So i'm moving to the USA

[Syph]

California for law school. Silicon Valley to be a bit more specific. (I currently live in Canada)

What do I need to know?
Specifically, some of the things I'm curious about is who should I go to for a cell phone?
Which bank should I open an account at?

Anything you guys think I should know is appreciated

spoiler (click to show/hide)

RIP metric system

[close]

[kick51]

Congrats on moving to the greatest country on Earth!

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Verizon

Pollo Loco

In and out

No means no


I think that covers it.

[Dennis]

Why would you live there?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1253826

 

[Mupepe]

Bank: a credit union

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Bank: a credit union

Yup.

[Dennis]

Americans are shitty drivers. At least here in Nashville.

Signal to turn? What is that?

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Americans are shitty drivers. At least here in Nashville.

Signal to turn? What is that?

That's national and don't get a nicca started. Terrible.

[Madrun Badrun]

lol you fool.  Don't come crawling back Syph.

[Syph]

Verizon

Pollo Loco

In and out

No means no


I think that covers it.

I'm pumped for the food haha
Anyone have experience with Wells Fargo?

Americans are shitty drivers. At least here in Nashville.

Signal to turn? What is that?

breh I'm from Vancouver let me tell you about shitty drivers lol

Why would you live there?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1253826

 

to make neogaf great again

lol you fool.  Don't come crawling back Syph.

straight to the top baby

Bank: a credit union

could you elaborate please?

[toku]

We just need to get Wrath back over here and the bore mad max raiding tribe will be strong

[Mupepe]

Don't sign up for any of the big banks like wells Fargo, chase, bank of America, etc.

Find a local credit union. There might be one for your school. Lower fees, better customer service and interest rates and yearly dividends from profits.

[nudemacusers]

Bank: a credit union

true patriots use usaa.

[Bebpo]

Why not go to law school in Canada?  I thought about going to law school in Canada myself being from California.  Isn't the Canadian market better for attorneys?

[Syph]

Thanks for the responses. I'll look into credit unions.
Any more info on phone provider? Which companies do you guys have cell phones from?

Why not go to law school in Canada?  I thought about going to law school in Canada myself being from California.  Isn't the Canadian market better for attorneys?

Simply put I want to practice in the states. Higher ceiling. Don't let that stop you from applying though, UBC and a couple others are still quite reputable here.

We just need to get Wrath back over here and the bore mad max raiding tribe will be strong

toku are you in cali?

As far as food goes:

  If you're going to be on a campus or in a college town always be on the lookout for new places to eat.
  Also, be sure to bask in the glorious flavors of street food   .

I'm looking forward to taking full advantage of that

[Syph]

Thanks for the responses. I'll look into credit unions.
Any more info on phone provider? Which companies do you guys have cell phones from?

Why not go to law school in Canada?  I thought about going to law school in Canada myself being from California.  Isn't the Canadian market better for attorneys?

Simply put I want to practice in the states. Higher ceiling. Don't let that stop you from applying though, UBC and a couple others are still quite reputable here.

We just need to get Wrath back over here and the bore mad max raiding tribe will be strong

toku are you in cali?

As far as food goes:

  If you're going to be on a campus or in a college town always be on the lookout for new places to eat.
  Also, be sure to bask in the glorious flavors of street food   .

I'm looking forward to taking full advantage of that

I have T-Mobile.

 They've really stepped up since the past decade or so and offer a cheap service for unlimited data/text.

 AT&T is overpriced trash that is generally expensive.

 Verizon is getting on AT&T's level but it's not there yet.

 Sprint is... alright. Their connection imo, and in Florida, has been way too spotty. Expect hour/two hour periods a couple times a year where you'll have no connection.

A cursory look at their website has been informative. I didn't realize you have to pay for the phone in the States...in Canada you can often get one as part of the plan or have a greatly reduced price so that you're locked into a term. It appears that isn't the case here?
If so it seems the best course of action may be to just keep my phone from Canada and bring it with me and get a new SIM

[Bebpo]

Why not go to law school in Canada?  I thought about going to law school in Canada myself being from California.  Isn't the Canadian market better for attorneys?

Simply put I want to practice in the states. Higher ceiling. Don't let that stop you from applying though, UBC and a couple others are still quite reputable here.

Higher ceiling yeah, but also probably the most unemployed lawyers working at starbucks in the world.  Exaggerating slightly...maybe, but the unemployment issue is real.  Law schools are like prisons and undergrad schools, all about that for-profit so they dump out more and more lawyers at a higher rate than lawyers are retiring/dying and you have way more supply.  It's been an issue for about 10 years now. 

The good news is that all of my lawyers friends eventually found good jobs, but one of my friends was working for free volunteer jobs for like 3-4 years living with his parents after passing the bar before he eventually got a nice cushy paid government attorney job which he's probably set for life in.  Glad it worked out for him, but we'd hang out during those 3-4 years where he hadn't seen a $1 back and had $100k+ in student loans and it was fairly depressing.

That being said, if you got accepted into a top 25 law school, you can ignore that as you'll be fine.  Just intern during your years and if you've got a good personality and the firm doesn't go out of business they'll probably hire you at $125k+ starting.  Otoh, if you're planning on working at a big firm, expect to have no life for a while from the hours they want. 

Anyhow, not trying to deter you from law school, but I do try to heavily warn people going to law school of what's ahead because way too many people jump into law school thinking it'll be $$$ and then problems.  If you want $$$, be a doctor.  If you want to kick ass and enjoy your job and maybe make $$$, be a lawyer.

[I'm a Puppy!]

No on wells fargo. I'm in the middle of closing my accounts with them after they fucked something up then proceeded to hang up on me TWICE. Use a credit union.

Also, silicon valley? Man, it's going to be more expensive than you think. Even after you reset your expectations.

[Syph]

No on wells fargo. I'm in the middle of closing my accounts with them after they fucked something up then proceeded to hang up on me TWICE. Use a credit union.

Also, silicon valley? Man, it's going to be more expensive than you think. Even after you reset your expectations.

Wow another vote for a credit union haha i guess it really is the way to go. Thanks.
And oh trust me, I unfortunately am keenly aware. The one thing I find solace in is I go into this 100% debt-free from undergrad...obviously that is about to change lol

[brawndolicious]

In the Bay Area, Verizon is usually the best with reception but for a lot less you could get T-mobile which is quite good in the places I've lived and it should work with a GSM phone from Canada. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA. In my experience, T-mobile and Verizon had far better customer service than the other two.

You will probably need a car just to get errands done so consider $5-$10k (USD) to get a used one in decent shape. Even a total shitbox won't have rust in Cali but you're a student so I don't know how necessary this might be.

No one knows shit about Canadian politics or how anything works over there.

Anyhow, not trying to deter you from law school, but I do try to heavily warn people going to law school of what's ahead because way too many people jump into law school thinking it'll be $$$ and then problems.  If you want $$$, be a doctor.  If you want to kick ass and enjoy your job and maybe make $$$, be a lawyer.

Doctors don't make that much considering they have ~5 years residency on top of higher med school bills. Outside of the very few with a private practice, you can expect to be working 50-60 hours a week when you're past middle-aged and you can't choose who your patients are so it's true that you mostly end up with the type of people Darwinism forgot. If you want to make a lot of money while seemingly doing little real work then just be an investment banker. 

[benjipwns]

A friend/acquaintance from Greece moved to California not too long ago, the credit union I found for him was https://www.patelco.org

No idea if it's actually any good or near where you're moving to. They had like 9 million branches within ten miles of him.

He refused my instructions to immediately get a cash advance on his credit card to get larger liar loans to buy mortgages for houses he couldn't afford. I told him people would instantly know he wasn't really American and a recent transplant to California.

[bork]

Don't sign up for any of the big banks like wells Fargo, chase, bank of America, etc.

Find a local credit union. There might be one for your school. Lower fees, better customer service and interest rates and yearly dividends from profits.

Can't say that I've had any problems with Wells Fargo.



Had heard bad things about Bank Of America's customer service.

[thisismyusername]

Don't sign up for any of the big banks like wells Fargo, chase, bank of America, etc.

Find a local credit union. There might be one for your school. Lower fees, better customer service and interest rates and yearly dividends from profits.

Listen to this man. Do NOT use a "bank." Find a Credit Union.

[Mupepe]

Don't sign up for any of the big banks like wells Fargo, chase, bank of America, etc.

Find a local credit union. There might be one for your school. Lower fees, better customer service and interest rates and yearly dividends from profits.

Can't say that I've had any problems with Wells Fargo.



Had heard bad things about Bank Of America's customer service.

I have never really had any bad experiences with Chase but the fact that overdraft at my credit union is $4 as opposed to $35 and every loan I have ever applied for with Chase has had a ridiculous interest rate is enough for me to not recommend them.

I keep Chase only because I'm grandfathered in on a no fee, no minimum balance/direct deposit and free checks/money order account (good luck finding that now).  So I keep a bit of cash in there in case I ever need to use an ATM.  But even that is rare because my credit union allows 20 free ATM withdrawals every year and I don't think I've ever used more than 5. 

For most people there is just no reason to use a bank over a credit union.  Outside of ATM access I can't think of anything Chase has over my credit union.

[benjipwns]

Had heard bad things about Bank Of America's customer service.

Bank of America is a wonderful company.

random link from typing "bank of america foreclosure" into google: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/ba.htm

Based on 82 ratings out of 2,608 reviews
5 stars
1%
4 stars
0%
3 stars
1%
2 stars
1%
1 stars
96%

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/bofa.html

                        
Based on 313 ratings out of 3,127 reviews
5 stars
1%
4 stars
0%
3 stars
1%
2 stars
4%
1 stars
95%

Some success stories:

When the Obama administration launched HAMP in 2009, Bank of America was by far the largest mortgage servicer in the program. It had twice as many loans eligible as the next largest bank. The former employees say that, in response to this crush of struggling homeowners, the bank often misled them and denied applications for bogus reasons.

Sometimes, homeowners were simply denied en masse in a procedure called a “blitz,” said William Wilson, Jr., who worked as an underwriter and manager from 2010 until 2012. As part of the modification applications, homeowners were required to send in documents with their financial information. About twice a month, Wilson said, the bank ordered that all files with documentation 60 or more days old simply be denied. “During a blitz, a single team would decline between 600 and 1,500 modification files at a time,” he said in the sworn declaration. To justify the denials, employees produced fictitious reasons, for instance saying the homeowner had not sent in the required documents, when in actuality, they had.

Five of the former Bank of America employees stated that they were encouraged to mislead customers. “We were told to lie to customers and claim that Bank of America had not received documents it had requested,” said Simone Gordon, who worked at the bank from 2007 until early 2012 as a senior collector. “We were told that admitting that the Bank received documents ‘would open a can of worms,’” she said, since the bank was required to underwrite applications within 30 days of receiving documents and didn’t have adequate staff. Wilson said each underwriter commonly had 400 outstanding applications awaiting review.

Anxious homeowners calling in for an update on their application were frequently told that their applications were “under review” when, in fact, nothing had been done in months, or the application had already been denied, four former employees said.

Employees were rewarded for denying applications and referring customers to foreclosure, according to the statements. Gordon said collectors “who placed ten or more accounts into foreclosure in a given month received a $500 bonus.” Other rewards included gift cards to retail stores or restaurants, said Gordon and Theresa Terrelonge, who worked as a collector from 2009 until 2010.

Jose De Santiago, a municipal inspector in Mission Viejo, California, was in the midst of a modification in December 2011 when he got the letter: He had five days to leave his two-bedroom condo. De Santiago, 43, spent Christmas packing his belongings with his son Joseph, then 13, and was out the next day.
 
After a Bloomberg News reporter alerted the lender’s communications department, Bank of America bought the condo from Alton Holdings Inc., which had purchased it in a foreclosure auction. A bank lawyer apologized, and De Santiago was allowed to move back after two weeks.
 
Bank of America offered $5,000 to compensate him for furniture lost in the eviction, according to a draft of a proposed settlement. De Santiago refused because he would have had to sign a liability release, he said. He’s still fighting the lender to get it to repair his credit scores.
 
“They asked me to put in writing how well they treated me,” De Santiago said. “I can’t believe Bank of America was allowed to do the horrible things it did to me and others.” Bank of America’s Sturzenegger said some customers who should have received government assistance may have fallen through the cracks of the system the lender created.
 
“If you went back and re-reviewed the documents, based on today, would they have qualified for HAMP?” Sturzenegger said. “Possibly. That’s the best way to answer it.”

One early conversation took place on Dec. 8, 2009. It was with a Bank of America representative who identified himself as “Brian.” Morrow said “Brian” told him that he and his wife were locked in for a loan modification program. If they successfully made reduced trial payments for three to four months, Morrow said he was told, their loan modification would be made permanent.

After the whole thing unraveled and the Morrows filed suit, one of the defenses made by Bank of America was that, according to its records, Morrow had not spoken with anyone by the name of Brian on the date in question. On Dec. 8, 2009, the bank said, Morrow spoke with a customer service representative in India by the name of Sunil Kumar.

Heenan later deposed Kumar by telephone. Heenan said Kumar told him, “We all use American names” when speaking with customers.

And what American name did Kumar use? “Brian,” he told Heenan.

They did get punished though so everything should be fine now:

The bank has also settled two major actions by the federal government related to its foreclosure practices. In early 2012, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government crafted a settlement that, among other things, provided cash payments to Bank of America borrowers who had lost their home to foreclosure. Authorities recently began mailing out those checks of about $1,480 for each homeowner. Earlier this year, federal bank regulators arrived at a settlement that also resulted in payments to affected borrowers, though most received $500 or less.

[Steve Contra]

Come to Oakland and visit.  I'm guessing Stanford?

[I'm a Puppy!]

Yes
and
Yes

[Yulwei]

Fuck BoA

[Tasty]

For phones, anything but Verizon.

People seem to like T-Mo but coverage is iffy.

Sprint isn't GSM.

AT&T is overpriced but decent.

There's a lot of great MVNOs piggybacking off the big four. I have Straight Talk and pay $45 to use AT&T's network, 5 GB at 4G (and anything after that is 2G.)

I'll likely switch to Project Fi with my next phone since Google seems intent on killing Google Voice. :'(

[nudemacusers]

I like Verizon 

[Mupepe]

I've found that mobile coverage is way too dependent on your particular location.  I'd wait til you get there and talk to some people about what they recommend.  Tmobile and Sprint in Houston are absolute crap but I hear people from other cities or states say they have no issue

[Yulwei]

Yup. I've had no coverage problems with Sprint here in the east coast but my brother tells me it can get pretty bad out west. All depends where you're at.

[Syph]

Thank you again for the replies.
Do credit unions have their own abundance of  ATMs or would I mostly be using credit/debit or withdrawing cash at the actual branch?

Switching gears a bit, where do people shop for groceries? For anyone that has lived or traveled to both countries, what is the Superstore equivalent? (or "noname" brand equivalent even?)

[Tasty]

I like Verizon 

CDMA
Lock-in
Most expensive prices
Shitty customer service
Shits up phones with crapware and stupid hardware modifications (looking at you, DROID line)

For the record I had a Galaxy Nexus 4G on Verizon for two years. The service overall was great, but I care more about the phone than anything and Verizon's shitty ass ain't getting no mo' Nexuses.

The CDMA thing is enough to turn me off completely these days.

[I'm a Puppy!]

In the bay area you have the Rayle's brands (Lucky's, Raley's, Bel-Air, Nob Hill) they're all owned by the same company and are pretty interchangeable. There's also safeway.

You also have the typical Whole Foods and Sprouts for your snobby food needs.

[nudemacusers]

I like Verizon 

CDMA
Lock-in
Most expensive prices
Shitty customer service
Shits up phones with crapware and stupid hardware modifications (looking at you, DROID line)

For the record I had a Galaxy Nexus 4G on Verizon for two years. The service overall was great, but I care more about the phone than anything and Verizon's shitty ass ain't getting no mo' Nexuses.

The CDMA thing is enough to turn me off completely these days.

Half that seems like android problems tho 

[Tasty]

I like Verizon 

CDMA
Lock-in
Most expensive prices
Shitty customer service
Shits up phones with crapware and stupid hardware modifications (looking at you, DROID line)

For the record I had a Galaxy Nexus 4G on Verizon for two years. The service overall was great, but I care more about the phone than anything and Verizon's shitty ass ain't getting no mo' Nexuses.

The CDMA thing is enough to turn me off completely these days.

Half that seems like android problems tho 

Literally only one of them is Android-specific.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Oh yeah forgot about trader Joes its not bad.

[Mupepe]

Thank you again for the replies.
Do credit unions have their own abundance of  ATMs or would I mostly be using credit/debit or withdrawing cash at the actual branch?

Switching gears a bit, where do people shop for groceries? For anyone that has lived or traveled to both countries, what is the Superstore equivalent? (or "noname" brand equivalent even?)

Credit unions don't usually have their own ATM's except at their branches.  But they do have "shared" branches where they partner with other credit unions and you can use their ATM's.  Credit Unions take a bit more research but are well worth it.  And like I said, my credit union will let me pull out cash at any ATM for free 20 times per year.  That tends to be way more than necessary for me because you don't have to fuck with cash much in day to day life.

[Dennis]

Whole Foods and Piggly Wiggly are my go-to supermarkets.

A little bit of Kroger as well.

Rest I get from Amazon and a few other online shops.

[nachobro]

the US doesn't have fries supreme at taco bell

enjoy it while you can

[chronovore]

Silicon Valley's expensive everywhere. Redwood City isn't exactly nice OR modern OR convenient, but rent is about as expensive as the neighboring towns which ARE full of amenities. In 2012 I rented a mother-in-law cottage behind someone's main house. 1BR/1BA tiny living room and kitchen; monthly rent was as much as my mortgage payment in Japan for a 3BR/2BA solar-powered home that's 1.5x the size of anyone else's home on the block.

Pricey. Prepare your bunghole.

[Syph]

Pricey. Prepare your bunghole.

it's as prepared as it'll ever be
i wonder if LA would be cheaper or more expensive

[brawndolicious]

Last I checked LA was about 25% cheaper than Bay Area so it's still expensive. If you're living with housemates in the San Jose area then you can expect to spend somewhere around $1000/month (yes with housemates). That's as cheap as it gets. Don't get me started on hotel prices compared to other places.

[Dennis]

I am paying $1,700 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

In Nashville

 

 

[close]

[bork]

I am paying $1,700 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

In Nashville

 

 

[close]

 

How?  Why? 

[thisismyusername]

I've found that mobile coverage is way too dependent on your particular location.  I'd wait til you get there and talk to some people about what they recommend.  Tmobile and Sprint in Houston are absolute crap but I hear people from other cities or states say they have no issue

T-mobile is spotty as hell in general, but their service when I was on them was pretty level. I guess it's the benefit of being a cheap third-party from Germany and not a "main telco."

I have a Verizon phone and the coverage is alright, but I hate the service.

Thank you again for the replies.
Do credit unions have their own abundance of  ATMs or would I mostly be using credit/debit or withdrawing cash at the actual branch?

Switching gears a bit, where do people shop for groceries? For anyone that has lived or traveled to both countries, what is the Superstore equivalent? (or "noname" brand equivalent even?)

Depends. The local credit union I use has  ATM's around about 4-6 counties in the state. Most in rural areas and their branches are in towns. But if you're wanting to use an ATM that isn't those, you can go to a local supermarket and use theirs.

BUT, I'd be paranoid about credit card skimmers in general. I know not everyone is hit with those, but since the US is still using Magstripe cards, you might want to be kinda paranoid about your accounts.

[Mupepe]

Hey-ayyy-ayyyyyy. Syph's moving to the U-S-A!

[Syph]

I've found that mobile coverage is way too dependent on your particular location.  I'd wait til you get there and talk to some people about what they recommend.  Tmobile and Sprint in Houston are absolute crap but I hear people from other cities or states say they have no issue

T-mobile is spotty as hell in general, but their service when I was on them was pretty level. I guess it's the benefit of being a cheap third-party from Germany and not a "main telco."

I have a Verizon phone and the coverage is alright, but I hate the service.

Thank you again for the replies.
Do credit unions have their own abundance of  ATMs or would I mostly be using credit/debit or withdrawing cash at the actual branch?

Switching gears a bit, where do people shop for groceries? For anyone that has lived or traveled to both countries, what is the Superstore equivalent? (or "noname" brand equivalent even?)

Depends. The local credit union I use has  ATM's around about 4-6 counties in the state. Most in rural areas and their branches are in towns. But if you're wanting to use an ATM that isn't those, you can go to a local supermarket and use theirs.

BUT, I'd be paranoid about credit card skimmers in general. I know not everyone is hit with those, but since the US is still using Magstripe cards, you might want to be kinda paranoid about your accounts.

Yea I also forgot US doesn't use chips on their cards yet 

[Tasty]

Yea I also forgot US doesn't use chips on their cards yet 

We just started to. My new card came a few months ago.

Though I like swiping more than shoving it up into the thing.

[thisismyusername]

Though I like swiping more than shoving it up into the thing.

That's because you're a bottom, though. :kermiT

I've found that mobile coverage is way too dependent on your particular location.  I'd wait til you get there and talk to some people about what they recommend.  Tmobile and Sprint in Houston are absolute crap but I hear people from other cities or states say they have no issue

T-mobile is spotty as hell in general, but their service when I was on them was pretty level. I guess it's the benefit of being a cheap third-party from Germany and not a "main telco."

I have a Verizon phone and the coverage is alright, but I hate the service.

Thank you again for the replies.
Do credit unions have their own abundance of  ATMs or would I mostly be using credit/debit or withdrawing cash at the actual branch?

Switching gears a bit, where do people shop for groceries? For anyone that has lived or traveled to both countries, what is the Superstore equivalent? (or "noname" brand equivalent even?)

Depends. The local credit union I use has  ATM's around about 4-6 counties in the state. Most in rural areas and their branches are in towns. But if you're wanting to use an ATM that isn't those, you can go to a local supermarket and use theirs.

BUT, I'd be paranoid about credit card skimmers in general. I know not everyone is hit with those, but since the US is still using Magstripe cards, you might want to be kinda paranoid about your accounts.

Yea I also forgot US doesn't use chips on their cards yet 

Like Andy said: We're starting to, but the roll out is slow. If you use ApplePay or whatever it's a bit more secure (AFAIK), but I still wouldn't trust it. For me, I'm a paranoid person and still use cash in 2016. So...

[Syph]

brehs that fuckin I-5 highway
 

but those American flags every 100 meters (328 ft. plebs)
 

[chronovore]

brehs that fuckin I-5 highway
 

but those American flags every 100 meters (328 ft. plebs)
 

The I-5 is hell-tier trash. Absolutely horrid, and if you veer off the freeway to other side, you're in Red State mentality land.