08-04-2008, 08:37 AM | #1 | ||
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
New to the Country
So I spent a lot of time last night helping someone out who just moved here last night -- he's doing his residency here in Chicago, and is "starting from scratch" as he put it, so he had a lot of questions about what he needs to do to get on his feet as quickly and cheaply as possible, since he needs to begin his residency soon, and won't receive a paycheck immediately. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice they'd like to pass along? Here's some of the questions he had -- feel free to offer advice on these questions exactly, or any other issues you can think of!
He said something about needing a SIM card for his cell phone (which I assume he used when he lived in London prior to this). I talked to my brother in law, who works for U.S. Cellular, and he said that they don't have SIM technology, but T-Mobile does. But when I told him that if he doesn't care what type of phone he has, he can get a phone free with pretty much any carrier, he seemed to really like that idea. Is it worth it for him to get a SIM card for his phone, or should he just get a new phone? He also wants to get a car. I figure I'll just ask around for that, and maybe refer him to craigslist. He seemed worried that buying online like that might get him a bad car, and I guess I'd be worried about that, too, but he's looking to spend $1500 -- is that too low of an amount to go to used car dealers? What about CarMax? Also, he asked what kind of cars were reliable around here, and I guess I had to turn in my man card, cuz I'm not into cars enough to know that -- especially if he wanted me to mention American cars (although I don't think he really cares about that). Lastly, he asked if there were driving schools around here, since he was worried about driving on the opposite side coming from England, and I told him there were, but it probably was too expensive to enroll just for that. Are the differences that great? In order to start applying for a social security number, he had to give an address -- he gave them the address for a hostel in Chicago. But he said that if he changes his address, he has to register with Homeland Security (possibly because he is originally from Pakistan), and was worried about the hassle involved with that. Does anyone know A) how to do that, and B) how difficult it is? Looking at the rest of his questions, most of it is local-related -- he needs a laptop, but I was thinking I could point him to craigslist or maybe amazon for that -- though I'm not sure if it's the best idea to have a laptop delivered to a hostel so amazon might be out, and I think he might be needing a new machine so craigslist might be out. Thanks in advance! |
||
08-04-2008, 08:42 AM | #2 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Stuck in Yinzerville, PA
|
I always used Dell's refurbished site for Laptops and Desktops. I haven't had a problem with any of them yet. Not all are used...some are brand new, people just sent them back because they didn't have exactly what they ordered.
For the car, check around and see if there are any police auctions. When I was 17 I bought my first car for $250. A Mazda 323, I bought it at a police auction and it lasted me 5 years. It was seized from a drug heist or something like that. |
08-04-2008, 08:42 AM | #3 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2001
|
Babu Bat?
__________________
"Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales |
08-04-2008, 08:44 AM | #4 |
General Manager
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Kansas City, MO
|
Regarding a new phone, most companies will give you a new basic phone or charge you no more than $50 as a new user, so that's relatively inexpensive.
$1,500 will get you a car, but not sure how good of a car. $3,000-4,000 can get you a much more reliable vehicle as long as you shop around to check for quality. You can get a laptop for $400-500 at a retail store if you shop around for sales. Just have to be patient. Edit: Just noted an above post. Car auctions are a great way to track down a good car. Totally forgot about that. Last edited by Mizzou B-ball fan : 08-04-2008 at 08:46 AM. |
08-04-2008, 08:50 AM | #5 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Troy, NY
|
For a car, my opinion is avoid American cars at all costs.
A mid-to-late 90's Civic or Corolla will almost always work great and would be in the $2,000-$4,000 range, generally. The extra thousand dollars would, IMO, but well worth it given that the alternative, generallly, is buying an American car.
__________________
Quis custodiets ipsos custodes? |
08-04-2008, 08:51 AM | #6 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Parañaque, Philippines
|
Whoa. Wait. You don't have SIM cards for your phones? What do your celphones use?
__________________
Come and see. |
08-04-2008, 08:53 AM | #7 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
|
08-04-2008, 08:54 AM | #8 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
But seriously Neon, you had a cell phone when you were here, right? Did you just get a new phone just for while you were here, or convert one you already had?
|
08-04-2008, 08:56 AM | #9 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Parañaque, Philippines
|
You've never tried moving the SIM card on your phone, have you?
__________________
Come and see. |
08-04-2008, 08:59 AM | #10 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Parañaque, Philippines
|
Quote:
This is a SIM card: it's about the size of a human thumb and contains all your celphone line data. It's essentially what allows you to interchange phones and still use the same number and have the same phone data. Remove the batteries to your phone, and you'll see the SIM Card placed somewhere there. I was issued with my own Blackberry in the states, though, so no SIM card troubles. (meaning, they gave my my own blackberry phone and SIM card).
__________________
Come and see. Last edited by Neon_Chaos : 08-04-2008 at 09:01 AM. |
|
08-04-2008, 09:02 AM | #11 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA
|
Here's a couple of SIM card things that might help understand this (I've got only the most basic understanding of it myself)
Ask the Editors: SIM card explained - CNET reviews Subscriber Identity Module - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
__________________
"I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis |
08-04-2008, 09:04 AM | #12 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
I use T-Mobile, so I actually have a SIM card. So it sounds like, based on what you're saying, he doesn't need a new SIM card -- he needs a new phone to put his current SIM card into? But he probably doesn't want his old (British) number -- he probably needs a new (American) one, right? Also, does anyone know if some carriers are cheaper to call England than others? |
|
08-04-2008, 09:04 AM | #13 |
High School JV
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Dayton, OH
|
I would just get a new cell phone if I were him. I like Toyotas and Hondas for reliable cars.
|
08-04-2008, 09:06 AM | #14 | ||
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
Thanks. I think this is what he's trying to do? Quote:
I guess I'll have to find out where he can get them, and what kind of prices he can get them for. |
||
08-04-2008, 09:06 AM | #15 | |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Parañaque, Philippines
|
Quote:
Not sure why only T-Mobile has SIM technology, as all GSM phones require SIM cards. Maybe they meant Pre-Paid SIM Cards? Yes, he probably does need a new SIM if he's in the states. The SIM card is localized to what provider distributed it, so if he uses his UK SIM in the US, he's probably going to incur ridiculous long-distance charges. Better to get a new line instead.
__________________
Come and see. Last edited by Neon_Chaos : 08-04-2008 at 09:08 AM. |
|
08-04-2008, 09:12 AM | #16 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
According to JimGA's link, only T-Mobile and Verizon have GSM phones. Verizon and Sprint (and I guess U.S. Cellular) have...some other kind. |
|
08-04-2008, 09:15 AM | #17 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Tulsa
|
Quote:
But not all companies use GSM, we also have CDMA. Last edited by vex : 08-04-2008 at 09:16 AM. |
|
08-04-2008, 09:18 AM | #18 | |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
|
Quote:
I don't have a specific place I would recommend getting a car from, but I would recommend that he seriously considers getting temporary insurance on the car to cover any repairs that come up in the first 3 months or so. It's hard knowing what you'll get in a used car and there's a good chance he'll save money in the long run doing that. |
|
08-04-2008, 09:19 AM | #19 |
Go Reds
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio
|
HONDA
|
08-04-2008, 10:15 AM | #20 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Toledo - Spain
|
This thread has me curious about the whole process for a foreigner to move to USA for a living. My wife wouldn't ever want to move away from Spain and probably me neither as i'm too used to our weather, food, public health, laws regarding online business (way less restrictive than USA ones) etc, but since i expended a week in Miami 4 years ago, i have always been curious about how easy would it be to move over there. I know Marc V has moved there from UK but his wife is American so i guess that means no troubles at all.
I know that USA immigration rues are pretty hard and restrictive but let's suppose i wanted to move there with the following conditions (the ones i think could matter, feel free to point other conditions required). 1- We are three in the family, wife, son and me. 2- I have my own company for over 7 years and could hire 1 or 2 persons to work for me in USA. 3- I'm used to work with American companies daily, probably some of them could even offer me a contract to work for them part/full time to help to get the residence if being self employed didn't do the trick. 4- Can buy a home, car, etc there. 5- Can deposit a good sum in a bank account to prove i'm not a hopeless immigrant looking for the American's dream miracle. (not sure if this helps at all) 6- Speak English (not sure if it matters at all). 7- Never had any issue with the laws in my country In resume, how easy/hard would it be for a person from Europe who is not needing to look for a job or has no financial issues to move to USA for a living? In my country, laws are becoming harder for the imigrants from South America, East Europe or Africa to come here looking for a job, but a person with a good economic position could move here without any trouble, i wonder about USA. I might be getting offtopic here, but thought it could be related somewhat.
__________________
|
08-04-2008, 10:39 AM | #21 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Here and There
|
Quote:
Assuming he gets rid of his old phone, he should get a GSM phone so that if he goes home, he can swap out his SIM card for a UK one and make calls on it for local rates. If he buys Sprint or Verizon, his phone will not work overseas. |
|
08-04-2008, 11:44 AM | #22 | |
Quarterback
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: London, England
|
Quote:
If he wants to use the phone in the UK he will need to buy a quad band phone. If his current phone is quad band (and unlocked) he can get a prepaid card that should work on his phone. I think T-Mobile will sell you a card for $7. I would think that advice regarding cars would be the same in the US and the UK. If you want something fun, buy German, if you want something safe, buy Swedish and if you want something cheap and reliable, buy Japanese. I would not go near an American car. I find driving on the wrong side of the road pretty easy, it won't take him long to get used to it. |
|
08-04-2008, 12:11 PM | #23 |
High School JV
Join Date: May 2001
|
Just popping in to defend American cars. I've always driven Ford cars and never had any problems at all, even on the cheap used Escort I got in high school. Meanwhile, my brother would always go for Hondas and such and invariably they'd fall apart.
I just had to get that off my chest since Passacaglia apparently is incapable of defending our awesome Mustang. Last edited by lurker : 08-04-2008 at 12:11 PM. |
08-04-2008, 12:13 PM | #24 | |
College Prospect
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
|
Quote:
Meh, that just means buying american nowadays anyway ;-) GM owns Saab and Ford owns Volvo.. sure sure, it's still the same old Volvo, but the company is deteriorating fast... (yeah, I work there) As for the cell phone.. the guy probably already has a cellphone from England wanted a new provider who would then give him a US SIM, figuring this way he didn't have to purchase a new phone.
__________________
IFL - Vermont Mountaineers ~ I am an idiot, walking a tight rope of fortunate things ~ |
|
08-05-2008, 12:56 PM | #25 |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Little update...he got a new cell phone at T-Mobile -- a new phone instead of a SIM card. Seems like a good idea, since the phone was free anyway. I guess he might have problems calling the UK, but he'll probably do something to figure that out. The rest of the stuff is probably lower priority, anyway.
|
08-05-2008, 01:41 PM | #26 |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Bellingham, WA
|
I had a $2500 budget for a car and went to Craigslist myself a year and a half ago. I had gone to several dealerships and got so tired of stating how much I was looking to spend and yet being pushed into cars around the 7k mark. I had a couple of my guys friends that knew cars go with me to a few of the dealerships and on the test drives so I got an idea of what to listen for and look for under the hood.
I kept checking Craigslist for cars in the area and test drove several. I ended up getting the best little Ford Escort wagon and it was in great shape. It didn't need any immediate work (new catalytic converter about 3 months ago and new tires about a year ago but tires for it are cheap enough). As far as police auctions go, a friend of mine got hers there and had some interesting stories to tell because of it. We live right on the Canadian/US border and she would frequently go up to Vancouver and 100% of the time when she would take her car she would get pulled to the side and searched at the border. She would even get pulled over on the highway around here simply because her car's license plate was registered as a drug dealer's car - even though it was now under her name. Suffice it to say, she was happy to get rid of that car. In a pinch though obviously it would be worth the hassle for a cheap, good car. As for Icy trying to move to the US...honestly I have no idea man. If it were up to me, on paper you look great! Would be nice to get someone wanting to move here legally, already know the language and not be reliant on government help for buying groceries once you get here. Sorry if that offends anyone, but I see it every day at work large families moving here, some legal, some not, they expect me to know Russian or Spanish (most common here anyway) and get frustrated at me when we don't have an interpreter, and then want to pay with government (my tax dollars) money for their extravagant purchases. I know there are legit folks doing it the "right" way, but the ones that aren't are the ones that really stand out. Last edited by Mrs. Schmidty : 08-05-2008 at 01:53 PM. Reason: spaces :) |
08-05-2008, 01:46 PM | #27 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Newburgh, NY
|
My Filipino playwright friend said that if you're walking alone at night, singing loudly helps convince potential muggers that you're crazy and should be avoided. For three years he never had a problem in NE DC even though he often wondered the streets alone after midnight.
__________________
To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers |
08-05-2008, 01:48 PM | #28 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2001
|
Quote:
that comes in handy since most people wander the streets alone after midnight ie, your friend is actually crazy
__________________
"Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales |
|
08-05-2008, 01:55 PM | #29 |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Bellingham, WA
|
|
08-05-2008, 02:29 PM | #30 | |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Newburgh, NY
|
Quote:
He never completely got onto US time while I knew him. It wasn't at all uncommon for him to sleep much of the day and stay up writing all night. I think part of his writing process was long walks when things started to block.
__________________
To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers |
|
08-05-2008, 02:34 PM | #31 |
Mascot
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Dayton, Ohio
|
Does he live at this hostel or did he just use it? I can't understand why you can't have something mailed there.
|
08-05-2008, 02:38 PM | #32 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Dec 2001
|
As a cockeyed optimist, Pass is going to get himself mixed up in the high stakes game of world diplomacy and international intrigue.
__________________
"Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales |
08-05-2008, 02:58 PM | #33 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
He lives there now, but will probably only be there for a week. Maybe hostels are different here, but the one I stayed at in Israel didn't seem like it would be convenient to receive expensive packages from. He probably won't be getting a laptop until he moves to a more permanent place, anyway. |
|
08-05-2008, 02:59 PM | #34 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
Nah, most of the stuff I've been doing is telling him stuff like where the nearest grocery store and post office are, and how the trains work. I'm only asking you guys about the weird stuff. (in other words, I'm no Billy Mumphrey) |
|
08-05-2008, 04:25 PM | #35 | ||||
SI Games
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Melbourne, FL
|
Quote:
So long as his phones tri-band he should be ok for using it with an American simcard. Quote:
I didn't drive at all before I moved over here, a few spins with the wife later she convinced me to take a test - I was CONVINCED I'd failed, if it was a UK test I'd probably have been arrested for dangerous driving ... but instead Florida issued me a licence Quote:
Quote:
If he wants to talk to somewhere who's been there and scratched their head about this sort of thing before then feel free to pass along my email address to him. |
||||
08-05-2008, 04:29 PM | #36 | |
SI Games
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Melbourne, FL
|
Quote:
One of the main things they look for is you not being a 'drain' on their economy - being able to employ people and invest money in the country is one way to 'encourage' you being accepted in as I recall from my application, so you'd be in good stead if you applied from the brief information you gave (but yes it is hit and miss to a certain extent). |
|
08-05-2008, 04:43 PM | #37 | |||
Favored Bitch #2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Here
|
Quote:
+1
__________________
Quote:
Quote:
|
|||
08-06-2008, 08:55 AM | #38 | |
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Big Ten Country
|
Quote:
Thanks, MV! He actually has a license which he says is valid here, so it's not about passing any kind of test -- he's just worried about different driving rules that might trip him up, and was interested in the driving school to actually teach him how to drive, rather than as a means to a license (obviously, he hasn't been in the US very long). Other than driving on the opposite side of the road, is there anything else that might trip him up? Or should I tell him that's really the only problem, and not to worry about it? |
|
08-06-2008, 11:40 AM | #39 | |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Bellingham, WA
|
Quote:
Tell him about turn lanes. They don't have them in BC that I know of and when Canadians come down here they don't use them - they turn from the main lane and hold up traffic. |
|
08-06-2008, 11:53 AM | #40 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2001
|
if he has an "international or foreign driver's license" his insurance rates will be higher. it would be worth his time and $ to take a US test and get a US license to whatever state he is in...FYI
|
08-06-2008, 12:10 PM | #41 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
Quote:
This is true and it's just one of many tactics to use.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
|
|