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Where to live in USA (was Fl or Ca)?

I presume the poster was nervous ahead of winter. NY is currently hitting highs over 30 degrees too ...warm enough!
 
SusieQQQ said:
I presume the poster was nervous ahead of winter. NY is currently hitting highs over 30 degrees too ...warm enough!
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The thing is, almost everyone tells me the same thing when I tell them I am in New York ... And that is : New York is cool, but you should consider the winter time when it gets cold ...
Now about me : If there is anything I can not stand is the cold, how about NY cold HuH, are you kidding me?
 
NY is cold in winter - the buildings tunnel the wind, so you feel like you're walking in arctic conditions at times.

I still love it better than during summer when it gets infernally hot. All that concrete traps the heat so you feel like you're living inside an oven. There's a big difference in temps when sitting in a park or standing on a sidewalk.

Let's not even talk about the underground subway platforms which become nothing short of health hazards due to the lack of air circulation. People have been known to faint and fall inside the train tracks.
 
Issam said:
The thing is, almost everyone tells me the same thing when I tell them I am in New York ... And that is : New York is cool, but you should consider the winter time when it gets cold ...
Now about me : If there is anything I can not stand is the cold, how about NY cold HuH, are you kidding me?
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There is a large amount of the US that gets very cold in winter. Remember that the country is used to cold winters so things are done to cope with it that you might not have at home say central heating. But yes indeed if you are really so scared of the cold you should go live elsewhere.
 
Issam said:
The thing is, almost everyone tells me the same thing when I tell them I am in New York ... And that is : New York is cool, but you should consider the winter time when it gets cold ...
Now about me : If there is anything I can not stand is the cold, how about NY cold HuH, are you kidding me?
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Let's get crazy: The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam are sunny all year round!
 
Nothing to do in Guam. There are jobs in tourism in the USVI, and Puerto Rico is also OK, especially if you speak or are willing to learn Spanish.
 
Dear folks,,,
I need your advice... Is 40-45k a year in Boston ok?? Is it in the middle or the lower class??please i need your advice, we are 2 adults one child family.
 
hopenewsunn said:
Dear folks,,,
I need your advice... Is 40-45k a year in Boston ok?? Is it in the middle or the lower class??please i need your advice, we are 2 adults one child family.
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You could get by on that - but it won't be a luxury lifestyle. That level of income will limit your choices about where to live, but if the second adult could get a job also on top of that then you would be doing a lot better...

Some links to look at:-

http://www.areavibes.com/boston-ma/livability/

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/boston-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM109.htm
 
hopenewsunn said:
Dear folks,,,
I need your advice... Is 40-45k a year in Boston ok?? Is it in the middle or the lower class??please i need your advice, we are 2 adults one child family.
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Britsimon said:
You could get by on that - but it won't be a luxury lifestyle. That level of income will limit your choices about where to live, but if the second adult could get a job also on top of that then you would be doing a lot better...

Some links to look at:-

http://www.areavibes.com/boston-ma/livability/

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/boston-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IM109.htm
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Or here : http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+States&city=Boston,+MA

Boston is not cheap, but you don't have to live right in the city obviously.
 
hopenewsunn said:
Dear folks,,,
I need your advice... Is 40-45k a year in Boston ok?? Is it in the middle or the lower class??please i need your advice, we are 2 adults one child family.
Click to expand...

It's lower class, but maybe it's a good starting job so you and your family can get settled.

My advice: Take the job, do a good job so you can use them as a reference, make some contacts, work hard, see how things work, then they'll either pay you more or else you'll dump them and find something better. They say America is the land of opportunity. There are plenty of incompetent "lifers" in America. Look at the run-down worn out moustached "lifers" in your average office who are just passing time until they retire. Gees I fall asleep waiting for those guys to finish a sentence they talk so slowly. Work hard and take pride in your work and you'll rise to the top anywhere at anything.
 
Hi Folks.

Since I might be moving in next few months I was checking possible destination and found this site. Not sure if it was mentioned before but seems to have decent amount of info about most of cities in the US. I was specifically interested in crime rates and finding a safe place to settle. Few "completely random" locations below look quite interesting :)

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ks/olathe/crime/

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/jupiter/crime/

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/livermore/crime/

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/chicago/crime/

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/miami/crime/


But to be honest, you really need to be looking more closely and check specific neighbourhoods and areas of the city :) And of course pay the subscription :rolleyes:
 
I have only lived in CA (San Jose, Bay Area) although hubby has lived and work in Florida, and to be honest just the humidity would "do me in" there, I am not fond of it at all. I loved living in California, (the access to a reasonable trip up to Canada for family was helpful) and as I am now in Perth, Australia, I miss the weather! I am not overly keen on high heat (42+) so I found the California temperatures just wonderful! I think the cost of living in terms of services and groceries in particular is the reason we would return as well. We liked the multicultural neighbourhoods around us and the choice of where we could travel that was close to home; up to Oregon, across to Yosemite, down to San Diego. Reading all these posts is making me 'other' homesick! We would, however, not return to San Jose, as the impact on the area was a little rough with the financial downturn. It may have improved in the 5 years since we left, but we would probably look at San Mateo on our return. It would depend on where hubby works (IT). Hope all of you are well, happy and making big dreams! Warmest of wishes, Q :)
 
We came back from a two-week trip to California ... LA and San Diego, refreshing memories of the same trip we did in 1997!
Oh man has San Diego changed...so many new modern condo buildings that have been built...the newly developed areas along the water, everything is so beautifully landscaped and simply awesome.
LA was a great experience, too but you simply cannot compare...the distances are even more insane than any map would make you assume, and honestly, just as anticipated just by looking at Google maps beforehand...we mostly only liked the Hillside areas and some (but not all) beach side areas. Manhattan Beach was nice but a tiny town, while Venice Beach was pretty disgusting in our view...all dirty and old, with cheap stalls and hundreds of homeless people. That area around that famous skateboard park was looking pretty untidy. Long Beach was nice, too. We actually also drove over to Vegas...wow I think it has become bigger and even more incredible in terms of the architecture compared to back then. If money and living expenses were the same, I would be living in San Diego over anywhere in Florida I think, after this recent trip.
Unfortunately, we had to abandon our chance for a visa back in July...as an emergency came up and this resulted in us losing out in the end. Now seeing what it could be like, living in either place, as we had also revisited all of Florida two years ago, it is painful. However, we are in the upcoming May draw again, and I have the feeling that either of us will be drawn again. In the meantime, we will actually be moving back to Australia from Germany at the beginning of February. So either way, two spots under the sun will be guaranteed to us and more trips to the US from AU are going to be on the horizon. I might as well be looking into the E3 visa thing...as I think I could set up a biz in the US and sponsor myself under the E3 visa, but I am not entirely sure about that.
 

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OnTheGo said:
We came back from a two-week trip to California ... LA and San Diego, refreshing memories of the same trip we did in 1997!
Oh man has San Diego changed...so many new modern condo buildings that have been built...the newly developed areas along the water, everything is so beautifully landscaped and simply awesome.
LA was a great experience, too but you simply cannot compare...the distances are even more insane than any map would make you assume, and honestly, just as anticipated just by looking at Google maps beforehand...we mostly only liked the Hillside areas and some (but not all) beach side areas. Manhattan Beach was nice but a tiny town, while Venice Beach was pretty disgusting in our view...all dirty and old, with cheap stalls and hundreds of homeless people. That area around that famous skateboard park was looking pretty untidy. Long Beach was nice, too. We actually also drove over to Vegas...wow I think it has become bigger and even more incredible in terms of the architecture compared to back then. If money and living expenses were the same, I would be living in San Diego over anywhere in Florida I think, after this recent trip.
Unfortunately, we had to abandon our chance for a visa back in July...as an emergency came up and this resulted in us losing out in the end. Now seeing what it could be like, living in either place, as we had also revisited all of Florida two years ago, it is painful. However, we are in the upcoming May draw again, and I have the feeling that either of us will be drawn again. In the meantime, we will actually be moving back to Australia from Germany at the beginning of February. So either way, two spots under the sun will be guaranteed to us and more trips to the US from AU are going to be on the horizon. I might as well be looking into the E3 visa thing...as I think I could set up a biz in the US and sponsor myself under the E3 visa, but I am not entirely sure about that.
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Good to hear from you.

SD really is beautiful and has so much going for it. I think almost the same can be said for many places in California. It's like comparing a decent American car with a a prestige German car. The American car will be OK, it will get from A to B nicely, but once you drive the German car you realize the finish of the American car is plasticky and horrible and the bloody thing handles like a load of junk.

Sorry to hear you had to stop the process. That sucks - good luck for May. I don't think the self sponsored E3 will work - it certainly wouldn't for the H1 process I went through, so I doubt it would work for E3 since the company has to achieve labor certification and I think would have to show financial records. For instance, my brother had to show his company earned enough to pay my salary from profit already made - and we were asked for 3 years of records.
 
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Britsimon said:
Good to hear from you.

SD really is beautiful and has so much going for it. I think almost the same can be said for many places in California. It's like comparing a decent American car with a a prestige German car. The American car will be OK, it will get from A to B nicely, but once you drive the German car you realize the finish of the American car is plasticky and horrible and the bloody thing handles like a load of junk.

Sorry to hear you had to stop the process. That sucks - good luck for May. I don't think the self sponsored E3 will work - it certainly wouldn't for the H1 process I went through, so I doubt it would work for E3 since the company has to achieve labor certification and I think would have to show financial records. For instance, my brother had to show his company earned enough to pay my salary from profit already made - and we were asked for 3 years of records.
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Haha...that was a funny comparison with the cars...actually, we have seen so many great cars on the streets of LA...and they all seem to be so clean and shiny!!....it must be the sunny, dry weather or something. When ever we are in Germany, everything seems so dark and rather dirty. It is always such a shock to see the difference. I felt the same in FL...the meticulously landscaped streetscape everywhere...no trash on the streets (almost)...the clean cars, the bright sunlight, etc.

Thanks for the well wishes for May, fingers crossed :)

How are you and your family doing in SF? I'm sure you feel as if you have been living there for years already!!
 
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