Relocation to US which state ?
I and my wife are ready to relocate to US. Visas are ready.
I have three states in Mind North charleston (South Carolina), Houston (Texas) Georgia
Kindly advise which of these three I should relocate to.
I am from africa. I have limited funds. I am computer graduate.
Desktop support specialist.
How easy to get jobs.
Accomodation price ( 1 0r 2 bedroom)
water bill
Electric bill
heating bill
council tax
transportation
so please i need precise details(monetary value) as per above and any other that I have missed. I intend to relocate within the next two months so I need to plan very well. and how much funds do I need to relocate with. How easy to get jobs. What and what to look for and what and what to run away from
Thanks in advance for your advice
Answer:
Are you a black African or white African? The reason I ask is that the cities you list are all in the southern United States. Things are better here since the Civil War and the end of Jim Crow, but still, prejudice in Texas and South Carolina are still very strong, very open, and sometimes a huge hurdle. The southern states also have little in the way of public services. Not only is assistance with mental health or public health limited, but libraries, parks, and rec centers tend to be meager, too. Especially in 'black' parts of town. And, the thing about the south is that there are black and white parts of town, still, to this day. Realtors engage in 'steering' - only showing people the parts of town that the the 'powers that be' want people to live in. Also, rental agents will out and out lie to black applicants about availability of units - this has been demonstrated in tests by newspapers.
Of the three places you name, Georgia, in the Atlanta area only, is the most progressive. It is a friendly, warm, and wonderful city. It has been booming. However, they have a huge illegal immigrant population and a recent crackdown on these immigrants actually left a factory town unable to function. So, they've got growing pains.
Apartments of 1 - 2 bedrooms can cost 1200/mo in the city, 600 -750 in the suburbs. Electricity, heat, and water are sometimes included in the rent - 'utilities included' the ad will say. Otherwise, say 25/mo water, 80/mo electric which often includes heating. The southern states, of course, are warmer, and we are having a warm spell right now.
council tax? Don't know what that is, tho different states have different taxes apart from federal income tax. Texas has no income tax, but it shows.
Transportation - Atlanta has public transportation. Washington DC has public transportation. In DC, it's about 7 dollars a day to commute from the suburbs to the city by bus.
Pollution in Houston is horrific and makes it worth crossing off your list altogether.
Have you looked online for newspapers in those cities/states? Also, craigslist.org in those cities will be very informative, and have job and housing ads. Many communities have on-line webpages that give you info about the govt of the city, the businesses, and the atmosphere. Search on google.com for that.
It should be easy to get a job in your field, but check the local papers to get a feel for the specific area. Conditions vary widely. As others have said here, the better the jobs, the higher the rents.
Some people move far out to the suburbs because the housing prices are so shocking and then they end up spending more overall because of transportation back in to the city. Many find it better to pay the higher rent.
It all depends on your employment. I have been to Charleston & various cities in Georgia. Charleston's cost of living is higher than most of Georgia. I'd say Georgia would be your best choice. Probably outside of Atlanta but close enough to work in Atlanta. This city would be a better bet for a computer job. I think Houston is harder to find a job and a higher cost of living. Good luck !!
While I'm sure that there are computer support jobs in those cities, the trend for the past 5 to 10 years has been for companies to move those jobs to India where they can pay people a lot less than in the US.
But I'd research job listing very carefully on the internet. Set up a listing on one of the internet job sites like www.monster.com and look at the listings there. People in the US are always willing to hire someone who is bright and hard working.
As for those places, I don't much about them, but Georgia is a big state, with big cities like Atlanta and rural farmland. There are also web sites that compare cost of living. Look up "places rated" - example given below.
In my experience, the places with the best paying jobs will also have higher cost of living (apartments and homes). So it kind of cancels out. (with the exception of extremely expensive places like New York City, Boston, San Francisco... The places you mentioned are probably all very comparable.
You can go to a site called compare two cities. This site will give you the amount of money you can make, and how much it will cost you to live there. I have been to GA and I believe it is a very beautiful state. You will have to decide for yourself, this is not a decision that someone else can make for you.
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