Moving to the States from Europe (jobs, cheap, expensive, climate)
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First of all, I would like to thank you for your interest in my post and apologise if I may have submitted this inquire onto the wrong sub-forum, there are quite alot of options, so I just went for the one I supossed would make the most sense of what I want to accomplish with my thread.
This may very well be a long and dire thread/post, as I want to make everything clear and not have any major misunderstandings between the parties involved.
Also, I would like to apologise if I misuse some words or my grammar doesn't excactly cut up to the expectations of a native-speaker, Danish is my native language and beside my few years of English education in gradeschool and some dire education at "college", I've self-taught myself. Sometimes, a word pops into my head as I am putting together a sentence and it makes sense to me, even though I can't at that excact moment translate the word used if you asked me to. I am sure it will come clean if you manage to get through my dire contexts of inadequate grammar.
So here we go.
Hello, my name is Thomas, I was born and 'raised' in Denmark, Scandinavia, which is in Europe (Yes, the country that looks like a head with a big nose). Basically, there are several reasons as to why I want such a drastic change in my life, so I will give you some examples, so you're not clueless about my intentions. Denmark is rated to be one of the most valueable countries in the world, when it comes to the rate of how "happy" the population is, we got a great education system, taxes are more or less fair, we got free-healthcare, it's all good. Except that it's all broken at some point or another, you'd have to live in Denmark and get caught in certain situations (non-intentionally, not being your fault) to experience the horror of the danish regime. I'm not trying to pick on Denmark, I'm just trying to explain why it's not the country I would like to live in, why it's not the kind of country I would like to raise a family in.
For example, the mentality of people around here, especially in my family and those I know, is to pay a big deal of money to get an education, compilling you to get a job where you can make more money to pay for your kids' education, so they can make more money etc. It seems abit horrondous to me, that we're turning into this greedy and pompous piece of earth in Europe (I am not saying that it isn't like this in America, or any other country, however), where doctors are being paid more if they "sort" a patient over the phone, preventing them from coming into the actual office of the doctor for a proper treatment. The general mentality of Denmark sickens me to the core of my bones and my heart.
Other than that, I havn't excactly had, what I would call a great life, or atleast not the life I want to have, I'm barely in touch with my family at the age of 19 and as far as education goes, I don't give a rats ass (sorry for my language) if I am to become a lawyer or a baggyboy at the local supermarket, in all fairness to people opposed to my point of view, I actually do not care what I do for a living, I just want to be able to pay for a roof over my head, food for my loved ones and be able to live, I do not care about big cars, expensive computers, jewelry or anything, I think life is too short to make it about your life and your wealth.
Getting to the point is hard, because I feel there's so much to say, for you to understand my situation and why, where and how (That didn't make sense, I know, but ... I'm weird like that).
What I want, is to find a small-town community, those sweet old little-town folks you see in American movies, I want a little wooden house away from the town, where I can be myself and literally hear myself think, work at the local harbor-resturant, at the local supermarket, I don't really care, I just want to live somewhere where I can feel alive and put all my worries into a box and drop it in the atlantic on my way over.
I know it sounds silly, but the moment I realised excactly where I wanted to live in America, or how I wanted to live in America, was when I saw the movie "Safe Haven". I'd want the excact same house, at the excact same location, the excact same weather conditions, the fact that you can get by doing a job that doesn't aquire you to commit your life to it.
Especially the weather-condition (I know there's a better word for it, but can't seem to pick it up at the top of my head at this particular moment), I'd like to live somewhere, where there's always hot, a place where you can practically run around in shorts year-round, but without the sense of "dessert", which to me, means that rain is nothing but good, I like rain, I like it alot, but I don't wish for it to be this horrid disaster event that it can sometimes feel like in Denmark, where everything feels disgustingly wet after, dirt, oil and whatnot just gathering up with the rain and heading in all directions, ontop of my head, I'm thinking Alabama-like weather, 25-30 degrees year'round, but with rain and windfull days, but without the snow, without the depressing cold-fronts, a place where I could walk my dog at 3 AM without wearing shorts at any time of year would be a dream for me. I know that I'm probably making up a scenario here , that would be practically impossible to aquire, but it's the best visual image I can give you.
But anyway, I can't keep on like this, but now you know abit about my "expectations", but feel free to ask any question you want, I am not shy and I want to keep this a friendly envoirnment for the contributors to my "cause" and myself.
a) Which part of America would this be? Any examples or small-town cities? (A simple name would do, just examples, don't be affraid to dazzle me with multiple options)
b) How would the transition from our health-care be?
c) What kind of funds would I need to aquire in Denmark, before moving?
d) I'm not productive enough to be able to visit America before moving there, I would like to move within the next two years, would that be doable?
e) Being a full-hearted Atheist, how would I be accepted in regards to social conduct? Not judging, just, according to what I've heard, America is a very religious country and Christianity has a very bold appearence in most states, as far as I've heard and read. I'm not asking that everyone has to like me, I just don't want to get shut out from any major events or likely because of my religious belief. Or .. Lack of religious belief, I guess.
I realise that this might just be a big wall of text and misunderstanding to some people, so please, feel free to ask me anything that is relevant to this thread, I would like for people contributing in this thread to be able to have a dialogue.
I'm not looking for a specific city or appartment or anything in general, I'm just trying to learn more, to be able to know more, before I make a definite decision, but if you have examples or e.g cities that would be of interest, please, do not hesitate, research is what I want out of this aswell.
I might seem abit small-like, but remember, I was born and raised in Denmark, I've never been outside Europe, never been outside of Denmark for more than three weeks, I honestly have no first-hand impression with the American ways.
I guess it's abit over the edge, but I hope someone is gonna take the time to get through it at some point. Otherwise, I will gladly split my various questions into multiple sum-forums, I just wanted to get it all aligned in one thread, to make it abit easier for myself, but I reckon it might not be for you (the people reading up on the intial thread).
I just figured it wasn't that much of a read, but I guess it is.
Well first you need a visa and money to move,we just moved from Germany to the USA a d I tell you it's not cheap.
You can play the lottery to get a GC but I heard it take forever.
I really can't tell you where to move in the states ,I just know you need a lot paperwork and a lot of money and of course a job.
Well first you need a visa and money to move,we just moved from Germany to the USA a d I tell you it's not cheap.
You can play the lottery to get a GC but I heard it take forever.
I really can't tell you where to move in the states ,I just know you need a lot paperwork and a lot of money and of course a job.
Thank you for your response!
I wish it was just jumping on an airplane, get a job, rent an appartment, go from there, but obviously, life has to be hard.
The hardest thing about this entire situation, seems to be that you have to have a job before you move, or have a fund that can support being unemployed for awhile, and I have neither, nor am I interested in either, since having a secured job before moving would most likely be some sort of job that I was "recruited" for. Would you reckon there is another way to get around it?
Look into going to college at an American university. There are lots of foreign students in American colleges.
I've never been to Denmark but from what I understand it's much more walkable than the US. You will probably want to get a car ASAP. Though you may be able to get by without one depending on where you live. Expect to see lots of people driving and hardly anyone cycling or walking. Don't expect to find public transportation like Europe has here in America.
a) There are so many small towns in so many states that I hesitate to start naming them. The climate you described sounds like the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi, etc) or the south west (Arizona, New Mexico, etc.) The southeastern part of America (The South) is different in a lot of ways than the southwestern part of the country. Accent, food, culture, weather, climate: lots of things are different.
The South will have more rain than the south west and I remember you said you didn't want to live where it rained a lot. But the south west has more desert and I know you didn't want that either... so pick your poison I guess.
Also know that in America people use Fahrenheit when talking about the temperature. 25-30 degrees Fahrenheit is pretty cold here!
b) Who knows? With Obamacare coming in, even I'm not sure what health care will be like a year from now. I'll just say that healthcare is great but it's not cheap.
c) Lots. Sorry I can't help you any more.
d) Unsure. It won't be cheap.
e) There are lots of Atheists here, even in the Bible Belt. The South might be a little more of a culture shock for someone like yourself. But I don't think that by itself would be a big deal for you.
Please, don't go pushing your opinions onto other people. As long as you keep your opinions to yourself you should be ok.
Also, in the South it's common for an acquaintance or stranger to ask where you go to church. You probably won't encounter this anywhere else in the country. Don't get offended if this happens to you. It's just how people make small talk. It's just assumed that most people in the South go to church because many do.
Last edited by EVAunit1981; 06-06-2013 at 10:48 PM..
You must have a "green card" or "I-9" visa to work in the United States. The easiest way to get a green card is to marry a U.S. citizen. To get an "I-9" is difficult because you must be sponsored by a U.S. employer and have job skills that are difficult to find among the nationals. Your level of education and job experience at this time in your life doesn't qualify you for an I-9. The best way to come here is as a student. That will be expensive unless you get a scholarship.
There are hot climate towns all over Texas that fit your fantasy. But locals will have all the jobs locked up. So, I don't think you will find your best chance here in the U.S. for immediate fulfillment of your fantasy.
I know that Germany is actively recruiting for young workers; but the climate doesn't fit your fantasy.
When I was growing up on the U.S. east coast in the 60's, I romanticized the midwest part of this country after seeing a number of movies. I dreamed of living in a small midwestern city where people were kind and there was not much pressure to excel. So, I went off to college in the midwest, leaving my family behind in New Jersey. I met and married another student from that part of the country. He was the wrong person in many ways, but one major hurdle we had was that we had such different family and religious backgrounds that I never felt I truly was at home in that marriage. Over the years -- even after getting a divorce -- I never lived near my family. Now that I am retired, I do regret that I did not have more involvement with my family even though, at age 18, it was the last thing I wanted.
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