Where to buy electric accessories (e.g. power adapters)?


After your arrival you might notice that you need a power adapter e.g. to charge your notebook or phone, these are the places where you can get what you need:

Image by photophilde via Flickr

How to find a job in the Silicon Valley and how to get a visa for the US?


As a foreigner the potentially most convenient way to work in the Silicon Valley is a transfer within the same company ('intra-company transfer') due to the assistance often provided as a package, e.g. shipping, temporary housing and transport.

If this applies to your situation, look internally for a job in Silicon Valley and after you agreed on it, take the route to the L1 visa, which applies to intra-company transfers:

L1 visa also enable spouses to work based on the L2 EAD.

If you want to start fresh and find a new employer in the Silicon Valley a good starting point are the following job portals:

So get your resume and your LinkedIn profile ready for primetime (increasingly important) and you're good to apply. The visa process can be tricky, as quotas are limited by country and in 2013 the limit for the popular visa H1B was already reached within 5 days. Another option is to 'get a Greencard', which sounds simpler, than it is. Below a few links & references.

More information on visa and Greencards

Image by liquene via Flickr.

Where to meet people?



When you arrive in the Bay Area you don't necessarily know a lot of people. The culture in Silicon Valley is very open and newcomers are always welcomed and supported.
Getting connected to people can most easily happen through work, hobbies or your neighborhood community.

A few resources that may be helpful:

    • Meetup - these are meetings organized by a group of individuals based on interests. There are plenty of meetups around technology topics. However, many of the groups also meet for leisure activities such as hiking or visiting concerts together.

    • Business Associations such as the German American Business Association. They organize lots of events including a 'Stammtisch' open to the public.

    • Your neighborhood. While Americans in the Bay Area value their privacy, there are still lots of opportunities to get to know your next door neighbors. Neighborhood associations such as the following are a good starting point: http://paneighborhoods.org/


As always, when you arrive in a new city or country, it takes time to find friends. However, entering existing circles of friends seem reasonably easy in the Valley.

Image by eVo photo via Flickr

What is the best mobile provider in the Bay Area and San Francisco?



This is a controversial question, but according to rootmetrics's results AT&T and T-Mobile provide a very good performance in the San Francisco area ahead of Verizon, while Sprint is lagging pretty far behind.

In detail:
    • Call Performance: no major differences between AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint
    • Data Performance: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon strong, only Sprint is lagging far behind
    • Text Performance: no major differences, again Sprint slightly behind
    • Combined Performance: AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon strong, only Sprint lagging far behind

More:

See also the following post:
Where to get a mobile phone/cell phone and how much is it?


Image by Sebastiaan ter Burg via Flickr

How to find roommates and shared apartments in San Francisco and the Bay Area?



The main destination for shared rooms and roommates - as for most other things, too - is Craiglist:

Other useful apps & sites:
    • Crashpad: find roommates and rooms
    • Lovely: simple and intuitive website and app to search for apartments, set alerts to be notified
    • ApartmentList: huge search engine for apartments, better layout than Craigslist
    • PadMapper: apartment hunt via map
    • Roomidex: find roommates amongst your friend's network via Facebook
    • Livewith.us: helps you optimize your Craigslist postings

More information:

Image by 55Laney69 via Flickr

How is the weather in San Francisco?


The weather in San Francisco is relatively mild and dry in comparison to the rest of the US. However, as the City is surrounded by the sea/water on three sides, it is windier, foggier and colder than further south in the Bay Area.

Current weather in San Francisco:

Find more about Weather in San Francisco, CA
Click for weather forecast
Overall climate:
    • The coolest month is January
    • The wettest month is February
    • The weather can be pretty nasty in summer, starting in June, when it often gets often foggy and cold (but nevertheless dry)
    • It's beautiful in September and October, with September being the warmest month

More:

How is the weather in the Bay Area?


The weather in the Bay Area can simply be described as sunny, mild, rarely too hot and rarely very cold. Most of the time it's less windy, foggy and cold than the weather in San Francisco due to the protection by the Santa Cruz Mountains on the western side of the valley.

Current weather:

Find more about Weather in Palo Alto, CA
Click for weather forecast
Overall climate, for example in Palo Alto:
    • An average of 261 sunny days per year
    • Less than half of the average rain in the US
    • Winter (December-February) is the coolest period with most of the rain
    • There is hardly any rain between mid-April and October

More:

Which days are public holidays in the Bay Area/California?


    • Shops and other institutions are open almost every day throughout the year, apart from Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
    • Apart from these two days, for most holidays, the employers decide which holidays apply to their employees
    • Here are some of the relevant holidays for California:
      • January 1: New Year's Day
      • 3rd Monday in January: Martin Luther King Jr Day
      • 3rd Monday in February: Presidents' Day
      • March 31: Cesar Chavez Day
      • Last Monday of May: Memorial Day
      • July 4: Independence Day
      • 1st Monday in September: Labor Day
      • 2nd Monday in October: Columbus Day
      • November 11: Veterans Day
      • 4th Thursday in November: Thanksgiving Day (and the day after)
      • December 25: Christmas Day 

Image by Fede Racchi via Flickr

Where to go for the ultimate geek tour of the Silicon Valley?


There are plenty of iconic sites in the Bay Area - especially if you are in the IT sector or have an interest in the IT scene. Below is a list of places that you might want to check out or show to friends who come visit the area.

Where to find the best shopping malls & outlets around the Bay Area?


Silicon Valley is known for its tech companies, not for its shopping centers - however you will find a nice selection of malls and outlets in the Bay Area and surroundings to suit any taste.

Image by Sigfrid Lundberg via Flickr

Where to shop for groceries?



A few of the most popular stores in a descending by our personal preference:
    • Trader Joe's - super friendly staff, rather small stores, fair prices
    • Safeway - large supermarket
    • Whole Foods - large, organic supermarket, pretty expensive
    • Walmart - huge stores, the world's biggest private employer
    • Target
    • Costco - membership required, huge packs, good for things you need in bulk (toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels, water, juice, cleaning supplies...). Two-tier membership: Executive (2% cash back)- $110 or Gold - $55
    • Fresh and Easy

Image by Phalinn via Flickr

How to buy a car and which one?


Choose a model
    • Great overview regarding available models from TrueCar
    • At least in comparison to Western Europe, new cars (especially US brands) are rather cheap in the US and used cars rather expensive (or the depreciation seems to be lower)
    • Test drives can be arranged without much planning, just stop by a car dealer with your drivers license
    • Check owner satisfaction ratings at J.D. Power
       
Compare prices
    • Price comparison & estimation:
      • TrueCar - very helpful for finding fair prices for new cars, based on statistics of real sales in the same region
      • Kelley Blue Book - price estimation for new and used cars (also called 'preowned')
      • Craigslist
      • Just stop by dealers and talk to them
    • Note: advertised prices often don't include tax and other fees yet

Buying process
    • US car dealers are known to be sales geniuses and sometimes rather pushy, as they have a huge advantage vs. foreigners in terms of available information and experience during price negotiations
    • Car brokers can save stress and unnecessary overpayments, as they can work as your 'independent' agent to buy cars to the cheapest price (in the best case) for a small fee and in addition they take care of the whole registration process - we got these recommendations:
      • Robert Hammer, (650) 210-1800, hammerauto.com 
      • Dale Reynolds, (925) 954-1196, The Stockbridge Group 

Image by paraflyer via Flickr

Where to get a mobile phone/cell phone and how much is it?

    • In the US you usually have to pay to make calls, but also to receive calls (same for text messages). One of the reasons is that there are no dedicated mobile phone numbers. So callers cannot determine by the number, if they are calling a landline or a mobile phone. When you get your phone contract you will most likely be able to choose a number from your local region (e.g. '650' for most of the Bay Area)
    • Compare the coverage of the available carriers on RootMetrics 
    • To keep costs low in the beginning, I got a no-contract, pay-as-you-go offer from BestBuy, called 'H2O Wireless pay-as-you-go' without monthly fees and pretty low rates (10 USD for 200 minutes, 5 cents per minute/message and 10 cents per MB)
    • Ting offers even lower rates, but I have not tried it myself
    • By using Apple Facetime, Skype and other VoIP-Apps (explained here), when at home or elsewhere with WiFi connection, we were able to keep the monthly bill at around 20 USD/month 

See also the following post:
What is the best mobile provider in the Bay Area and San Francisco?

What to do in your first days?


For international geeks:

As an example of specific durations & processes here an infographic about my move.

When to do what before your move? (for internationals)


In short for international geeks:

More information about how long it could take from my move as an example.

Image by Steve A Johnson via Flickr

How to find accommodation in San Francisco and the Bay Area and how much is it?


Average rent in the Bay Area:
    • Shared apartment: ~1,000 USD
    • Studio/1-bedroom apartments: ~1,600 USD
    • >2-bedroom apartments/(town) houses: >2,500 USD

Costs of utilities:
    • Often utilities come extra to the rent (e.g. water, gas, electricity, waste management, gardening)
    • For a small house (2 bedroom place) the utilities cost might be around $180 -$250
    • for an apartment you might look at as little as $70

Bay Area communities by descending price range & common desirability:
    • Ridiculous: Atherton, Woodside, Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley
    • Expensive: Palo Alto, Los Altos, Menlo Park
    • Pretty expensive: Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Los Gatos
    • Somewhat expensive: San Jose, Campbell, Redwood City, Foster City
    • Not cheap: East Bay
    • Developing: East Menlo Park, East Palo Alto (roughly the area east of US101)
      Note: The times of East Palo Alto being the city with the highest homicide rate in the US are over (1992), but it's still developing, check the details on city-data.com, as mentioned below.

How to find the right place on Craigslist?
    • Almost all accommodations are posted on Craigslist, brokers & realtors seem rarely to have unique offers
    • Main rule: reply instantly if you find a potential match, good offers are usually gone within hours
    • Example: you are looking for a 2-bedroom apartment within a 20 minute commute from Palo Alto
      • Select the two relevant areas in separate windows:
      • Select the applicable neighborhoods by clicking on '[+] all neighborhoods', to stick with the above example of around 20 drive from downtown Palo Alto:
        • Peninsula: Atherthon, Belmont, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, San Carlos, San Mateo, Woodside
        • South Bay: Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara
      • Check the Bay Area map on SFGate to see where the Neighborhoods are located
      • If you're unsure, check the distance to your workplace from your potential future home using Google Map
      • Select '2+ BR' to look for objects with at least two bedrooms (living rooms are not counted)
      • Enter your max. rent to restrict the selection and even min. rent to throw out fake offers

How to find a place in San Francisco?

Hints:
    • Get insights on average income, house prices, crime rates, etc. on city-data.com (example: Palo Alto)
    • Always visit the the place before renting (at least for longer than just a few weeks), attractiveness of locations can vary drastically from street to street, Google Street View can you give you at least a first indication
    • Helpful apps/websites to find housing:
    • Take the traffic into account, when planning your commute - San Francisco has the 3rd worst traffic in the US (applying similarly to the whole Bay Area, e.g. US101): USA Today

How much of your paycheck will end up on your bank account?


Brief answer according to our experience: a bit above 55%, after deducting...
    • Tax (federal & state): around 30% (in our case)
    • Retirement Plan ('401k'): optional - usually between 6% and 10%
    • Health Insurance and Dental Coverage: depending on employer and insurance (in our case: 160 USD per month, 2,500 USD annual deductible)

How to get a loan to buy a car?


    • Banks seem only to give loans to buy a car if the buyer has a SSN (Social Security Number)
    • Taking a car loan helps to establish the infamous 'Credit Score', in case you plan to take bigger loans in the long run (e.g. to buy a house)
    • There are two main sources for car loans:
      • Dealership: ask your car dealer 
      • Banks: start with asking the bank managing your salary account, because they know your financial situation, although you might not have a credit score yet
    • More on howstuffworks.com - How Car Financing Works

Image by Robert S. Donovan via Flickr

How to get a credit card and which one?



    • You can use credit cards to pay almost anything in the US
    • Your credit limit is dependent on your credit score
    • They vary widely in terms of interest rates
    • One other aspect is the amount of points you can earn as cash back (= payments in your favor, usually at the end of the year, depending on how much you have spend using the credit card) or other payback systems
    • Our favorite card if you travel frequently:
    • Otherwise:
    • Comparisons:

Image by mugley via Flickr

What's the Credit Score?

    • One of the mysterious topics when moving from a foreign country to the US is the credit score. It is a statement on how credit-worthy a person is.
    • In order to achieve this credit-worthiness however, you have to have credit accounts and manage them responsibly.
    • E.g. unlike in Europe, where savings and income are the main measure, in the US the key is to have about 2-5 credit accounts open that you pay on time.
    • The available information results in a score where 750 is considered "good credit". That will usually get you approval for all major credit cards, as well as approval for good interest rates on loans.
    • It's a bit of a game, sometimes it may mean that financing a car may be more beneficial in the long run than paying in cash - especially if you plan to borrow money for a house and hope for a good interest rate for the loan.
    • It seems that it takes at least 6 months for immigrants to have a Credit Score at all - noticeable by pre-filled credit card application starting to arrive via mail.

See also:

How to get a Checking Account?


For internationals, one of the first things after arriving in the US, is to open up a checking account, usually the basis to receive your salary. There is always a bit of a debate whether credit unions or major banks are the way to go.

If your company is part of a credit union, then you may want to make use of them as opposed to a major bank - mainly because they have a trusted relationship with your company and it will make it easier for you to apply for loans or credit cards in the beginning when you not yet have an established credit score.

Examples for credit unions in the Bay Area:

Major banks:

Additionally to the regular checking account, banks often also offer savings accounts. These can help to put savings aside and to also get a small interest.

How to get a car insurance and how much is it?



    •  Car insurances can often only be arranged if you already have your Social Security Number (SSN), but there are exceptions (in my case: Farmers Insurance) 
    • To be on the safe side, policy limits of 100/300/100* and Collision & Comprehensive Coverage make sense, meaning:
      • 100,000 per person for bodily injury
      • 300,000 per accident for bodily injury
      • 100,000 per accident for property damage
    • More on About.com - What are the best liability policy limits?
    • Make sure to have also 'Uninsured Motorist Coverage' - I have witnessed an accident myself, where the perpetrator tried to run away, because he did not have sufficient coverage, so the victim would not have gotten any compensation without UMC
    • Rate comparison:
    • Before you sign a contract, check customer rating satisfaction with insurance companies at J.D. Power & Associates
    • These factors can help to lower the insurance premium:
    • Check every once in a while if it's worth to change the insurance, especially if you arrived recently in the US it gets cheaper from month to month

Image by evoo73 via Flickr

How to register your car and how to get a Californian drivers license?

    • To register cars as well as to take driving exams it is necessary to go to one of the DMVs (Department of Motor Vehicles) in California
    • In case you want to have a specific string on your license plate you can register Special Interest License Plates online for an additional yearly fee, but need to be picked up at a DMV office - more on dmv.ca.gov
    • To avoid long waiting lines it's strongly recommended to make an appointment in advance, but they are usually booked out weeks in advance (might be different if you just want to get the Californian drivers license)
    • To do the behind-the-wheel test you will need to bring your own (or someone else's) car
    • More information on the driving test on dmv.ca.gov

How long does an international transfer take?


To give you an idea, how long an international transfer can take and which activities need to be done, here an infographic how my transfer took place:

Can I use my devices from overseas in the US (e.g. TV)?


(note: no guarantee that the below hints work, try it at your own risk)
    • Check the type label on your device, if it supports 100-240 Volts and 50-60 Hertz, if so it should work using a plug adapter, e.g. for Europe to US
    • Most devices involving engines and heaters (e.g. hair dryers, toasters, drills, vacuum cleaners) won't work with the lower voltage and that's why we bought them in the US
    • If it's a device that is not supposed to work with the above values, a power converter would be required. For my German TV (only supporting 230 Volts) I got this converter from Goldsource and it works like a charm
    • But although my TV has a built-in digital receiver, I had to get an external receiver to be able to use the antenna's signal, as it's based on a different system

How to watch TV for free / over the air?

How to navigate, where to park and where to find cheap gas?



    •  Waze: mobile app with crowd-sourced traffic data, therefore pretty reliable when navigating from A to B in the Bay Area
    • ParkMe: parking in San Francisco is a real challenge, this app gives you a good overview of parking spots and rates around you
    • Gasbuddy: app & website to find the cheapest gas station around you
Image by deanoakley via Flickr

Where to find pharmacies?


The major pharmacies, where you will also find a selection of basic groceries, stationary, etc., are almost omnipresent with sometimes even 24/7 drive-through offerings:

Image by mamnaimie via Flickr

Where to get a health insurance, how does it work and how much is it?

    • Tech companies often provide employees with a subsidized or free health insurance (also referred to as 'health plan' or as part of your 'benefits')
    • Many plans work the following way (simplified, might also be different for your plan):
      • Whenever you get your salary, your employer contributes a certain (often undisclosed) amount to your health plan and your pay your part by automatic deduction from your salary ('premium' - in my case around 80 USD/2 weeks, covering me and my wife) 
      • You have to pay all expenses up to a certain yearly limit ('deductible'), e.g. 2,500 USD, afterwards your insurance pays everything above or it requires cost sharing (see below)
      • These are the options in case the insurance requires 'cost sharing' (e.g. if you have met your deductible, in some cases also before):
        • You might have to pay for a certain percentage of your medical services ('co-insurance'), e.g. 20% of all expenses
        • You might have to pay a flat amount for a certain service ('copay),
          e.g. 20 USD for each visit to a doctor
      • But some services will always be paid by the insurance (e.g. preventive checkups), no matter if you have already met your deductible or not
      • The overall amount you have to pay per year (deductible + co-insurance + copay) is usually limited ('out-of-pocket limit')
      • Your insurance company most likely has a network of preferred doctors and hospitals ('in-network providers'), usually their services cost you less, than services by health providers outside of it ('out-of-network providers'), you might even have to pay the latter completely on your own
      • Your health insurance might enable you to divert tax-free money from your paycheck to a 'Health Savings Account' for health-related expense. It cannot be spend for anything else, but it is rolled over from year to year (this is the difference to 'Flexible Spending Accounts' other plans offer)
    • More information:

How high are the salaries in Silicon Valley?


    • Enter your job/employer/location on these salaries databases to get an idea:
    • Check the Median Household Income in the area of your future home: city-data.com

Where to find the best burgers?


Controversial question - here a few good starting points:

More on sf.cityvoter.com

How to get your home hooked up to internet/TV/phone?


The US' TV and telecommunication market is known for its high monthly costs compared to other countries and it comes with a huge variety of combined offers which can leave the freshly moved geek simply confused. 

E.g. often 24 month contracts are offered for a relatively low monthly payment, which increased after 3 months and again after 12 months - both only mentioned in tiny letters below the main offer - or only in combination with expensive channel packages.

To keep the costs low in the beginning I did the following:
    • Getting the cheapest Internet-only connection (calculated over the whole 24 month period, to be able to compare the overall costs - in our case the cheapest was Comcast)
    • Get TV over the air (see here) and via apps
    • No phone landline
    • US Calls: use mobile phone
    • International Calls: use Voice over IP (in my case with a free German number from sipgate using the app Groundwire)

Image by Thomas Leuthard via Flickr

Where to find news about the Bay Area and the local IT industry?


Local News:

Technology News:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)