Help me move to the US! Some basic qs re. cellphones, bank accts. etc.

[Paul B.]

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OK, when getting housing, when they quote me price $x, how much chance of successfully negotiating do I have?

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Close to 0%.

[PartyGirlUK]

How bad would playing internet poker on my laptop from starbucks be?

[Kneel B4 Zod]

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[ QUOTE ]
OK, when getting housing, when they quote me price $x, how much chance of successfully negotiating do I have?

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Close to 0%.

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huh? Dean, negotiating is always possible...I'm not familiar with the Chicago RE area in particular, but you should be able to negotiate some discount.

[dustyn]

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How bad would playing internet poker on my laptop from starbucks be?

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The money you'd spend on coffee/fancy coffee drinks/etc. would probably be more than the 40 bucks a month cable internet costs. Most cable providers have promtions where you can get it for free for a couple months or 20 a month for 3-6 months (depending on the promotion/length of time), so it's pretty affordable.

[PartyGirlUK]

dustyn,

i'm just thinking about the couple of weeks before I get set up with my own place.

Dean

[SmileyEH]

Just dont get a sprint cell phone.

-SmileyEH

[PartyGirlUK]

I heard that if you get a cell phone in the US you get free calls to cells and landlines in the same area. How much truth is there in this?

[dustyn]

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dustyn,

i'm just thinking about the couple of weeks before I get set up with my own place.

Dean

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Oh, definitely. Assuming you have serveral neighbors, there's a fairly high probability that you'll be able to mooch off someone elses wireless internet and be fine for the time being as well. Libraries and other public service places often have wireless internet as well, which may prove to be a little more relaxing than Starbucks. There should also be free wireless Internet on many places on the NW campus too, in a lounge or some relaxing place.

[mmbt0ne]

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I heard that if you get a cell phone in the US you get free calls to cells and landlines in the same area. How much truth is there in this?

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There are definitely plans where you get free minutes to people on the same network as you. Also, pretty much every plan has free long distane.
I don't know about calls to land lines though.

[BeaucoupFish]

Dean

Your first significant problem is going to be a lack of credit. This will hinder almost everything you want and need to do, from signing a rental agreement to getting cell phone service and of course credit cards. Once you have decent credit, you will be overwhelmed with credit, but that will take considerable time and you need to survive before then.

I went through all this about 8 yrs ago, so would be happy to answer specific Q's. I was fortunate enough that my CFO at the time pulled a few strings as far as banking and rental agreement went, and this kicked off building credit.

If you know anyone in the area that can vouch for you, or co-sign, this will be a great advantage.

Cell phone usage is a little different to the UK (from what I remember anyway). Received calls cost you per minute (or rather, come out of your monthly minutes) whereas in the UK, received calls are, or were, free (right?). Local calls just use up your minutes, long distance / international cost you your minutes plus additional cost (unless you have a plan that includes LD). As long as you qualify for cell phone service, this is all pretty insignificant, definitely the least of your initial problems [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Banking is also different, and you might find it almost backward compared to UK. People still write cheques here! Yes, they do - a lot of cheques! Also, banks are mostly local or regional (except Bank of America, Citibank etc). If you want to withdraw money from any other bank than your own, it'll cost you $1-$2 fee. Annoying. If you have significant savings, this might help you secure loans, get credit etc.

Medical insurance is also VITAL. You will also need a social security number and driving license. And a car to go with the license...!

Do you have a job? Relatives? What kind of visa?