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Moving to the US
Folks,
We are family with two small children 4 and 3yrs old and we are looking into moving to the US from East Europe. I am an architect, my hubby works with computer hardware. I would like to live in a city that has between 100,000-200,000 citizens - not big not small, modern where I can find work with my profession; safe place where we can raise our kids with plenty family activities, just normal life. I'd prefer place where the winters are not very cold but this is not a decision making factor. I'd love to have nice shopping malls near by :) I would like to hear an opinions and recommendations from US citizens about nice cities where we may consider moving. Thank you! |
Orlando, Florida is a very family-friendly city with warm winters and even warmer summers (ha-ha). However, it is a safe place with decent shopping and several outlet malls nearby. However, there is a question that I must ask you. Do architects need to be licensed? If so, have you looked into the requirements for various states?
_______________________________________________ Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie |
Am an Architect but also graduated from UK college for Interior Design so I'm sure I will be able to find a job in the field. Can not be worse from where I live since I am unemployed in my country.
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I've recently become a big fan of Chattanooga, Tennessee and would seriously consider moving there if I could. Greenville, South Carolina may also fit your criteria. Both are growing areas.
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You do know that if you are not citizens of the US you just can't show up in the US and expect to take up residency and work.
In order to work you will first apply for and be granted an Work Visa (I believe it is called an H1B Work Visa). In order to get such a Work Visa you have to demonstrate you have a "unique skill" (an architect might meet that standard - a computer hardware person may not) and then you'll have to find a potential employer who has a position available and would be willing to sponsor you (and you'll need to find a potential employer for your husband if he plans to work). The employer must than prove to the US Department of Labor (DoL) that there are no US Citizens (anywhere in the country) qualified to fill the position before you can be offered the position. The DoL can require the employer to advertise the job both locally and nationally and they will have to interview numerous other qualified candidates. The DoL might also produce qualified candidates form the ranks of the unemployed US citizens and require the employer to hire one of those if there is a job/experience fit even though you may have the same qualifications. The Work Visa Application Process can take as few as 6 months and as much as a few years. There is no guarantee you will be granted the Work Visa even if you have the right qualifications for the position. Normally, you may not reside in the US during the application process. For what it s worth, I once tried to hire a foreign nation who was well qualified for a position we had available. After three years of trying the application for the Work Visa was denied. Go to this website for more info on immigrating and working in the US; www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis You might also want to look at this website: www.h1base.com/ You might want to visit the US Embassy in your country of residence - someone there will be able to give you general information about immigrating to and working in the US and they probably will give you some sea of how realistic a chance you and your husband might have at getting the necessary approvals. |
I might also add that the economy in the US right now is not very strong. You've probably read that unemployment is still over 8% (in some parts of the country unemployment rates are significantly higher) so job prospects may not be all that good.
Anyway, good luck following your dream. |
Thank you RoamsAround for the extensive response. The visa part is resolved. We would not show up in a foreign country with two small children and than take care of this, most import an issue.
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<Do architects need to be licensed? >
It depends what level you are working at. You can get a job in the field of architecture, with just your education and experience. But to be an actual "Architect" you need to have a license. Every state has their own requirements. |
Is your husband an American or do you have work visas?
It's not easy for a European citizen to move and work in the US. If you want more information on visas and entry requirements I recommend the Britishexpats forum www.britishexpats.com Take a look at the USA forum where there's detailed information on immigration. Here's my experience.. I'm British and have been living in Massachusetts for 10 years. Winters are too cold for me! My husband got a work visa with his job but I was not entitled to work until we got green cards (legal permanent resident status). It took us over 8 years to get green cards. |
OK, so I was typing when the other responses appeared.
What kind of visa do you have? We found it quite stressful before we got our green cards as my husband's visa meant that if he lost his job we would have to return home. Our two children were school age when we moved here and I worried about uprooting them. He would have had 2 weeks to leave the country officially and would not have been eligible to apply for an alternative job under that visa. |
For what it is worth, any city in the US with a population of between 100,000 to 200,000 will have residential areas with shopping malls nearby - there are shopping malls everywhere in the US. Generally speaking cities with populations under 200,000 will all be relatively safe (no place in the US is crime free but compare to the major cities the smaller ones are considered "safe".
If you want to avoid the cold concentrate your search to the southern parts of the country. Look at cities like Raleigh/Durham, NC; Charleston or Charlotte, SC; Fort Worth, TX; Richmond, VA; Santa Fe, NM. There are scores more. You can find a list of US cities by population here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._by_population |
I understand you feel you are flexible but computer hardware does not seem so flexible. I'd suggest you consider where employment is available. This country does not much of a safety net for the unemployed. It's cold everywhere if you can't make ends meet.
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I think you need to look someplace other than a travel website to find what your best choices will be. Most parts of the country have a significant problem with unemployment and jobs are often fond - not obtained, but get your foot in the door - based on who you know in the business.
Separately, schooling in the US is supported only minimally by the federal government. As a result the quality of education varies tremendously from one part of country to another , from one state to another and even from one school district to another. It depends on how schools are supported. In some states the state provides most of the funding. In other states the bulk of the funding is provided by the local homeowners (via school taxes which vary significantly on a district by district basis. And this can mean that some students receive an excellent education and that in another town 10 miles away the schools are failing and students receive a very poor education. (Where my mom lives on LI her school district spend approximately $17,000 per year per student - much from local taxes - and more than 90% of students go to college and they routinely win scholarships and many awards. In a district not far away the state is about to take over from the school board since most students are failing, many drop out and standards are dismal. their the budget is about $9000 per student. (This may sound like a lot in some of the poorer states but in NY suburbs it is dismal.) And - not only are school taxes much higher in the first district, but similar houses sell for much higher prices (as well as there being a number of much larger more expensive houses). This is a major factor to be considered in selecting where to live. So - in considering where to move you need to look at: 1) Job market - some states, like Nevada, have next to none 2) Quality of life - there are a lot of places which are inexpensive but have few resources 3) Quality of education I would make weather a much smaller concern - since everyplace has some bad weather - either cold winters or unbearably hot summers - and the costs of heating or air conditioning can be equally high. So - i suggest you google information on job availability in your specific fields as a starting point. And be sure to look at salaries. In some places housing is much less - but salaries in those areas are also usually much lower. Personally I would think most towns of 100 to 200K people would have very limited job opportunities - but then I'm not an expert in either the market for architects or computer hardware. Are you suggesting that he would work at a company running the IT department? This is going to require a number of fairly large employers to have a lot of opportunities to offer. |
Thank you very much for your advice.
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An interesting website is findyourspot.com. It has a comprehensive questionnaire and then it gives you a list of 10-20 locations in the US that match.
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Ft. Collins, Colorado - My whole family lives there and I wish I could. Yes, it snows in the winter but as my Mother used to say, it snows, the sun comes out, it melts and goes away. The city, I believe, doesn't have that much snow removal equipment.
There are loads of parks, schools are excellenet, close to the mountains. A lot of the housing is newer construction. There is a college in the town. A couple years ago it was voted best place to live in the US. Rocklin, California was voted best place to live either last year or the year before but it doesn't have near the parks or facilities that Ft. Collins does. A poster above said to look for a place to live where your husband can get a job and that is what we have had to do, live where my husband got a job. The SF Bay Area ain't a bad place though. There would be lots of jobs here but the housing is very expensive. Weather is always beautiful. It is the one thing that keeps my husband from wanting to move to Rocklin near our daughter. Whatever the weather is here, it is worse there - if it's hot here, it's hotter there; if it's cold here, it's colder there; if its raining here, it's raining cats and dogs there. Of course, it is much closer to the mountains and skiing! Don't know much about the east coast but there are lots of high tech jobs there. Many companies have moved to Charlotte, NC, etc. Good luck! |
Thank you, you kind people for taking time to write and give us an advice.
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You really need to look into job opportunities before seriously considering any place. (I'm not sure how you're going to rent an apartment if you don;t already have jobs - or 6 months rent to put down in advance.)
You might want to take the quiz above to help identify possible places - but then go to the various online job search sites to see opportunities and get the names of recruiters in the area. then contact them (be sure to have an up to date resume and checkable references, as well as proof that you can work in the US legally) to see what the market is like and what sort of salary you can expect. Be prepared for it to take a minimum of 3 months to get a job - much longer depending on title and the economy in any specific area. You might want to consider a larger city to have more opportunities to get started - with the idea of moving once you are established and have had a chance to research various other areas. |
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