Possible move from Europe to Seattle

[eugene_b]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Thank you for your thoughtful response, Eugene. (Is it Yevgenii?) If you're in the tech sector, then this makes perfect sense. But there are still people who want to come to the US, just for some vague reason like--"because it's the US". That's not a good reason. I'm sure you understand what I mean. But you're right, in that times have changed, and there are more and more people coming to the US for the job opportunities in tech.

Hi Ruth,

Good catch, it is in fact Yevgenii in one of my native languages! And it is Yevhen in my other native language. And yeah, I absolutely agree with you - coming to the US just because you win the lottery and because you heard that coming to the US is the thing to do is not necessarily a good idea and I have seen plenty of cases when this worked out very poorly. Essentially you need to sit down and answer honestly why you are doing this. Anything is good, really, from serious things like "I want my kids to grow up with better opportunities" to silly things like "I've watched a lot of movies, etc and it's my dream to live in NYC" (I've actually encountered a case like this). But there has to be a strong good reason and motivation. Otherwise it's kind of like moving to Seattle only because you've heard from people around you that it's a cool thing to do, only to discover that it's expensive, has little sunshine, etc. and then be super sour about the outcome.

[grega94]

Compared to Europe Seattle is actually pretty sunny. For instance Paris gets 1,661.6 hours of sunshine per year, Milan gets 1,915.1 hours of sunshine per year, and Seattle gets 2,169.7 hours of sunshine per year.

[IwinGC]

Hi All,
Thanks you all for helpfully informations and advice's.
But at the moment maybe is better for us to search for some more accessible place in terms of COL, and latter on to come back.

All the best to all of you !!!!

[umropantelija]

Having lived different places here are some things I keep mental tally on.

The good:

• - Pay is incredible here compared to Europe. For example my wife and I earn here without 4 year degrees above average for Germany's bachelor degree average. This is each, not combined. My sister has a degree in chemistry but works a job in different field because it pays better.
• - Americans in general are incredibly non-judgemental and accepting of legal immigrants. They will bend themselves backwards to help you succeed.
• - Air is clean here because we are on the edge of the biggest body of water.
• - Cars, registration, driver licensing and insurance are cheap so you can be mobile pretty easy if you want to travel and see the continent.
• - There is a lot of wealth here which makes many things possible. Like business ideas or big projects.

The bad:

• - US health insurance/health care is nothing short of a scam. And everyone participates willingly. Most Europeans never get accustomed to this.
• - People here are allowed to talk trash to you in public and you can't hit them. Drugged out or mentally ill often get into your face on the bus or in the park, on the street, screaming insults and you just have to learn to ignore them. Can't touch them.
• - Americans on average are extremely uneducated. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. But schools in general are bellow any European educational standard. Each school has a different standard depending on the funding. Americans use school systems to indoctrinate kids sadly.
• - There are many guns in circulation here which again can be a good or a bad thing.
• - We do not walk the streets during nights like people in Europe do. Not a safe thing to do here.

If it were me I'd go where the schools are good for the kids.

[eugene_b]

@IwinGC I'd recommend not to discard Seattle or any other place based on COL but rather start from jobs. One of the big reasons Seattle is an attractive place is its tech scene (probably also the reason for its relatively high COL). Just apply for jobs everywhere: Seattle, NYC, Bay Area, etc and see what happens. For all you know, you might score a job at a big tech company and then you will have a better budget.

[IwinGC]

Originally Posted by eugene_b

@IwinGC I'd recommend not to discard Seattle or any other place based on COL but rather start from jobs. One of the big reasons Seattle is an attractive place is its tech scene (probably also the reason for its relatively high COL). Just apply for jobs everywhere: Seattle, NYC, Bay Area, etc and see what happens. For all you know, you might score a job at a big tech company and then you will have a better budget.

Hi Eugene,
I agree, this is one of my ideas when I come i will start applying for jobs unrelated to the current place of residence. But I think it's harder when you're in Europe you're looking for a job in the USA. Maybe i start dropping CV's tree to four weeks before i come too state...We will see...

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by umropantelija

Having lived different places here are some things I keep mental tally on.

The good:

• - Pay is incredible here compared to Europe. For example my wife and I earn here without 4 year degrees above average for Germany's bachelor degree average. This is each, not combined. My sister has a degree in chemistry but works a job in different field because it pays better.
• - Americans in general are incredibly non-judgemental and accepting of legal immigrants. They will bend themselves backwards to help you succeed.
• - Air is clean here because we are on the edge of the biggest body of water.
• - Cars, registration, driver licensing and insurance are cheap so you can be mobile pretty easy if you want to travel and see the continent.
• - There is a lot of wealth here which makes many things possible. Like business ideas or big projects.

The bad:

• - US health insurance/health care is nothing short of a scam. And everyone participates willingly. Most Europeans never get accustomed to this.
• - People here are allowed to talk trash to you in public and you can't hit them. Drugged out or mentally ill often get into your face on the bus or in the park, on the street, screaming insults and you just have to learn to ignore them. Can't touch them.
• - Americans on average are extremely uneducated. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. But schools in general are bellow any European educational standard. Each school has a different standard depending on the funding. Americans use school systems to indoctrinate kids sadly.
• - There are many guns in circulation here which again can be a good or a bad thing.
• - We do not walk the streets during nights like people in Europe do. Not a safe thing to do here.
  

If it were me I'd go where the schools are good for the kids.

The bolded depends on the neighborhood, if you're talking about Seattle. Many neighborhoods are perfectly safe for walking at night.

[grega94]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The bolded depends on the neighborhood, if you're talking about Seattle. Many neighborhoods are perfectly safe for walking at night.

I've walked and took public transit in the middle of the night in Federal way and SeaTac (Seattle suburbs with high crime rates) multiple times and never had any serious issues. I mean if I was a girl I probably wouldn't risk it, but as a guy I had no issues except for maybe a few homeless people begging for money.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by grega94

I've walked and took public transit in the middle of the night in Federal way and SeaTac (Seattle suburbs with high crime rates) multiple times and never had any serious issues. I mean if I was a girl I probably wouldn't risk it, but as a guy I had no issues except for maybe a few homeless people begging for money.

I've lived in a couple of neighborhoods in Seattle, where teenagers walk home late at night, after a party, or after visiting each other. In winter, people walk their dogs at "night", which begins after they get home, after 5 p.m., and they encounter no problems. I've never thought twice about taking the bus home at night, and walking from the bus stop, or taking a night-time walk around the neighborhood. And the commercial districts of some neighborhoods are very busy at night, with foot traffic--Capital Hill, especially.

[umropantelija]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

The bolded depends on the neighborhood, if you're talking about Seattle. Many neighborhoods are perfectly safe for walking at night.

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Sure, but large European cities (I am generalizing here) have no select safe or unsafe areas. Someone from there might find that hard to get used to.
Some cities are filled with pedestrians throughout the night, metro works 24hrs a day and entire countries have lesser murder count than just Seattle proper (24 last year?).
Seattle is OK compared to other US cities not so great compared to Europe.

Mercer Global does extensive city surveys on yearly basis: https://www.mercer.com/newsroom/2017...ng-survey.html

Highlights: https://youtu.be/eF-WEcmKqs8