Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Jose
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-01-2013, 05:56 AM
 
16 posts, read 25,336 times
Reputation: 13

Advertisements

Hi everyone,
I'm a US citizen by birth but have lived pretty much all my life in Canada. I'm now a college student and I'd like to move to San Jose for a year while working there. I'll be pretty much on my own with only a few distant relatives in the state. Is this something I'll be able to do? Unlike what my username suggests, this particular plan is still in the making.

Things I'm not sure about:
-Will I be able to save up enough for the move? How much is enough? How do I calculate my net income (what % goes to fedral, state gov, city etc..)?
-Insurance??? Is that covered through work?
-How does taxation work south of the border? (I hardly understand our Canadian tax system...) Will I be paying here and there?
-Will I be able to find and live off of a basic (even unskilled) job while still studying to take the LSAT?
-Could I secure a job before I move?
- In San Jose, are there parts of town I'd be able to afford with roomates? Are there neighbourhoods I'd best avoid?

There are lots of other things on my mind but lets just start at that. If I break down all the details things will get messy real quick.

Thanks in advance!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-01-2013, 09:13 AM
 
765 posts, read 2,434,534 times
Reputation: 701
For immigration questions - you may want to make a separate post in the immigration forum. I am an expat. First of all, do you have a social security number? You will need to get one to work here. To avoid paying double taxes you will have to become a non-resident of Canada. (Check with the immigration forum - they will provide you with the correct links). Since you will be breaking ties with Canada, you will not be able to use your provincial health insurance here AND we couldn't use travel insurance (DH insurance didn't kick in till his probation period at work was over - 3 months). So we were uninsured during that time.

You also won't have any credit here - so bring plenty of $$. Landlords run credit checks - but if you explain your situation - you should be ok - just be prepared to pay extra for your security deposit.

Where are you coming from and why San Jose?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-01-2013, 10:38 AM
 
16 posts, read 25,336 times
Reputation: 13
No, I don't have one yet, I'll have to look into getting that then. Thanks!

I'm coming from Vancouver and as for why San Jose, the main factor is the weather really (for health reasons). But also I have distant family living in the SF Bay area. Does anyone think SF would be a better choice for me as opposed to SJ? (I'm thinking about the SF minimum wage..)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-01-2013, 10:45 AM
 
17 posts, read 27,533 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by ihaveaplan View Post
No, I don't have one yet, I'll have to look into getting that then. Thanks!

I'm coming from Vancouver and as for why San Jose, the main factor is the weather really (for health reasons). But also I have distant family living in the SF Bay area. Does anyone think SF would be a better choice for me as opposed to SJ? (I'm thinking about the SF minimum wage..)
I'd say, move wherever you plan to be working. And weather in SF sucks in my opinion (since it's important for you).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 07:11 AM
 
30,871 posts, read 36,796,993 times
Reputation: 34446
Quote:
Originally Posted by ihaveaplan View Post
No, I don't have one yet, I'll have to look into getting that then. Thanks!

I'm coming from Vancouver and as for why San Jose, the main factor is the weather really (for health reasons). But also I have distant family living in the SF Bay area. Does anyone think SF would be a better choice for me as opposed to SJ? (I'm thinking about the SF minimum wage..)
The cost of living in SF is higher, so it will outstrip any marginal increase in wages. SJ has better weather, but life in either place is very tough for people working unskilled jobs. You wouldn't be affording your own apartment on a $10 per hour job...and o $10-$12 an hour, things will be tight even if you rent a room in a house (which is what I'd recommend).
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 12:18 PM
 
16 posts, read 25,336 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
You wouldn't be affording your own apartment on a $10 per hour job...and o $10-$12 an hour, things will be tight even if you rent a room in a house (which is what I'd recommend).
I was definitely planning on renting a room (amongst other ways of trying to keep bills low).

I did find my old Social Security Card which is great (thank God for organized moms!). As for the weather, I'm sure you get warmer, sunnier weather than up here.

At this point what I'm really worried about is finding a job and housing before I move. Although I think I'll be able to live off savings for two months I would rather have a job waiting for me.

How hard is it to find a full time minimum wage job in San Jose? This being a worst-case scenario that is.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 12:53 PM
 
1,696 posts, read 2,849,972 times
Reputation: 1110
OP, are you attending a school in this area? What's the reason for your move, if you don't mind me asking? Vancouver is an awfully nice place to live as is....not sure why you would want to move down here....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 01:19 PM
 
16 posts, read 25,336 times
Reputation: 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man View Post
OP, are you attending a school in this area? What's the reason for your move, if you don't mind me asking? Vancouver is an awfully nice place to live as is....not sure why you would want to move down here....
It really is. And to think I'd be a Canuck in a city of Sharks!

I'm basically trying to take a year off from school here to work and focus on my LSAT. I've been fully dependant on my family to this point and would like to start paying my dues. So really, anywhere along the west coast where I can get a full-time job and decent housing so that I can study and take the LSAT is what I'm looking for. I've put up with health issues that relate to the cold here so moving to a warmer climate is a part of the plan.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 07:15 PM
 
765 posts, read 2,434,534 times
Reputation: 701
Here is the link to the form for becoming a non-resident:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/nr73/nr73-12e.pdf

I think you should go for it - maybe think of giving San Diego a shot too. I'm pretty sure the COL there is cheaper than here in the bay area AND you get the added bonus of being close to a warm, swimable beach!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-02-2013, 11:20 PM
 
30,871 posts, read 36,796,993 times
Reputation: 34446
Quote:
Originally Posted by ihaveaplan View Post
I was definitely planning on renting a room (amongst other ways of trying to keep bills low).

I did find my old Social Security Card which is great (thank God for organized moms!). As for the weather, I'm sure you get warmer, sunnier weather than up here.

At this point what I'm really worried about is finding a job and housing before I move. Although I think I'll be able to live off savings for two months I would rather have a job waiting for me.

How hard is it to find a full time minimum wage job in San Jose? This being a worst-case scenario that is.
Yes, renting a room is a good plan. I don't know what the current rental costs are for rooms, but I'd imagine $600 a month would be the low end...and that may be an underestimate.

As far as jobs go, the economy here is a little better but not great. There are few minimum wage type jobs that are full time. Most people trying to work 40 hours per week end up working 2 part time jobs...and that ends up taking a lot of your time because you're commuting to 2 different jobs and there can be often be an hour or two of "dead time" between jobs where you can't really do much (except maybe study).

The weather would be better than Vancouver in either city, but SF is windier and cloudier than San Jose...often the fog and low clouds roll in during the late afternoon in SF, so the weather feels colder than the the average temperatures indicate.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Jose
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top