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Moving to US (maybe), what should I know?

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
Here is my view of the US:
Dystopian state IT IS NOT Detroit maybe
Excellent at accumulating capital to maximise shareholders returns Invest, it is smart
Market is very flexible, people are willing to bet on idea or just "we will figure it out as we go along" (unless you are talking about technical field, best no to play with people's lives there)
Terrible place for everyone below the average in terms of education, resources, wealth, etc. A land of opportunity, no matter income level. Always ability for people to work and earn more. I had a guy leave my engineering company to go pressure wash because of the money he was making.
Americans are kind and friendly people but all that is surface-level Not true, we can all have genuine relationships.
People love guns WE DO!!!!!

Serial murderer or mass pedophile at every corner Maybe in a metropolis, But not in most of the USA


You have social media impressions
 

DragoonKain

Neighbours from Hell
Yes, if you have the option to pick, research what states and neighborhoods have most of what you want. And cities within those states. Schools, housing, restaurants, culture, crime, etc. It's different state to state and city to city. Big city, small city. Spread out or more dense. Highly populated, sparsely populated, etc. What kinds of cuisine you like, there are areas that have highly concentrated styles of food and also people. There are tons of cities across the country that are areas where certain ethnicities are highly concentrated. Not sure what part of Europe you're coming from, but you could look for one of those areas that is an area with a lot of people from your home country if it would make you more comfortable unless that doesn't matter to you.

You should pick what works best for you, don't just go to a random city willy nilly that doesn't have what you're looking for.
 
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demented waffle

Gold Member
Greatest country in the world. Research which natural disaster you can tolerate as different regions have different ones.

Well half of us get tornados or Derechos. If not that, it's really heavy snow or hurricanes. The ones who don't have to worry about that get earthquakes. There aren't too many safe spaces from these. Australia has to worry about fauna trying to kill them. We gotta worry about Mother Nature. lol
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Research which natural disaster you can tolerate as different regions have different ones.
Does "crocodile in a swamp at Disneyland" count as one? Kids love Disney, but I'm not so hot on the crocodiles.
Just remember that it's customary in America to stand up and clap after you've finished your oversized cheeseburger (with at least three beef patties and 5 slices of bacon), fries, and large Diet Coke.
Artisan burgers I can eat, but Coke is a no go.
Are you eligible for the green card lottery?
Yes, we applied and will know in May.
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
Visited Texas recently, the drivers there are crazy (Dallas/Houston).

Texas on the whole is generally conservative/republican, except for Austin, which is more liberal/democrat. Dunno if you care about that. It's also HCOL.

Spoken like someone who doesn't know what they're talking about Houston is the most liberal progressive city in the state. It's really diverse black people arent fleeing the city and Latinos aren't being pushed out the city like they have been in Austin for years. Houston is welcoming to EVERYONE. I've seen women in Burkas, trans people, rednecks and everything in between at The Galleria and no one even bat's an eye.
 
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IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
.

Worker protections vary from state to state. In Texas and North Caroline, employers can fire employees for any reason aside from race, sex, etc. There are really no limits on how much you can work and such. Every job is different though, but generally high pay comes with high expectations. People who work hard typically do well. That isn't to say there is no risk of being laid off regardless, but obviously the more value you provide to a company, the less likely you'll be out of a job.

Correct. You can't be sacked for any reason here in the UK unless it's serious (taking a shit at your desk, or punching your manager as examples). A manager just can't fire you for poor performance. You get warnings first.

It's also the amount of paid leave. What's the average paid leave in the US? 10 days? In the UK it's around 25 paid days of annual leave per years. Normally the longer you work at a company, the longer annual leave you receive (I get 30 days)

We also get paid time off to visit the GP, Hospital or if we have a sick child.

Then there is maternity pay. I can't remember what it is in the US, but in the UK it's 90% of your wage for 39 weeks.
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Visited Texas recently, the drivers there are crazy (Dallas/Houston).
Trust me, no matter how bad it is, Paris is still worse.
Don't know much about Texas, but I can tell you about North Carolina. Cost of living and taxes aren't bad, but housing is very expensive in certain parts of the state. Also the coast gets beaten up by hurricanes on a regular basis. Lastly, if you move to the Raleigh area you'll be surrounded by people who moved from New York and New Jersey.
Fuck, I was thinking about Raleigh.
 
Spoken like someone who doesn't know what they're talking about Houston is the most liberal progressive city in the state. It's really diverse black people arent fleeing the city and Latinos aren't being pushed out the city like they have been in Austin for years. Houston is welcoming to EVERYONE. I've seen women in Burkas, trans people, rednecks and everything in between at The Galleria and no one even bat's an eye.
Dunno what your issue is. Texas is a red state, Austin is a blue dot. I didn't say anything about Houston, other than the drivers were crazy.

You're coming off as a bit of a whackjob imo.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Socialist Europeans are required to read this before entering the country

JrVgsRK.jpeg
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
Dunno what your issue is. Texas is a red state, Austin is a blue dot. I didn't say anything about Houston, other than the drivers were crazy.

You're coming off as a bit of a whackjob imo.
All major cities in Texas are blue not just Austin. Dallas, San Antonio, Houston are blue dots also and unlike Austin it's not racist. I don't have any issue with you saying we drive crazy I do have an issue with someone who visited trying to paint Austin as some Utopia in a sea of red it is only that for young white virtue signaling liberals everyone else needs to get out of dodge.
 
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SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
Here is my view of the US:
Dystopian state
Nah, its ok. There are a lot of safety nets for poor people, and senior citizens. We have medicare for anyone over 65. medicaid for anyone making under $25k. free schools. free lunches., free healthcare free transportation for kids for parents under the poverty limit and even some working class people. you dont have to pay federal taxes if you have a large family and are making 50-60k.
Excellent at accumulating capital to maximise shareholders returns
Market is very flexible, people are willing to bet on idea or just "we will figure it out as we go along" (unless you are talking about technical field, best no to play with people's lives there)
dont bother with any of this if you are making $200k or are single. the market is for rich people or single men with a lot of time. building a business is easy because banks will loan you money but then you are in debt. so just get a normal job and play it safe.
Terrible place for everyone below the average in terms of education, resources, wealth, etc.
nah, its fine for the reasons i posted above. there are a lot of opportunities here, you just have to get your hands dirty. the govt will help you if you get laid off, the banks will give you time to get a job back, your kids will be fine. the only problem is that the work culture here reigns supreme. you need to work from 9-6. you have your weekends but thats it. you get maybe 10 days of vacation. 3 days of bereavement. 10 days of sick leave for doctors appointment and other stuff. which if you have kids go by fast. when you come here. get ready to work. get your kids working at mcdonalds by the age of 16. get them in that mindset of working. get your wife in the mindset of working. everyone needs to work if you want a comfortable living. $100-150k should be enough to live in a decent neighborhood in a small midwestern city (not austin) without worrying about debt, but expect to work all the time. And work hard.
Americans are kind and friendly people but all that is surface-level
depends on where you go. big cities you will find people who dont give a fuck. smaller towns are slightly better. people will say hi as they walk past your house. smile, but generally keep their distance. dont expect any of that in the big cities like nyc, LA, and chicago.
People love guns
nah. i read somewhere that 97% of the guns are owned by like 25% of the people. its mostly gun nuts. you wont encounter many people with guns. i have been to austin several times and never saw a gun. all resturnats, places of business, banks and governtment buildings ban guns.
Serial murderer or mass pedophile at every corner
im guessing this is a joke but the u.s is the safest its ever been. crime is down. dont listen to tiktok or twitter. they post rage bait shit to get people to rise up. stats show different. even in major crime havens like detroit and baltimore, they have figured out a way to reduce crime.
 

Lunarorbit

Member
If you move to Texas then you'll probably see a lot of guns. Other than that, I'd say forget everything you think you know about the US. Dystopian state? What the fuck?
Living in Texas i surprisingly didn't see that many guns. Jacked up trucks, sure. But I didn't see that many open carry at all. I didn't spend much time in Dallas area but the houston to Austin area is didn't see much.
 

demented waffle

Gold Member
Nah, its ok. There are a lot of safety nets for poor people, and senior citizens. We have medicare for anyone over 65. medicaid for anyone making under $25k. free schools. free lunches., free healthcare free transportation for kids for parents under the poverty limit and even some working class people. you dont have to pay federal taxes if you have a large family and are making 50-60k.

dont bother with any of this if you are making $200k or are single. the market is for rich people or single men with a lot of time. building a business is easy because banks will loan you money but then you are in debt. so just get a normal job and play it safe.

nah, its fine for the reasons i posted above. there are a lot of opportunities here, you just have to get your hands dirty. the govt will help you if you get laid off, the banks will give you time to get a job back, your kids will be fine. the only problem is that the work culture here reigns supreme. you need to work from 9-6. you have your weekends but thats it. you get maybe 10 days of vacation. 3 days of bereavement. 10 days of sick leave for doctors appointment and other stuff. which if you have kids go by fast. when you come here. get ready to work. get your kids working at mcdonalds by the age of 16. get them in that mindset of working. get your wife in the mindset of working. everyone needs to work if you want a comfortable living. $100-150k should be enough to live in a decent neighborhood in a small midwestern city (not austin) without worrying about debt, but expect to work all the time. And work hard.

depends on where you go. big cities you will find people who dont give a fuck. smaller towns are slightly better. people will say hi as they walk past your house. smile, but generally keep their distance. dont expect any of that in the big cities like nyc, LA, and chicago.

nah. i read somewhere that 97% of the guns are owned by like 25% of the people. its mostly gun nuts. you wont encounter many people with guns. i have been to austin several times and never saw a gun. all resturnats, places of business, banks and governtment buildings ban guns.

im guessing this is a joke but the u.s is the safest its ever been. crime is down. dont listen to tiktok or twitter. they post rage bait shit to get people to rise up. stats show different. even in major crime havens like detroit and baltimore, they have figured out a way to reduce crime.

People don't realize that we have our safety net. Just not as robust as some countries. And we prefer it that way. Any more and our taxation would be too extreme. It varies state to state tho. If they want more, they always move to a blue state.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Only French person I know is a black lady who moved here a while ago (still has her accent) but moved again to Miami. She just got married recently.

About schools... Technically elementary and high school are free and, depending on the state, school lunches CAN be free if you live under a certain salary level... Very few states have school lunch completely free to students. You'll have to pay either with a loan (which you'll have to pay back) or out of pocket (unless you got a grant or scholarship) to go to college or university, though. There's no in between.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
People don't realize that we have our safety net. Just not as robust as some countries. And we prefer it that way. Any more and our taxation would be too extreme. It varies state to state tho. If they want more, they always move to a blue state.

No.. we DON'T prefer it that way. And not everyone can just Willy nilly move to another state like you claim.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Even the red states have a decent safety net.

In Mississippi (where I currently reside) you have to jump through hoops just to get Medicaid.... Medicare is slightly easier if you have a disability and SSDI...

In GA, you get 14 weeks of unemployment and that's it ... If you still have no job, good luck! I remember getting just $117 a month for groceries... It was difficult making that stretch for a whole month. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my health with Ramen noodles and soda all the time.

I'm glad I'm in Mississippi again staying with family.... But social safety nets could use some work.
 

demented waffle

Gold Member
In Mississippi (where I currently reside) you have to jump through hoops just to get Medicaid.... Medicare is slightly easier if you have a disability and SSDI...

In GA, you get 14 weeks of unemployment and that's it ... If you still have no job, good luck! I remember getting just $117 a month for groceries... It was difficult making that stretch for a whole month. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my health with Ramen noodles and soda all the time.

I'm glad I'm in Mississippi again staying with family.... But social safety nets could use some work.

I live in Kentucky and have been on SSDI for the last 15+ years. The only thing that would be nice would be dental care. I don't get it and it's understandable, there's no way to afford it without raising taxes to a point where the economy whithers. The state does, however; pay my copays and payments to Medicare. I don't get food stamps or anything else anymore. If you're having problems living on that; then it's you. Hell, I can even upgrade PC parts and buy my family members Xmas and other gifts.
 

Topher

Identifies as young
Correct. You can't be sacked for any reason here in the UK unless it's serious (taking a shit at your desk, or punching your manager as examples). A manager just can't fire you for poor performance. You get warnings first.

It's also the amount of paid leave. What's the average paid leave in the US? 10 days? In the UK it's around 25 paid days of annual leave per years. Normally the longer you work at a company, the longer annual leave you receive (I get 30 days)

We also get paid time off to visit the GP, Hospital or if we have a sick child.

Then there is maternity pay. I can't remember what it is in the US, but in the UK it's 90% of your wage for 39 weeks.

Leave varies from company to company in the US. Almost every job I've had included vacation or annual leave as well as separate sick leave. Not sure what maternity leave is. I'm well passed those days. lol
 
All major cities in Texas are blue not just Austin. Dallas, San Antonio, Houston are blue dots also and unlike Austin it's not racist. I don't have any issue with you saying we drive crazy I do have an issue with someone who visited trying to paint Austin as someUtopia in a sea of red it is only that for young white virtue signaling liberals everyone else needs to get out of dodge.
I didn't say Austin was a utopia, I said it was a blue dot in a red state, because the OP asked about Austin.

Like I said, whackjob. You're arguing with yourself about things you think I said.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
I live in Kentucky and have been on SSDI for the last 15+ years. The only thing that would be nice would be dental care. I don't get it and it's understandable, there's no way to afford it without raising taxes to a point where the economy whithers. The state does, however; pay my copays and payments to Medicare. I don't get food stamps or anything else anymore. If you're having problems living on that; then it's you. Hell, I can even upgrade PC parts and buy my family members Xmas and other gifts.

Then KY is doing a better job than MS ... I'm impressed!
 

demented waffle

Gold Member
Then KY is doing a better job than MS ... I'm impressed!

Mississippi is no different from Kentucky in social programs. I know 3 people who barely work and get full medical. When I say full, I mean full. Their medical benefits are way greater than mine and they draw full food stamps. They haven't worked a full year between all 3. I find it hard to believe it's any different in Mississippi. Obviously, the blue states are paying more, however; it'll come crashing down on everyone. No way can that continue.
 
I don't think it's fair at all to call him anything like that. He's one of the more sane people on this board! Maybe don't call people names on here?
Maybe on other topics he might be more level-headed, but right now, he's using me to grind his axe by inferring things that I haven't at all been saying.

I said grass is green, and his response was, "well some apples are green, too! Why do you think grass is so much better?!" Like dog, that's not what I said.
 

demented waffle

Gold Member
Maybe on other topics he might be more level-headed, but right now, he's using me to grind his axe by inferring things that I haven't at all been saying.

I said grass is green, and his response was, "well some apples are green, too! Why do you think grass is so much better?!" Like dog, that's not what I said.

It seemed to me that he was doing that at first. However, after further review, it seemed he was just shit-talking like we normally do.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Mississippi is no different from Kentucky in social programs. I know 3 people who barely work and get full medical. When I say full, I mean full. Their medical benefits are way greater than mine and they draw full food stamps. They haven't worked a full year between all 3. I find it hard to believe it's any different in Mississippi. Obviously, the blue states are paying more, however; it'll come crashing down on everyone. No way can that continue.

Then you didn't see the scandal surrounding Food Stamps in the last few years, I take it? ... The state government took money from that reservoir and used it to pay for the building of a brand new gym named after a famous footballers daughter at one of our universities.
 

demented waffle

Gold Member
Then you didn't see the scandal surrounding Food Stamps in the last few years, I take it? ... The state government took money from that reservoir and used it to pay for the building of a brand new gym named after a famous footballers daughter at one of our universities.

How much money was this dude stealing and why isn't he buried underneath the jail? We have our own good O boy problems in Kentucky and that would've already been sorted out by now.
 
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Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
I didn't say Austin was a utopia, I said it was a blue dot in a red state, because the OP asked about Austin.

Like I said, whackjob. You're arguing with yourself about things you think I said.
Visited Texas recently, the drivers there are crazy (Dallas/Houston).

Texas on the whole is generally conservative/republican, except for Austin, which is more liberal/democrat. Dunno if you care about that. It's also HCOL.

You got called out for saying Texas is conservative/republican except for Austin. Once again every major city in Texas is blue. Try and wiggle your way out of being wrong or claming you didn't say what you said. Take the L I cant believe you're doubling down against a native.
 
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DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
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