[Wott469]

We have family in the States that have offered sponsorship to assist us with migration from South Afrca to the USA. As a Capetonian I am at sea level here, work experience includes 20 yrs with local telecoms company - 11 of which was faultsman/fitter (Linesman technician)

What area would you recommend we concentrate on? Our issues are the standard..... Me, the wife, 18 yr old daughter(who may not come with - the boyfriend issue.....) and a 7 yr old daughter.

If we are cleared and there are no problems,
1 - what State and area should we consider?
2 - depending on answer to Q1, work opportunities?
3 - depending on answer to Q2' what kind of salary should we look at as being acceptable/necessary for comfortable survival?

And before the flames and sarcasm drop in - YES this is a survival issue! I have been unemployed for almost 9 months and am running out of options due to reverse racialism - I am 46, white and male. Most employers will only accept 18 to 25 year old blacks due to 'Affirmative Action' and 'Black Empowerment ' quotas.

Useful info and comments will be appreciated, silly remarks ignored or hopefully shot down by others.

Thanks
Pat

 

[TinmanIA]

Affirmative action is here to, just not as bad yet. North Dakota is having quite the boom right now mostly based in the oil industry. Its going to be F'in cold compared to South Africa, what are the winters there like any way.

 

[ackbob]

I would stay southern states.... warmer,easier to grow own food, etc... Northern states are cold as heck in the winter and can be harder to get successful crops...... IMHO

 

[Tex]

I live in Wyoming and I can give you some information about my area. Due to being the "Energy Capitol" of the nation we have a very strong job market in alot of different fields. The weather is something that some people have to learn to deal with, but speaking as someone who was born and raised in the Texas heat, it really is'nt hard to get acclimated to. There are not alot of people here. In fact, Wyoming is the least populated state. There is lots of wide open spaces as well as mountains. The cost of living is very reasonable in comparison to the wages paid. Gardening is possible, although the growing season is shorter than other parts of the country. If I can help let me know.

Tex

 

[AFFlyer]

Second for ND

I'll second the North Dakota suggestion, the energy business there can't find enough people to hire, and all the other "feeder" businesses either. From what I've read in the paper even the McDonald's is starting people out at $10-$12 per hour, they just can't find enough people! If you have marketable skills, (welding, truck driver, pipe fitter) I would say a job there is almost a 99% guarantee. There's another factor as well, people in certain areas of the U.S. (ND, SD, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and others) are just cut from a different cloth than people from L.A., New York, Miami, etc. They're a bit more rugged, self sufficient, and don't have that "welfare" mindset. Just my 2 cents. - T

 

[Tex]

You'll have hell finding a place to live in North Dakota though. They just dont have thr infrastructure in place yet to deal with the strain of a nonresident workforce moving in. It will come eventually, but it is'nt in place yet.

Tex

 

[Gristle62]

Yeah I agree with the guys about warmer states. If I was built for it i'd move south myself. Having the hide of a Black Bear i'm kind of stuck. Good luck and welcome to America.

 

[felicia]

There are no jobs in the US.

 

[Illini Warrior]

my 2 cents .... you might want to check into town/county/state assistance availability from some of the areas in the midwest .... for example, Iowa is suffering from de-population of many of the small towns/counties .... they are offering all kinds of assistance including homestead land .... they are currently welcoming all kinds of immigrants .....

 

[biathlon]

There are no jobs in the US.

You mean "There are no jobs in Commiefornia": Plenty of work here. As Tex said though, we do have real winter up here.:thumb:

 

[dgmj10]

There are no jobs in the US.

Plenty here in the south, linemen are always in demand. Why did you even bother to reply with such a negative blanket statement.

 

[Telos]

Suggest the Piedmount Triad area of North Carolina...use google to search.

 

[Jungleboy]

Awesome that you have a Sponsor. Best of Luck with the whole Citizenship Process. Check out my State. We are the Best. There would likely be Gainful Employment for you here given your Skills. All sorts of new to us Cellphone Towers and the Like going up. In the Winter, there are always Lines down from the Weather and Folks who decide to park their Car around Telephone Poles.
Best Wishes from Vermont. It always makes me happy to be of any assistance to those seeking the American Dream, and willing to do it the right way. I've been to Kenya in Africa, but not South Africa. I've seen you guys have some amazing Mountain Bike Trails there.:thumb: I have a Friend from Togo, who was a "Refugee Leader", bringing 15,000 Refugees to Ghana, and helping Quite a few of them get their U.S. Citizenship.

 

[Jon Garrett]

If you're coming from S.A. the State that would suit you best would be one of the Carolinas or Virgina.

The weather is similar to S.A. the population demographics are similar. there are cities but they are smaller than JoBerg & Capetown, maybe more like Durban.

You can have a house with land, cost of living is cheap and the laws in those states are a bit more relaxed than states of the North East.

Id stay in S.A. if I was you, the economy will get better and the US isnt all you people think it to be.

 

[TacomaJPP]

We have family in the States that have offered sponsorship to assist us with migration from South Afrca to the USA. As a Capetonian I am at sea level here, work experience includes 20 yrs with local telecoms company - 11 of which was faultsman/fitter (Linesman technician)

What area would you recommend we concentrate on? Our issues are the standard..... Me, the wife, 18 yr old daughter(who may not come with - the boyfriend issue.....) and a 7 yr old daughter.

If we are cleared and there are no problems,
1 - what State and area should we consider?
2 - depending on answer to Q1, work opportunities?
3 - depending on answer to Q2' what kind of salary should we look at as being acceptable/necessary for comfortable survival?

And before the flames and sarcasm drop in - YES this is a survival issue! I have been unemployed for almost 9 months and am running out of options due to reverse racialism - I am 46, white and male. Most employers will only accept 18 to 25 year old blacks due to 'Affirmative Action' and 'Black Empowerment ' quotas.

Useful info and comments will be appreciated, silly remarks ignored or hopefully shot down by others.

Thanks
Pat

I won't state specific states, but would suggest you research the following:

1) Google "freeest states in America" and read: http://www.google.com/search?q=freest+states+in+america+2011&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari

2) Consider right-to-work states

3) Consider states with NO state income taxes

4) Consider states with as minimal gun restrictions as possible

5) Consider states that typically vote conservative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_states_and_blue_states

6) Consider states with a low cost of living.

With respect to jobs, if you consider the six points I list above, most of the states that you narrow your search to will lead you to states that (for the most part) are doing okay. However, they will definitely be the states over the next few years that will emerge as the best states to be in.

Why do I say that?

If I were in your shoes, this is exactly the stuff I would look at.

 

[sygata]

Well, immigration could or could not be great - depends on you. I moved here 10 years ago, and have seen a lot of different scenarios - as an example, my mom moved at age of 52, and lives fine, makes enough to pay for her townhouse and help her daughter. On the other hand, I know younger people, who opted to go back to were they came from.

You likely to get much better help on some immigration related boards. But here is my advice - find courses that will teach you the basics of software testing. If you choose to do so, find a company that will confirm couple years of experience for you as software tester. As an example, look at www.portnov.com - they offer some classes and popular among the newcomers.
Do research, be ready to move to the job, don't metion this board on the job interview - it is really up to the person to succeed with immigration.
Good luck.

 

[dauser]

If you plan to be a tax recipient... the big city is where you want to be...in a gun free city...Run by democrats.

 

[Lobezno]

South Africa is a horrible place to be a white male.

Good luck with your emigration plans!

 

[cyclopathic]

Being that I'm military I've had the fortune of living in every area of the country, excluding Alaska. I've lived in Texas, Oklahoma, Washington DC, Hawaii, Georgia, Nebraska, and now Washington State. Washington State is by far the best state for Survival that I have lived in. With a mild winter and consistent rain, we have had better crops here than anywhere else. We have mountains, rivers, plains, rolling hills, the ocean, all within 1 hour of where I live in Olympia. Currently, with Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon adding additional programs, they are hiring from all types of technical fields.

I've been able to master many skills I have only been able to work on because of access to many types of terrain and weather conditions. Washington has liberal hunting, fishing, and gun laws. However, being without US Citizenship might hurt you in purchasing firearms.

Washington isn't without it's share of ass-kissing liberals and you'll find all kinds of laws here in regards to the environment (although it hasn't hurt my hunting, camping or fishing times as long as I stay within regulation and do it all legally.)

I plan on retiring here when my military career is finished and move on to working with the state wildlife department or the Us Park Service. I'll also have opportunities with the US Army Corps of Engineers working in power plants or federal facilities.

It's hard to beat Washington, but other states certainly have great things about them. The worst state I've lived in, Oklahoma, blazing hot summers and frigid winters, unless you raise cattle or work oil fields, you'll have a hard time finding work there. The natural resources are also slim compared to the pacific northwest, north and mid-Atlantic, and the upper mid-west along the Rockies.

Good luck.

 

[TacomaJPP]

It's hard to beat Washington, but other states certainly have great things about them. The worst state I've lived in, Oklahoma, blazing hot summers and frigid winters, unless you raise cattle or work oil fields, you'll have a hard time finding work there. The natural resources are also slim compared to the pacific northwest, north and mid-Atlantic, and the upper mid-west along the Rockies.

Good luck.

It's no wonder our government forced the Indians there (Oklahoma)...they figured no one would ever want to live there.