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Now what?

zuroma999

zuroma999

Member
I like the new board software; hopefully more people show up here.

After being selected for further processing I was pumped full of energy, got all the docs and translations ready, got booster vaccinations, researched which hotel to stay in when I travel for the interview, checked out street view pics of the doctor's office that does the medical exam (a few shades this side of stalker-ish, I know), and then recently submitted DS-260.

But now I have to face the 3-4 months of wait time before I get an interview scheduled. What did some of you past winners do to fill the time? Is there anything else I should be researching and getting familiar with?
 
LOL Zuroma! So many of us go through the same thing. When I "won" (my wife was the selectee) I felt like I needed to rush to submit my forms and start looking for flights. I had no idea the process would take so long and that waiting is all you can do until your case is current.

So here are some tips.
Get all your documents in place such as birth certs, marriage certs, school records.
Don't do police reports or medicals too early - they are generally only valid for a period of time (6 months generally) and the medical in particular can reduce the amount of time you have to enter the States after approval.
Without driving yourself crazy, this carefully about the sort of work you will do in the USA, where you will live, make sure you understand how you will make it all happen and even do things to make your move easier.
Save money. Living in the USA is expensive compared to other countries (but salaries are higher). For a person new here that can be a shock and hard to budget.

Lastly, just as we all have done, stick around here and get involved! Update your signature (in your profile) so we know your reagion and case number range. You might also want to connect with people here from the same region for advice about your interview or even experiences about moving to the States.
 
Britsimon said:
Save money. Living in the USA is expensive compared to other countries (but salaries are higher). For a person new here that can be a shock and hard to budget.
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Thanks for the tips Britsimon! Getting involved here on the boards is fun; keeps me motivated to read posts and chime in when I can.

Seriously, I think the expenses of living in the US shocks me the more I research. I lived in Berkeley, CA a decade ago. I checked the website of the same building I lived in and rent is 3x higher. Healthcare for self-employed people averages $300/month - again 3x what I used to pay down there. Bank interest rates went from 1.5% when I left to about 0.5% now***. I feel sorry for people who are from poorer countries or who have never visited the US. But I guess that's what these boards help with: offering encouragement and knowledge for everyone.

*** but a block of cheese is about 2x cheaper in the US than Canada, so I look forward to that.
 
I live very near Berkeley - and yeah -prices have gone up. As I said, salaries are high too, which is fine when you have a job, but the costs of the first few weeks before you get work will be a huge burden for someone moving from poorer countries.

My Healthcare (family of 3) is $1000 per month. Rent (small 3 bed house in the East Bay), $2900/month.

As for the cheese here - American cheese is pretty awful so you will probably end up paying for nicer cheese!
 
Hey East Bay in da house! Apart from Berkeley I lived in El Cerrito, Concord and Walnut Creek. Great area. I miss Tilden and Mt. Diablo.

Right now I'm torn between returning to the East Bay, or, after spending 7 years in the rainy northwest, trying southern California.
 
Everyone says good things about San Diego so I'm going to check it out (along with Santa Barbara). Any specific neighborhoods in San Diego worth checking out?
 
zuroma999 said:
Everyone says good things about San Diego so I'm going to check it out (along with Santa Barbara). Any specific neighborhoods in San Diego worth checking out?
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No I never got far enough into the process to justify home hunting there. Just be careful to avoid the fire risk areas!!!
 
Ok I have to chime in here!! I spent some time with my cousins in San Diego at the beginning of the year. It's a lovely town and the weather for January was simply awesome! We spent our time largely around the areas they lived in, a bit north - so around La Jolla, Torrey Pines, Del Mar, Carmel Valley. Nice. Not cheap. (Which I guess kind of sums up the Bay Area too...) As much as I loved SD - a lot more than I thought I would to be honest - it seems a bit "provincial" for us. Nice place to holiday, but I prefer the cosmopolitanism, culture, and diversity of the Bay Area, even though we'd be heading for the east bay (current target: Orinda, though that may change, need to figure out good schools vs too burby trade-off...) rather than the city itself.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Ok I have to chime in here!! I spent some time with my cousins in San Diego at the beginning of the year. It's a lovely town and the weather for January was simply awesome! We spent our time largely around the areas they lived in, a bit north - so around La Jolla, Torrey Pines, Del Mar, Carmel Valley. Nice. Not cheap. (Which I guess kind of sums up the Bay Area too...) As much as I loved SD - a lot more than I thought I would to be honest - it seems a bit "provincial" for us. Nice place to holiday, but I prefer the cosmopolitanism, culture, and diversity of the Bay Area, even though we'd be heading for the east bay (current target: Orinda, though that may change, need to figure out good schools vs too burby trade-off...) rather than the city itself.
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Thanks for the input about San Diego Susie! I like the forums on city-data.com (http://www.city-data.com/forum). I already asked a few questions there about neighborhoods of SD and I'll look into the ones you mention too.

Yeah I love the Bay Area too. I've lived in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Oregon, Bay Area and, for a short stint, Ojai in socal. But something about the bay area, the combo of people, open energy, diversity, outdoor stuff, is miles ahead of anyplace else. If nothing in socal resonates I'll go back to the East Bay. I like walking to a nice hot yoga place (yep, keeping the stereotypes alive, I'm an indian dude who likes yoga and chai), so that limits my choices to maybe 2 cities in the East Bay.
 
Yeah, citydata is awesome for info.

I find it difficult to believe there are only two cities in the east bay with yoga and chai?!
 
SusieQQQ said:
Yeah, citydata is awesome for info.

I find it difficult to believe there are only two cities in the east bay with yoga and chai?!
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Hot yoga is harder to find than standard yoga, plus being able to walk to it (since I sweat up my car if I drive!). Chai is everywhere. Berkeley has Funky Door (aka Funky Odor yoga) and Walnut Creek has a good studio. But, alas, I'm accepting that I may have to drive more down there, vs. walking to everything, and that would give me more leeway as to where to live.
 
SusieQQQ said:
Is hot yoga like bikram yoga?
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Bikram Yoga is a "brandname" named after its "inventor". Bikram yoga is performed in a hot room - the same as hot yoga which is also performed in a hot room, but is not following the brandname.

Shouldn't you be asleep????
 
Yeah I should. Insomnia.

Bikram seems to be a huge trend and, y'know, SF... Which is why I was surprised there are only 2 studios on the east bay, heck I think there are more than 2 in my hometown!!
 
Seeing as I'm awake...and it's kind of linked to the subject and something I've been wondering about. How do you meet people/make new friends? These are my thoughts (some applicable to me and some more general)
- we do have some friends in the area to start with so that helps
- groupings of people from home country (I am a bit wary on this one ... As I think when one emigrates one should immerse oneself in the new country... Though I know there is a bunch who organise events regularly so ...?)
- religious organization (church/synagogue/mosque/temple etc) should one belong to one
- at least one of my universities has an alumnus group in the Bay Area so I suppose joining and attending some functions etc?
- social/sport clubs, should that be your things
- parents from school - probably easier with younger than older kids

What are people's thoughts? Has anyone tried something like meetup where they seem to have newcomers groups? Are people generally friendly in the Bay Area?
 
SusieQQQ said:
Seeing as I'm awake...and it's kind of linked to the subject and something I've been wondering about. How do you meet people/make new friends? These are my thoughts (some applicable to me and some more general)
- we do have some friends in the area to start with so that helps
- groupings of people from home country (I am a bit wary on this one ... As I think when one emigrates one should immerse oneself in the new country... Though I know there is a bunch who organise events regularly so ...?)
- religious organization (church/synagogue/mosque/temple etc) should one belong to one
- at least one of my universities has an alumnus group in the Bay Area so I suppose joining and attending some functions etc?
- social/sport clubs, should that be your things
- parents from school - probably easier with younger than older kids

What are people's thoughts? Has anyone tried something like meetup where they seem to have newcomers groups? Are people generally friendly in the Bay Area?
Click to expand...

That is an interesting subject. My experience so far is that people are very friendly. No one freaks out of you talk to them, so as long as you are out and about you will get chatting with people. Workmates are very forthcoming, but because of large commuting areas you may not all meet up after work every night. Kids are a great way to meet other families, both in school and outside. MrsBritsimon and MissBritsimon are (right now) having a playdate with some folk they met in a park. The kids hit it off and you end up talking with the other parents. In the last couple of months we have had several social interactions like that - and we have been out with a couple other families. Also our neighbours have been very friendly and we hang out with them often. However, all your ideas are good ones!
 
Yep Bikram is the most popular hot yoga, but there are others like Moksha, hot power, hot yin, or just 'hot' in front of any type of yoga. Bikram seems to be the most popular in the US.

Back in '04, after four years of living in the bay area and working too many hours per day at a startup, I realized I had no friends in the bay area and was stuck inside and not enjoying all it had to offer. So I joined some yahoo groups (back then they were more popular than meetup) along my interests: hiking, canoeing, moviegoing, etc. and even a newcomers group. Within a few weeks I was posting my own events to the newcomer group like cooking meetups (I'm not a good cook, but a great way to laugh with strangers is trying to follow recipes with them) and within a few months had a great circle of friends I clicked with.

When I had to move back to Canada, it was deja-vu: not knowing anyone. So this time around instead of joining groups I started a few meetup groups of my own. A popular one I started was a 'silent hiking' group, where a group of strangers would meet to walk quietly together in nature, or if we were more daring a silent urban walk, and then afterwards go out for a meal or coffee together and chat. It's how I met most of my friends up here.

For me, since I usually work at home alone, these groups are a godsend.
 
zuroma999 said:
Yep Bikram is the most popular hot yoga, but there are others like Moksha, hot power, hot yin, or just 'hot' in front of any type of yoga. Bikram seems to be the most popular in the US.

Back in '04, after four years of living in the bay area and working too many hours per day at a startup, I realized I had no friends in the bay area and was stuck inside and not enjoying all it had to offer. So I joined some yahoo groups (back then they were more popular than meetup) along my interests: hiking, canoeing, moviegoing, etc. and even a newcomers group. Within a few weeks I was posting my own events to the newcomer group like cooking meetups (I'm not a good cook, but a great way to laugh with strangers is trying to follow recipes with them) and within a few months had a great circle of friends I clicked with.

When I had to move back to Canada, it was deja-vu: not knowing anyone. So this time around instead of joining groups I started a few meetup groups of my own. A popular one I started was a 'silent hiking' group, where a group of strangers would meet to walk quietly together in nature, or if we were more daring a silent urban walk, and then afterwards go out for a meal or coffee together and chat. It's how I met most of my friends up here.

For me, since I usually work at home alone, these groups are a godsend.
Click to expand...


I love that. You form a silent hiking group where people are encouraged to spend time together walking through the country without talking AND THEN you go and have a coffee and a CHAT!

Am I the only one to see the funny side of that????
 
Britsimon said:
I love that. You form a silent hiking group where people are encouraged to spend time together walking through the country without talking AND THEN you go and have a coffee and a CHAT!

Am I the only one to see the funny side of that????
Click to expand...

Hehe, it is a bit weird. I started with just the silent part, but it seems people aren't used to being quiet. After spending an hour or two in silence around others they were bursting at the seams aching to talk. I was happy to walk through the park and stare at trees and the occasional rabid raccoon but these people also wanted to socialize. The nerve!
 
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