Need help getting away !

[Kapitan]

Ok guys im sick and tired of the UK ive planned for the last few months with my friend and we have decided enough is enough and we want out.
For a time we had decided that LA would be a good place to go too, however i did learn it was very expencive to live there same as NY.

I have very limited experiance im a refuse collector (garbage / trash man) this is roughly all i have done, if i do get my position in the RFA i will tough it out for a year and then go.

The thing i need help with is the following:

• How do i apply for a green card
• How do i find employment
• I need a cheap area to live and i dont care where as long as they have jobs
• Any other advice you may have.

Thanks any help is much appreciated.

[Iceman]

If you look at the fastest growing cites..../ states....Arizona and Texas are right up there...particularly AZ...Phoenix,Mesa,Gilbert...for the prices of housing verses costs of living you probably wont find a better place to live...the Summers are brutal though....brutal for people not used to 100+ degree temps...I bought almost 2400sq ft, 4bed ,3 bath, home 3 months ago a little outside the metro are for less than 200k....it is a perfect time for anyone looking to buy almost anywhere....I would think you could find a collector job out here prety easy....do you or are you able to drive the big collector trucks...here the all use a big arm off the trucks and just drive all day...all kinds of that kind of work I would think around here.If you are looking for a 2 or 3 bed home brand new you can find em here for under 100k no BS...brand new.

Just look up the local newspapers around here...the AZ republic or East Valley Tribune...

http://www.azcentral.com/

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/


This company WM...Waste Mgmnt I see they're trucks all over out here...
http://www.wm.com/


This was good info also..Chandler AZ is a good city too...
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/.../cb03-106.html

[Skybird]

Good luck, Kapitan, and respect! That step shows courage, if you really carry it out.

If I would have had children, I would have given it a serious thought to leave germany, too. Just no idea where to go.

listen around for greencard lotteries, i mean somebody who won a card but does not want it. Ebay! Can't comment on these being fakes or not, though, so be careful. In the past twenty years, my father knew at five times of colleagues or their relatives who won a greencard without even wanting it! True.

[fatty]

If you are set on the U.S. then I can't say anything, but I thought I'd mention the Alberta oil sands projects anyway. The drilling companies are in dire need of young, able workers like yourself. Most of my friends from high school have moved out west and are working there now. I believe they all provide training, but seeing as you have experience operating heavy machinery that is an asset. And since you're drilling for black gold the pay is $$$$. You wouldn't live in a major chic metropolitan area like LA or NYC, but Calgary is a pretty booming place I'm told.

[Kapitan]

I currently hold HGV class 2 which allows me in the UK and europe to drive any viechle on a rigid chasis upto the maximum of 32 tonne with no trailer over 750kg.

However none of my licencies will stand in the US as im on a sponsored driving scheme which means if i leave my job i loose my licence till im 21, however i dont care about that i want out.

[Iceman]

I hear nothing but good things from our neighbors up North in Canada as well...always all good.

[Kapitan]

Id rather move out to the USA canada is a close second and AZ does look cheap and the company link you gave me for WM im having a look at that maybe they could sponsor me or something now to find out how to contact them.

[Torplexed]

Wow...this is quite the sad demographic trend for the UK. Young people in their twenties and thirties packing up and leaving for good. People feeling stifled, fed-up and wanting out. I've been reading about it for a while now.. Hopefully the last person leaving Britain will turn out the lights.

[Ducimus]

For a time we had decided that LA would be a good place to go too, however i did learn it was very expencive to live there same as NY.

Ill assume you mean anywhere in the Los angelus basin - which encompasses many different counties and cities.


Allow to me confirm that this place is expensive for you:

- My residency of the last 5 years was terminated by a "buisness decision" by the property owner. Since i wasnt on an annual lease i was easy to get rid of. I was paying 890 dollars a month for a 3 bed, 2 bath ranch style apartment. This was after 5 years of rent increases. A 1 bedroom in the same complex now goes for around 1100.

- My current residence of a 1 bedroom 1 bath apartment costs me 1178 dollars a month.

- This area is the nations leading area for home forclosures. Which means its driving a spike in the demand for rentals. Also, housing is incredibly hard to qualify for now.

- Your average McMansion costs 550,000 to 600,000, with some areas reaching 700, to 800.

- The cheap gas here, costs around 3.30 to 3.50, prices fluctuate. We'll probably be hitting 4 dollars a gal before anyone else.

- illegal immigration takes up alot of jobs.

- area is extremely congested. and it gets worse every year.

etc etc.

In short, LA, is a bad area to move to.

[sonar732]

I would look at states which have higher minimum wages than the federal rate. Since these states bumped up their wages, employers have had to relent to those who make over minimum wage for raises. The classic "if they got a raise, why not me?".

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

[Hakahura]

Interesting thread, but I feel I have to put the alternative view.

As a British serviceman (RAF) I've served all around the globe and spent quite a bit of that time in the US. So after 19 years service this isn't just unqualified xenophobic crap.

As much as I've enjoyed some of my travels, I would still not live permanently anywhere else other than Great Britain.

Maybe anyone thinking of emigrating should just do a little bit of travelling. It's a well used cliche, but it's only when you've been round the world that you appreciate what you've got at home.

Regardless of some of the problems we've got here in the UK there is still no-where else I would rather live.



(Hakahura steps down from soapbox...)

[swifty]

If you heart is set on the the US your best bet is to to obtain a student visa and go to university. You may have to get student loans to help pay tuition and board but you can offset the cost and maybe pay for every thing by working at the university either in administration, the bookstore, as a teachers aide, etc. This is the only legal work option for international students while in school. After earning a degree you will be allowed to stay in the states for one year and can work at any job. After that you will need a US company to sponsor a visa to work longer. If you are good at math and science I would recommend engineering or science degree. These two fields are some of the highest in demand in the US and you will have the best opportunity of finding a job after graduating.

As for area I would look at the Southeastern US. Warm pleasant climate, affordable living and also supports growing industries and an expanding job market. Take a look at Jacksonville, FL, Atlanta, GA, New Orleans, LA, Memphis, TN.

[baggygreen]

Or, you can come join the rest of your countrymen and live down under!

Go out west to the mines, earn 100k a year drivin big trucks... housings the issue there tho, you might end up in a van, but you've said you'd be happy to go the streets which is pretty extreme