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Bare Basics/Necessities of Life Upon Entry - Feedback from Successful DV Selectees In USA Please

Britsimon - tried to send you a pm but not sure if it went through (nothing in my sent items folder), will you let me know if you received it please?
 
britsimon said:
Those are good questions to be asking - the truth is that it won’t be easy. When you move to a new country with no support system (friends or family) you will have a tough time. Your attitude will be one of the things that will be an issue, so if you go in with a difficult argumentative attitude (as you demonstrated to me yesterday) things will be tougher. However, to answer your questions…

First of all, you’d better have plenty of money. As a young single person (I assume) you would have different needs to me (as I have a wife and child to provide for). So it is difficult to put a figure on it, but I would suggest you have AT LEAST 3 months living expenses in ready savings (I always have a backup of 12 months expenses because of the work I do). The cost of living in the area you choose will determine how much that is, but I would say at least $3k per month for a single person in an average city. An expensive area (like San Francisco) could be more – again for me, I need around three times that amount every month (due to family needs).

You will also need to find transport so having some extra money for a car or motorbike is a good idea – you can get a reasonable car for around $5k.

You can rent a room pretty easily and in most cities you can rent a room in a shared house for around $600 – 1000 per month. You’ll need 3 months rent up front (first, last, and deposit). Private landlords may want a credit/background check, but some landlords won’t bother with that.

Next you need a realistic plan toward finding work. Don’t expect that there will be loads of well paid jobs just waiting for you. There won’t be. The USA has been through a very hard time with many people unemployed and many previously hardworking families finding themselves homeless through losing their jobs. So – be prepared to be flexible and accept work below your level. Over time you will hopefully find something better. If you have qualified with something other than a generic qualification, or have desirable skills then your experience/education/skills will hopefully make things easier and you may find better paid work sooner.

You will need to become part of the community asap to make friends and build contacts. Religious people often do that through churches.

Make a plan and be realistic. Money makes everything easier, so I’d say you need AT LEAST $10k, but $20 or $30k would be safer. You can do it with less, but you’ll need to be lucky, hardworking and resourceful. Good luck.
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+1 for you. If there was a Like button a la Facebook, I'd have clicked on it :)
 
thanks for the advises man, i have friends actually , but i always prepare myself for the worst case. When i came as student, i had most of commodities paid ( i had a scholarship) so i already find a person from university who brought me from airport, find my room ready, find "on campus work" easily ... but student life ain't immigrant life.
For money transfer, it will be hard for me to pull out more than 15K, simply because my country won't let me to take out dollars more than the amount that is allowed for me.
 
Princedriss said:
thanks for the advises man, i have friends actually , but i always prepare myself for the worst case. When i came as student, i had most of commodities paid ( i had a scholarship) so i already find a person from university who brought me from airport, find my room ready, find "on campus work" easily ... but student life ain't immigrant life.
For money transfer, it will be hard for me to pull out more than 15K, simply because my country won't let me to take out dollars more than the amount that is allowed for me.
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Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Good thinking. Generally speaking life outside Universities is indeed very different (that is why some people never leave University life). Regarding money, do what you can to prepay expenses somehow from within your country then find a way that you can transfer smaller amounts without it costing too much. If you have a major credit card (Visa/Mastercard/American Express) in your home country then you can pay for living expenses (food, gas etc) on that and pay the bill back in your home country. That will cost you money in currency conversion, but it might increase the money available for things like rent. If all else fails you can generally get low paid work but you might have to work two or three jobs to get by. I know plenty of Americans that do just that.
 
Thought I should share my preparation planning (and I hope all goes according to plan!):

Reading above I'm glad to be in the category of more fortunate DV winners in a manner of speaking as my aunt and uncle (whom I always stayed with during my trips to America) are there and already citizens and my brother has been there since 2006 as a student and now about to obtain his Green Card by virtue of marriage.

Money isn't a problem but I'm wondering how to get it across from my country to the US without a zillion questions being thrown at me. I know that TTs of less than $5,000 do not require any documentation but anything above does but what if for example someone has more savings (say $50,000), how would they get all that money across? It'd be a little inconspicuous to put it in carry-on luggage lol. Any ideas on this?

Cars - we covered yesterday :)

Apartment - my brother is getting an apartment prepped for me next month so its ready to move in when I get there. Just the furniture will be an added expense. This will be short term accommodation because I intend to bugger off to where/once I find a decent job (hopefully in Florida or Texas) by the end of the year.

Work - I've been doing my homework on this over the last two months and fortunately there are a decent amount of jobs in the printing industry spread out over the US specifically on the managerial/marketing/operations/CSR levels (the iPads and eBooks and Kindles can NEVER kill a centuries old industry/trade).

On my forms I did write that I was going in as a small/medium business entrepreneur but rather than sink in a pile of money right from the outset (and have major stress) I'd rather work in the industry for two years to gain an understanding of the working system/financial system/tax system/client system or nature et al. and really "settle into America" then venture out on my own into the wild so to speak.

I think clubs (Rotary, Freemasonry et al.) are great ways to know people and network and of course sports clubs or sports such as tennis or golf creates networks and friendships as well. I think it also helps to learn Spanish considering a huge chunk of the US population is now Hispanic and its a great way of meeting people as well.
 
Momo1980 said:
Thought I should share my preparation planning (and I hope all goes according to plan!):

Reading above I'm glad to be in the category of more fortunate DV winners in a manner of speaking as my aunt and uncle (whom I always stayed with during my trips to America) are there and already citizens and my brother has been there since 2006 as a student and now about to obtain his Green Card by virtue of marriage.

Money isn't a problem but I'm wondering how to get it across from my country to the US without a zillion questions being thrown at me. I know that TTs of less than $5,000 do not require any documentation but anything above does but what if for example someone has more savings (say $50,000), how would they get all that money across? It'd be a little inconspicuous to put it in carry-on luggage lol. Any ideas on this?

Cars - we covered yesterday :)

Apartment - my brother is getting an apartment prepped for me next month so its ready to move in when I get there. Just the furniture will be an added expense. This will be short term accommodation because I intend to bugger off to where/once I find a decent job (hopefully in Florida or Texas) by the end of the year.

Work - I've been doing my homework on this over the last two months and fortunately there are a decent amount of jobs in the printing industry spread out over the US specifically on the managerial/marketing/operations/CSR levels (the iPads and eBooks and Kindles can NEVER kill a centuries old industry/trade).

On my forms I did write that I was going in as a small/medium business entrepreneur but rather than sink in a pile of money right from the outset (and have major stress) I'd rather work in the industry for two years to gain an understanding of the working system/financial system/tax system/client system or nature et al. and really "settle into America" then venture out on my own into the wild so to speak.

I think clubs (Rotary, Freemasonry et al.) are great ways to know people and network and of course sports clubs or sports such as tennis or golf creates networks and friendships as well. I think it also helps to learn Spanish considering a huge chunk of the US population is now Hispanic and its a great way of meeting people as well.
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Money.
FYI, I think the TT documentation limit is $10k now. However, lots of small TTs will incur lots of fees (and be lots of hassle) as well as suffering currency fluctuations. In reality you are going to have to account for all your money and pay US tax on worldwide income so you may as well be prepared to have your large transfer tracked. It won’t cause any problems unless it sets of “terrorist activity” alarm bells – but a new immigrant transferring resources is perfectly understandable (and it’s better to establish your starting balances for tax purposes). For the sort of money you mention it is worth taking an interest in currency fluctuations and timing your transfer carefully. There are services that do currency negotiations, but that would normally be for larger amounts than you mention (and the fees can outweigh the benefit).

Apartment. Lucky you having help! If you are going to be there for only a while I would suggest renting your furniture. It is quick and easy (USA specializes in quick and easy) and doesn’t cost too much. It can be a better option to avoid having to sell or ship furniture after moving on to your final destination.

Work. Sounds like your specialist skills will get you sorted out pretty quickly. That’s great. Quite right to avoid the business to start with, let someone else worry about funding the paycheck for a while.

Clubs. Yes agreed – if you are affiliated to something like the Masons – then exploit those contacts to the max. Generally speaking Americans don’t need much excuse to be incredibly helpful and supportive to newcomers, so breaking the ice though an affiliation is a great idea.

FYI regarding Spanish, I speak Spanish but generally find it is not spoken much outside of the lower income groups. Sorry – don’t mean to be offensive, just an observation.
 
Re the money transfer - as long as you are not trying to get around some kind of exchange control, it is a bit of a paperwork hassle, but not much more than that, to basically prove/certify that the money was obtained through legitimate means (earned/saved etc) and that you are not involved in money laundering.

If you try do say 10 or 20 transfers of $5K each, expect the bank's systems to pick up on that and that indeed will place you under suspicion of trying to avoid anti-money laundering legislation.

Also re the suggestion of in your suitcase, I know that was a joke but remember you are obliged to declare if you are bringing in more than a certain amount ($10k iirc?) in cash when you land.

And good on you re learning Spanish, it's a great idea!
 
Momo, you do not need to worry , you have your uncle and your bro in US, so the transition will be so easy for you, you do not even need to ask here bro lol. If i had anybody from family in the US i would not even quite the US when I was Student. Having family in the US is so graceful for a new immigrant because friendship is an elastic concept not like a family member.
 
britsimon said:
Money.
FYI, I think the TT documentation limit is $10k now. However, lots of small TTs will incur lots of fees (and be lots of hassle) as well as suffering currency fluctuations. In reality you are going to have to account for all your money and pay US tax on worldwide income so you may as well be prepared to have your large transfer tracked. It won’t cause any problems unless it sets of “terrorist activity” alarm bells – but a new immigrant transferring resources is perfectly understandable (and it’s better to establish your starting balances for tax purposes). For the sort of money you mention it is worth taking an interest in currency fluctuations and timing your transfer carefully. There are services that do currency negotiations, but that would normally be for larger amounts than you mention (and the fees can outweigh the benefit).

Apartment. Lucky you having help! If you are going to be there for only a while I would suggest renting your furniture. It is quick and easy (USA specializes in quick and easy) and doesn’t cost too much. It can be a better option to avoid having to sell or ship furniture after moving on to your final destination.

Work. Sounds like your specialist skills will get you sorted out pretty quickly. That’s great. Quite right to avoid the business to start with, let someone else worry about funding the paycheck for a while.

Clubs. Yes agreed – if you are affiliated to something like the Masons – then exploit those contacts to the max. Generally speaking Americans don’t need much excuse to be incredibly helpful and supportive to newcomers, so breaking the ice though an affiliation is a great idea.

FYI regarding Spanish, I speak Spanish but generally find it is not spoken much outside of the lower income groups. Sorry – don’t mean to be offensive, just an observation.
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Lol you're actually right on the Spanish bit. The only people I came across who spoke Spanish were either Passport Officers or people with lower incomes like waiters or cleaners or hotel housekeeping staff.

I'd only take it up because I already speak French so wouldn't mind having another language in the bag. I've even thought of taking up Mandarin because of business opportunities with China or jobs in the US government which require multi-lingual individuals.
 
Momo1980 said:
Lol you're actually right on the Spanish bit. The only people I came across who spoke Spanish were either Passport Officers or people with lower incomes like waiters or cleaners or hotel housekeeping staff.

I'd only take it up because I already speak French so wouldn't mind having another language in the bag. I've even thought of taking up Mandarin because of business opportunities with China or jobs in the US government which require multi-lingual individuals.
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Speaking other languages is always a good thing - I speak German and French also - but both of those are pretty much useless in the USA. But yeah, not a bad idea to learn another language. Americans aren't good at foreign languages - they don't do that well with English ;-)

By the way, we haven't touched on health insurance. When you are starting out in the USA you might gamble for a couple of months without it (especially if you don't have kids). However, you will need to get health insurance - which is currently very expensive. Some jobs include health cover (usually for the employee only, with the option of upgrading to cover family members). The new healthcare provisions are changing things but it is still unclear how costs will be after the changes have bedded in.
 
britsimon said:
Speaking other languages is always a good thing - I speak German and French also - but both of those are pretty much useless in the USA. But yeah, not a bad idea to learn another language. Americans aren't good at foreign languages - they don't do that well with English ;-)

By the way, we haven't touched on health insurance. When you are starting out in the USA you might gamble for a couple of months without it (especially if you don't have kids). However, you will need to get health insurance - which is currently very expensive. Some jobs include health cover (usually for the employee only, with the option of upgrading to cover family members). The new healthcare provisions are changing things but it is still unclear how costs will be after the changes have bedded in.
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True we didn't touch on health insurance. I'm not going to compromise on this one as my family has always had BUPA or AETNA insurance and my parents don't want me to take chances so they've suggested I go pricy and take the best insurance just to be safe in case of any problem.

Do you have any recommendations on good health insurance?

I know once I start working my employer would give me insurance but wouldn't this be invalidated if I lose my job for example? If this is the case I'd much rather have my own health insurance.
 
Well brits, in all my staying in US i have never had a US medical insurance, all what i had is a silly insurance got from back home that covers nothing just a mean in order to get enrolled into the university, and thanks god i have never ever fall sick in 5 years (except small things that needs only sleeping) i saved a lot of money on that, beside the car insurance i just got the cheapest possible from Geico just to get accepted by the policeman if i get stopped. I saved a lot , i was in need of that money coz i was student, but now as u said brits i will need that. If you have idea what are the free or cheap things that a new immigrant can benefice from it ?
 
Momo1980 said:
True we didn't touch on health insurance. I'm not going to compromise on this one as my family has always had BUPA or AETNA insurance and my parents don't want me to take chances so they've suggested I go pricy and take the best insurance just to be safe in case of any problem.

Do you have any recommendations on good health insurance?

I know once I start working my employer would give me insurance but wouldn't this be invalidated if I lose my job for example? If this is the case I'd much rather have my own health insurance.
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We could spend a week discussing health insurance. There are various providers, types of cover levels of cover, scope of cover. Very complex stuff - generally best to select something your company offers. You will need to decide between HMO and PPO cover. HMO allows you to use services from a prefferred list of doctors etc. PPO is more expensive because it means (sort of) you get the help you need, when and where you need it and the provider pays the bill. More flexible = more expensive. Aetna do HMO cover generally. For better coverage look at PPO through companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield. .

You can get your own cover, but few people do that since it would mean funding the whole (undiscounted) price that would be available through a job. For family coverage, health cover can cost well over $2k per month!

If you lose you job, your employer (if they are a reasonable size company, i.e. with at least 20 covered employees) has to offer "COBRA" (except in cases of termination for gross misconduct). COBRA means you will continue to have insurance, although the premium is the full premium (part of which your company was paying for you). So it is expensive but at least you are covered until you get a new job.
 
britsimon said:
We could spend a week discussing health insurance. There are various providers, types of cover levels of cover, scope of cover. Very complex stuff - generally best to select something your company offers. You will need to decide between HMO and PPO cover. HMO allows you to use services from a prefferred list of doctors etc. PPO is more expensive because it means (sort of) you get the help you need, when and where you need it and the provider pays the bill. More flexible = more expensive. Aetna do HMO cover generally. For better coverage look at PPO through companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield. .

You can get your own cover, but few people do that since it would mean funding the whole (undiscounted) price that would be available through a job. For family coverage, health cover can cost well over $2k per month!

If you lose you job, your employer (if they are a reasonable size company, i.e. with at least 20 covered employees) has to offer "COBRA" (except in cases of termination for gross misconduct). COBRA means you will continue to have insurance, although the premium is the full premium (part of which your company was paying for you). So it is expensive but at least you are covered until you get a new job.
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Well I'm going in single so how much would be looking at for my own cover for PPO? I'm guessing $500 per month but I could be wrong. I have no problem with simple insurance either because I still have my full AETNA cover just in case.
 
Princedriss/Momo.

College Campus usually have some sort of basic medical help – like a nurse, so it’s not a surprise you didn’t have any cover. However post college you will need some cover for sure – and under Obamacare legislation you will be fined for not having some coverage.

Single cover for PPO will be higher than $500 I think - you might be able to get rough quotes online.

To keep insurance costs low, you can opt for a high deductible plan. A deductible is the amount you pay for each claim (referred to as insurance “Excess” in the UK). So – if you are prepared to cover the costs of your own healthcare (for example up to the first $500 or $1000) that would be cheaper than a lower deductible. Be careful though the bills can get extreme. On a holiday in Boston once, I took my daughter to a doctor with an ear infection. I knew what it was and I knew what I needed – Amoxycillin. We were in and out in about an hour – and the bill came through for just over $1000.

Broken bones and so on can cost 10 or 20 times that amount and many health procedures will come with 6 figure bills. There are many working Americans who do not have healthcare coverage and have terrible problems because of it – hence the Obamacare changes that were long overdue. You will see many homeless people missing limbs etc for the lack of cheap diabetes medicine. There are clinics that help the poor, but there is a lot of demand for that and few resources. Several states have a treat first, bill later policy to make sure people needing help get it, but that really only covers emergencies, as opposed to ongoing health issues.

Be careful with relying on foreign cover (like the Aetna policy). Some policies provide temporary cover for tourism etc but that will expire if they realise you are resident in the USA. Healthcare costs in the USA are 3 or 4 times that of any other country, so they won’t willingly cover your bills without at least some questions.
 
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You made me scared man, why is that expensive ? 1000 dollars for a small visit ? that is too expensive, the american dream may convert the american nightmare, may god save us from any illness !
 
Princedriss, britsimon is actually right. My little cousin went to get braces and his bill came to $4,000 which fortunately their insurance allows them to pay in instalments.

A hysterectomy costs almost $50,000 (or more) and angioplasty for heart patients is even higher whereas in places like India with the best hospitals it can cost $10,000 to $15,000 max. This is why many Asians from America scoot off to India for medical treatment.

One guy I know had a car accident because of DUI and he was in hospital for three weeks and they got slammed with a $75,000 bill and a year later filed for bankruptcy because of unpaid bills.

AETNA does have the USA cover option fortunately but it costs a bit extra and the same is with BUPA.
 
Princedriss said:
You made me scared man, why is that expensive ? 1000 dollars for a small visit ? that is too expensive, the american dream may convert the american nightmare, may god save us from any illness !
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Well the doctor that saw us was probably being billed at $400/$500 per hour, then the nurses, the administrators, the consulting room - it all adds up. The prescription cost another $80. The whole thing in the UK would have been free on the NHS - so yes it is a big shock when you get the bills.

There was a PBS documentary a while back that showed a man whose elderly mother was in hospital for 10 months with treatments being done and no chance of recovery. The estimated cost of that treatment - $5Million. $500k per month. That would have been covered by Medicaid, but the costs of that passed on to everyone. It really is scandalous - but don't get me started.

I've been lucky in life so if I were to stay in the UK I would plan to retire within the next 5 years. Once I move to the USA I will probably add 10 years of work onto that 5 years because I will have higher costs for my daughters education and so on. I'm not looking to put anyone off moving to the States, but you have to go there with your eyes open...
 
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