Moving to the USA: To Do List

[edost]

It looks like I'll be moving to the United States from Israel a few months before school starts (perhaps even before I'll know where I'm going to study). I'd be happy to hear some advice from international students . What do I need to do before I move (and how) and what do I need to do after I'm already there? I'm referring to the technical stuff: bank accounts, housing, health insurance, etc (but not the visa part, since I'm a US citizen).

[Blurry]

I would like to have some info myself.

I imagine, however, that health insurance should be purchased through your school where it would be subsidized. Some funding packages may even include health insurance.

Are you travelling alone?

[edost]

Since I'll be moving well before the school year starts, I wouldn't have school-provided health insurance for the first few months.

I'm moving with my sister.

[Blurry]

Will your sister be employed?

[edost]

Yes, she'll be doing a post-doc.

[eco_env]

It's kind of risky moving without having an acceptance, isn't it? First, get an apartment, then get a driver's license/ State ID, then open a bank account. try to get a utility/phone bill as soon as possible- you might need those to open a bank account. I'd probably risk living without health insurance for a few months, but in any case I'd say it's your lowest priority.

[fuzzylogician]

Get yourself a SSN if you don't have one already - that can be done through the embassy before you arrive, I believe. Travel insurance is probably the cheapest insurance you can get before you have something through your university, or go without as eco_env suggests. Getting internet/cable set up can take a while so get that started as soon as you have an apartment. Getting furniture is easy - rent a truck and go to ikea. In some places the housing markets are seasonal and it could be difficult to find something in the middle of the year, so take a look at craigslist for whereever you're moving to and try to get an estimate of how long you'll need to search. In any event I would strongly recommend searching from the US and not from abroad so that you can see the apartments for yourself. Get a prepaid phone (or a contract phone) so you can contact renters. Before you come, familiarize yourself with the area you're moving to (googlemaps and streetview), so you'll have a rough idea of the neiborhoods you like, distances to public transportation, etc.

[edost]

Thanks for the advice. I'll get travel insurance at first - I don't like the idea of having no health insurance for even a short time. I already have a SSN (and after entering it into so many application forms, I now remember it for the first time in my life). Since my sister is going to be a post-doc, we might be able to get an on-campus furnished apartment. We still have to look into that.

[Blurry]

Yes, she'll be doing a post-doc.

Then she should have acces to some subsidized health insurance from the university; couldn't she simply add you as a dependant? (I'm not sure about this nor about the costs of doing so).

[edost]

Then she should have acces to some subsidized health insurance from the university; couldn't she simply add you as a dependant? (I'm not sure about this nor about the costs of doing so).

I think only a spouse and children can be added as dependants and not adult siblings.

[Ennue]

Hm, your situation is different from mine (for example, I still have health insurance in my home country as well as in the US, because that's obligatory for me right now), but here is something that hasn't been mentioned yet: Stuff. What are you going to do with your stuff? Do you want to ship it? Through what company? It's good to have that clear I used Seven Seas Worldwide - they were about three weeks later than they said they would be, but for the rest everything worked well, so I would recommend them.

Good luck!

[edost]

Thanks Ennue. What kind of stuff did you ship? We thought that whatever we can't bring with us in our luggage and carry-ons we'll just buy in the States, but maybe there are things we didn't think about that we should take from here.

[Blurry]

I think only a spouse and children can be added as dependants and not adult siblings.

Be sure about this. There are clauses for qualifying relatives (usually) if they are living with the person in question and dependent on them. I would go through your sister's health plan in detail and ask about this.

[eco_env]

Thanks Ennue. What kind of stuff did you ship? We thought that whatever we can't bring with us in our luggage and carry-ons we'll just buy in the States, but maybe there are things we didn't think about that we should take from here.

I wouldn't recommend shipping furniture- the cost of shipping from Israel would defintely be more than buying cheap used or new furniture here. But I'm assuming you don't own any nice furniture and/or aren't interested in buying anything too fancy here. Appliances would require an adapter, and those don't always work so well. Personally, I think I'm going to be too mobile in the next few years to acquire too many belongings and drag them around wherever I move. This is esp. true if you are planing to move back to israel whjen you are done with your PhD. You might want to ship books and clothes, though, if you don't need them in the next few months, and the price is right.

[Ennue]

Oh, yeah, I definitely didn't ship furniture. I shipped clothes, books that I couldn't live without, some decorative stuff (a small lamp, a small vase), a sleeping bag... It would have been more expensive for me to buy those things new than it was to ship them (think of the cost of a good winter coat for example).

But more importantly for me: they helped me to settle in. I'm glad I have some stuff from home to make my room mine And I'm glad I have most of my clothes here. You're leaving a whole life behind, and maybe it's different for you because you're going with your sister, but I'm glad I have reminders of my life up until now with me. I guess I'm just a sentimental person

[metamorfoz]

I really like this topic as I am also planning to move to the States with my partner this August. I have been to the US twice before (almost 4 months of experience in total) and that really changes things a lot!

I want to get enrolled in the program offered in AZ. The orientation will be in early August and the school will begin in the third week or something. You think the time between is enough to search for a house and be settled in? It is good idea to get familiar with the area before the arrival and I will believe it will save lots of time and less time for adaptation will be required.

Good luck everyone!

[SeriousSillyPutty]

(First disclaimer: I'm an American, so completely ignorant about what it takes to move here. This ignorance should keep me from talking, but, like I said, I'm American, so...)

You may all know this already, but most phones in the U.S. don't have removable SIM cards. So, for instance, when I was in Ireland I got a phone off the internet and bought a SIM card to go in it, then when I went to Italy I used the same phone with an Italian SIM card. But I couldn't use that phone in the U.S., because the companies usually "lock" the phones for their use. There are pre-paid phones though that are easy to get.

I also recommend Bank of Internet USA. Yeah, anything with "internet" in the title sounds a little shady, but they're legit and have a real office in CA. Instead of having branches, they reimburse you for using other banks' ATMs, and give you postage-paid envelopes for mailing in checks. (Or, now, I think you can email them.) It's worked well for me because I didn't have to change banks when I moved, and I didn't have to pay fees when using my card over-seas.

[Duna]

Hey Edost,

your status implies you've already moved?

It's funny because I am in a pretty similar situation. I have dual citizenship (American / German). I won't be able to move until early August because I still have a master's thesis to write. I did not have a SSN and it was a big problem because it took forever until I got it (they mail your application to their office in your place of birth so that they can confirm your identity). That took months...

For every US-citizen who grew up abroad and did not get a social security number as a child: Apply for one REALLY early. It will take them much longer to process than for internationals.

I've been doing lots of thinking about what to bring and what to leave behind.

Since I have the prettiest vintage style bike, I really don't want to leave it behind. So that's 1 spacious item on the "bring-list".

I am deciding between two schools, one of them is UT Austin. At least then I would not need to bring all of my Berlin winter clothing

Apart form my bike and maybe a sleeping bag, I don't know whether it makes sense to bring other stuff. Of course I am leaving behind a whole life. But that's exactly what I chose to do by applying to US programs. I try to see it as an adventure (an adventure for both of us of course, me and my bike).

What are other internationals bringing (except for clothes)? I don't really see the point in bringing books, too. I'll get the e-book..

Edited March 7, 2012 by Saviya

[edost]

The only thing I brought other than the usual stuff you bring even on short-term visits was a bunch of books in my field, but no novels and such. Other than that, we pretty much got everything here - furniture, sheets, towels, kitchen stuff etc.

About housing - we were in a hotel for two weeks before we found and moved into an apartment. That's very expensive. If you could somehow find an apartment before coming, that would be best. Maybe you have good friends or family who can look for you, and often you can see the apartment yourself on YouTube (some realtors do virtual tours). Another thing to remember about getting apartments in the States - you'll need to have a lot of available funds at the very beginning since many landlords require first and last month's rent plus a security deposit. Most international students won't have a credit history in the States, and sometimes landlords demand a double security deposit and/or a co-signer from people with no credit. That means you might need to have up to four times the monthly rent available all at once.

[Duna]

Thanks for the advice!

I'm from Germany, Germans play everything safe. We usually deposit at least 3 months of rent and pay about 3 months for the realtor so I'll get quite a lot out of the deposit for my current apartment but I didn't think of the missing credit history and additional costs for that.

[soleil]

Hi everyone, here's a small disclaimer for a start: I'm totally ignorant in legal matters

I figured I wouldn't be bringing almost anything else besides clothes, notebooks and some favorite books. What is of more concern to me are laws and rules. I have read vague official informations on SSN, but it didn't help me much. Do I have to get it, if I don't intend on working outside the academia? Is PhD program considered a job?

[edost]

Hi everyone, here's a small disclaimer for a start: I'm totally ignorant in legal matters

I figured I wouldn't be bringing almost anything else besides clothes, notebooks and some favorite books. What is of more concern to me are laws and rules. I have read vague official informations on SSN, but it didn't help me much. Do I have to get it, if I don't intend on working outside the academia? Is PhD program considered a job?

If you're going to get paid a salary for work (TAship, RAship, etc.), then I believe that you do need an SSN, but I'm no expert either. You should ask the graduate school or their office of international admissions - I'm sure they'll know whether you need one or not.

[SeriousSillyPutty]

SSNs are used for so much here -- bank accounts, background checks, etc. -- that it's probably best to get one.

[Duna]

SSNs are used for so much here -- bank accounts, background checks, etc. -- that it's probably best to get one.

And don't worry because of my SSN experience, it only took me so long because I am an American Citizen. I know somebody who went to the US as a research assistant (Chinese German). She walked into a Social Security Administration office, brought her passport, visa, etc. filled out the application form, waited in line and was issued her SSN right away (the official document was sent by mail but it only took 2 weeks).

[soleil]

Thank you, everyone! Maybe it's not so scary as it looks afterall