Moving to USA

[kittenwitten]

My boyfriend and I have our hearts set on moving to America or Canada but im not sure where. We would like somewhere with a good music scene and we need somewhere we can get jobs in our relevant fields im a graphic designer and he is a photographer/ video editor (we are 24 & 25). Can anyone suggest anywhere nice to live that doesnt cost too much? We have been thinking about San Francisco it looks fantastic but seems rather pricey. Does anyone have any idea roughly how much we will need to save to move abroad? And most importantly can anyone tell us exactly what we need visas etc and how to get them?Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[secretspirit]

If you're British then unless you're marrying a US citizen or one of if you is from there then I believe you have a small chance of being permitted to move there. Often you have to have grounds such as high level qualifications or a large degree of specialisation to be granted a Green Card to live and wotk there. The other possibility is to apply for one of the 50,000 Green Cards granted on a lottery system each year, see this site for info: http://www.h1base.com/page.asp?id=56

[kittenwitten]

Thanks for the advice i just checked that website and UK citizens not allowed to take part in lottery for green cards (it seems like a rather strange idea). I think we will just try and go for a while on visa. Is it an H-1B visa we will need does anyone know? I think we will need to secure jobs first but not sure how easy it will be to have an interview without going over there (we cant afford to go back and forth)

[worder]

maybe, it's easier to go live in Canada, and then come and visit and or get a job here. if either one of you was already working for an international company based in the US such as DuPont, that would make it much easier; i know a couple from Ireland who came to the states that way, they've been here for 30 years. about moving to California, you're right, it's sky high expensive. about 10 years ago, speaking with this nurse who had not long before moved to NC. when i told her my 2 bedroom apartment on the Neuse River was 250 a month, she could not beleive it. she said any place with 2 bedrooms on the water whether ocean, lake, or river was 1500 in California. i remember when i was in california 20 years ago everything was priced for movie stars, and traffic at rush hour is not much fun either. i would never want to live there. you make more more money, but you spend more.