The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby zenmonkey » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:41 am

Xenops wrote:What's Boston like?


Loud, brash, European, full of culture and attitude. Museums, universities and lots to do. Horrid street maintenance. Harsh winters. Great biking (with your heart in your throat), awful drivers. Dialectical. A river. Food paradise. Had one of the worlds best language books stores, now gone. Social melting pot. Progressive.

One of the places I'd move to easily. However, choose your neighbourhoods/towns carefully. Great place for languages.
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby tomgosse » Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:47 am

zenmonkey wrote:
Xenops wrote:What's Boston like?


Loud, brash, European, full of culture and attitude. Museums, universities and lots to do. Horrid street maintenance. Harsh winters. Great biking (with your heart in your throat), awful drivers. Dialectical. A river. Food paradise. Had one of the worlds best language books stores, now gone. Social melting pot. Progressive.

One of the places I'd move to easily. However, choose your neighbourhoods/towns carefully. Great place for languages.

I grew up in Boston. I would add to the above list:
  • very expensive housing ( all of the neighborhoods are gentrified ),
  • learn to drive offensively or the they will eat you alive.
  • There are only two baseball teams to root for: the Red Sox and who ever is playing against the Yankees.
  • Boston is a major sports town, but the Red Sox is like a religion.
  • Has an Alliance Français and the French Cultural Center. Both are in a neighborhood with terrible parking.
  • And remember, America started here and no where else
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby aokoye » Fri Jun 16, 2017 1:58 pm

Carmody wrote:aokoye; Bronxville??? I grew up in Bronxville, NY.

Oh that's funny given how tiny Bronxville is! I went to Sarah Lawrence College originally which is why I lived in (or even know about) Bronxville. Never mind that most of the campus is actually in Yonkers....
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby aokoye » Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:11 pm

Xenops wrote:I have been to Seattle many times, but I feel like I've seen all there is to see. Plus, I associate bad memories with it now. Portland I have been to, and I am still considering looking there for jobs, or somewhere in Oregon. I visited SLC recently, and I found it a classy place, but I am not finding jobs with regular day-shift hours. I confess I don't know much about the East Coast as far as current culture, and my OP shows my naïveté, but I think (part) of my reasoning still stands: whether I go to Portland or Boston, I need know if I can move out of my comfortable culture and adjust to a new one, and enjoy it. Plus, I really want to be by the ocean again: I've lived 20 years stranded inland, it's time to be by the sea again (cue Legolas hearing the seagulls).

If you're looking for jobs in Oregon I highly suggest looking in the Portland metro area or in Eugene (but really, just stick with PDX). While I personally don't want to live in Boston, one major thing Boston has going for it is that it is significantly more ethnically diverse than Portland is - heck Seattle is more ethnically diverse than Portland is.

We do have amazing biking, lots of good food (that is significantly more affordable than Seattle or Boston...or SF or NYC), two rivers (one of which no one who isn't from her pronounces correctly), multiple Asian markets (but no real Chinatown), an amazing bookstore, two awesome soccer teams (the Timbers and the Thorns), expensive housing, lots of gentrification that some people are still in denial about, the ocean, the mountains, and trees - lots of trees.
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby Xenops » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:26 am

Okay, I've done some research, and I've narrowed the East Coast cities to these:

Raleigh, NC
Providence, RI
White Plains, NY

My criteria as follows:
1. has active Alliance Français chapter
2. according to [url]craigslist.org[/url] , there are at least 1/3 of apartments for rent for $1000 or below (but it might depend on the neighborhood)
3. has good ratings and reviews on this site ( [url]niche.com[/url]
4. for medical laboratory scientists, they pay the average U.S. wage or more
5. close to the ocean
6. close to fairly close to testing centers for French and Japanese
7. looks fairly safe...?

Next I need to Google to see if there are Asian markets (which I would expect), and also to investigate the Calvary Chapels. Also, is there an Italian counterpart of the Alliance Français? And are there good websites for checking past weather conditions?

Thank you. :)
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby DaveBee » Wed Jun 21, 2017 12:51 am

Xenops wrote:Also, is there an Italian counterpart of the Alliance Français? And are there good websites for checking past weather conditions?

Thank you. :)
1. Italian Cultural Institutes. Not as many as the AF, but perhaps they have links to associated groups? I think the AF began as a civil society project.

2. Wikipedia sometimes lists average temperatures.

EDIT
Italy in the US.org has a map of the 'italian network in the US' showing a good number of 'associations and cultural centers'. Those might be the AF equivalents.
Last edited by DaveBee on Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby aokoye » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:36 am

Xenops wrote:Okay, I've done some research, and I've narrowed the East Coast cities to these:

Raleigh, NC
Providence, RI
White Plains, NY

My criteria as follows:
1. has active Alliance Français chapter
2. according to [url]craigslist.org[/url] , there are at least 1/3 of apartments for rent for $1000 or below (but it might depend on the neighborhood)
3. has good ratings and reviews on this site ( [url]niche.com[/url]
4. for medical laboratory scientists, they pay the average U.S. wage or more
5. close to the ocean
6. close to fairly close to testing centers for French and Japanese
7. looks fairly safe...?

Next I need to Google to see if there are Asian markets (which I would expect), and also to investigate the Calvary Chapels. Also, is there an Italian counterpart of the Alliance Français? And are there good websites for checking past weather conditions?

Thank you. :)

Does White Planes actually hit the criteria that you have for housing? My intuition says there's no way it does and a quick search says that my intuition is correct, unless I'm really doing something wrong, though Padmapper agrees with me apparently. I'm also not sure what niche.com is using for its diversity criteria. That said - you've already said that you're going to visit the cities that you get interviews in so that's smart and just plain responsible given you have the resources to do so.
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby Xmmm » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:20 am

There is a big problem with the whole East Coast you haven't taken into consideration: the fact that the sun rises over the ocean and sets over the land. Seems kind of pointless.
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby PeterMollenburg » Wed Jun 21, 2017 6:53 am

It always strikes me that in comparison to Australia, the U.S. is so much more diverse in terms of the differences between their cities and the change in language within the English language (accent, expressions). I really admire the U.S. in many ways, but really dislike it in other ways too. Australia is far too uniform in terms of the English language for my liking and almost all our big cities seem very similar to each other when comparing the differences between cities in the U.S. or within Europe in contrast.

So if you're considering a move to the U.S. East Coast, then why not consider Canada, UK, New Zealand or Australia? The language is still predominantly English. Perhaps that could be your next move? Then, if you don't mind me planning your life for you, which I'm almost certain you don't (kinda silly I'd even suggest you'd mind), you could move to Montréal where English and French languages meet... then Cameroon, then France? We could be neighbours in a decade, what do you think? Okay, done, I've already started applying for jobs for you in my area.

I admire the differences within the one culture in the U.S., just a damn shame most of you speak English! ;)
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Re: The U.S.: West Coast versus East Coast

Postby Xenops » Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:26 am

aokoye wrote:Does White Planes actually hit the criteria that you have for housing? My intuition says there's no way it does and a quick search says that my intuition is correct, unless I'm really doing something wrong, though Padmapper agrees with me apparently. I'm also not sure what niche.com is using for its diversity criteria. That said - you've already said that you're going to visit the cities that you get interviews in so that's smart and just plain responsible given you have the resources to do so.


Your intuition seems reasonable: it sounds like White Plains is at least a million people, and you wouldn't think there would be reasonable pricing for renting apartments. Perhaps the listings on Craigslists are dumps, or in bad neighborhoods? I would need to do more research.

Xmmm wrote:There is a big problem with the whole East Coast you haven't taken into consideration: the fact that the sun rises over the ocean and sets over the land. Seems kind of pointless.


If you're an early riser, then you're all set. :D Though perhaps not for great for romantic evenings.

PeterMollenburg wrote:It always strikes me that in comparison to Australia, the U.S. is so much more diverse in terms of the differences between their cities and the change in language within the English language (accent, expressions). I really admire the U.S. in many ways, but really dislike it in other ways too. Australia is far too uniform in terms of the English language for my liking and almost all our big cities seem very similar to each other when comparing the differences between cities in the U.S. or within Europe in contrast.

So if you're considering a move to the U.S. East Coast, then why not consider Canada, UK, New Zealand or Australia? The language is still predominantly English. Perhaps that could be your next move? Then, if you don't mind me planning your life for you, which I'm almost certain you don't (kinda silly I'd even suggest you'd mind), you could move to Montréal where English and French languages meet... then Cameroon, then France? We could be neighbours in a decade, what do you think? Okay, done, I've already started applying for jobs for you in my area.

I admire the differences within the one culture in the U.S., just a damn shame most of you speak English! ;)


I would love to move to another country: in fact that is my big goal in the next five years. But as of now, I can't, because 1. I am just graduating, and have little experience, and 2. I will have very little money. With the East Coast, I'm using a recruiter (hopefully they are legit?), and it sounds like the potential employer would pay for traveling expenses, should they be interested. Perhaps PM, you know something that I don't? Of course I would prefer to move to Canada or Ireland over the East Coast, but I'm currently not seeing how. :?
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