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

[PartyGirlUK]

OK I'm likely moving to Chicago* in 36 hours now that Englishmen once again showed their inability to kick a football 12 yards.

I have a million things I need to sort out once I move, and once I think of them, I'm going to post them in this thread.

OK to start with. I'm going to want to get a mobile phone, or as I now call them, a cell. What is the best way to go about this? Can I just go to any phone shop on a high street and likely get quoted a competitive price? If not, which shop would you recommend? Which model should I get? I'm not looking for anything fancy, and I don't envisage making many international calls. Just want a phone so I can sms/talk to friends and be contactable if need be. I am not a yakker so it is really just for coordinating meet up times etc. Any recommendations (or should I just be fine to walk into a store and they will advise me)

I'm also going to need a bank account. Just looking for a high street bank to provide me with an easy source to access my $, get a credit and debit card etc.

I'm going to have to find somewhere to rent. Is it going to be really hard for me to find somewhere furnished? What about if I want to live in an apartment block where there are communal facilities (i.e. gym, swimming pool). I lived in places like that in Thailand and it would be great for my first while so I dont have to deal with furnishing my apartment, getting an account with a phone company etc.

I'm going to want to get hooked up with internet connection. I've heard about mobile internet cards that let you get internet wherever in the US you are (so you could get it while in a car). Would that suffice? Could I simply move the card between my desktop and my laptop as need be? Ideally I would prefer not to pay for a phone line as I will make all my calls through skype anyway. What are my options here? Before I get it set up, how tough will it be for me to find somewhere quiet like a starbucks or borders where I can play poker on my laptop.

More to come, but genuine thanks to all that help!

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