Contemplating moving to the USA - Advice Appreciated

[Gribs]

I couldn't type this from work earlier but I will tell you now. The company I work for is building a large new research laboratory in Singapore and staffed primarily by people from Singapore. It will cost multiple tens of millions of dollars more to build the laboratory there than in the USA. However the tax breaks provided by Singapore will more than pay for two times the entire cost of building the laboratory there versus the USA within just a couple of years. In addition, the government there is fronting about half the wages for its citizens at the laboratory for the first two years. From a business standpoint it is a total no-brainer to build the lab there instead of the USA. The particular business lab I work in is slated to hire 8 people this year, all in Singapore. Head count on the US side will be flat or go down due to retirement.

 

I can't help but wonder why our government in the USA keeps allowing this to happen. The only answer I have is that it cares more for big businesses than it does for our "economic infrastructure" and the health of the USA as a nation.

[pink floyd cramer]

 

Agreed. I gotta stick up for Nashville. I think it is very similar to Austin. The cost of living vs. the wide variety of things the city offers makes it easy to live well on the cheap. Brand new condo buildings are sprouting up downtown fast as weeds. And it has a great rock/blues/jazz scene if you look past "touristy" Country stuff.

 

 

From what I know about Nashville: awesome place to live (and to be a music fan), {censored}ty place to gig because of the glut of musicians. I've known and worked with several talented pickers who lived there but many more not-so-talented who moved from out of state to "make it".

But in his genre, I think groovatious would more than stand a chance cuz he be a bad mofo.

[Mysteron]

 

Love Portland.. that would be the place I would head to if I was going to the US. Seems quite a liberal place.. maybe a bit hippyish.. probably not very typical of the US I don't think (dare I say Portland reminds me of Canada!? Hehehe...)

 

Ah, Portland, that's my neck of the woods. It's a great city for sure, a very 'young' oriented city with a great restaurant and bar scene. If you were a chef I'd say its the best place in the USA to come to. As a musician, while there is work, it doesn't have the same opportunity as a larger city such as San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago or New York. But its all relative, its relatively cheap to live here and there are plenty of bands to experience. You'll certainly find a musical niche here that fits and there is plenty of inspiration. I'd say a great stepping stone to SF or Seattle.

[SoundwaveLove]

I've been to all the 48 states in the past 7 years.

 

I'd say stay away from NYC and LA. They are both dirty cluster {censored}s. Good places to live if your very rich, but other then that they're just for visiting. If you know people and are connected NYC might be ok. Same with Chicago to a lesser extent.

 

You can pretty much ignore all the states in the middle. Texas is a waste of time. Austin could be cool if it wasn't full of Texans.

 

The south is down right scary. The mid west is mostly pointless. The USA is mostly corn fields I discovered, grown for corn syrup, not food. That's how we get all the sugar to keep our fatty pig people sucking down those cokes and snickers bars.

 

Basically for civilized and sane living there's only a few choices:

 

-San Francisco, expensive, you can save a few bucks if you live in Berkeley. The West Coast vibe.

 

-Seattle Cool place, laid back people, nice culture, somewhat affordable. only a few hours to Vancouver Canada.

 

-Portland, OR more affordable then Seattle, more laid back, growing art scene.

 

-Boston, expensive, cold in the winter, but lots of culture without the cluster {censored} and crime of NYC. five hours from Montreal. I live in Cambridge the rent isn't too bad here across the river. I'm only three T stops from downtown.

Also New England has lots of stuff close together, Vermont is great in the summer time.

 

 

Cities to generally avoid:

 

Sacramento

St. Louis

Detroit

Atlanta

Huston

Dallas

Memphis

Nashville

 

and many many more....

[Birdienumnum]

I'd say stay away from NYC and LA. They are both dirty cluster {censored}s. Good places to live if your very rich, but other then that they're just for visiting. If you know people and are connected NYC might be ok.

 

NYC might be ok, but not good old dirty cluster {censored} LA? I love it here, and I ain't rich. And I've been to most of the States. There are always cool bands and things happening here.

 

PS If I didn't have to be "connected" as you say, I would prefer upstate California (or upstate New York). Beautiful, peaceful, the air is better, and you're not cut off from civilization.

[LameAim]

 

I've been to all the 48 states in the past 7 years.

 

 

Great! You've got two more to go...

[kayvon]

 

Avoid Phoenix like the plague. And Miami. And Nashville.

 

 

What's wrong with Miami? Are you talking in relation to being a musician?

 

Is it good for Cuban music though? I've got a jammy mate who's out there at the moment for the Winter Music Conference.

[pink floyd cramer]

 

I've been to all the 48 states in the past 7 years. I'd say stay away from NYC and LA. They are both dirty cluster {censored}s. Good places to live if your very rich, but other then that they're just for visiting. If you know people and are connected NYC might be ok. Same with Chicago to a lesser extent. You can pretty much ignore all the states in the middle. Texas is a waste of time. Austin could be cool if it wasn't full of Texans. The south is down right scary. The mid west is mostly pointless. The USA is mostly corn fields I discovered, grown for corn syrup, not food. That's how we get all the sugar to keep our fatty pig people sucking down those cokes and snickers bars. Basically for civilized and sane living there's only a few choices: -San Francisco, expensive, you can save a few bucks if you live in Berkeley. The West Coast vibe. -Seattle Cool place, laid back people, nice culture, somewhat affordable. only a few hours to Vancouver Canada. -Portland, OR more affordable then Seattle, more laid back, growing art scene. -Boston, expensive, cold in the winter, but lots of culture without the cluster {censored} and crime of NYC. five hours from Montreal. I live in Cambridge the rent isn't too bad here across the river. I'm only three T stops from downtown. Also New England has lots of stuff close together, Vermont is great in the summer time. Cities to generally avoid: Sacramento St. Louis Detroit Atlanta Huston Dallas Memphis Nashville and many many more....

 

 

Enjoyed your post, even though it seems pretty dismissive of "flyover country". But I don't think you have evaluated any of these areas as a performing musician.

[girevik]

 

What's wrong with Miami? Are you talking in relation to being a musician? Is it good for Cuban music though? I've got a jammy mate who's out there at the moment for the Winter Music Conference.

 

 

Whatever happened to the dude who used to post here who moved down there to attend University of Miami? Last I heard he was working on his masters and havin' fun with beach bunnies.

[Fuzzlabs]

 

Austin could be cool if it wasn't full of Texans.

 

 

There are Texans in Austin? Since when? Almost all the people I know here (myself included) have moved here from out of state. They may pretend to be texan, but they ain't :poke:

 

Austin is like a little blob of California, just not near the ocean....

[The Audacity Works]

 

What's wrong with Miami? Are you talking in relation to being a musician?

Yeah, as a musician or producer, unless you're already established, it's nearly impossible to make a decent living there. Nashville's the same way. Of course, they may both be nice places to live if you're in another industry.

 

I love LA

[setAI]

San Francisco is the place- it's the best loved by foreigners and it's all the good about America with little of the bad- the most European city in the USA-

[Roald]

you might also consider Norway, a lot of the nice stuff that I listen to seems to come from Norway! As discussed over MSN, Berlin is a city with a fantastic scene, loads of gig opportunities and cheap living (-really- cheap!). However, paying gigs are a definite no until you are God. I saw TheBadPlus for 18eurs...that is not a lot of money and they are Gods! In US, I

[pink floyd cramer]

If you're just an average wanker like me, looking to prostitute your art by turning it into produkt, LA/Nashville/NYC etc are probably the worst places to relocate. But if you're really, REALLy good they are probably the best.

 

BTW I like Memphis and Beale St. alot, would like to hear something from Memphis who posts here. Also, anyone from Birmingham?

[pink floyd cramer]

Hey guys So, I thought I'd call upon my HC mates who live or have lived in the US - what IS the scene like for a full time gigging musician? Anyway, I'd just appreciate any information or advice from people who are there or have been there/done that Thanks guys! Mike

 

Posting this to hopefully get this thread going again, and to remind us what info the OP was looking for. Good luck finding full-time gigging musicians, past or present, on this board, though.

 

edited: sorry, forgot about Cygnus64 (glad to have him here) and the Pro himself. No slight intended to us PT "pros".

[theextremist04]

If you're into jazz and the like, kansas city is a great place to be. We basically invented the genre. Tons of gigs. Oh, and it would make anywhere else look expensive- the cost of living is low and quality of life is good. And if you decide you don't wanna do music, a whole lot of major companies have headquarters of some kind here.

[-groovatious-]

Hey guys

 

Thank you all so much for the VERY informative replies. This has been very helpful in narrowing down the options for my next move.

 

Getting a Green Card is the next big hurdle if I move to the states. I'll continue to apply for the lottery and may have to bring out the I.T. degree at some stage, but I'll see how that goes.

 

I've done some investigation into Europe and at the moment this is looking like another viable alternative.

 

Being in my mid 20s and Australian, I'm eligable to go to the UK for up to 2 years on a Working Holiday Maker's Visa and up to 1 year in both Norway and Germany.

 

Berlin and Oslo do appear to have VERY happening jazz scenes and I'd have no problem living in Europe. My family background is Italian so I'm still working at getting an Italian and therefore EU passport to work throughout the EU.

 

So now I'm basically tossing up between moving to Sydney as a stepping stone to either EU or US or just biting the bullet and getting over there.

 

Of course there's those little issues of accommodation and local language but hey, I'm up for a challenge!

 

Once again, thank you all for your replies, it's definitely narrowed down my city desicions if I"m able to move to the US.

 

In the meantime, I'll keep researching accommodation/employment opportunities, keep practicing, writing and recording my own material.

 

Cheers!

Mike

[amaleelake]

Don't go to the south ...........except for Austin

[orangefunk]

Mike I may be moving to Oslo in the coming year.. if I get sorted you are welcome to stop at my place and test it out... I'll have an array of keyboards here too... rhodes, organ, moog and all that.. ;-)

[-groovatious-]

 

Mike I may be moving to Oslo in the coming year.. if I get sorted you are welcome to stop at my place and test it out... I'll have an array of keyboards here too... rhodes, organ, moog and all that.. ;-)

 

 

Haha, sounds perfect mate! Thanks very much for the offer. I may just take you up on that!

[orangefunk]

What kind of thing are you hoping to do Mike? Are you wanting to just do music or are you planning on a regular job? I don't know much about Oslo really apart from the ECM jazz and electronica which is pretty my bag these days...

[Gribs]

If I were moving to North America, I would consider Canada too. There is Vancouver area - beautiful and not too cold... Unless you are worried about the Cascadia Subduction Zone giving way creating a massive earthquake off the shore from Oregon to BC with Seattle, Vancouver, and other cities completely submerged by the ensuing tsunami Pacific Northwest Seismic Network

 

Toronto is pretty nice, too. Its colder and windier but Buffalo is a short drive away and a second spot to go for gigs. When I lived in Buffalo in the 80's I had a great time at local bars there and visited Toronto for music and beer a few times.

 

I think it is easier to get a work visa for Canada, especially if you have a college degree.

[-groovatious-]

 

What kind of thing are you hoping to do Mike? Are you wanting to just do music or are you planning on a regular job? I don't know much about Oslo really apart from the ECM jazz and electronica which is pretty my bag these days...

 

 

Hey mate, preferably I'd like to be playing music full time. If I was living somewhere with a good scene however, and still was unable to pay bills etc initially, I'd most likely consider getting a part time job to help this.

 

I've been looking into the whole ECM thing. It's funny, everyone has different ideas on what the 'ECM Sound' and some people even argue there IS no ECM sound!

 

But i've been listening to a lot of stuff which is classified as typical ECM Label Jazz and it's definitely up my alley.

 

What kind of ECM & Electronica are you into?

[hogberto]

Macau looks and sounds pretty terrific, though.

 

macau is an utter {censored}hole.

 

make no mistake. a {censored}hole.

 

i had the misfortune to work there for a couple of months back in the mid-90's.

 

it's a {censored}hole. got it?

 

a {censored}hole.

[hogberto]

anyway.

 

don't forget that once you're done travelling the world you'll look back and recognise that what is important is what's inside you and not what's all around you.

 

that is, if you've been paying attention.

 

if you don't get on with where you are then it's because of the way you are.

 

if you get on with where you are then, yes, it's because of the way you are.

 

have a great time travelling.

 

just don't forget that you'll eventually have to sit down and work out how to be content with you.

 

anyway. time for more beer.