Moving to the US 1

[WIM32]

Hi all,

I've been asked by my current employer to start up a branch office in the US. Our (potential) customers are based all over the place, the East-coast (Virginia to NY), Texas, Arizona and Oregon.
We still need to define where our HQ will be, and this will also affect my future living location. From the company's perspective, best location would be Texas, since this is more or less in the middle. For me personally, the east-coast seems more attractive (let's say more European, I'm from The Netherlands). The first months I will be on my own, then my family (two small kids < 4yrs) will be coming over (if all goes well with immigration of course).

Now my question is, if there are real big differences between the mentioned locations, from a family live perspective? What I've experienced is that although the US is one country, there are major differences between states.
My experience is of course only limited to fairly short business trips.

If you have any other comments as to where my attention should go out to, please let me know! The intention is to stay for at least 3 yrs, if all goes well maybe longer.

Thanks,
Wim

 

[PhilBW]

Try this link:

http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/

Phil

 

[ctopher]

Not only a difference between states, but climate also.
If it's Texas you end up at, I would suggest Austin.

Chris
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[VisiGoth]

Austin is great.

Wisconsin is more central and north European and is closer to the transportation hub of the nation, Chicao Illinois.

So if you need to go to either coast or have people visit you, Chicago minimizes the maximum cost (to put it in engineering optimization terms).

 

[Comcokid]

The best way to compare different places in the US from a living perspective is to buy a copy of "Places Rated Almanac" by David Savageau. It will have comparisons on cost of living, taxes, climate, etc. between 400 different city/metro areas in the US. This publication is updated every few years, but I don't think there has been a new edition since 2000, so some of the cost-of-living figures may be off since the housing market boom of the past two years which affected houses in some markets far more than others. Still, this book will give you info on taxes, what is taxed, car registration costs, etc. Not all states have a sales tax, and some don't have an income tax.

There is also another book "Cities Ranked and Rated", but I have not used it myself.

There are also web sites like

http://www.cityrating.com

 

[IRstuff]

If you expect to do a lot of travelling, then an airline hub city is probably of higher priority than some other things.

TTFN

 

[MintJulep]

Even within the same state there will be large differences in housing cost, school quality, taxes, and all that other important stuff.

Unlike Europe, most US cities are pretty deserted after business hours. The middle and upper classes have long-ago moved to the suburbs. New York City and San Franciscio are the notable exceptions to this, as are small areas of Philadelphia, Houston, Minneapolis and a few others.

If you give us a list of what factors are most important to you, I'm sure you will get lots of suggestions.

 

[Ashereng]

Wow.

Virgina, NY, Texas, Oregon, Arizona. These are all states. And, they are all different.

Also keep in mind that there will be huge differences within states. For example, metropolitan centers versus sub-urban centers, versus rural.

You did not mention what your company does. Do you ship a product? By air, truck, rail, boat? That may require proximity to water, airport, transport hubs.

Does your company provide a service? Maybe proximity to major airport is the most important.

Is incorporation in a business friendly juridiction important? A lot of company incorporate in a particular state because the laws are beneficial to them. Deleware anyone?

 

[MintJulep]

Or one of the states with no personal income tax?

 

[casseopeia]

WIM32,

Make a matrix with each criteria under consideration, be it close to transportation (Chicago IS the US transportation hub), beneficial tax laws (Texas, Delaware and Arizona high on that aspect), proximity to competitors and narrow your choice to two or three cities.

Speaking as a former Army brat, your children are young enough to adapt to just about anywhere. And once you have decided on a city, you can find an area or neighborhood with good schools and good neighbors.

Culturally and climatically, you might want to consider Milwaukee, Wisconsin or Minneapolis, Minnesota if those locations work for your particular business.

Once you have narrowed your choices to two or three cities, go to each one for a week. See what feels right to you. In the end, you have to like where you live. I did that when I scouted loications for my former company's west coast office. Los Angeles scored higher on the matrix, but San Francisco just felt better. I was happier in SF. I still love it here even though I no longer own my own company.

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[controlnovice]

We've had several European people (friends, now) that have stayed with us over the years. We're in a small (1 million) city in the MidWest.

The main thing they mention/notice is the lack of decent public transportation. With this in mind, try New York or Chicago. Stay away from Los Angeles and Houston.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[TheTick]

re: Texas and Germans...

One of my German professors grew up in a predominantly Czech-German area of eastern Texas. Most of their ancestors arrived by way of Galveston.

 

[NewfieEng]

I know of many coprate head offices for oil and gas related compnaies that office in Durango, CO and have all their holdings in West Texas. They head office there because they like it. If you are going to be traveling from one coast to the other you are bound to do a lot of traveling no matter where you live. So just live where you want start your head office there. I would look for a good Airpot hub, since it is a real pain to try and get out of some of the smaller cities in this county.

 

[HgTX]

Tick--I suspect that German-Americans and Germans are about as different as Polish-Americans vs. Poles, or Scottish-Americans vs. Scots. Pretty different. (Polish acquaintances of mine walked into a "Polish American Club" and were pretty much treated like a bunch of damferriners, and I've seen firsthand that Scots-Americans are NOTHING like Scots from Scotland.)

cassieopeia--*climatically* you'd recommend Milwaukee or Minneapolis for Europeans?? Significantly hotter in summer and colder in winter than western Europe. Not that I'd mind living in either of those places.

Given that Europe overall seems to be a rather lefter-leaning place than the US overall, local political preference might be a consideration. The west coast and the top half of the east coast and a few pockets in between are relatively liberal. Most of the rest is further to the right.

One of the good things about the northeast quadrant is that many cities are close together there, so you can get from one city to another (either for business or personal purposes) relatively easily. I live in Austin, TX, and it's about a 2-day drive to anyplace I'd rather be. One of the bad things about the denser-populated areas (including the northeast quadrant) is that real estate is much more expensive. Prices here in Austin have gone way up over the last decade and they're still nowhere near the northeast or California.

One of the big problems with Austin is that although it's conveniently centrally located within Texas, it is NOT a transportation hub. Most flights have to go through Houston or Dallas which adds both cost and time. I don't know where your customers are, but Austin is about 4 hours from Dallas, 2.5-3 hours from Houston, and 1-1.5 hours from San Antonio. Houston has a disgusting summer climate but the southwestern quandrant of the city can be quite charming. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex has its charms here & there as well.

Hg

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[TheTick]

My parents came from Germany. After the first ten years here, they were too "Americanized" to be comfortable going back. We did try when I was 5, lasted less than a year.

Milwaukee has a very strong and old German presence. Worth a visit, even if you don't live there. May or October are best (in my opinion).

Lots of Dutch in my new town, Oostburg. I'm surrounded by people who can pronounce the name "Huibrigtse" on the first try.

 

[GregLocock]

Who-bridge?

Hmm, took me all of two years to realise that I wasn't going back to the land of the Poms.



Cheers

Greg Locock

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[SomptingGuy]

I moved from England to Chicago 10 years ago. Although I came back, I'd recommend it to anyone and do it again if I were 10 years younger and not married. The only real detractors are:

1) The flat landscape.
2) The distance from the sea, although Lake MIchigan makes up for it in some ways.
3) The weather extremes (regularly >30C in Summer, <-20C in winter).

Two bits of advice I'd offer:

1) Buy this book: "Living & Working in America", by David Hampshire. An absolute life-saver.

2) Make sure your employer understands the tax systems (federal & state) before putting together any kind of financial package for you. All those free accomodation and flight benefits are not as free as they seem. A "free" $1000 flight could actually cost you $250. One of my colleagues took up the offer of "free" accomodation in downtown Chicago before he realised how much it would actually cost him!

 

[sms]

What kind of business are you in? If it is oil, gas, or chemicals Houston is the place to be, and Houston is not a bad place to live contrary control novice's advice. Texas does not have a state income tax either.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[WIM32]

Thanks guys for the helpful responses. FYI, our company provides products and services for the semiconductor industry, therefore TI, Freescale etc.-> Texas, IBM / Micron / Infineon -> east-coast, Intel etc.-> Oregon, Arizona.
On the other hand, we'll be looking for engineering and manufacturing (small steel shop), therefore a good climate for those items will be important as well.

To incorporate Delaware has been advised multiple times. Looking towards Chicago (as a hub) is something that didn't pass my mind yet..

Besides those business related thoughts, good schooling, safe neighbourhood etc. is important for me personally..

Well, lots to think of!
Wim

 

[HgTX]

Semiconductors? Austin's the place for you! We have Samsung, Motorola, and lots of spare nerds left over from the tech crash. Austin's a college town so the school system ain't bad (some better than others), and there are plenty of nice neighborhoods. And cultcha--symphony, ballet, theatre, "live music capital of the world", festivals. And Kinky Friedman.

Hg

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