Starting Life/Work in US - Tips and Stories

[mooncake and leaves]

^ while i agree with you, when you don't have a lot of options, taking a bus becomes tolerable. saka mas mura talaga siya. and basta naman weekdays, madali dali. although siyempre mas convenient ang car. pero oo nga naman, kung one year lang naman eh, baka mapagtiyagaan. hell, magaapat na taon na akong pasahero and i take 3-4 buses (each way). kaya naman talaga basta may tiyaga.

ang ayoko lang sa public transportation, lalo na ngayon na uso swine flu, di mo maasahan ang mga kasama mo na takpan ang mga bibig at ilong nila kapag nagsi-spread sila ng germs. badtrip.

[chocolatefever]

on buses in CA...true, pwedeng tiyagain.  pero it depends din on your location.  in L.A., ok lang for me to take the bus kasi the house i live in is 2 blocks away from the bus stop and every 10 minutes may bus.

when i stayed in san diego, medyo suburban yung tinirhan ko dun, kaya every 30 minutes yata ang dating ng bus.  plus if medyo malayo pupuntahan mo, good luck...siguro 3 to 4 hours ang trip. it's not the commute, but the wait.

kaya it's really a big advantage if the area where you live is accessible to public transport, like buses and even the train/subway

[mooncake and leaves]

^ yeah it's the wait that will piss you off talaga. sa amin naman, during the workweek, dalawang buses kasi dumadaan sa amin. sa umaga, yung isang bus (metro) comes every 30 minutes. same with the other one (foothill). but after 10 AM ata, the metro comes every hour na then ang foothill, wala na. in the afternoon, pauwi, which is from 4:15-5:45 PM, the foothill bus runs every 30 minutes then the metro, every hour pa din. last trip for metro is at 7:30 PM.

on weekends naman, saturday, metro runs every hour. sunday and holidays, wala talaga. foothill doesn't run at all.

nyaha. talagang inelaborate ang sked. oh but that's for our area lang ha, the one that i take a block from our house. the ones that go to downtown, mas madali, mas madami.

pero kaya talaga basta matiyaga. mahirap lang maghintay. mainit, daming bums haha. saka lagi kang nagmamadali haha. saka sobrang badtrip kapag nalate  yung bus mo kasi malamang maiwan ka ng susunod na bus na kelangan mong kunin. hassle talaga sa aspect na yun.

[Vera]

I guess that makes us fortunate to be living in front of the bus station, 2 blocks away from the BART station, and 4 blocks away from downtown San Leandro.

I take BART when I go to San Francisco just because the parking these is nearly impossible and mighty expensive. I also take the bus when im in downtown SF since they are everywhere and everyone else is taking it. Otherwise, it can be tough to go from one point to another, especially if you're crunching your time.

[nailart]

Hi girls! i plan to move back there in cali. i'm a citizen but my whole family migrated back here when i was in highschool.

i have relatives there pero hindi kami close. we have this family feud going on and i dont think i have anyone to stay for awhile.

nanghihinayang lang kasi ako that i wont be able to experience working there. sayang naman din yun benefits ko since citizen.

what do you think girls? mas okay pa rin ba sa pinas? recession pa rin ba? how much do i need if i dont want to stay at any of my relatives place. what are my other options?

madali lang ba makakuha ng advertising/ marketing jobs? whats the on going rate for a typical studio/ 1 br apartment now?

[goldbabyphat]

The unemployment rate is really bad right now. There probably are not a lot of jobs in advertising. It's better if you are applying for a job in the medical or healthcare field but like with everything else, if you are lucky then you're lucky so just try, who knows.

1 bedroom apartments typically range from 800-1100. You can check the net and look for apartments where you're thinking of staying.

[Kady_14]

If you wanted to migrate to the US. San best state to raise kids? and good place for work? Where do you start and how? sorry kung idiotic ang tanung ko. I have relatives there. pero di kami super close. I dont want to ask them baka isipin nila mangiistorbo pa ako.

Ok naman relatives ko dun. Mejo tinabangan lang kasi ako that when they visit here. Ayaw nila ipagkalat, (di mo din sila masisi, yung iba dinarayo talaga sila) Ang akin naman, kami (my family) di naman namin sila hihingan ng pera or pasalubong or kahit ano. we can buy these naman 

Nakakfrustrate lang na Hubby and I have good paying Jobs. Pero still it's not enough to live the life we want, the education we wanted for our kids who are 5 and 6 yr olds.

last year we were in HK. Parang na-aliw ako na wlang tambay, yung everyone is on the go. sa streets people have a purpose...me pupuntahan, papasok sa work, sa school, mag-mmall.

Dito sa atin. lagi mo kipkip bag mo, sa takot na me hahablot, CP mo, me mga naka ta*nga sa mga gilid gilid ngmamasid. mga nakakasabay mo mg-sstare syo. parang mga walang magawa sa buhay. imbes na humanap ng pagkakaabalahan nila. kaka frustrate.

[xthine]

Maybe visiting the US as a tourist would be a good place to start.  What kind of job opportunities are you looking for?  Unemployment still continues to be an issue everywhere, that might be one thing you could focus on first.

[gnela_21]

^^ sis Kady_14, I second sis xthine suggestion, try to visit US as a tourist first, so that you can get an idea on how life is here. Not to discourage you, but unemployment is still an issue on every state.

A great number of our kababayans are in west coast (california, nevada etc) since the weather is much easier to adapt to as compared here in the midwest and east coast. In every state, you can research on where is the best place to raise kids and a family. Every place has its pros and cons and I think it depends on what you look for.

Here in the Chicagoland area, we enjoy 4 seasons. You may know about winter in Chicago and all of it is true, but you also get to appreciate spring and summer!(climate that we take for granted in the tropics) Cost of living is always higher if you are living near the city or downtown itself. We're living about 20 miles from Chicago and our living expense goes to about $2000/mo (that is just me and my husband). That just covers the basics like apartment, insurance, car, utilities, groceries. If you shop,dine outside and travel, expect the expense to go up.

How do you start? Well, migration here in the US is hard nowadays. We got here through working visa (H1B), other got here through immigrant visa either family-based or employee-based petition. It's hard to migrate because of the recession issue. Companies do not want to sponsor skilled migrants since the unemployed rate is still high. Why would companies want to spend money in sponsoring aliens when they can employ citizens and not pay a cent.

If you really are interested, I suggest that you research and read all that you can find regarding the migration process and the channels that you can try. Good luck.

[monsteradelicioza]

If you wanted to migrate to the US. San best state to raise kids? and good place for work? Where do you start and how? sorry kung idiotic ang tanung ko. I have relatives there. pero di kami super close. I dont want to ask them baka isipin nila mangiistorbo pa ako.

Ok naman relatives ko dun. Mejo tinabangan lang kasi ako that when they visit here. Ayaw nila ipagkalat, (di mo din sila masisi, yung iba dinarayo talaga sila) Ang akin naman, kami (my family) di naman namin sila hihingan ng pera or pasalubong or kahit ano. we can buy these naman 

Nakakfrustrate lang na Hubby and I have good paying Jobs. Pero still it's not enough to live the life we want, the education we wanted for our kids who are 5 and 6 yr olds.

last year we were in HK. Parang na-aliw ako na wlang tambay, yung everyone is on the go. sa streets people have a purpose...me pupuntahan, papasok sa work, sa school, mag-mmall.

Dito sa atin. lagi mo kipkip bag mo, sa takot na me hahablot, CP mo, me mga naka ta*nga sa mga gilid gilid ngmamasid. mga nakakasabay mo mg-sstare syo. parang mga walang magawa sa buhay. imbes na humanap ng pagkakaabalahan nila. kaka frustrate.

The sorry truth is that there are bums and criminals everywhere, not just Manila.  Esp. in the big cities. 

There are some places where crime is not as common, like I read Tiburon, north of SF, recently had only its 4th murder in 25 years.  You could consider that place maybe?

Its sort of a stupid joke here in SF when people say the city smells "half like pot, and half like the bums on the street".  When I walk to work sometimes though, I can see how this remark came about.

[Kady_14]

Thanks for your suggestions! Im a trainer in the BPO industry and am taking up educ units. thinking of being a teacher, hubby is a pilot.

I was just thinking if it'll be worth migrating and if it'll be best for our children.  Haayyyy...

Midlife crisis. tnx for bearing with me.

[mooncake and leaves]

^ you can try. personally, i'd suggest that you try because it's true- your kids will benefit a lot from it especially if they get to go to good schools. but still, weigh your options. it's not for everyone.

[milla]

SAGIP KAPAMILYA
Help the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) in the Philippines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htr4V_AlZfQ

[Longhair]

We pooled our cash donations & gave it to our friend since their company was kind enough to match the employees donation.

[raqjec06]

tanong lang po,pwede po ba ako apply ng tourist visa sa US then hanap na [textspeak!] ng work after?sorry po,wala po talaga ako alam,thanks po in advance

[anmar]

To those sis who have AAA (Triple A) worth it ba?
I received a letter from them $49/yr for membership. Not sure to get it. I used to have it a few years ago for only a year. Hindi ko nirenew and I'm thinking if it's worth ba.

[pretinnes]

^yes for us sis. one time kasi nasiraan na kami, pumutok isang gulong namin sa highway. tawag lang sa triple A, anjan agad sila to the rescue.

one time din naubusan kami ng gas(ang talino ni hubby ), triple A agad. hinatid kami gas station para bumili ng gas. tapos hinatid na niya kami sa house. nakakatawa lang, ang laki ng tow truck nila. na experience ko na umakyat.

[i_miss_sleep]

^^ yes. worth it. especially if your car isn't on its prime. pero kami maski new yung car namin we still kept the membership. other than the roadside assistance pretiness mentioned, you can receive various discounts to hotels and merchandise. AAA now has an app for phones which lists all nearby locations that honor AAA discounts. very cool.

[pretinnes]

^hi sis,
nabasa ko din iyong about discounts sa hotels. so true pala talaga?di kasi ako masyado naniniwala sa mga ganyan. if you don't mind saan niyo na nagamit?thanks

[gnela_21]

^if you check franchise hotels/motels like best western, super 8 etc they have a separate price for AAA members. About $5 diff per night.