considering a move to USA

Look at that, somebody who didn't call me a raging moron and how he should check out Idaho.

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

Oh hey man, try pennsylvania. It's beautiful.

America is a great country. You won't understand it's beauty until youve lived here and traveled quite a bit.
The back country in the appalachian mountains is something that gives me chills. The rocky mountains are something else. The city's are full of life and the coast from Florida to Maine has so much verity it's unthinkable.
There's no way to combine everything great about America in one location. But please experience it all. Get lost someday in a beautiful place. You seem to be fortunate enough to have the funds to travel. See as much of the country as you can. Everyplace is unique in its own way.

From a residential standpoint I'm not sure I'd choose California.
It's by nothing. The whole entire country is east of the mississippi. Then there's California out there on the whole other side. Don't get me wrong, California is amazing. But it's almost like its own little country.
I think you might like Virginia or pennsylvania. Close enough to the coast depending on where you are and just beautiful. you have the option in these states (or really any state) of living close to everyone and in the middle of the action. Or out so far that people won't even be able to find your house.
On the east coast you have the option to drive just about anywhere. This gives you a lot of opportunity to experience the country. In California you have California to enjoy. But if you want to go anywhere you have to fly.


Good luck. If you make the plunge you'll have a great time here.

The #1 and #2 most populated US states we West of the Mississippi river..

Austin Tx is a great choice, but even I love SD while hate the rest of Cali.

Surprised nobody has mentioned Denver

Originally Posted by ThumperNC24

no wonder...even people from Indiana make fun of muncie.

Generally northern Indiana (dubbed "The Region") is to be avoided...

Michiana > Region rats

Originally Posted by peytonracer4

Are you saying Indiana is as good as Cali...?
If you're a farmer and/or love corn, sure. It's just fantastic.
For the other 98% of people it sucks hard.
There's worse states though. Hello Nebraska

But you have Rt 30 !

South OC or SD.

Take a look into Greenville, SC

Originally Posted by v8 5

SoCal cities worth checking out:
San Diego
Mission Viejo
Newport Beach
Laguna Beach
Irvine
Laguna Niguel



Maybes:
Santa Barbara
Palos Verdes / Manhattan Beach / Redondo

Originally Posted by MrEmitter

These are the best cities to live in Orange County.
Mission Viejo
Newport Beach
Laguna Beach
Irvine
Laguna Niguel

Mission Viejo is probably the safest city in Orange County.

The nicest area in SoCal is between Southern Orange County(cities listed above) and Northern San Diego County. Housing in these areas however are around $600,000 - $800,000+. My guess is that the house prices went down in the past 3 years.

There's a reason housing in SoCal is expensive compared to other states. It's not just the perfect weather. There's tons of things to do and places to go(already mentioned this in my early post). Location, Location, Location.

SF suburbs is nice similar to Orange County.

In addition to these beautiful cities, you should add 'Dana Point' to your list OP. You ll love it. It's just south of 'Laguna Niguel' / 'Laguna Beach'.

'Aliso Viejo' is another one worth checking out, newer than 'Laguna Niguel', but a little further from the beach approx. a 15' drive.

I m in the same boat as you, considering a move back to beautiful Cali.

My best friend is from England and he is quite happy here.

Between the socialized medicine, gun control, real estate, population density, etc, he feels America is a better place to live overall.

He misses the neighborhood pubs, etc.

As far as California, cost of living is high (at least in major cities.)

Florida has a similar climate, lower cost of living, and no state income tax.

After our economy dump, you can find some amazing home deals. You can buy a 5 bedroom 4 bath 5,000 sq ft home for $300k in a normal priced city.

What is great about America is the degree of diverse living.

Los Angles, New York, Dallas, Miami, Boston, Las Vegas, Portland, etc are all dramatically different from each other all within the same country.

Perhaps you should rent a home for 3 months and try it out before going all in.

JMO.

Originally Posted by Constantine

Have you heard of Australia? Almost the same size as the USA but only 26 million people. Great climate, nice people and you will almost never be shot at.

No, but you will get raped and robbed and have nothing to stop it.

Hurricanes are not as bad in Florida as people think. We haven't gotten hit with a bad one in soFla for over 20 years. I would recommend moving to Palm Beach Florida. You're close to Miami-Ft lauderdale, get better weather, nicer city overall, and nicer people.

Originally Posted by Boosted_ZHP

Hurricanes are not as bad in Florida as people think. We haven't gotten hit with a bad one in soFla for over 20 years.

So it's the same as California and earthquakes

Originally Posted by Boosted_ZHP

Hurricanes are not as bad in Florida as people think. We haven't gotten hit with a bad one in soFla for over 20 years. I would recommend moving to Palm Beach Florida. You're close to Miami-Ft lauderdale, get better weather, nicer city overall, and nicer people.

What are you talking about?

Lol at people suggesting Midwestern states as viable options over SoCal!!! What in the hell even compares out there? Nothing! Having been born and raised in the Midwest, I know this.

OP, good luck with your endeavor. I would suggest looking at areas you like and make a list of what's important to you and your family and what you want out of the move. SoCal is a great place to live, and having the means to do so makes it that much better!

Originally Posted by E36Eric

Have you figured out how you are going to get permanent residency in California? The immigration system here is a cluster fuk.

Originally Posted by casino is no lie

The trick is finding a job where an employer will sponsor your H-1B. Or marry an American. That's what my mother did

If he has consulted an American immigration attorney there are several routes to obtain permanent residency. He won't be getting an H1B (temporary and inappropriate) and I'm pretty sure he's already married.

OP, you should decide between E, L or EB5. And enjoy Cali...

Originally Posted by bombguy

Lol at people suggesting Midwestern states as viable options over SoCal!!! What in the hell even compares out there? Nothing! Having been born and raised in the Midwest, I know this.

OP, good luck with your endeavor. I would suggest looking at areas you like and make a list of what's important to you and your family and what you want out of the move. SoCal is a great place to live, and having the means to do so makes it that much better!

Chicago

Don't come to TX unless you can "rodeo"
unless you're not scared of your "first rodeo"

Originally Posted by Brem46

i have a week clear in my diary next month, I will be flying back to visit San Diego once more, but I will also be visiting a few other states... going to do a google search and find some places that we would all enjoy.

i am not keen on the idea of flordia just simply because the hurricanes and the devastation i have seen there over the years.

new york city is great but i wouldnt want to live in an apartment, i enjoy living in a house too much.

without buying a "ranch" i want the space for my children to grow and enjoy the space, something which whilst we do have a moderate yard at the moment i want more space so my kids can grow plants and vegetables (just a fun activity i would like them to do.

i dont mind living outside of a city as quite simply when i was growing up i lived in the country and loved the space and freedom that this offers me, but only being a drive from the nearest city.

a beach would be nice, my daughter loves the beach so again being close enough to a beach for a "day trip" or anything like that would be brilliant.

we know this is a big decision and one which will not be made overnight. we have set up a few meetings with solicitors to get the facts on obtaining residency (green card) in the USA.

once we have all the facts presented to us then we will make a decision based on that.

If you're selling a few businesses, check out the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. If you invest $500k (rural) -$1MM (urban) into the right kind of business in the right area (and there are a lot of areas that qualify), you can get permanent residency.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...00b92ca60aRCRD

Also, the major cities in California are expensive and crowded and have questionable politics. Land within an hour of a major city will be pretty expensive. I lived there for 29 years - north SF Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Manhattan Beach (LA), Eastern LA county . . . and while there are parts of it that are incredibly beautiful and fun, I really don't miss it much.

Look outside of CA and away from the coasts and you'll find a lot of places better geared for a relaxed, fun, unstressed lifestyle.

Check out Bend, OR - it's in Central Oregon, in the high desert on the eastern side of the Cascades and is an outdoor recreation mecca. Population 90,000 or so. Skiing is 30 minutes away, there's tons of road biking, mountain biking, golf, fishing, hunting, rafting (the town operates a free rafting shuttle in the summer, so you can tube down the Deschutes right through town and hop on a free bus back up the river), camping, boating, waterskiing, horseriding, rockclimbing, 4-wheeling, shooting, motocross, etc.

Most of the people I've talked to who live here say that they moved here because they wanted to raise their families in an outdoor paradise. It's an interesting mix of adventure sports and cowboys. Houses and land are reasonable. Last year I moved to a town 30 minutes from Bend and picked up a beautiful home on 10 acres for $440k. The job market is a bit tough . . but if you can figure out an angle for making an income, it's a great place. There are good schools, filled with kids into outdoor stuff, and low crime. In my town people don't even lock their cars . . it's not unusual to pull up to a store and there are cars in the parking lot with the keys in the ignition and the engine running. My 5 year old spends half his day exploring outside. We have goats, llamas, cats and dogs. Our closest neighbor is 500 yards away. We practice shooting rifles in our back yard and no one is around to complain. The feeling of freedom and elbow room is indescribable.

And I'm sure there are a lot of other places like this - places with relatively lower population densities where you can buy some land and have a relaxed, uncrowded life. Someone mentioned Tenessee and the Carolinas. Someone else mentioned Minnesota. Imagine owning a fishing or waterski boat where you can drive 5 minutes and be on the water without ever getting on a freeway. Imagine owning ATVs or snowmobiles and being able to venture out into the wilderness from your back yard. I'll never again live in a place where I have neighbors within a stone's throw.

We moved here when my son was 4. We were living in Portland, OR . . which is a decent place, but it has its fair share of big city problems. One of the questions that drove our move out here was, "when our son is 15 years old and doesn't come home one night, where would we go looking for him?" In Portland, I envisioned him doing heroin with the transient street punks or breaking into cars or getting into gang stuff (my wife worked with paroled youth and gang members and we had a very real understanding of how big it was there). Here, I bet he'd be drinking beer out in the woods with a bunch of buddies. It's a good question to ask when you're looking where to move.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by BimmerJustin

Im trying to move from Arizona to Toronto....Its a difficult step but possible. Good Luck!

FFS, why??

Originally Posted by brew

If you're selling a few businesses, check out the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. If you invest $500k (rural) -$1MM (urban) into the right kind of business in the right area (and there are a lot of areas that qualify), you can get permanent residency.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...00b92ca60aRCRD
!

Its a bit more complicated than that.

I'm an immigration attorney who now does 100% EB5/corporate counsel work.

Originally Posted by rohde88

Its a bit more complicated than that.

I'm an immigration attorney who now does 100% EB5/corporate counsel work.

I've worked on some investments where some of the investors were doing the EB-5 thing . . so I know it's possible and people do it. Just figured that his situation makes it worth looking into.

Originally Posted by brew

I've worked on some investments where some of the investors were doing the EB-5 thing . . so I know it's possible and people do it. Just figured that his situation makes it worth looking into.

No, I totally agree. I mentioned EB5 in my post as well.

I didn't want him to think it was only a passive investment. It is also an active management.

He's also a little unclear on "giving up his passport" does he not want to pay US taxes or not become a citizen?