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i'm fed up. i want to travel. i want excitement. life is short.
i'm becoming increasingly prepared to take my next student loan installment of 2000 quid and move to america for a year or so. that would involve dropping out of college. but seriously, that sounds so appealing right now. i'm only in my first year, and the course sucks. I mean i really don't learn much. I have no enthusiasm. The only thing that I go in for is a hot girl that I was seeing, and really really like, but now that has all gone wrong and we are just like best mates, which is amazing - she is amazing, but it will all end in tears when she runs off with another man and tells me in graphic detail about her one night stands etc....
so, how easy would it be to get to america, get a job, and stay for a year or so with 2000quid ($3864) ???
will anyone employ a lowly brit? a music related job would be so ace.
also, where to go? america is a big place. nyc? sounds like fun but will i get my face shot off? san fran? la? canada even?
any ideas? anyone got a job for me? anyone rent me a house? wanna start a band?
i need to be decided within a week, cos i'm supposed to be moving in with some college mates, and i can't leave them in the lurch and run off to america. but know i am very seriously considering this.
another problem, i have a fear of flying. now i will put up with this obviously, but anyone know of boat travel to america/candada? is it possible? expensive?
i need advice and ideas.
x
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03/11/07
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jdg
we have a no chav rule here in seattle, sorry.
03/11/07
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Jim
Portland is a small to medium sized city, somewhere around a million people. I think it's a pretty great place. I would say you should expect to pay $300-700 for a decent place here (you probably want a better location if you won't have a car). That's something to keep in mind, if you weren't aware, many American cities don't have very good public transportation.
I would still say stay where you are. It sounds like things are not going great right now, but I think many people have a tough go of it their first year of school. I learned a lot about myself in school, and part of the gain came from sticking with it through the bad stuff.
03/11/07
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Otterfan
Canada. Try Vancouver (or if you think you can take the cold Toronto or Montreal).
Canada has a reciprocal work permit agreement with the UK (like Australia or NZ), so arranging a visa and a job will be a lot easier. Plus Vancouver is beautiful and cosmopolitan. Plus Seattle and Portland are in the area, so you could meet 50% of em411 in a week. It's expensive, but you should be able to find something.
Unfortunately the US doesn't have working holiday arrangements like Canada, NZ, Australia, etc. You can try applying for an extended tourist visa, but they might want to see more than $3000 in your bank account to make sure you don't try to go native. It's worth a shot though.
You can also try asking at one of those gap year job agencies about temporary work visas in the US. The advantage is that you'd have a job and housing arranged before you leave. The disadvantage is that it will probably be something like waiting tables or mopping floors in a resort hotel. BUNAC seems to be the gap year agency that people actually trust.
Getting a job is kind of hard without a visa (especially a good job--waiter and bartender jobs will be easy to find), and getting a place to stay can be hard without a job. Wherever you move, try craigslist.
If you do come to the US, don't worry too much about crime. There's a lot of murder here, but it tends to be gang-related or husbands killing wives.
Back when I was in school I used to drop out and move to foreign countries all the time. It took me almost 8 years to graduate, and only 3 of those were spent in school. Was it good for me? Who knows...
03/11/07
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jdg
i love vancouver.
i would move there if i could afford it.
my fav city outside of seatlte.
03/11/07
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race4prize
jdg : no chavs - LOL
i need to think about all this. im pretty confident its what i want to do. and $300-$700 a month is soooooooo cheap. you pay that a week over here. i'm gonna look into it. all of this is great information so keep it coming! x
03/11/07
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Squeal
Utah is cheap, but I wouldn't wish it on you. Actually Salt Lake City isn't too horrible; just expect all the stupidity that a fairly homogenous right-wing society can bring.
My wife and I have actually been trying to move to Austin, so I guess I second that motion. Good economy/job market, good social scene, yet relatively cheap housing.
03/11/07
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race4prize
yeah austin sounds good, i just have this stereotype of texas in my mind - fat people/dukes of hazzard/steaks/cowboys
obviously it can't be all like that, i just want somewhere really happening, im still keen on nyc but doesn't sound very possible
03/11/07
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astroid
austin is great
portland is great
03/11/07
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jdg
the first time i went to austin.. the first thing i saw after i got off the plane, was a pickup truck on fire.
flames about 20feet high...
this was at a gas station.. and everyone was just scratching their heads...
lol texas.
03/11/07
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Otterfan
race4prize said: "fat people"
If you go anywhere in the US, you must expect fat people. It is unavoidable.
You can take pictures for your friends back home, but be discrete.
I love Austin, but you will definitely need a car.
edited: Mar 11 2007
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sclr
its hard to geta job in portland. if you really intend to do it i would say someplace on the east coast or west coast so you can travel up and down and check out other cities and at least canada or mexico.
03/11/07
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Roshi
LOL @ no chav rule.
03/11/07
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lunatinker
i have seen all 48 contiguous states. highly recommended.
someone said "hard to find a job" in Portland.
Honestly, the economy has been shit here for 7-10 years.
its unpredictable, but "feels" like its improving overall.
At least, I'm not struggling as much now as the last 5yrs.
true and not. if you have an area of expertise...
Web dev can pay $20 - 35 /hour, possibly more...Or you could get luckier?
in Cali where i lived, the same work could pay
$40 to $200 per hour depending on contract length and skills.
(knew someone in Oakland who maintained MS.Access database for corporation for $200/hour)
03/11/07
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race4prize
hmm well i dont really have any expertise. i mean, i can work a studio, but not 'officially.'
i've seen this H2B visa program which is like $1000 and gaurantee's to find you a job for 12 months. it will suck, like cleaning tables or something, but it would be a start. it would leave me with flight money and hopefully enough to cover my rent until i get paid. thats my last option.
anyone rich enough to employ a butler? i could put on a fine posh british accent for you, and wear a lovely bow tie.
03/11/07
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jack123
why not work up some more cash and visit over here for like a summer or something? to get an idea of where you might want to live. it seems like a bad idea to just drop everything and move with no job or housing lined up.
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