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Old 10-05-2016, 04:05 AM
 
16 posts, read 12,926 times
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Hi, me and my wife currently live in Utrecht (near Amsterdam) in the Netherlands. We are in our mid twenties. Due to a job relocation we will be moving to Boston, probably around January. My workplace will be near Davis Square, or at least somewhere nearby the Red line (an office still has to be rented).
I am not used to living big. We currently live in a (small) 2 bedroom apartment of about 700 square feet. And we are not looking for anything larger (we also do not have the budget for anything big). We need to look for a place our selves.
I have never lived in the US so I think I am far less knowledgeable than most of the people in these forums. We hope to find a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment for around $1500-2000. Do you think this is doable?
We will not be bringing any furniture to the US. So we can either try to find something furnished for a bit more than our budget or we need to buy a lot of new (or used) furniture. Any thoughts were we could buy cheap (used) furniture? Our standards are not that high.

Some more details: We do not have kids and do not plan to have any. We would like to be near the city, or at least a "vibrant" neighborhood. Do you have any suggestions for neighborhoods, websites to look for apartments, or other general tips?
(little off topic; we will need to arrange Healthcare our selves, what can you suggest for this and how much will this be as a monthly expense?)

Any tips are very welcome!
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Old 10-05-2016, 05:35 AM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,693,742 times
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You can probably find what you're looking for near Davis but it will probably be a 1 BR.

Jobs usually provide health insurance in the US. If not you can look for options on Healthcare.gov. If you have to buy insurance on your own it will be extremely expensive for the most basic of plans.
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Old 10-05-2016, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Beautiful Rhode Island
9,283 posts, read 14,890,077 times
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If I were you, I'd do everything I could to get my employer to cover health insurance (down to even threatening not to move) since it will probably cost you more than your rent on a monthly basis. Look here: Health Insurance for Immigrants and Foreign Nationals

As far as used furniture, look on Craigslist- there's also an Ikea near Boston- you'd need a car to get there however. You can also look on Craigslist to get a better idea of rents near Davis Square.
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Old 10-05-2016, 05:58 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,935,179 times
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Just live near Davis or Porter, you should be able to find a one bedroom for about 2k. Craigslist is how almost everyone I know does it. Don't rent before moving, there are scammers. Or go directly to a real estate agent, there is at least one in Davis itself. There will be a fee.

The health care stuff is out of my reckoning.
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Old 10-05-2016, 05:58 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts
1,362 posts, read 873,058 times
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You're asking for help and I know I should stick to providing helpful info, but all I can think to say is run as fast as you can from this idea. Without knowing all the surrounding circumstances (but having experience with a similar relocation), your quality of life is about to drop off a cliff, particularly considering your housing budget.

I assume you are a US citizen, because I can't imagine a Dutch citizen would be thrown over here without health insurance being arranged by their company.
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:16 AM
 
16 posts, read 12,926 times
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Thanks for the replies - as well as the strong warnings.. I work for a small company and will be one of the few people working for our subsidiary in the US. Therefore they told me it is not feasible for the company to provide me (and my wife) healthcare. I really do not know if I can convince them otherwise. I have no clue how "company health insurances" would work. We have not had these things in the Netherlands for quite some years. If I really cannot get a company health insurance, how much should I be asking as a compensation?

I will of course get compensated for my relocation. But I am not sure if it would be enough.. What should I aim to get? Will 70k suffice (taken into account that I have to take care of my own Healthcare)?

I do realize my quality of life will diminish. The quality of life and the standards we have in the Netherlands are not comparable to any city in the US. I know. I am not a US citizen, and no, I am not crazy.
But we both see this as an adventure and hope to gain life experience from this (bold) move.

But it is good to get a different perspective.
So bohemka, Hollytree, Dm84 (and others) - it would be great if you could give some more insights based on what I have written here.
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:17 AM
 
Location: Boston, MA
14,479 posts, read 11,273,359 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bohemka View Post
You're asking for help and I know I should stick to providing helpful info, but all I can think to say is run as fast as you can from this idea. Without knowing all the surrounding circumstances (but having experience with a similar relocation), your quality of life is about to drop off a cliff, particularly considering your housing budget.

I assume you are a US citizen, because I can't imagine a Dutch citizen would be thrown over here without health insurance being arranged by their company.
If you are going to proffer advice like this maybe you should give more info so that the OP can avoid your horrific experience of moving to the US from Utopia.
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:26 AM
 
16 posts, read 12,926 times
Reputation: 10
I just did some searches on the web. Example:
Can you Save Money in USA on H1B or L1 Visa ? Cost of Living ?

Here they state that Health care will cost about 100-200 dollar. I know it is just some random website, but still... that is not really somewhere near a months rent..
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:31 AM
 
Location: Boston, MA
14,479 posts, read 11,273,359 times
Reputation: 8993
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomBr View Post
I just did some searches on the web. Example:
Can you Save Money in USA on H1B or L1 Visa ? Cost of Living ?

Here they state that Health care will cost about 100-200 dollar. I know it is just some random website, but still... that is not really somewhere near a months rent..
The Affordable Care Act and Temporary Foreign Visa Workers
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:37 AM
 
16 posts, read 12,926 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks Joshua. So, "Under ObamaCare, foreign workers such as those carrying an H1 visa, L1 visa, etc., who are legally residing and employed in the United States are subject to the same federal health insurance rules as US citizens."

My question would then be, what would you pay living in Massachusetts when paying for your own Healthcare? As most of you will be provided by your company you might not know. But perhaps some people still pay their selves?
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