Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kingplaya4]

I'm talking about for someone who is too old to move back into their parent's basement, and sold their car and possessions before coming here. I'm thinking from a US perspective here, although I would imagine it would be similiar in Canada.

So let's assume you have no job lined up, no car, no appartment, and let's leave off the crashing on a friends couch as a legitimate option.

What would you say is bare bones, and then second, how much would it take to do it fairly comfortably? (Obviously the more the merrier with the second option, but obviously cash is limited).

[kangnam mafioso]

i would say $8-10,000 might be a minimum amount presuming you could get a temporary job very soon after returning while you look for a more career-type job (unless you're lucky enough to already have something lined up or can find something real quick.) be sure to get your pension returned as the $2500 injection into my checking account 2 months after returning was a godsend.

when i returned my apartment cost $485 a month plus utilities and $400 up front as a deposit -- nothing fancy, just an old one bedroom in a decent part of town.

i bought a 10 year old car for $3000 -- $700 down and then payments of $375 for 6 months.

again, i live in a smallish city in the american south -- larger cities in other regions will require much more. you might need to find a roomate until you get back on your feet.

other expenses (approximately, of course):

car insurance: $75
basic cable tv/ internet: $75
water: $100 every 3 months
electricity: $ 100
gas: depends
cell phone $75 + taxes/ fees
student loans" ??? mine are $200 min

[Korlingus]

$10,000 sounds about right, for a bare minimum.

Apartment + Deposit= $1000 Assuming deposit is equal to 1st month's rent. This could be more or less, depending on where you plan to live. An alternative would be to rent a furnished place for 6 months until you get fully on your feet. It'll cost more at first, but my save you money in the long run.

Minimal Furniture/Kitchen stuff= $2500 (you could cut this buying used, but getting used delivered would be an issue)

Car + Registration + Insurance = $5000 (for a reliable used auto)

Miscellany = $1500

This all assumes you have a job lined up and you can start drawing a paycheck within the first month of arrival.

[yingwenlaoshi]

Yeah. 1000 bucks for first and last months rents and about 5000 for a car. Then your basic living needs for a month. 1000 bucks.

7000 is good. Just as long as you have a job. Get any job. Doesn't matter what.

[lastat06513]

The soundest idea would be to land a job before coming back to the US But if you don't, I think having a cushion of about $20,000 to $30,000 is appropriate so you don't have to worry about looking for job, depending on where you live.

I live in the northeast (CT) and $10,000 is nothing when thinking of starting your life in the US.

If you are thinking of coming back to the states, start putting your resume on Monster.com and Craigslist NOW!!!!!!

[Jackie]

But you will lack a car. I did a long term project that took me to both NYC and Boston last year. Boston was staggering under job losses and food was so expensive I wanted to cry (grapes $6 per pound). Even though I had a temporary share in Boston, the place was a depressing 3-family home,with cheap rippling vinyl siding. The middle floor had 4-kids living there that were always ill with some virus or something.
But the cost of food, clothes, gas, or anything else, will want to make you run away from Boston.
NYC was fun, I stayed in Astoria in a railroad apt., with a wonderful native NYC lady who happened to also be a teacher. I was mostly up at the Schaumburg Center in Harlem and Manhattan Central Library. Even though I could never afford my own place there, I could afford groceries (although you'll never find the selections you'll see in Korea or DC, food is still affordable in NYC). I could also afford transportation and clothes. I was there for 3-months and spent about $2600. Very cheap indeed.
Washington DC is nothing but a go-to-work-city. I just returned from 8-months there. OMG, work, work, work, and drive in bumper to bumper traffic all day, and all weekend too. There is no escape from traffic in DC, and therefore, the traffic alone will reduce your quality of life! Korea is much better because public transporation actually works. Northern Virginia Rt.66 is Purgatory 66!
The DC roommate situation is abominable. Because taxes and housing costs are astronomical, you will find whole families renting out their basements or extra bedrooms. I lived with a family from Burma. Yikes! I hated this arrangement. I wanted to stay in DC, but even though I have an MA, and work 7-days a week, I was not income qualified for a $1200.00 per month , 1-bedroom apartment!!
You could make it with no car in DC only, not Northern Virginia, where you can use the metro. Search for a group house for around $7-900 per month, and find a job within 1-week (washingtoncitypaper.com).
Will you save money? Unless you are real technical expert, probably not. Mostly, all you will do is work and pretend that you don't see the huge amounts of homeless people on the streets (or the street crews who go in, in the morning, and hose their feces off the sidewalks), and hope that you one day, will be able to afford your own place within 100 miles of the district.
It won't take a lot if you have low expectations, but you might as well keep them low too.
If you go to the midwest like Michigan or Ohio, be prepared to work for minium wage for the rest of your life. The jobs here have all been shipped to China and Mexico, you will be poor unless you are a doctor or nurse. But with all the trouble in Detroit, we wonder how long the medical community can maintain themselves too?
I am an expert in those places I mentioned. Boston is hell town with houses for sale on every street. DC housing is crowded and growing more crowded because people have to take in borders to live. NYC is a better option of the three (or four if you consider Ohio). I live right outside Detroit right across the Ohio line so I know about the midwest sorrows. BEWARE: Keep out of the midwest.

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

Great information. I think you just convinced me to sign on for quite awhile longer in the ROK. Goodbye midwest dreams...

[Evil Boweevil]

[Yaya]

I grew up around the Washington, DC, area and yeah, I cannot say enough how bad that place is. People aren't nice, it's all about work and money, and just not much to do. My brother moved to New York in 1997 and now he says he cannot stay in the DC area for more than two days without getting bored out of his mind.

Forget Southern California, too. It's overpriced, overcrowded (with Mexicans, many of whom are illegal aliens) and overrated. The people are probably the most superficial you'll meet in the U.S.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I think you're wasting your time here if all you think about is planning your escape...

I'll second Jackie's post re: the Midwest. After I got back home from Japan several years ago I thought I'd "go straight" and find a "real job," So I moved in with my aunt and uncle in Ohio (Columbus). Luckily I had a place to stay, but staying with family will put a strain on your relationship with them.

Even with my "international experience," the best I could do (after a couple of months of searching for jobs) was either go into management training for a BestWay Rental Store, where I'd have to be repo-ing people's furniture if they couldn't pay up, or work in the shipping department at a warehouse. And this was with a BA in Business Management and a year spent in Japan!

So I would tell your friend, OP, not to have high expectations unless he or she is trying to get into teaching at a community college or uni, which has its own problems.

[venus]

Sh^t man, the US must be a tough, tough place to live....

Upon returning to London I needed 700 pounds (1,400 USD) for a month's deposit and a months rent in advance; about 400 pounds (800 USD) to live on for first month whilst I looked for a job. Had one that payed 17,500 Pounds (35,000 USD) within two weeks. What with having to wait a month for 1st pay packet, I needed around another 400 pounds (800 USD) to get by until then.

Grand total of 3,000 USD needed.

[lucas_p]

[venus]

[ajgeddes]

[lucas_p]