISTS, HINDUS, MUSLIMS ,GERMANS ,FRENCH, POLISH, JAPANESE, ALBANIANS,BRITISH, PHILIPINOS, CHINESE, AFRICANS, AND AUSTRALIANS ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU, AND EVERYBODY ELSE I FORGOT..... YOU'RE NOT ALONE DUDE....YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN....UNITED WE STAND .....DIVIDED WE FALL....

I see what you're saying and agree in some respects. As I've said before, I'm somewhat a gypsy, moving around frequently. I live my life somewhat selfishly because I can as I have few obligations. I'm not married, have no kids, don't own a house or have a girlfriend or a pet and I'm no longer in school. I'm young and this time period is one of the few in my life I feel I'll have to live completely selfishly, to be able to move with next to no notice to another city, to travel the world and the rest of the U.S. I feel like it's a trial and error period, in terms of cities, jobs, dating, etc. Some of my friends around my age in particular question what I'm doing and think it's irresponsible. Interestingly enough, it's generally older people, parents in their 40s and 50s who support this way of living and openly envious, telling me "I wish I'd have taken advantage of the freedom I had when I was younger" as they now are in some respects, trapped, by kids, spouses, jobs, and bills. I'm not saying that these people are necessarily unhappy, just that many of them tend to have regrets, which I'm consciously trying to the best of my ability to avoid.

With that said, I don't know anyone on this forum, but I dont think people are necessarily envious of Chemi. I'm sure some are and would love to be on such an adventure themselves. More than that though, people's more critical and cautious posts have been to give him a realistic idea of what he's in for since he was admittedly, if you read his first posts, ignorant of life in America. It would be irresponsible and do him a disservice simply for everyone to say "Cool! I wish I could go! You're gonna have a blast!" It's better for him to be prepared so that he CAN enjoy his new adventure rather than being completely overwhelmed.

[a1m1700]

Originally Posted by Chemi

Any 1 has a site or can tell me a full report about Brooklyn/Queens/The Bronx or Harlem?

Any 1 who lives there please choose the best area from the above and give me info about it (by best I mean cheapest, safest etc...)

I need to find info about how hard is it to find a job
How hard is it to find an apartment/ a studio?
How expensive apartments/studios are
What other expenses i have to pay monthly e.g. what bills I have to pay

I’m 18 and currently living in Australia so i am kind of ignorant about the US
Can any 1 provide me with info?


Thanks alot!

18 and ignorant about the US and you are headed to NY? Not a good combination. How about you try a starter city first, kind of like getting your feet wet and getting a feel for America. Maybe try Phoenix or something and then work your way up and over whatever

[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by Chemi

Any 1 has a site or can tell me a full report about Brooklyn/Queens/The Bronx or Harlem?

Any 1 who lives there please choose the best area from the above and give me info about it (by best I mean cheapest, safest etc...)

I need to find info about how hard is it to find a job
How hard is it to find an apartment/ a studio?
How expensive apartments/studios are
What other expenses i have to pay monthly e.g. what bills I have to pay

I’m 18 and currently living in Australia so i am kind of ignorant about the US
Can any 1 provide me with info?


Thanks alot!

1. Do not move into the Bronx. You are too far from anything. You have mostly terrible neighborhoods. Then a few neighborhoods that are decent but boring for an 18 year old (Aldo far from Manhattan).

2. Do not move into Harlem. You are 18, just a kid. You won't have much in common with grandmothers on social security, drunk and drug addicted 30 year olds, and teen mothers on section 8. The youth in Harlem are VERY unfriendly. Especially towards those not from similar communities (Trust me you stand out). The neighborhoods are not friendly, poor, run down and are not even that cheap anymore.

Best place for you is a yuppified section of Brooklyn. Manhattan is probably out of your price range.