US living standards - info needed

[IMPSBL]

Hi!

First, sorry if my English/grammar is crappy at times, it's not my native language. If something is not understandable, feel free to ask me what the hell I wanted to say :).

I know some of you will reply with "google it", but I wanted to read more personal experiences regarding the subject.

Here's the deal: In near future (maybe in a year or so), a possibility opened for me, that requires moving to USA, at least for couple of months (6 or more), possibly in the LA area. In this case I'll have a invitation letter from one US design agency that I'll work full time as a graphic designer. Although this may not be necessary ( I already work for it via internet from my current location, although it's hard at times because of the 9 hours time difference), I would like to try it nonetheless. Since I'll have to go through Hell and back with applications/visa's/paperwork stuff, I need to be certain about couple of things, so I would know is it worth bothering. I want to know:

1) What's the average ammount of $ needed to survive a month? I'm talking about the basic stuff: paying the lease for a small appartment (1-2 rooms w/bathroom,kitchen), bills for water, electricity, internet, tv, food (nothing fancy, with occasional visit to a restaurant), etc. My gf would come with me, but there's a chance that first couple of months I'll have to be alone there.

2) Is it hard for a foreigner to get a debit/credit card, open bank accounts, stuff like that.

That would be the basic stuff, if I think of something soon I'll post it.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Edited July 6, 2008 by DREAMWEB

[Soham]

1) Search on craigslist for studio appartment

2) No, it's hard at all only thing you need is SSN and legal residentcy document

[gwai lo]

The average amount depends very much on where you're moving to. Utility, internet, and food is pretty similar across the board (although food is somewhat pricier in West LA than East LA), but rent is going to vary greatly depending on where you're going to...you didn't mention a car which I assume means you're looking at public transit or really forking out big monies to live by where you're going to work (unless it's in City of Industry or something).

As for whether or not it'll be worth it, it depends on how much you like city life. I know lots of people who don't like the large amount of people around, but I personally like living in the city in addition to the many opportunities for different things. I don't mind traffic and I've learned traffic patterns...and of course the weather is awesome :D I imagine it'll be a huge difference from where you're coming from though..

[BGM]

this website might be useful, i found it the other day

http://www.freeusaguide.com/

[IMPSBL]

you didn't mention a car which I assume means you're looking at public transit or really forking out big monies to live by where you're going to work (unless it's in City of Industry or something).

I still don't have a driver's license (although I'm planning to get one eventually) , mainly because all my life I lived in the downtown where I had no need of a car (having in mind that full tank of gas in my country costs around 50-60 euros, and that's 1/3 or 1/4 of an average monthly salary (yeah, our standard is THAT low..sometimes even lower :( ).

In case that opportunity I mentioned comes to life, my working place would be somewhere in the Hollywood area.

As for whether or not it'll be worth it, it depends on how much you like city life. I know lots of people who don't like the large amount of people around, but I personally like living in the city in addition to the many opportunities for different things. I don't mind traffic and I've learned traffic patterns...and of course the weather is awesome :D I imagine it'll be a huge difference from where you're coming from though..

I don't mind city life at all.. recently I moved from downtown in a different, quieter area of my city, and I kind of miss the sound of passing cars :) And that huge difference between US and my country is one of the main reasons i would like to try it, having in mind that in case I go to US at least it's certain that I'll have a job... Living in a country full of opportunities (at least for the job I do - graphic design,digital art etc.) and in a city that has more population than my entire country would be interesting :) Also, My gf wouldn't mind to get her master degree there, so it's challenging for her too.

@Soham and BGM: Thanks for your replies and links, I appreciate that !

Keep em' coming :D

[gwai lo]

Hollywood is West LA and it's pretty pricey, I was kind of figuring that's where you'd be working. You're probably looking at around a grand for rent alone unless you room up with some college students (UCLA's nearbyish...hah)..

Oh here's a handy site for public transportation:

http://www.metro.net/default.asp

The planner helps a lot, just put in the prospective apartment address and then your work place address and it'll give you some options. From there you can use google map + street view to get an idea of how far you'll have to walk and where, etc etc.

[IMPSBL]

Thank for the feedback so far.

Although, I would really use more info about this... More actual numbers/experiences about the stuff I asked.

Thanks in advance!

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I still don't have a driver's license (although I'm planning to get one eventually) , mainly because all my life I lived in the downtown where I had no need of a car

While LA is a huge city, it may not be as urban as you might expect. LA suffers from suburban sprawl and their public transit system may not be as extensive as you might think. I have never lived in LA but from what I have heard, it is a more car oriented city than, for example, San Francisco. People have told me that you need a car to live in LA and while that may be an exaggeration, there may be some truth in there as well.

Try to use the LA Metro link to find out if your workplace is near a rail stop. Then perhaps you could find an apartment near another rail stop. You might need to cross-reference Google Maps with the LA Metro maps.

[Titoist]

Well for a citizen of Sarajevo, coming where ur coming from, Skopje, in North America you definetly need a car. Public transportation is not as complex as it is in the balkans. To be honest, public transportation is the worst in north america with horrible hours, high ticket costs etc. If you were to move to the US and can't afford a car, try to live as close to your work as possible or on/near a reliable bus route.

Oh, also I strongly don't suggest getting a "masters degree" in the states. Canada or anywhere else sure, but I have a friend going to uni in the states and he sais its like $30,000+ for a semester. Unless you won a lottery in Skopje, theres no chance you will be able to afford that schooling, especially when u first start out. Austria I believe offers free university education for citizens of BiH, Hrvatska, Makedonija.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

The other thing is that the United States takes in only 65,000 skilled workers per year (the H-1B thing). I have a friend that has one but it isn't easy. The employer needs to prove that there isn't an American who is able, willing and qualified to do the job rather than you. For graphic design, that may be nearly impossible.

Perhaps there are other options that I don't know about though...

[DaTech]

I'm curious if your company is moving you down there wouldn't they take care of all that for you?

I'm not sure what lvl the company you work for is at but you might want to ask them what they can do for you if you leave the country.

I have friends that travel around the world their companies have their place to stay living allowance... and if the place is dangerous armed guards

I'm just saying maybe your company can help you out with some stuff?

[+shift. MVC]

My mom's best friend lives in Los Angeles (Pasedena) and we visit her once every other year or so and I would have to agree with Fred Derf that you "need" a car to live in LA. I just don't think their public transit system is very extensive at all.

Definitely not as convenient as living in Vancouver.

[IMPSBL]

Oh, also I strongly don't suggest getting a "masters degree" in the states. Canada or anywhere else sure, but I have a friend going to uni in the states and he sais its like $30,000+ for a semester. Unless you won a lottery in Skopje, theres no chance you will be able to afford that schooling, especially when u first start out. Austria I believe offers free university education for citizens of BiH, Hrvatska, Makedonija.

My girlfriend is interested in getting a masters degree, not me. In case we go to US, I believe she was thinking of getting some scholarship. But I don't know how much is that possible for foreigners either.

I didn't know that thing about Austria, thank you very much! I'll definitely check if it's true.

Do you happen to know, if I get a drivers license here (in Macedonia), will I need to take all the driving lessons/tests over there too? You know what I mean... I really can't think how to explain this in english right now (I haven't slept for 2 days... dam'n photoshop :(, so in case you didn't understand I can send you PM in Serbian, if that's ok. I don't know are there rules about using languages different than English on these boards :unsure: , so I won't write it here.

Pozdrav ! :D

And thanks for the tips !

P.S Nice avatar.. I don't believe much of the users here know about Tito :cool:

[IMPSBL]

I'm curious if your company is moving you down there wouldn't they take care of all that for you?

I'm not sure what lvl the company you work for is at but you might want to ask them what they can do for you if you leave the country.

I have friends that travel around the world their companies have their place to stay living allowance... and if the place is dangerous armed guards

I'm just saying maybe your company can help you out with some stuff?

There's a huge possibility for this, but it's too early to talk with them at this stage. I already asked them a while ago, and they said that the ammount of work is still not that big so they would need me there.

Last year I had an offer from the same company (from the CEO) to leave my country for a month, and go to China, Thailand and Taiwan with him (travel, place to stay and food on the expence on the company). Unfortunately, I had to put down the offer because there wasn't enough time for me to get the visa and all the paperwork done. :( So I'm guessing it's possible that they could take care of some of the things in case they invite me to US, but as I said, it's too early to ask.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Do you happen to know, if I get a drivers license here (in Macedonia), will I need to take all the driving lessons/tests over there too? You know what I mean... I really can't think how to explain this in english right now (I haven't slept for 2 days... dam'n photoshop :(, so in case you didn't understand I can send you PM in Serbian, if that's ok. I don't know are there rules about using languages different than English on these boards :unsure: , so I won't write it here.

It might make more sense to get an IDP:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Driving_Permit

You probably need a Macedonian license before you get an IDP from an agency in Macedonia but who knows?

[IMPSBL]

Thank for the feedback so far.

Btw, Is there anyone from New Zealand here? I could use some info (about the same stuff I asked in my initial post) for NZ also.

Thanks in advance.