DV2015 Green Card Lottery Winners

Wexford96

DV2015 Green Card Lettery Winners
Hello All,

I have been selected for shortlisting for the DV2015 green card lottery. I know there are approx 175 Irish citizens who have also been selected.
If you're one of the selected why not reply here so we could share our experiences and knowledge before going through the long process of medicals, police checks & interview.
Thanks for reading.

Palmy

Good luck.
I won in 2010 now living in Florida since 2011.Its kind of a slow process up until the interview stage but it's well worth it.

InTheTrees

Best of luck to all.

Its got to be the best way into the USA. A green card in your hand and no marriages or jobs or visas to hassle with.

Wexford96

Palmy wrote: »

Good luck.
I won in 2010 now living in Florida since 2011.Its kind of a slow process up until the interview stage but it's well worth it.

Thanks. I have a lot to consider if I actually get toy he interview stage. Which city to head to and what type of work to do. I dream of getting away form my tedious teaching job and this might be just the chance I've been longing for. Would you recommend any particular part of the USA? Expense is the biggest factor for me. I need cheap rent-but also with job opportunities.

ProudDUB

Wexford96 wrote: »

Thanks. I have a lot to consider if I actually get toy he interview stage. Which city to head to and what type of work to do. I dream of getting away form my tedious teaching job and this might be just the chance I've been longing for. Would you recommend any particular part of the USA? Expense is the biggest factor for me. I need cheap rent-but also with job opportunities.

Do you have any friends or family already over there? Head to where they are if you do. Once the initial excitement is gone and the hustle & bustle of setting up a new home in a new country is over, it can be a very lonely existence at first.

Dave1442397

This is a handy site that gives you a rough idea of how much you need in different cities around the US.
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/

I don't know what kind of job you'll be looking for, but some Google searches can tell you the best areas for different professions.

When looking at places to live, consider taxes based on your situation. There are states like Nevada who have no state income tax and low property taxes, and then there are states like NJ with much higher taxes and the highest population density in the US.

Sometimes you can make a lot less money but be in a much nicer spot with a lower cost of living.

Also, consider locations based on your hobbies.
For cyclists, you have places like Tucson where you can cycle outdoors all year long. If you like skiing, then there's cold skiing (Northeast) and warm skiing (Lake Tahoe).

Climate is also worth looking at. I live in NJ, where we get four seasons, and it can get hot in summer (40C) and cold in winter (-15C at times).
My sister lived in Houston for a while, and in the summer months you basically ran from your car to the closest air conditioned building and hoped you didn't have to stay outside for more than a few minutes.

Some places get a lot less sun than others - http://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/ccd-data/pctposrank.txt

I like my sun. I never want to live somewhere cloudy and rainy again.

Wexford96

Thanks for that solid advice from both of you who have been through it all yourselves. My relatives are all in the N/E BOston and NY. Because of my age I'm reluctant to go there (38). Life is just a little fast for me there probably. If I was 22 that's where I'd go.
I'm considering Vegas at the moment: cheaper rents, more space in general and perhaps less competition with work? (I'm a painter by trade). Like DAve said above, lower income without the taxes and high rent might leave me in a better position.
A friend of mine is living out in Flushing at the mo. And has managed to buy an apartment for a decent price. So I'm really just weighing things up now. Heart says NYC though.
Thank you Dave & ProudDub

Dave1442397

Maybe you can get some feedback from people in Vegas, but my first thought is that you'll have a lot of competition for painting jobs from either illegal or legal but non-English speakers, who tend to do a lot of that kind of work.

If you have some money to invest, one of my cycling buddies has a franchise painting business. I don't know much about it, but here's his website, which also has links to the main franchising site - http://wow1day.com/locations/house-painting-south-jersey/

You could do well with your own company. You can communicate with customers and hire your own team of workers.

In NYC, the highest paid painters I know of are the ones who paint the bridges. I roomed with one of these guys when I first moved to the US - http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-washington-bridge-painters-dangerous-job-top-worlds/story?id=17771877

He was making $25/hr back then (1990). They say the salary is $71k in that article. I have to say, $71k doesn't go far in NYC. If you plug $70k into that calculator above and compare Queens, NYC to Las Vegas, this is what you get:

Comparable salary in Las Vegas, NV $48,379
Price difference in Las Vegas, NV

Groceries 11%less
Housing 54%less
Utilities 35%less
Transportation 14%less


Health Care 5%less

Palmy

Yeah I would look at Vegas although you will have to love the heat.You will also have to compete against illegals, but in any trade that's almost anywhere you will go in the States.You could also look at working for Homedepot or Lowes (like b&q) as a paint specialist.Its in store ,benefits,A/C and probably starting on $16hr you could do this until you get on your feet.
This is a good way to meet Trades people and contacts, then once you have established yourself decide on weather to go out on your own.
I would recommend visiting first and look at the cost of living and see if it's for you.This Was what I did.

whitey1

My advice would be to go to where your relations are.....get established.....drivers license, bank ac's, establish credit, learn your way around and get "acclimatized" to the American way of life.

They should be able to sort you with free/cheap accommodation and work contacts out of the gate, which will take a lot of pressure off you.

Going cold turkey out to Vegas you'll need to buy a car and then come up with first, last and security deposit for an apartment.

Get established first, keep your powder dry, network like your life depended on it, THEN start looking for your next move

Wexford96

Thanks Dave for link to SCudamore franchise. 89k to get involved- but van,tools and work all set up from what I could see. Have requested an info pack from them.
71k is approx what I make now (without the NYC bills).
Thanks for the informative links and the top notch info.