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Hello, greetings to you all
Here is a 28 years old woman currently working for one software company from Switzerland as developer. My boyfriend should finish his university till the end of this year, and in the meantime I started thinking about both of us moving to USA. We have green cards, nothing ilegal
Currently I am staying three weeks with relatives in New York and I started questioning about living in US, but they are very old and not much of a help for this kind of talk about real life in and around New York, and whole USA itself. Everything is new to me and totally different than I'm used to, so much that I am scared
So far I saw that living in NY is very expensive and to be honest, I like what metropole like NY brings: lots of galleries, concerts, worldwide cinema and artsy stuff like that which I consume at home also; but again, for me, it just doesn't seem like a nice place to live. (Of course I haven't seen every bit of it so I might be terribly wrong)
I was thinking to find - which city or part of USA would be better solution? I/we would have to pay rent somewhere, that is clear, while for job I am not sure what to do. I can keep my job which I really love and do it over internet for Swiss company, but I don't know what are the costs of taxes, rents and life itself and if my salary would fit. On the other hand, since I am mathematician and programmer/software developer, guess I could start looking for new job here. My boyfriend would definattely search for job, also in computer/IT businees I guess.
Any suggestions what place would be nice for young people who are starting here?
And these might sound as stupid questions, but
1) what is considered as "normal" or "affordable" monthly rent for appartments in US?
2) are there some places (offices, internet sites) where person like me could inform about taxes?
I am OK with colder weather (if the house is warm ) and what I would like is to have some nice parks/places for walks (in the city or nearby, both of us drive), some cultural life and job opportunities. We speak english well so I guess that wouldn't be a problem
I am not saying we made definitive choice to spend our whole lifetime in US, just to try and see what it is like, and if it is so much better than in Europe, as some say.
I've read many topics on similar subject on this board but I haven't found anything appropriate so far, guess you folks are bored with questions like these
As far as "normal" monthly rent, that will vary greatly depending on what city and state you live in. Typically, states along the coasts have a higher cost of living than the states in the middle.
I am no expert, but from what I understand, even states that have high tax rates like New York and California pay less in taxes than european countries.
The different regions in the US can vary greatly. Foods, culture, and attitude are all very, very different.
When deciding where you want to live, the best advice I can give, is not to look at the USA as one big place. Try to think of each state (California, Texas, Ohio, etc.) as it's own little country. Looking at it this way might help you to decide what type of people and culture will be the best fit for you. For example, even though Texas and Louisiana are right next to each other, they are drastically different places when it comes to food, culture, and sometimes even language. For the most part, Florida is very different from the rest of the southeast and California is very different compared to typical western states.
Since you don't mind the cold, the "midwest region" (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan) is a very affordable place to live, but depending what you do, jobs can be hard to come by. States in this part of the country were home to the USA's industry and factories. Since we now import so many things, these factories have closed and the area has fallen on hard times. On the other hand, if you can find a decent job in this area, rent is very cheap, people for the most part are friendly, and the cities (even though they are showing their age) still have sports teams, museums, symphonys, nice parks, etc. But who knows, the midwest might not appeal to you at all, or maybe there is another are you would like better. One nice thing about the USA is that there are so many places to choose from.
The best thing you could do is to come here and travel around a little bit to decide what you like.
As far as "normal" monthly rent, that will vary greatly depending on what city and state you live in. Typically, states along the coasts have a higher cost of living than the states in the middle.
I am no expert, but from what I understand, even states that have high tax rates like New York and California pay less in taxes than european countries.
The different regions in the US can vary greatly. Foods, culture, and attitude are all very, very different.
When deciding where you want to live, the best advice I can give, is not to look at the USA as one big place. Try to think of each state (California, Texas, Ohio, etc.) as it's own little country. Looking at it this way might help you to decide what type of people and culture will be the best fit for you. For example, even though Texas and Louisiana are right next to each other, they are drastically different places when it comes to food, culture, and sometimes even language. For the most part, Florida is very different from the rest of the southeast and California is very different compared to typical western states.
Since you don't mind the cold, the "midwest region" (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan) is a very affordable place to live, but depending what you do, jobs can be hard to come by. States in this part of the country were home to the USA's industry and factories. Since we now import so many things, these factories have closed and the area has fallen on hard times. On the other hand, if you can find a decent job in this area, rent is very cheap, people for the most part are friendly, and the cities (even though they are showing their age) still have sports teams, museums, symphonys, nice parks, etc. But who knows, the midwest might not appeal to you at all, or maybe there is another are you would like better. One nice thing about the USA is that there are so many places to choose from.
The best thing you could do is to come here and travel around a little bit to decide what you like.
Would agree the different regions of country offer slightly different lifestyles...
Since both of you are in Software/IT maby check out Austin it's no NYC but there's plenty to do. Austin has alot of Tech companies Dell computers is based here along with Freescale Semiconductor and other tech companies have offices in Austin like Google,Apple,IBM,Facebook. If your into the outdoors there's plenty of parks and greenbelts to go hiking,running and biking there's also alot of young professionals in Austin and students with the University Of Texas here. Austin is also going to have the Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2012 and there's also no state income tax in Texas
The best thing you could do is to come here and travel around a little bit to decide what you like.
You are absolutely right! Unfortunatelly, I couldn't afford it now, these weeks are most that I could take from work at this point.
So far I've travelled to Boston, which I liked
@bgrn198
Austin sounds nice, I've seen pictures earlier, and how is weather there? Guess warm during the whole year (my boyfriend would love that )
Thanks for links.
Btw, we got used to bad news from time to time, from USA, considering nature's bad side (things like hurricanes, tornados which we don't have), how are people dealing with that? Are there some areas in states where you personally would never go to?
As far as US cities with good cultural amenities and a strong software/IT job market, I would suggest you investigate NYC more, plus Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay area. There are others, of course, but those are the top ones I can think of.
This is also assuming you desire a large urban environment.
As others have said, typically the northeastern US and the west coast have higher taxes and costs of living, while the central and southern parts of the country have lower costs of living--this has led to higher rates of growth, particularly in the south, as people go to areas with lower costs. The cheapest huge city is Chicago (cheaper than LA, SF, and NYC). The cheaper large (but not huge) cities would include Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Detroit, and Atlanta. Miami, Boston, and Washington DC are all more expensive.
America has climate extremes worse than those you experience in Europe. Even in New York, it can be HOT in the summer (30 deg C+) and COLD in the winter (-10 deg C or worse). For Chicago, temperatures of -20 are not unheard of. So when you say you can tolerate cold weather, keep that in mind: some places get very, very cold.
In the south (states like Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina) you have HOT summers (35 deg C for a major part of the year) and somewhat cold summers (mostly between 0 and 10 C). Florida is significantly warmer in the winter.
The west coast has the best weather. Especially southern California.
Have you ever considered Seattle? With you being in the software industry, the presence of Microsoft and affiliated companies might be attractive. The climate is mild - overcast often but never too hot or too cold, the city is safe and clean and offers much in regards to outdoor recreation and cultural events. You'd be an easy drive to mountains for skiing, to the ocean and San Juan Islands in the summer, as well as to a couple of other great cities in Portland OR and Vancouver BC. Seattle is less expensive than some of the other major coastal cities rent-wise, and incomes are fairly high. There are many great neighborhoods in the city to live in, all with different atmospheres and vibrancy levels. Being a metro of over 4 million, there is a lot going on and always something that will keep you entertained on the weekends or after work. Just another option
First of all, I found it extremely charming that I could read your whole post with a Swiss accent due to your wording.
Second, the first place that came to mind to me considering your preferences was the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. Not too big, but big enough for good culture, cooler climate, educated workforce, and a pretty nice part of the country. Also, no hurricanes, and tornados are fairly rare. Very little risk of earthquakes, and a more liberal minded population. I am not from there, nor do I like the weather a whole lot, but it seemed it would suit you well.
Btw, we got used to bad news from time to time, from USA, considering nature's bad side (things like hurricanes, tornados which we don't have), how are people dealing with that? Are there some areas in states where you personally would never go to?
I grew-up in southern California and have been through two bad earthquakes. As far as natural disasters go, in my opinion, earthquakes are the worst because there is absolutely no warning at all.
There is no where I absolutely would not live because of natural disasters. The only place that might give me pause is San Francisco... not that LA is so much better or anything, but San Francisco has older buildings that are not earthquake retrofitted, old bridges, older infrastructure, freeways etc. In the early 1900s there was a big earthquake up there that caused gas lines to rupture and then the city burned to the ground. Experts say it could happen again.... but who knows.
If you ever were to purchase a home though, you would want to be very careful. Don't buy a place on top of an earthquake fault, in a flood plain, next to a hill full of dry brush, etc.
Another place to consider might be Pittsburgh. They have a growing tech industry, it's extremely affordable, lots of big city stuff but with out the headaches and size of LA, NY, or Boston, contrary to popular misconceptions Pittsburgh is extremely clean, its not prone to any natural disasters, ...it's an all-around great American city that often gets overlooked.
Pittsburgh is actually on the short lost of places my family is looking at moving to.
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) and what I would like is to have some nice parks/places for walks (in the city or nearby, both of us drive), some cultural life and job opportunities. We speak english well so I guess that wouldn't be a problem 
Seattle
