Hey all, Namaste,
Here is my story. I am 27 years old, male, i just recently came back to Nepal from Europe after doing my master's and now have a chance to live in USA (if everything goes well with my visa). Please note that i wont have a job waiting for me when i get there. After talking to a lot of people, i have been told that the best place to start would be New York. I am aware the rent is super expensive but I would rather live in a city that has more opportunities and more competition than in an area having zero opportunities and few competitions. I want to live there for a year or something and see how it goes. Anyways, the first question is regarding a place to stay and where to find it? I would probably get there by the mid or end of March 2015 but i dont know anybody there. I have been going through craigslist for rooms/shared or whatever but I heard its not very reliable and there's a lot of scams and such. Furthermore, those ads that seem genuine ask for 3 months payslips and proof of employment and references from previous room mates. i can get the references from my room mates that i had in Europe but how do i show them the payslips when i dont have a job? So my question is... how do i solve this problem? would they consider renting out their roms to a guy who doesnt have a job? and oh, please do let me know if any of you have rooms or know anybody who has a room available in Queens or Brooklyn or any cheap areas. i dont need a fancy place, even a couch would do really. Im very clean and respect other people's privacy. Thanks in advance :)

It depends on what type of visa you are entering to US ie. student/ tourist/ dependent /GC. Some visa allows you to work legally and some not. Regarding staying, i believe its always better to stay with someone you know before for at least couple weeks....like friend's friend etc..

Your visa status will decide your situation in USA. From your information, you are definitely not coming as a student. So are you coming as a tourist? If so, you are not allowed to work legally in USA and your life's gonna be very tough. If you are coming as a GC holder, then come to the place where you can have some moral and logistic support from your family or friends coz you're gonna need that a lot in your initial days. Once you are here, you can figure out what you can do here.

Congratulations peanutbutterman , as everybody said your visa status will be important here. For the first month, you must need help of somebody you know on almost everything . As for work I don't know abt NY but Texas is a great place to start but you must have somebody you know . If you know driving you can get plenty of work , starting from gas stations , motels , airport to warehouse and office jobs .
As everybody said it all depends on your status , good luck

Hey everybody, thanks for your replies. i dont know how to quote in this forum :(. Anyways, if everything goes well, i will have a GC. So i will be able to work legally i think. Im done with my studies but i dont expect to find a very decent job as soon as i get there so i will almost do anything to keep a roof over my head. and i have done some really shitty jobs in europe but i dont think any job is too small. :). And like i said, i dont have anybody really close to me in USA. I have some distant relatives but i havent talked to them in years so i will be on my own. i have few savings with me to start my new life there and would like to re-state my rent situation. how do i find a place to stay? texas sounds great but i really want to first live in NY. Thanks :)

With little evidence of financial security, backing of friends and family, why'd you wanna moving to NYC of all places? You'll initially end up struggling to get a job. Yes, bigger city = more opportunities. But would you rather struggle to find a place/survive early-on or do it at a comfortable pace?

There are quite a few cheaper alternatives where money tends to go a long way. What you'd end up paying to rent a room in NYC will be more than sufficient to rent a one-bedroom condo in city like Omaha, Dallas, or Oklahoma City. You'll also rely very less on others if you moved to more affordable cities.

What did you major in? With a valid work authorization (your GC) and a Master's degree, you already have a massive upperhand.

Btw, I'd highly advise you to take driving lessons (if you haven't done so already). In bigger cities, taking classes prior to getting a license tends to be pricey.

Hey riddle,
I want to go to new york because there's a subway system there and its easy to commute unlike other places where public transportation is not very top notch (so i've heard). Like I said, i dont have many people there to rely on who i can ask to drop me to work and pick me up until i can save enough and buy a car of my own. I want to save enough and move away to other states. As for my education, I have a master's degree in social science related to urban studies so i have to try to find a job in the muncipality or something which is a long shot i think, but i had my bachelor's degree in business administration. I can drive just okay. And i have a forklift licence too. Do you think i am thinking irrationally by wanting to live in NY? Im all ears :)

I wouldn't call it irrational but idk, man. You could definitely look into moving to other 'better' places. Austin, Portland, etc for eg. It's definitely plausible for one to seek a move to NYC instead of others, all things considered.

I wouldn't want to move w/ a motive of living in NYC or San Francisco unless I made 6 figures, though. Suburbs are more affordable but quality of life is way inferior compared to the sort of living in cities like Denver, Austin, Portland, Cary, Madison etc.

Like I aforementioned, money will go a long way if you lived in smaller cities. You could even move to Lexington, KY, Columbus, OH, Dallas, TX, Sacramento, CA.

But you're pretty young. You can definitely afford to explore and experience. Good luck.

Haha, at the ripe age of 27 i wouldnt consider myself young. I dont think i will be making 6 figure salary anytime soon flipping burgers but i saw the move possible after seeing ads for rooms including utitilies for $400 to $500. I just have to make sure i hit the ground running so that I dont run out of money real quick.

Brother, if somebody dream of New York , he will definitely go to New York and learn from there . I will suggest you one thing which will save you at least 5 years of your life in United States , I got that lesson in 9 years ;-) rest is on you if you want to follow this, just telling you as my own little brother
Catch one consultancy in Dallas, vastika , Veritis etc or anyone from New Jersey site. lodging and fooding is free , u can start from QA, BA if IT is not your thing. In three months you will be making good money and starting your career, after a one project you can go anywhere you like. If you follow this suggestion, you will thank me for sure , there was nobody to suggest me this earlier and I spent almost a decade struggling here

peanutbutter.....you have to see the elephant to know what side of an elephant you are going to like. Stories on the elephant are not going to help you decide without seeing it.

Go to the place where you have some friends and family and you will learn what you will want from your first hand experience. Since you are coming in with GC, just learn driving in Nepal and come where you have friends and family.

USA is too big to digest just from web reading. You need to digest it otherwise it will give you a diarrhea.

I second aalukojhol.

Rather than staying in NY just because it's big city with good public transport, just save your money that you have. Find a consultancy..could be Vastika in Dallas. They provide you accommodation, they train you, you wont even need a car. You can use you money to buy a cheap car if you feel the need, you could get one for $$2000. If you put good efforts for few months, you will find a good paying job that will take you a long way.

peaNutButterMan ji, You have mentioned that "if everything goes well, i will have a GC". I'm just curious how to get GC from Nepal besides DV? In same time you are also saying you don't have anyone in US... Tapai ko "everything" ko jadu hami lai ne sikaidenus na?

I guess rest of the readers are also wondering what I am wonder on !! :)

Whatever it is follow the suggestion of alukojhool. Dont start with low paying job in NY and get stuck since you have the eduction and paperwork to work here.

peanut butter lai DV paryo jasto cha..... tesaile if everything goes well bhaneko hola ni.... second letter lai wait gardai ho ki kya ho ?

Hey, thanks for the suggestions. I dont want to work at a low paying workplace forever. i mean i do have future plans... i think. Its just that i dont want to spend months being picky about finding the perfect job and run out of money and end up in a cardboard box somewhere. Big cities are full of urban poor and i heard NY is full of them and low paying job. And yeah I have the 2NL... just waiting for the interview... i think its 50/50 from here. And the IT consultancy thing sounds good but it sounds kind of fishy... i mean whats the catch? they train you and let you live there for free? I will look into it, thanks :) Back to the original question... if i have made up my mind to go to NY with whatever savings i have, then how do i find a place to live considering i dont know people there?

Visit this site: http://www.rnsociety.org/. perhaps you can contact the people. It's basically a community of a large number of Nepalese gathered up closely together in various apartments. Used to be one big building with primarily Nepali residents but I believe they have grown out. You will get help with residency also, might find an apartment or people willing to share apartment.

Consultancy sure is fishy but not as fishy as you are thinking. For people with limited options, this is probably the best deal. They will get portion of your salary, you might have to sell a little bit of your integrity to bolster your resume and all, but it still could be better than working minimal salary job.

When you establish yourself, please don't forget to help the newcomers and others who need your help.

excellent! thanks. And i am all about good karma :). thanks everybody. much appreciated.

so are you suggesting a Nepali brother to lie resume and get an IT job? I say go to school , transfer your credits and get a degree in engineering or computer science. it will be much rewarding. don't worry about job, there are lots and lots of jobs in nyc.

You probably haven't seen my stance on this issue in my earlier posts; in short, I got out of IT about 10 yrs back because I didn't want to lie in my resume which had become a norm in the iT industry. Some polishing should be tolerated but blatant lie was simply too much for me.

Now about my advice; the man said this consultancy biz sounded fishy and I was giving my opinion on how it wasn't as fishy as he thought it'd be. Don't be Fox News, distorting other's comments out of context. I said consultancy option would be better than minimum paying job; but if the man gets something else - why not. If he chooses consulting gig he has to accept the possibility of "selling his integrity." Also, not all consultants are liers, there are many genuine talents out there.