25-01-2003 23:34									#61
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I understand where you're coming from MrFun!

	25-01-2003 23:36									#62
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I concur with MRT - I think you would love California... like a kid in a candy store!

	25-01-2003 23:36									#63
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If i can share the joy of living in california with just one person then id die a happy man.

	25-01-2003 23:39									#64
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On a side note, MrFun: What's your Masters going to be in?

	26-01-2003 00:47									#65
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With apologies to everyone from the States, there are a couple of problems south of the line.

Many places, such as good IT spots in California are in spots where the car is king. So many complaints I have heard from people who have headed down there centre around the amount of time spent in a car on a given day. Daily commutes can be excessively long. Many people here walk to work or take a 15 minute bus ride.

The racial mix in the States is also different. I know a couple south Asians who say they are always mistaken for blacks down in the States. And well many US cities have sizable S. Asian minorities, sometimes the level of acceptance isn't as high. Our current senior federal cabinet minister is Herb Daliwal; one recent BC Premier was Ujjal Dosanjh.

Vancouver is a great city for people who love to participate in sports and for people who love the outdoors. Although the violent crime rate is only a fraction of any large city in the US, the property crime rate is high here.

Of course, the money will be greater almost anywhere in the States.

	26-01-2003 00:56									#66
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redfred, your car problem is cherished by americans...i personally love driving. its simply a difference in culture.

and i doubt anyone in the bay area would mistake an indian as black.

bay area does have crime in spots although those tend to be localized to areas of cities that have lower income. or cities with lower income. as an IT professional i doubt you would live in East Palo Alto or East Oakland or Bay view/ hunter's point district of san francisco.

of course we dont have universal healthcare

	26-01-2003 01:11									#67
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You might want to consider the Northern Virginias suburbs of Washington DC. For one thing, it's a relatively good area for IT experts. For another, there are some of "everybody" there. Being next to Washington DC, there are people from all over the world. If one wishes to find a community of "their own", they are there, plus there are all the others to experience if you want to (and I think that is a good thing).

Aside from that (but connected to it), there is the combination of multicultural activities, national and international politics, arts and museums, major and minor sports, and varieties of geographical interests (from ocean to mountains in 100 miles).

You might also want to consider both climate and weather. Some parts of the US have extremes of both. Washington DC area is balanced and generally free from the extremes. It doesn't rain here constantly (like the US Northwest) nor is it constantly dry (like most of the West). It is neither as constantly hot in the Summer as the South nor as constantly cold as the North. We don't have earthquakes (like California), tornadoes as in the Mid-West (the one we did have last year was a bizarre and relatively minor exception), droughts are rare (and we have plenty of running rivers anyway). We hardly even get hailstorms and those are small hail.

I might add that the area tends to have international grocery stores...

I settled here for a reason, and I've stayed here for 40 years for that reason: "no extremes".

	26-01-2003 01:13									#68
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Thanks for all your info chaps, I am going to investigate SF, and see what happens.

As for Gas prices, ha ha ha .. you guys have no idea, here in the UK we pay just under 80p($1.30)a litre, trust me, its much much more that you do(wouldn't like to translate that into $/gallons

I am aware that people often mistake Indians for Mexican's or African's, thats not so much of an issue, here, people think they are all from Pakistan, which is much more insulting for an Indian.

Vancouver I've heard about also, I may visit some time this year as well as SF, Ive got a good friend who lives downtown SF, so can get a good look around.

I will see what kind of wages are on offer, I have no intention to undercut myself obviously, neither do I want to overprice myself, considering the additional hasstle of employing somebody who requires a work permit.

I'll see how it goes

ta again

	26-01-2003 01:17									#69
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quote: Originally posted by The Viceroy What can you buy for 250k in SF ?

For that price you might be able to buy a picture of someone else's house.

Seriously, your talking seven digits for a fixer upper house. Price's do get more reasonable if you go out side the city limits but you'd still have to double your amount to buy an apartment.

Look in cities like Vancouver, Seattle, or even San Diego. The further north you go the worse the weather and the lower the prices and the converse is also true. Still, you can buy a nice starter home for around $350k in San Diego. That's good when you consider the city is routinely voted the best place to live in America.

	26-01-2003 01:18									#70
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earthquakes arent THAT common...at least ones that cause any damage...and it isnt that dry here either. we have enough water to go around and with the agriculture business slowly shrinking we will have more water.

i do like washington DC a lot though...it feels like it could be a second home to me. its like san francisco without the weather or scenery but all the quaintness...

	26-01-2003 01:28									#71
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Ive been looking at the house prices, and sure enough, they kind of start at the 325k range .. far too small for my liking, I live in a 4bedroom detached property here in the UK, and although Im happy to come down to 3bed, Im not going back to a 2bed .. ha ha .. no chance.

	26-01-2003 01:36									#72
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The Northern Virginia and Silicon Valley tech cultures are a lot different from one another. A lot of DC tech revolves around the needs of the government, which are reasonably steady and predictable. DC is a conservative place (not politically), where ties were removed from the dress code only a couple of years ago.

Even in the tech depression, Silicon Valley is one big tech incubator--very entrepeneurial, very exciting. More boom-bust. Always the new, new.

Anyways, DC is hot as hades during the Summer (and don't say it isn't, because it is ). That rules things out for him. Seattle, San Diego and Boston seem like good places to consider State-side. I would consider all of them.

Viceroy: What business is your wife in?

	26-01-2003 01:40									#73
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DanS, where is a good place to live in DC ? is it expensive like San Francisco (in other words, can you get a 3 bedroom house in a reasonable neighbourhood for under $300k) ??

	26-01-2003 01:41									#74
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Take everything in SF and 60% it for DC.

Edit: As for good places to live, it really depends on your preferences. You can live in an urban area, like NW DC ($$) or Chevy Chase ($$$). Northern Virginian suburbs range from heavily urban ($$) to ex-urban almost rural ($ 1/2).

	26-01-2003 01:45									#75
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Sounds better .. My 4bed detached here is now worth £140k, bought it last year for £95k, so Ive got a good wad to put down on property when I move (and pay for the shifting process). Where in WashingtonDC is good, and where's best to avoid ?

	26-01-2003 01:50									#76
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Boston is also one of the best cities for expatriates to live in

	26-01-2003 01:55									#77
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Good places to live in DC? What kind of lifestyle do you prefer to live? Places to avoid in DC proper are anything other than the NW quadrant, west of about 12th Street. In the Maryland suburbs, avoid most areas southeast of the city. Go northwest of the city. Most of Northern Virginia is fine, although there are pockets that you want to avoid. You will know it when you see it.

Last edited by DanS on 26-01-2003 at 02:22

	26-01-2003 02:08									#78
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$70k in equity will get you started well enough. That will mean you can buy at least $300k in house with fewer questions asked (i.e., ~22% down). 30-Year mortgages run at 6%, or a carrying cost of roughly $1,500 per month. Is detached a definite criteria?

The market is moving up fast, but not nearly as fast as in the UK nowadays. My idea about prices may not reflect reality in some areas.

Edit: Once you get to the States, you can branch out from the major cities. There are some places where you can live like a king in a $300k house and wages are not that much less than what you would receive in DC, for instance. Some of these places support absurd amounts of disposable income. I'm sure that there are Indian enclaves in selected areas.

Last edited by DanS on 26-01-2003 at 02:17

	26-01-2003 02:10									#79
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Although I live in Edmonton, and think it's great, I'd have to reinforce RedFred.

Vancouver would be your best choice in Canada. The climate is mild (it doesn't get milder here in British NA). The scenery is spectacular (it's one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen). There is a large and growing population from all over Asia, and acceptance for differences is high.

Vancouver is a large commercial centre. Smaller than SF, but I'm sure there are lots of IT jobs. In fact, there are American companies with offices on both sides of the border (so that they can have access to more qualified professionals). Property values are steep for Canada, but they would compare very well with most any of the major centres in the US (I think).

On top of that, health care is provided by the state. That's a bonus and a curse. The bonus is that everyone gets taken care of, you can't get cut off, and you do not have insurance organisations (HMOs) telling you you can't have a proceedure (I've heard that can be a problem for some people in the States). Part of the curse is that results in our system do not match those for well insured Americans (longer waits, fewer options, etc). The other part is that we pay much higher taxes than people in the States, but we don't have to pay for insurance (I'm not sure who comes out ahead, but I think the Yanks who have higher incomes). Standards here would be very similar to those in Britain.

Aside from that, we know how to spell colour. Well, some of us anyways.

	26-01-2003 02:32									#80
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quote: Originally posted by The Viceroy As for Gas prices, ha ha ha .. you guys have no idea, here in the UK we pay just under 80p($1.30)a litre, trust me, its much much more that you do(wouldn't like to translate that into $/gallons

1 Liter = a little over 1 quart.

So 1 gallon = little under 4 liters

Saying that, UK price for a gallon of gas = $5.20 per gallon!!!

Yep, UK has higher gas prices than anywhere in the US!

	26-01-2003 02:41									#81
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Im going to look more seriously at DC, and Vancouver, currently ive spent most of my time looking at Toronto, and having visited, I think I will visit these.

Currently working for BritishAirways, so travelling (Staff travel = 90% discount +tax) is fairly easy to do.

Don't worry notyoueither, I'll be spelling it correctly , and they will have to work it out.

UK like Canada has free health care, and I understand the benefits and disadvantages, ive had some issue's with the UK system for a while, but it certainly does cover you if your involved in an accident .. thats for sure.

	26-01-2003 02:42									#82
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DanS, when you say NW, are you talking about about Leesburg,Germantown or closer in like Reston ?? (obviously, I have no idea how close or far you guys call suburbs ??)

	26-01-2003 02:42									#83
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quote: Not too hot in the summer

well, there goes anyplace in Texas that'll meet your standards...

	26-01-2003 02:46									#84
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BA flies into Dulles. On your drive into Washington, you can check out all of the empty office parks in the Dulles corridor. You know, to help your confidence.

	26-01-2003 02:50									#85
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i did look for a while at Houston, certainly you can buy some amazing properties at real real low prices out there. Its still an option, but what is the S.Asian community like out there ?? I wasn't sure

	26-01-2003 02:51									#86
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I agree with the people recommending the Bay Area. It's absolutely gorgeous.

I spent four years living in the Pleasanton/Dublin/San Ramon/Danville area and loved it.

Cost of living is fairly insane, especially considered to Calgary (where I am now), but it was well worth it.

It usually didn't get too hot in the summer, it never got too cold in the winters, and if you had the urge to ski or snowboard you could just drive up to Tahoe -- and never need to worry about shoveling the walk.

The areas I lived in had very very little crime, very comparable to Calgary, Canada where I am now.

	26-01-2003 02:55									#87
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Re NW, I actually mean the northwest quadrant of DC proper. Anything outside of DC proper is the suburbs or exurbs. Germantown is more of the ex-urbs--you're getting pretty far out.

Here's something that might help you get your bearings. Look in Montgomery, Fairfax, and Arlington and Alexandria counties. And NW DC.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/realestate/buy/

	26-01-2003 02:56									#88
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"(cold winters and high crime). "

Well for the high crime hence my point about choosing to live in the right neighberhood. Common sense gets you a long way. And if he is willing to live in the suburbs it wouldn't be too much of a problem. Also, for the DC area, I'd want to have some idea where I would be getting a job. Getting around the DC area is non-trivial, it has some of the worst traffic in the conuntry, though if you can get a workplace that is reasonably close to a Metro station you will be fine. I don't know how rich you are, but if you can afford it Potomac is a place you could go for that is really nice. Rockville and Betehsda are also really good for living in the DC suburbs. If you really don't mind long commutes, there are some people who live in Frederick and commute to DC. That is a beautiful area and a good place to live and I think you would be able to find reasonably cheap housing there.

	26-01-2003 02:59									#89
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people usually dont ever want to leave the bay area, they usually have to leave

	26-01-2003 02:59									#90
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It could be I need to build up a bit more cash before I leap to SF. Im not really wanting to rent, so as much as I agree, it sounds supurb, I may have to put it on the back burner for now ..

A good friend of mine has friends that emmigrated to Calgary, they seem to love the place.