tl;dr Moving to Seattle from ex-USSR. Need advice. What should I know?
Hi. I'm 33 y.o. male, have a spouse 35 y.o., two kids (2 y.o. and 3 months old). I have a great salary (~10x the average) in low CoL location. Received what I consider (to my limited understanding) good offer in Seattle which is high CoL.
Important note: I have almost no savings (10k in analog of 401k in my country). However, I have no debt (Never took any loans). I own Toyota Corolla 2016. That is all I have.
So RED flag: I spend all my income to maintain standard of living for me and my family all my career. This obviously should stop right now.
I know almost nothing about live in US. So there are a lot of points which bothered me. What is considered good family income in Seattle for comfortable life for family of four?
I found the following article: A Seattle Family of Four Needs $75,000 to Pay For Basic Needs Is it correct?
Every child should have separate bedroom. So I need to rent 3-bedroom apartment. This is another 40k(?) per year.
So 150k (75 + 40 + taxes) salary per year seems okish, doesn't it?
Healthcare: All healthcare is free in my country. So I'm a bit worried. Should I flee from country in case prostate cancer (or whatever) will be diagnosed in case to avoid bankruptcy?
Crime rate: My country is really quite and safe. Should I avoid walking streets in Seattle?
Visa issues: I have H1B temporary work permit visa which expires in 3 (or 6) years. I understand USA generally hostile to immigrants and especially current administration. Is it possible to change status of residency? How hard is it?
Education: I dropped after 3 years of university education in Computer Science. Can I continue in US part time or distant? How much does it cost?
Thank you in advance
Submitted December 22, 2017 at 04:34PM by ConnorMcLaud http://ift.tt/2kZtMp7
