Which are your reasons for emigration?

[Vichel]

If you don't get a job soon after moving to the US, it will be very difficult, as it would be in any country. I've relocated to different countries a few times and it's always more costly than you think. There are so many start-up costs that add up, causing your money to run through your fingers like water.

They say you should go with 125% of Poverty Guidelines, if I recall correctly. That can get eaten up in one month if you buy an old car, rent an apartment and buy the very basics (most of it 2nd-hand off of Craigslist).

 

[win dv]

If you don't get a job soon after moving to the US, it will be very difficult, as it would be in any country. I've relocated to different countries a few times and it's always more costly than you think. There are so many start-up costs that add up, causing your money to run through your fingers like water.

They say you should go with 125% of Poverty Guidelines, if I recall correctly. That can get eaten up in one month if you buy an old car, rent an apartment and buy the very basics (most of it 2nd-hand off of Craigslist).

Vichel, well said! I just read your post to my husband and he said "she explained it exactly how I wanted to". He also has said "inflation and taxes will deplete your money too". I guess in order to know the complete picture, move there. Just like one will only know a person better if they live with that person. It's so much to think about.....

 

[win dv]

I knew a french guy without health insurance, he had a part time job in a real estate agency in NY. One weekend he simply badly sprained his ankle while he was playing soccer. They called an ambulance he went to the emergency room, they took x-rays, then he saw foot specialist they put a splint and gave him crutches. A few days later bills came, the total was around $8000! The hospital put him in collection and wipe him out. He discovered what the term "medical debt" meant. A word that doesn't exist in his country.

Wow! $8,000? Oh my....

 

[Sukie]

Wow! $8,000? Oh my....

This is not a bad estimate. Medical care is expensive. I'm from the US, but I'm on this forum because my loving partner is Australian, and we are of the same gender. The US does not recognized us as spouses, and we are older, so a working visa is not very doable. My partner is a nurse, and she would have to take all the nursing board exams in the US in order to practice. And, because she would be starting at the bottom, she would probably have to work the night shift. Night shift is hard for all ages, but when you are middle-aged, it's even harder!

The US government would not let me sponsor her as my spouse, even though we could legally get married in the US. Marriage rules in the US are determined by the State in which you get married. But immigration rules are determined at the Federal (US Government) level, and the two sets of laws do not match.

So she has been entering the diversity lottery for a couple of years hoping for a chance so that we can live together in the US long term. Now, Australia allows me to immigrate as her "de facto" spouse (Yeah, Oz), but for the next 10 years or so, we need to be resident in the US because my parents are old and frail, and they need help. Australia does not recognize us as "spouses" per se, but did allow us to prove that we are partners. Australia does not allow same-sex partners to marry either, but they are not as hung up on granting us the status of spouses like the US.

So we enter the DV Lottery each year, hoping against hope that we will be able to stop going back and forth, back and forth between countries. And that I will not have to leave her behind in Australia some of the time when I have to go take care of my parents.

Do you know the irony of it all? I'm not even a US-born citizen. I was born in Germany, and am a "naturalized" citizen. I love my country, but I get very frustrated with it sometimes!!!

Sukie

 

[sunster]

Job situation here is getting better, but it all depends on what field and whether or not you qualify. In most cases your education might not be approved here in the US and you might need to go back to school to get a qualifying degree.(BS and above). And of course there is always the issue of having an accent, this ruins a lot of job interviews. I've seen this happen with a lot of my friends.

If you choose to live in cheaper states living might be cheaper, but the jobs might be scarce.
If you live in the city there might be more jobs, but living costs are high.

Opportunities do come, and the american dream can be fulfilled. However, you have to be ready and eagerly looking for it to even happen.

One thing to be happy about! With a GC you are limited only to your imagination. There are many ways to "make it." Never give up!

 

[Qewty]

We will be heading back to the South Bay (San Francisco), probably close to Fremont or across the Bay at San Mateo. Hubby is in IT and my field will be Social Work & Psychology. I love the diversity, and having lived there on and off previously I particularly love California. There is a great need for social health carers in America so I suspect I will find a place that needs me, and hubby already works for a firm in California.

Q

 

[Juicee]

Hey Juicee, i saw it. It's not required to answer my question. I saw your are from Hungary!
I know many people from your country who are living in Cyprus. They try to earn their income by working
in hotels and bars. regards

Oh, I know it, one of my cousins is at Cyprus He is trying to ern money, and live his life!!

Good luck to you

 

[Juicee]

Where do you come from, i know a lot of people from Eastern Europe. My girl next door was from Poland, she lives here now for allready 8 years i guess, the situation and the earnings in her country is bad. I can really understand why she came to our country.
500 Eu/month is 3 times lower than what we earn. The life here is very expensive too, but at least you can do more with that money.
Also, i see that many firms are moving from West to East, so may be in the future it will be much better over there.
But we live now, and now means that it is very hard.

I come from Hungary, Budapest, but as i see now you know it What you wrote from the firms it is not real now, for example ***** closed the firm in the country, Flextronix moved away, the Suzuki has 2 watch now instead of 3 so maybe the firms come back one day who knows....

 

[tiwanna]

to leave my past behind and build a better future.

 

[Karendi]

Passport anyone?

I should be going for my passport renewal soon...the process can be boring without company, anyone game like next month twende nyayo house...^_^

 

[wallstreet84]

Do you know the irony of it all? I'm not even a US-born citizen. I was born in Germany, and am a "naturalized" citizen. I love my country, but I get very frustrated with it sometimes!!!

Sukie

Don't give up ladies, i really understand your frustrations, nevertheless GOOD LUCK!!!
I hope that the USA will become more open minded, we don't live anymore in middle ages.
Same sex is natural! ! !

Good luck to everybody! ! !

 

[boo3]

Hi,

wow i heard that job situation was bad but not as some describes here. Anyway, anyone have information about IT/computer science jobs, is it difficult to get a job in usa in this field. I also read that no-us education isn't really recognized is it also true for european people, i mean does master degree from europe is enough or do i will have to do additional years in us university, which is going to be pretty expensive.

Anyway, i am not selected but who know what could happens , even if i don't win lottery i might be interested to work few years in usa under a other visa.

Cya and thanks

 

[Lazder]

A lot of people get excited by winning DV, but unfortenatly some believe that if they move to USA that they "suddendly" will live better, it is a very big mistake to make.. You can end up loosing all of your savings for nothing, and even if you do make it, its still very hard to adapt to new culture and new lifestyle... USA to me is so different to UK and those 2 are considered close western countries.. We already have immigrated from Eastern Europe to UK about 8 years ago, the damage that this caused is irreversible especially to kids. We lost our home, we will never be same as we used to be and we will never be same as English people. So we dont have much to loose even if we go to USA, apart from money ofcourse... But I would strongly advice you to visit the USA if you are a DV winner as a tourist, but actually stay there for 2-3 weeks and travel around to see how Americans live, because chances are that it will be so foreign to you that you will not want to even get the GC.

If you are from old Soviet Union countries and happen to be in New York, do visit Brighton Beach and ask them would they ever come to USA if they knew how this would go, considering most of them ran away from Soviet Union when iron curtain was in place, which was a remarkable thing to do...

Brothers from Eastern Europe/Russia please read about America and do a lot of research.. It is very common for our people to believe that everything will be so much better in USA, you have to tread very carefully, I already have immigration experience and I got burned very badly.. Uk was NOTHING what I expected... In all honesty those of you with high ranking job positions now, will have to be cleaners or waitresses and slowly work up the ladder, thats if you will have enough strengh to do so... We had to go through this even in UK where our education in soviet union was recognised and matched appropriatly... Hard to be a big shot one day and then you move to UK where no one cares and just hand you the mop...

 

[wallstreet84]

Lazder, thanks for your honestly reply. I know life is hard, so will USA. Everywhere in the world you need to fight, to defeat your own.
Or you need lots of luck, you can only rely on your self, not on others. Self-employement is necessairy.
Anyway, good luck for the future!

 

[Princedriss]

I quite the USA in the peak of the financial crisis, that means April 2009, i have bachelor and MBA both from USA, and I know there are a lot of opportunities if you are living legal in the US. In the peak of the crisis i had interviews but most of them they dont want to support H1 visa, USA is good place to live however, there are a lot of drawbacks, the first one is the health insurance. US is the worst place to get sick, no mercy at all, then US is a huge country with huge cities that have wide area, so the first first thing to do when arriving in US is to buy an old car, be prepared with all cost that come with it.

 

[wallstreet84]

I quite the USA in the peak of the financial crisis, that means April 2009, i have bachelor and MBA both from USA, and I know there are a lot of opportunities if you are living legal in the US. In the peak of the crisis i had interviews but most of them they dont want to support H1 visa, USA is good place to live however, there are a lot of drawbacks, the first one is the health insurance. US is the worst place to get sick, no mercy at all, then US is a huge country with huge cities that have wide area, so the first first thing to do when arriving in US is to buy an old car, be prepared with all cost that come with it.

So where do you live now? I know it's hard, and yes if you get sick without health insurance, it will be expensive.
But beside health insurance and low job oppurtunies, requirement of a car,... what are the other drawbacks of living in the US? How are people? I know it depends from state to state, but can you give an impression?
I was in Florida and i really liked the mentality of the people. I don't know why but imho i think people from USA are more friendly and well educated than some here in Europe.

Just a pity that so many countries and people have a wrong idea about the USA and the people.
People who let religion judge their minds.

 

[Carmageddon]

A lot of people get excited by winning DV, but unfortenatly some believe that if they move to USA that they "suddendly" will live better, it is a very big mistake to make.. You can end up loosing all of your savings for nothing, and even if you do make it, its still very hard to adapt to new culture and new lifestyle... USA to me is so different to UK and those 2 are considered close western countries.. We already have immigrated from Eastern Europe to UK about 8 years ago, the damage that this caused is irreversible especially to kids. We lost our home, we will never be same as we used to be and we will never be same as English people. So we dont have much to loose even if we go to USA, apart from money ofcourse... But I would strongly advice you to visit the USA if you are a DV winner as a tourist, but actually stay there for 2-3 weeks and travel around to see how Americans live, because chances are that it will be so foreign to you that you will not want to even get the GC.

If you are from old Soviet Union countries and happen to be in New York, do visit Brighton Beach and ask them would they ever come to USA if they knew how this would go, considering most of them ran away from Soviet Union when iron curtain was in place, which was a remarkable thing to do...

Brothers from Eastern Europe/Russia please read about America and do a lot of research.. It is very common for our people to believe that everything will be so much better in USA, you have to tread very carefully, I already have immigration experience and I got burned very badly.. Uk was NOTHING what I expected... In all honesty those of you with high ranking job positions now, will have to be cleaners or waitresses and slowly work up the ladder, thats if you will have enough strengh to do so... We had to go through this even in UK where our education in soviet union was recognised and matched appropriatly... Hard to be a big shot one day and then you move to UK where no one cares and just hand you the mop...

This is an interesting observation... my background:
I am working as a Software Developer, former USSR (Ukraine), but currently living in Israel with my wife, and working on finishing a first degree in Information Systems Management - so that I could meet the immigration criterias for Canada and Australia, but meanwhile keeping on trying the USA.


My primary reason to want to immigrate is not better life, not jobs - but FREEDOM! or rather the promise of it, and this incorporates EVERY other reason I have - the high taxes in Israel (relatively to what we get back from them), the inability to purchase home (particularly large, huge size with garden etc like in the big countries), cheap fuel (freedom again!), etc


So Lazder how hard do you think it would be for a developer with first degree in MIS and experience in development, to find a first proper job in the states?
I kind of think easy, because:
a) Israel is renowned for the Startups and High tech industry, second only to the US.
b) If I would look for jobs all across the USA, and send CV to all job posts from east coast to the west coast, and only settle in a state where I'd have a job - this should be quite fast compared to limiting oneself to only one state, shouldn't it?

 

[sunster]

This is an interesting observation... my background:
I am working as a Software Developer, former USSR (Ukraine), but currently living in Israel with my wife, and working on finishing a first degree in Information Systems Management - so that I could meet the immigration criterias for Canada and Australia, but meanwhile keeping on trying the USA.


My primary reason to want to immigrate is not better life, not jobs - but FREEDOM! or rather the promise of it, and this incorporates EVERY other reason I have - the high taxes in Israel (relatively to what we get back from them), the inability to purchase home (particularly large, huge size with garden etc like in the big countries), cheap fuel (freedom again!), etc


So Lazder how hard do you think it would be for a developer with first degree in MIS and experience in development, to find a first proper job in the states?
I kind of think easy, because:
a) Israel is renowned for the Startups and High tech industry, second only to the US.
b) If I would look for jobs all across the USA, and send CV to all job posts from east coast to the west coast, and only settle in a state where I'd have a job - this should be quite fast compared to limiting oneself to only one state, shouldn't it?

If you have a GC and good english skills and experience to prove, I would say chances are good. I work in the industry, and it took me 10 months to find a job because i didn't have a GC or citizenship. I have gone to all final interviews(some companies had 4 different interviews and an IQ test LOL) and got dropped at the end because they didn't want to file in the paperwork for H1b after my OPT ended 2 years later. They didn't have to do anything for 2 years and yet I got denied at the signing when they checked my immigration status. It was a Big pain in the ***.

 

[Princedriss]

So where do you live now? I know it's hard, and yes if you get sick without health insurance, it will be expensive.
But beside health insurance and low job oppurtunies, requirement of a car,... what are the other drawbacks of living in the US? How are people? I know it depends from state to state, but can you give an impression?
I was in Florida and i really liked the mentality of the people. I don't know why but imho i think people from USA are more friendly and well educated than some here in Europe.

Just a pity that so many countries and people have a wrong idea about the USA and the people.
People who let religion judge their minds.

well i get back to north africa and now I am working with 30% of my skills and using french instead of English , you can mesure how frustrated i am now, but thanks GOD he gave me another chance to go back to the land that I love.

The concept of the cities in the US is widely different from the one in Europe. A City in the US has huge Area with a downtown mainly settled by either offices or poor minority neighbours, whereas most of the city population are living on the suburbs and most of the malls and shopping centres are in the suberbs too , and between neighbour to another there is huge distance , you will need to travel in order to shop or work or drop the gas in your car. Forget about public transportation that is useful a lot in Europe. I am talking about Medium cities in the US like philadelphia Houston dallas St Louis...not the big traditional ones like NYC or Chicago.

Other drawbacks ? I dont see any others, if you have your papers and work legally, and you do not look for problems with others that will cause you to be sued, and you work hard, you will enjoy the life in the US. The people are great and helpful totally different from the narrow minded of the Europeans, US people do not have complex , they like everything to be big and diversified, beside the Huge E commerce networking, you can buy everything online with affordable price. Unfortunately i was graduated on the period of the crisis , I was not able to have my papers and i did not want to stay illegally , but thank God, i have another chance now hopefully.

 

[wallstreet84]

Thanks for the reply, i wish that you have more chances now and can build up a very nice life.
All the best Princedress!