To my American friends: How is that "diversity" working out for you?
Positive effects: *Tumbleweed rolls across the ground* Oh dear. (The "It became the most powerful country because of it" argument has been debunked) Negative effects: - Strained at best race relations. - Outrageously highly disproportionate minority violent crime rates - "White flight" occurrence - Ghettoisation - Destruction of the designated racial subgroup (the one that clearly has the highest level of general physical attractiveness). - Spread of racial culture that glorifies degeneracy, violence and civil disorder (e.g ghetto) - Islamic terrorism - Widespread Islamic fundamentalism confirmed through extensive opinion polling. https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/articles/opinion-polls.aspx - Vulnerability to foreign infiltration of state sectors (police, military, intelligence, etc) / (If the USA went to war with China, can you really trust the US soldiers of Chinese descent not to betray you?). - Black Lives Matter phony grievance-mongering and incitement of violence against "white" people and police officers - Other minority grievance-mongers - Prevalent Hispanic criminal gangs (Hello MS-13 and Los Angeles), - Prevalent African criminal gangs I could go on and on, but I think the point is obvious.
Where can I find modest career clothes that aren't too expensive?
www.chadwicks.com has fairly-reasonably-priced women's career clothing (check the stuff on sale first since of course those prices are the best!) and you can find modest clothing there. You can also check these sites when they are having end-of-season sales, trying to clear out their seasonal merchandise (since their usually overpriced items will come down to affordable levels during those times...I think all these sites are having sales now, but not end-of-season sales). They have business casual clothing that is both good quality and in style. www.eddiebaueroutlet.com www.llbean.com www.coldwatercreek.com (they have an up-to-70% off sale now) I don't know if you have a "Ross Dress for Less" store near you, but they have a good selection of career clothing, name brands, at marked-down prices...for instance I got a business suit (originally over $100) for $40. I think they may be store returns but still they are good. I have also found some very good quality clothing on eBay. Some of it is new, some of it is almost new (barely worn at all)...for instance I got a $700+ Calvin Klein kid leather jacket (that had only been worn twice) for $40. You can find very good deals there if you measure yourself (bust, waist, hips, etc.) and check those measurements on the clothing, as well as length, etc. so you will know exactly how it will fit when you get the clothing. Some sellers provide this information as a matter of course - others you have to ask if they will provide it. There is always the risk that you can't try it on before you buy it, but you can always check the listing to see if the seller will accept returns, and you can send it back if you don't like how it fits you.
What part of California is the least expensive area to live in?
If you want to live near the coast you'll pay dearly for it. I sold my home about 15 miles from the coast in So. Cal. for nearly a million dollars back in March of this year. I took my equity and bought what is - by California standards - a mansion near Houston at just over 50% of the cost. Also, my salary became worth 40% more just by moving. I love California and lived there for 33 years. I would fforget all of Northern Cal, it is even more expensive than Southern. Look at San Bernardino and Riverside if you want to buy something decent in the $300 to $400K range. You can buy a reasonably nice home - 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage in a decnt area of Los Angeles County for around $600K. The further you get from the coast the more reasonable it will be. A coastal home - even a shack - will run over a million dollars. Also, you should do a salary calculator on Homefair.com or another site to determine how much more you'll need to earn to live there. Unless you're moving from Manhattan, you'll almost certainly need to earn considerably more to have the same standard of living. The best way to do it is through a company relocation - they'll pay realtor fees and everything else - including an increased salary - to get you there. Good luck!
If you could live anywhere in the United States, where would it be and why?
There are lots of great places. As mentioned, Palo Alto is heaven on earth. The beach towns near LAX are gorgeous and reasonably close to LA culture. San Francisco is wonderful and not too far from Yosemite. I love Boston and Washington, DC. Pittsburgh is a very nice small city with a college town feel and good restaurants. North Conway, NH is a great little town close to magnificent hiking in the White Mountains.As is obvious, I'm an urban person. So it's no surprise that my favorite place of all is New York City. It's not beautiful. It's noisy, busy, and messy. It's big. There is always something to do.There are dozens of great neighborhoods, not only in Manhattan, but in the outer boroughs also. The subways are utilitarian, but convenient. It is the cultural capital of the US and maybe the world. There is an endless variety of museums, galleries, music venues, and theaters. There are still numerous bookshops and lots of book signing events.There is an absurd amount of outstanding restaurants. There are dozens of bars where the bartenders can whip up a Liberal or a Penicillin without asking you what that is, although I have yet to find a place that carries Amer Picon. There is abundant nightlife. And the place never shuts down. The subways run 24/7.The problem for me, at least, is that it is a hard place to live in. I love the crowds and dynamism, but it takes a toll. It's too expensive to afford a nice large place to live in. Mundane things like grocery shopping are painful. There are hot, humid days where the air hangs like a pall and you can feel claustrophobic.That is why I live in New Jersey. It's less than thirty minutes by bus or train to mid-town Manhattan. I have a house that is huge by most NYC standards. I have a nice large, tree lined back yard which is great for barbecues, sleeping or throwing a football around. You simply cannot get this at all in Manhattan or affordably in Queens or Brooklyn.I have the best of all worlds. I spend a lot of spare time in New York City, but I am fortunate to live in the place I think is the best.
(UK) Isn't it interesting how enriched the United States of America has been by the "diversity"?
Ethnic heterogeneity in the USA Positive effects: None whatsoever. The "It became the most powerful country because of it" argument has been debunked. Negative effects: - Strained at best race relations. - Outrageously highly disproportionate minority violent crime rates (Particularly from African and Hispanic demographics) - "White flight" occurrence - Ghettoisation - Destruction of the designated racial subgroup - Spread of racial culture that glorifies degeneracy, violence and civil disorder (e.g ghetto) - Islamic terrorism (potentially deadlier in the USA thanks to the prevalence and accessibility of firearms) - Widespread Islamic fundamentalism confirmed through extensive opinion polling. - Vulnerability to ethnic subversion of state sectors (police, military, intelligence, etc) / (For example, if the USA went to war with China, can you really trust the American soldiers of Chinese descent not to betray you?). - Black Lives Matter phony grievance-mongering and incitement of violence against "white" people and police officers - Other minority grievance-mongers - Prevalent Hispanic criminal gangs (MS-13, 18th Street Gang, Latin Kings, etc) - Prevalent African criminal gangs (Crips, Bloods, etc) The list can continue, but the point is obvious.
What is the best Southern state to move to and why?
Georgia. We have alittle bit of everything. City life, country life, mountains, lakes, ocean, weather is not too cold or too hot, many different types of people. But then again I haven't lived anywhere else. Have been to the below places on vacation, and heres what I think or what I have been told: Florida has too many bugs Alabama too many rednecks Miss to racist SC is nice Tenn nice Kentucky is ok but not enough to do
Moving to America - which State?
You are one of dozens of young Brits who write in here every week with a similar question. You need to know the truth so you can make alternate plans. You cannot simply "move" to America...or anywhere else outside of the EU. It is almost impossible for a U.K. citizen to immigrate to the U.S. If you want to try for a temporary work visa, you must be highly educated and skilled, find an employer to give you a contract and sponsor your work visa. See 1st site. To actually immigrate, you must have an immediate family member to sponsor you, or an absolutely astounding work skill...see 2nd site. U.K.citizens are not eligible for immigration thru the Diversity Lottery Program...which gives people an extremely slim chance anyway. Every year, about 10million people try to immigrate to the U.S., and only 50,000 make it...most thru family sponsorship or the diversity program. MANY Brits express the same desire you have, but simply cannot immigrate to the U.S. You could consider attending University in the U.S. thru a student visa...requires a very large savings to cover your expenses. So, studying visa requirements is your first priority, then if you decide to try for a student visa, affordability of the school and location are the next big concerns. If you decide to check into U.S. universities...remember New york and California are the most expensive places to live and attend university. Choose a a state and a school that are more reasonable in costs...not New York City, or a big name eastern school. there are plenty of excellent, lesser known schools.
Where should I live in washington state?
You needn't be "prepared for rain" just because you live in western Washington. The majority of large cities in the US get more rain than Seattle does. (Check your almanac. But to name a few: New York, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, Houston, Nashville, Wash. DC, Miami, Louisville, Atlanta, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Atlantic City, Cincinnati, Charlotte). Sequim (just 90 minutes away from Seattle's north suburbs) has had less than 10 inches of rain in each of the past 2 years and is irrigated! It is in the rainshadow of the Olympics, and a "blue hole" forms over the town letting sunshine through on at least 300 days a year even if the surrounding area is cloudy and rainy. It is a busting small town in Washington's most northwest county, and it's sister city of Port Angeles is a picturesque town of 20,000 just 15 minutes to the west, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca (as is Sequim) immediately across the water from Victoria, BC (a one hour ferry ride). Both towns are at the foot of the Olympic Mountains and Olympic National Park. Hiking opportunities are better nowhere in the world, and residents in those towns are close to all sorts of water activities, mountain hiking in the summer and skiing in the winter, and amazing forests.. The only thing missing in any kind of a big way for you might be ethnic diversity. The population of the two towns is overwhelmingly (but not entirely!) Caucasian. Certainly minorities make up less than 10% of the population. But the people here are incredibly welcoming to people of all ethnicities, religious beliefs and philosophies. And the area has worked hard to maintain it's rural nature, so there are still family farms amidst all the new housing that provide organic food that is widely available in the community.
Is it true that lots of Americans, more than 60%, have never been out of the United States?
Yes, but you also really need to consider just how massive the US is.Europe has a total land area of 3.931 million square miles.The Continental US has an area of 3.119 million square miles, and a total area of 3.797 million square miles total.So it’s comparable in size to Europe.Roughly, the US is bordered to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by Canada, and the south by Mexico. There are only two countries that can be traveled to directly by land, and depending upon where you live that’d be a long drive (and an even longer train ride. Our rails infrastructure is lacking).Imagine that a European lived in Czechia and if they wanted to visit another country by land their only choices were Moscow or Algeria (we’ll ignore the Mediterranean for purposes of this answer). That’s a long drive and would probably greatly limit the number of visits.There’s always air travel. For example, I live in Illinois. If I wanted to visit Paris, that’s a 12 hour flight at a cost of nearly $2,000. Traveling to other countries is very expensive and time consuming.But….Consider that the continental US is made up of 48 different states, all of which have separate local governors, can be culturally very different, have lots of different landmarks and museums and history and so on. And I’m willing to bet that there’s a lot more travel to different states within the US, which is a much closer comparison against traveling between countries in the EU.For example, I’ve only been out of the country once….briefly…on a school trip….25 years ago…to Canada. I am not well traveled internationally.But domestically? I’ve traveled to 19 states as my destination, and have set foot in an additional 6 states, taking me to half of the US. That’s not bad! If a European had only traveled to half of the EU (but never been out of it) they’d probably consider themselves well traveled, despite having only seen a small slice of the world as a whole.I couldn’t find numbers on how many Europeans haven’t left the EU. :-( But my assumption is it’s somewhat comparable to the number of Americans that have left the US.
Where's the cheapest place to buy land in the U.S., and how much is it per acre?
Where’s the cheapest place to buy land in the U.S., and how much is it per acre?There are some good answers from others here about geographic areas where land tends to be lower-priced. And that’s fine.But let me make two other points.First—and some of the other answers cover this—undesirable land will go for less, regardless of location. That might be a decent parcel, but land-locked—you need access over another person’s property to get there. Or it might be on a lot that’s unbuildable according to local zoning regulations. Maybe there’s no public sewer and the land doesn’t perk. Or the lot is too small. Or it’s in a flood plain. There can be a lot of reasons. In some cases, the problem actually can be addressed through rezoning or new technology (as in the case of land that doesn’t perk).Second, there’s property in many places that’s virtually free. Sometimes people don’t pay taxes on their lots, and the county or city sells the property for the amount of back taxes owed. (It can really get complicated—sometimes the original owner can redeem the property, sometimes he can’t, and so on.) Often, the property isn’t that desirable; there’s a reason why someone stopped paying taxes on it. Still, you can find that situation across the country.Third, some owners of vacant lots will sell for far below market price. Typical scenario: A husband and wife bought a lot 40 years ago with plans to build their dream house on it. The years passed, and they never built. Eventually, one of the spouses died. The other one has been paying the real estate taxes all these years, but knows he/she is never going to build on it. Another tax bill for a few thousand dollars is coming up in a month or so. Sometimes, the lot’s owner will pretty much give the lot away. Really. They’re getting by on Social Security and maybe a small retirement plan. They don’t know who’d buy, and they know that there’d be hassle, expenses, and commissions. And they view the land as a liability—it’s costing them perhaps $3,000 a year that they could otherwise use. You make them a low offer, and they may accept it.Often the best place to find the cheapest land is to look for the most motivated sellers.