Moving to the USA, where is the place to be?

[viggen]

The last 12 years my main in come is in US dollar but my expenses are in Euro, which makes me seriously consider moving to the USA. Now there are two things to consider,

web-business friendly
quality of life

west coast no thanks too scared of earth quakes
south no thanks to tornados, hurricans and crazy christians
northern parts, got damm blizzards

so in my naive way of cheching those places i settled to

Virginia
West Virginia
Maryland
North Carolina
Kentucky
Tennesse

which one would you pick, or is there a state i missed?

[wheel]

Is it really that hard to find a decent place in the States?

Well part of the problem is the Americans. In the US, they're everywhere you turn. I mean, the country's full of them.

Other than Florida and Arizona which are full of antique Canadians.

[incrediBILL]

Other than Florida and Arizona which are full of antique Canadians.

The Canadian snowbirds in Florida are the worst.

They think they're French but don't speak with a French accent so even people like me that speak French can't understand a damn thing they're saying.

I'll just assume that bobbing up and down in the ocean and flailing arms wildly meant drowning but I couldn't get past the accent, oh well...

[Leosghost]

They think they're French but don't speak with a French accent so even people like me that speak French can't understand a damn thing they're saying.

Ils sont Québécois..they don't think they are French..they are Québécois ..and their accent is how French used to be..tempered with living next to English speakers for a few centuries .

Metro' ( mainland French ) has more accents than you could shake a stick at ..and if you learned your French anywhere other than in France..you wouldn't understand nearly all of them ..

What most people think of as a a French accent is actually Parisien ..which is about equivalent to Bronx..or if the pronunciation is better, is equivalent to your moms "telephone voice" ..but in French...Maurice Chevalier not withstanding ..

>>another vote for Maine Coast area..

[koan]

incrediBILL, what a surprisingly inane thing to say. I guess that means Americans think they're english but don't even speak with an english accent? Mexicans think they're spanish but don't even speak with a spanish accent? etc.

[tangor]

I'd suggest Gulf Coast (Texas, Houston in particular) if you also like to ride a bicycle... nice and flat, some elevations but nothing extreme, and lots of money/secondary biz opportunities compared to Austin, San Antonio or DFW... and all the benefits of the Really Big City for small town communities 10-30 miles away in an Urban Area that rivals Los Angles for Size (square miles). And is a right to work state which means you don't need to worry about your (future?) employees organizing a union. :)

Language of Texas is "business"... most of us speak it quite well.

[martinibuster]

they don't think they are French

I have relatives in Montreal, born and raised. I don't have anything against Canadians. However I have had the same experience as Bill. I have had several odd experiences where Canadians told people around them that they were French. Even my French language teacher in college told the class he was French. When I asked what part of France he admitted to being from Canada.
Yes, there are Latin Americans who identify as Spanish but aren't. There are Chicanos who identify as Mexican but they aren't. And there are Latinos who identify as Maya, but they aren't. I am not saying ALL French Canadians say they are French. People put on airs all the time. People behave foolishly all around the world. It's no big thing.

Portland Oregon, Northern California or Austin Texas.

Those are great choices. Northern California, way up and also a little east is great. Humboldt County, the California Shenandoah Valley, Mendocino, Anderson Valley all have small town aspects to them, at some spots a bit rural, but there is also access to many different activities. Many of those spots in Northern Cal also feature wineries...

[incrediBILL]

incrediBILL, what a surprisingly inane thing to say.

It was a joke - just like wheel joking about all the Americans in the US, sheesh.

But seriously, they were thrilled someone actually spoke French! I'm actually quite versatile, learned a lot of Yiddish just to keep up with my NY and FL peeps, some Spanish and how to correctly pronounce Japanese menu items ;)

Which is something to consider when moving to the US, there are a few places here like Cali, especially the SF Bay Area, with all the rich diversity of cultures from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa.

I like it and the food choices are fantastic! ;)

[edited by: incrediBILL at 5:39 am (utc) on May 26, 2011]

[Leosghost]

I have had several odd experiences where Canadians told people around them that they were French. Even my French language teacher in college told the class he was French. When I asked what part of France he admitted to being from Canada.

That is de Gaulle's fault, trying to "stir it" in '67 ..[en.wikipedia.org ] some Québécois fell for it :) lots of people confuse language with citizenship ..and brotherhood ..politicians and religious leaders , play upon it the world over ..


Now ..you mentioned wine ..and Bill mentioned food ..so all is as it should be in a foo thread :)

Food and wine is important when choosing somewhere to live ..so expand on the subjects :)?

[viggen]

thanks for all the answers, so personal taste (weather etc..) aside business wise where should a webmaster settle if he has the choice, or are the different states not so different? (apart from that Amazon Tax Law that i am aware even)

cheers
viggen

[martinibuster]

Each city has their own business tax. Each state has different business taxes, too. Yes, it makes a big difference where you locate in terms of taxes.

San Francisco used to tax me $25/year for a business license. I moved across the bay to another city and now I'm paying a small percentage of total income. It's not a lot of money but it's more than I used to pay in San Fran.

[incrediBILL]

are the different states not so different?

Every state is different yet similar, you really need to just take a tour. some places in some states still have "blue laws" and you can't shop on Sunday except for groceries, it's nuts. Beware, if you like to drink, some states make it hard to buy anythihg over a beer without special stores located far and few. Some places have great nightlife, others roll up at 10pm, you gotta check it out yourself.

It's c crap shoot.

[martinibuster]

mattglet's suggestion of the Boston suburbs is a good one. There is a lot to recommend about the New England area. The Boston burbs, like Sommerville, have all the benefits of good public transportation, good food, and proximity to good road trip destinations. The housing is relatively inexpensive (compared to where I live at least). I almost moved there a few years back and looked at a lot of houses in different areas. But as Bill mentioned, there are a few towns that are dry.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

It's an easy choice: the suburbs of Boston.

I am from the UK but I used to visit Norwood, MA with a previous job. It is about 20 miles south of Boston and I loved that little town and I thought that I could happily live there. Unlike some towns in America you can still walk around the town there without anyone thinking you were a weirdo. It also has bars that you can walk to for a beer or six, which is an important consideration for me. :)

As Martinibuster says the transportation is good. I never used the buses but I did take the train into Boston, which was quite handy. Boston is a great city but not a place to drive if you can avoid it.

[arieng]

Taos, New Mexico is a wonderful community that has a lot of European transplants. Loads of culture too, and four distinct seasons.

[Rugles]

where Canadians told people around them that they were French

Only 1/4 of Canadians are French speaking. Most of them also speak english (many are loathe to admit that publically). If you are encountering french speaking Canadians in Florida I bet you are on the Atlantic side north of Miami. Because that is where the Quebecois vacation. English speaking Canadians prefer the Gulf side for the most part. Odd but true.

With our high dollar we are apparently buying up Florida and Arizona real estate and an unprecidented pace. So get ready for more of those "antique Canadians" down there.

Anways, I still vote Portland Oregon.

[mattglet]

The Boston burbs, like Sommerville, have all the benefits of good public transportation, good food, and proximity to good road trip destinations.

Good ol' Somerville... martinibuster is very correct ;)

[Brett_Tabke]

Consider Austin [en.wikipedia.org...]
- no state income tax.
- diverse population (60% of pop is not native - big mix of Californians and upper east coasters).
- Largest university in US, which makes the town decidedly liberal (very euro attitudes here).
- Roaring business and residential growth (recession? there was a recession?).
- Top market in US for housing growth over last 20 years.
- Huge tech community (Dell, AMD, Freescale, Samsung, Paypal, Google, Intel, apple, Nvida, IBM, 3M, Oracal, Hostgator, DotComs everywhere) Largest tech employment outside of sf bay area.
- Very mild winters. (only a couple freezes a winter)
- Massive amounts of events (concerts, shows, sports...) Home of sxsw - austin city limits - live music capital of world.
- Large and active VC community.
- Texas Hill country (trees and hills everywhere - awesome views - incredible environment)
- Downside; hot summers. Upside - air conditioning ;-)

[martinibuster]

Hey Brett, you forgot to mention good beer and barbecue!

[beren]

Please don't advise people to move to Central Texas anymore. We have too many people moving here as is.

[koan]

Beren, lemme help you: being from the North, I have to say that warm states are attractive, but I would worry about poisonous animals and big creepy crawlies.

[GaryK]

I have to say that warm states are attractive, but I would worry about poisonous animals and big creepy crawlies.

Here in Miami you only have to worry about the poisonous snakes, toads, frogs, spiders, mosquitoes and plants. Oh, and the occasional suburban alligator that thinks small children are a tasty snack.

Other than that we have no state income tax, a very IT friendly atmosphere, easily bribed elected officials who can expedite anything you want, great quality of life, and I think we're also the restaurant capital of the world.

[adder]

I'm British, LOL, but if you want an input from an outsider, Denver, Colorado is the place to be. There is something special about Denver, it's one of the coolest places in the whole wide world! And I don't mean the weather :)

[incrediBILL]

Denver, it's one of the coolest places in the whole wide world!

Until that inversion layer chokes the air, the air quality is often that of a septic tank.

[lucy24]

No matter where you settle, the climate is almost certain to be more extreme-- in all directions-- than what you're used to.

And no matter where you live now and where you move to, there will be some aspects of daily life that you've considered so obvious and taken-for-granted that it would never enter your mind to ask about them. Some of these features will be either absent or significantly different in the US. (For example, do not walk up to a postal clerk and say you want to open a savings account. At best, you will get a blank stare.)

When you first get here, you will be surprised to find gasoline a little more expensive than you're used to. That's because you have not yet internalized the conversion from liters to gallons. Yes, we use the "Imperial" system. Live with it. But a kilobyte still contains 2^10 bytes and that's what matters.

Try to find someone from the US living in your area. Not just visiting, but someone who has lived here long enough to get an apartment and a bank account and so on. The differences you notice from one side will not be identical to the differences you notice from the other side, but it's a good start.

Ignore all advice containing the word "taxes". No matter where you live, both income tax and sales tax (we don't call it VAT) will be vastly lower than what you are used to. See above about aspects of daily life that you take for granted.

[Planet13]

Baltimore, West Side.

Best be strapped!

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

When you first get here, you will be surprised to find gasoline a little more expensive than you're used to.

You are joking aren't you? If not you have clearly never been in the UK. :(

(... and most of us are clever enough too understand the difference between litres and gallons but some of us may not be aware that your gallon is 20% less than ours.) ;)

[Montresor]

and I think we're also the restaurant capital of the world.

New York City as the Restaurant Capital of the World is imaginable. New Orleans, yes. Paris, yes. Tokyo, yes. London? Yes! The state of Florida?.... No offense meant, but aside from Miami (which is on the REGIONAL scale of good restaurant towns) the chain restaurant capital of the world is a more accurate representation of Florida. Florida is the epitome of highway/mall/highway/mall/highway/another mall/another highway/another mall/yet another highway/ yet another mall...

On the bright side, real estate is cheap. On the not bright side, there are entire cities in Florida that are ghost towns because of overdevelopment. The economy of Florida was built on real estate. The New Yorker magazine had an article two years ago about Florida and how it led the the United State's real estate crisis. The article was called, The Ponzi State - Florida's foreclosure disaster [newyorker.com].

Florida is one of the places where the financial crisis began. Gary Mormino, a professor at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, tells the writer that, “Florida, in some ways, resembles a modern Ponzi scheme. Everything is fine for me if a thousand newcomers come tomorrow.” The state depends for revenue on real-estate deals and sales taxes.

By 2005, the housing market in Florida was hotter than it had ever been. Flipping houses and condominiums turned into an amateur middle-class pursuit... According to an investigation by the Miami Herald, government oversight of the real-estate market was so negligent that more than ten thousand convicted criminals got jobs in the mortgage industry. Flipping and fraud burst the bubble.

No offense but it's a poor sign of a state's health when it is DEPENDENT on real estate for driving the economy. Florida led the USA into financial crisis.

Aside from the dysfunctional aspect of Florida's reliance on real estate speculation as its economic engine, there are also the issues of natural disasters, the culture of chain restaurants, the culture of big box stores, extreme heat and other quality of life issues that make Florida one of the least desirable states in the union to live. Some of the USA's most embarrassing nutcases are associated with Florida, such as the Koran burning preacher [thedailyshow.com] and serial killer Ted Bundy. There are more. Casey Anthony [cnn.com]? Must I list all of them? Florida is an undesirable place to live for the reasons I listed and more.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Say what you mean, don't sugar coat it. :);)

[incrediBILL]

but aside from Miami (which is on the REGIONAL scale of good restaurant towns) the chain restaurant capital of the world is a more accurate representation of Florida.

No more so than anywhere else.

Sorry, I go to South Florida all the time and seldom eat in chains, Florida has some killer places and often you only have to drive a little ways off those main mall areas to find one. It's a simple situation of knowing what's available, online research is easy, vs. driving down the main roads looking for chains. Waterfront places are seldom chains nor are they chains in the neighborhoods.

There's some good Italian spots in strip malls.

After living in the SF Bay Area with Chinese places so authentic they don't even speak English, I can't stand what they call Chinese food in Florida - it's all dumbed down and bland for the locals - blech

Some divine Cuban food in Florida, forget Mexican, they don't get that either, it might as well be Chinese.

[J_RaD]

south no thanks to tornados, hurricans and crazy christians

Virginia
West Virginia
Maryland
North Carolina
Kentucky
Tennesse

do you realize only 1 state on your list IS NOT in the south right? :-P

no place is ever really like its stereotype so just get over here and form your own opinion.

highway/mall/highway/mall/highway/another mall/another highway/another mall/yet another highway/

beach / water / beach / water / beach / water, there is plenty of outside stuff to do here besides eat and shop :-)