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i'd love some advice since i'm about ready to throw a dart at a US map and just move where it hits, with my husband. Here's our situation and hopefully you all have advice...
my husband and i just moved to the US 3 weeks ago from nicaragua. he doesnt really speak english yet and i am bilingual. basically, we're up for where ever in the US to live since we're both just back in the USA now, but need to get out of our friends' homes!!
california is idyllic, but too spendy. baltimore sounded perfect, but not safe enough, nyc is just not green enough and spendy too, the midwest is too cold and boring (except chicago and madison)....what do you all think? Raleigh seems great from my research thus far, but i just cant tell!!!
We do have some needs....
1. a city, not too big, but big enough such that there's ethnic diversity which ideally brings a hang-out on the porch step vibe and good restaurants. my husband is latino and misses the whole family/friend/hang out in the street thing. i do too...but we dont want the 'burbs either!
2. We need to rent for a while and would love at least a little area to put plants (dont need a full on yard or anything). so no high rise type apartments.
3. we would love a hip/ indie/ NON-walmart-y/ NON-chain restaurant-y area where we can walk or ride bikes to where we want to go, that isnt too cold or has a crazy-fast pace of life like nyc and doesnt have the crime like baltimore.
4. we'd love to hear some live music in a park or bar and not feel weird that we're a bicultural/racial couple drinking a beer. Pizza, indian and thai restaurants as well as community gardens/co-ops would be awesome too. We dont need museum or artsy-fartsy things to do, but parks, music, bars, young professional fun things to do (with a future family in mind) kind of place would be fantanstic!
5. we need cheap to free ESL classes for my honey!
6.. he'll be starting at a community college most likely (to save on money). thoughts on state residency status requirements and time it'll take for him?
7. i'll be working in the non-profit/social service-y type sector. i've been on idealist.org, etc, but havent seen alot. thoughts on just coming without a job and temping in the meantime? thoughts on temp agencies or what i could do while i'm applying for non-profit job (that dont pay crap!)
8. taxes?!!!! i've been out of the country for too long to begin to understand the whole income tax thing anymore...please help! let's say i make 30k. is that doable? at what would the take home salary actually end up being.
9. could we get by WITHOUT a car or with just one? Possible with public transport?
is raleigh the place for us? could we do it if i only make 35k/year and was supporting both of us while my husband learns english, goes to school and works PT (we have only my grad school student loan btw). are we delusional?
thanks so much for your thoughts and sorry this is so long!
No, you are absolutely not crazy to consider such a move. If you have an adventurous spirit, a little money in the bank to tide you over, are willing to work and try different jobs, don't have kids to worry about yet etc, then why not go for it. The triangle is an awesome place to live and has areas that would meet most if not all of your criteria. I've moved places without a job lined up many times when I was younger and always landed on my feet. Go for it!
A few years ago, sure moving without a job first would have been ok; however with recent issues and economic problems looming on the horizon, I would strongly advise getting a job first, if you don't you'll be in the same situation as far too many others -- and the idea is to always stay ahead of the crowd.
5. we need cheap to free ESL classes for my honey!
Literacy Council of Wake County. Your husband will take a test (or have a conversation, or lack thereof--depending on English skills) and then will be paired up with a volunteer tutor. They'll meet once or twice a week for an hour or two at a time at mutually convenient place (library, bookstore, LCWC headquarters downtown) and work on speaking English and then reading/writing. It's a great program. The only cost will be the price to buy a book--$20 at most.
Non profit is tough. I moved to the Raleigh area without a job (but my husband had a job so income-wise, we were okay). I also worked in non-profits and it took me months to find a job.
Be prepared. I wouldn't recommend moving without a job either.
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