I’d wait until the flood waters go down. Saw a boat with a bunch of animals going down my street today.
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
Soooo,
I was thinking about living in the U.S for a year. Saving some money up and doing it before i have kids etc just for the experience. My main reason for going would be lifting and learning about lifting. Obviously i’d like to travel around for a few to see everything but then settle somewhere.
A few questions.
Where?
Average living costs per month (i could get a job) but if i didn’t.
Best place for surrounding myself with lifters? Being the biggest and strongest guy in my gym sucks balls. And really that is saying much.
Cheers guys
[/quote]
What do you do for work? Do you have a degree or are you trained in anything?
I’ve worked and lived in most of the major cities in the United States, so I’ll try to give you an objective view. If your primary goal is training, then I’d find a training facility that you are interested in and move there. As others have mentioned Rippetoe has a facility in Texas, there is also the EliteFTS facility, as well as many other good places to train throughout the US. However, if you have never lived in the states before I would try to find a city that has a lot to offer in the way of entertainment, culture, as well as relatively low cost of living.
In my opinion the most fun cities in the US are: New York, Miami, San Francisco, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Austin, and Atlanta.
Out of those, the best cost of living would be: Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta, Austin.
Out of those, I think Atlanta and Austin would probably offer the best for training. I used to live in Austin and there were some pretty serious gyms out there. I’m living in Atlanta now and there are some great gyms here that some of the US Olympic Weight Lifting team train at.
Good luck!
Of course, these recommendations are based on my personal opinions of entertainment which mainly consists of music, motorsports, nightlife, and food.
living here is not cheap… i live in a 1 bedroom apt for $900/month plus utilities and food. then you need a car because otherwise you can’t get anywhere really. there is mass transit but it isn’t anything great unless you live in NYC itself.
you could probably get a job here starting around $10/hour IF you’re lucky, but unemployment is pretty high (9% iirc?). i see signs for various food service jobs occasionally but that’s it. though with the recent floods and resulting water damage you might be better off looking for simple contracting work (read: stripping drywall from houses).
an idea for the cost: i buy my food in bulk from Costco. 5 lb of hamburger meat costs $15. then the nightlife: a domestic beer at most local bars will cost around $3, the same at a NYC bar at least $8, or $12 or more for a cocktail. cover to get in will run you $20-40 depending on the venue and event.
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
^^ retail/labour/warehousing etc… i actually have my own company here in egypt, but obviously it’s not something i can move around the world, i’m a quick learner so i could pretty much do anything (no degree)[/quote]
warehousing can pay 12-20 per hour depending on company size, heavy equipment qualifications et cetera, which would earn a living and gym dues in Texas, especially rural Texas. Not sure what kind of hours you would get these days though.
You wouldn’t have much money left over and would live cheap for sure but you could absolutely pull it off.
Retail and general labor generally hover around minimum wage or slightly better. We have many illegal friends here who have steadily driven labor wages down over the last couple decades.
I suggest you give this idea some more thought.
You are considering spending a year of your life to take a 1yr sabbatical to the US to learn about lifting weights. I would be curious to know how much additional information you expect to get from this versus cruising the internet and spending time under the bar in Egypt?
Additionally, you would be sacrificing the growth of your own business as you are disconnected from the day to day operations of it.
Is it really worth it?
FYI, if this was like a 3 am, shit I’m not really awake but let me post something thread, then nevermind.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Avoid New Jersey.
I’ve read that Pittsburgh is good, but if I were you I’d go where it’s warmer.[/quote]
I used to live in Pittsburgh. It’s a good city. There are a number of strong gyms in the region. Not only are Cleveland and Columbus 2 hours away, but you can also get to Philly, Wash DC, or Toronto within 5 hours; or go to Chicago or NYC in under 8 hours.
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
^^ they were the 2 places i had in mind.
California was in mind as aswell, maybe texas. I’m used to the heat living in Egypt but i wouldn’t mind a little break from the heat but obviously not somewhere cold.
I’d try to avoid cali maybe otherwise i’d end up stalking Hallowed or maybe Gregron…[/quote]
The cost of living here, as others have mentioned, is among the highest in the country. If your not able to get a job in CA, it’s going to be pretty rough trying to survive for a year.
The quality of life here is tops, as are the gyms, the women, and the food, but there is a price for that.
There are plenty of other great cities that are cheaper, so if that’s a concern of yours, I would definitely be very aware of it.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
Soooo,
I was thinking about living in the U.S for a year. Saving some money up and doing it before i have kids etc just for the experience. My main reason for going would be lifting and learning about lifting. Obviously i’d like to travel around for a few to see everything but then settle somewhere.
A few questions.
Where?
Average living costs per month (i could get a job) but if i didn’t.
Best place for surrounding myself with lifters? Being the biggest and strongest guy in my gym sucks balls. And really that is saying much.
Cheers guys
[/quote]
What do you do for work? Do you have a degree or are you trained in anything?
[/quote]
I don’t have a degree, left school at 18 then started a business with my bro 2 years ago. We manufacture plastic house ware products, like plates bowls coat hangers etc… he handle the design and manufacture and i handle sales and distribution.
I have around 6 year sales experience etc obviously my business would still be running over here and i could take an income from that, im currently learning FOREX so i can trade currencies from anywhere in the world with a laptop so maybe i could look into that as income as well.
Basically i wana advance my body and lifting and i feel the best place to do it would be by being surrounded by like minded people.
Cali would be awesome but even new york would rock aswell!!!
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
Soooo,
I was thinking about living in the U.S for a year. Saving some money up and doing it before i have kids etc just for the experience. My main reason for going would be lifting and learning about lifting. Obviously i’d like to travel around for a few to see everything but then settle somewhere.
A few questions.
Where?
Average living costs per month (i could get a job) but if i didn’t.
Best place for surrounding myself with lifters? Being the biggest and strongest guy in my gym sucks balls. And really that is saying much.
Cheers guys
[/quote]
What do you do for work? Do you have a degree or are you trained in anything?
[/quote]
I don’t have a degree, left school at 18 then started a business with my bro 2 years ago. We manufacture plastic house ware products, like plates bowls coat hangers etc… he handle the design and manufacture and i handle sales and distribution.
I have around 6 year sales experience etc obviously my business would still be running over here and i could take an income from that, im currently learning FOREX so i can trade currencies from anywhere in the world with a laptop so maybe i could look into that as income as well.
Basically i wana advance my body and lifting and i feel the best place to do it would be by being surrounded by like minded people.
Cali would be awesome but even new york would rock aswell!!!
[/quote]
If you have your papers in line and decide on Texas, I could potentially hire you on a temporary basis to wholesale annuities with a sales/financial background. I don’t know how licensing would work for you though, could be quite expensive.
[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Avoid New Jersey.
I’ve read that Pittsburgh is good, but if I were you I’d go where it’s warmer.[/quote]
I used to live in Pittsburgh. It’s a good city. There are a number of strong gyms in the region. Not only are Cleveland and Columbus 2 hours away, but you can also get to Philly, Wash DC, or Toronto within 5 hours; or go to Chicago or NYC in under 8 hours.[/quote]
I worked in Pittsburgh for 6 months. Most depressing city I’ve ever stayed in. I didn’t see the sun at all, and it rained all the damn time.
[quote]ethanwest wrote:
[quote]johnnytang24 wrote:
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Avoid New Jersey.
I’ve read that Pittsburgh is good, but if I were you I’d go where it’s warmer.[/quote]
I used to live in Pittsburgh. It’s a good city. There are a number of strong gyms in the region. Not only are Cleveland and Columbus 2 hours away, but you can also get to Philly, Wash DC, or Toronto within 5 hours; or go to Chicago or NYC in under 8 hours.[/quote]
I worked in Pittsburgh for 6 months. Most depressing city I’ve ever stayed in. I didn’t see the sun at all, and it rained all the damn time. [/quote]
Yeah, Pittsburgh is cool to visit IMO, I liked the boat races by PNC Park, but I couldn’t live there. It does seem overcast and dark a lot, plus it’s so cramped. Open spaces and blue sky for me.
Cali or NY? You know, for the majority of people who don’t live in NY/Cali or are from NY/Cali, they’re not totally desirable places to live. Fucking expensive, fast, loud, dirty.
There are so many different places to be in the US, so many different cultures and possibilities.
If you’re going to seriously do this I highly suggest doing a lot of research about culture of cities, states, climatologies, etc. It’s a huge friggin’ country dude.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Cali or NY? You know, for the majority of people who don’t live in NY/Cali or are from NY/Cali, they’re not totally desirable places to live. Fucking expensive, fast, loud, dirty.
There are so many different places to be in the US, so many different cultures and possibilities.
If you’re going to seriously do this I highly suggest doing a lot of research about culture of cities, states, climatologies, etc. It’s a huge friggin’ country dude.[/quote]
Ye exactly, i mean the climate of the us alone is pretty much a combination of the whole world.
So its a huge decision. Loud, fast and dirty, dude im from Cairo! Which actually topped the worlds most liveliest city this year, i think NYC came 32nd. I would find anywhere quiet after living here.
It’s a huge decision to make actually.
@HG, what u mean licensing?
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
[quote]SSC wrote:
Cali or NY? You know, for the majority of people who don’t live in NY/Cali or are from NY/Cali, they’re not totally desirable places to live. Fucking expensive, fast, loud, dirty.
There are so many different places to be in the US, so many different cultures and possibilities.
If you’re going to seriously do this I highly suggest doing a lot of research about culture of cities, states, climatologies, etc. It’s a huge friggin’ country dude.[/quote]
Ye exactly, i mean the climate of the us alone is pretty much a combination of the whole world.
So its a huge decision. Loud, fast and dirty, dude im from Cairo! Which actually topped the worlds most liveliest city this year, i think NYC came 32nd. I would find anywhere quiet after living here.
It’s a huge decision to make actually.
@HG, what u mean licensing? [/quote]
Licensing - Group 1 insurance license, Series 6 and possibly a 63 license if you work a multi state territory.
[quote]Loudog75 wrote:
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
[quote]SSC wrote:
Cali or NY? You know, for the majority of people who don’t live in NY/Cali or are from NY/Cali, they’re not totally desirable places to live. Fucking expensive, fast, loud, dirty.
There are so many different places to be in the US, so many different cultures and possibilities.
If you’re going to seriously do this I highly suggest doing a lot of research about culture of cities, states, climatologies, etc. It’s a huge friggin’ country dude.[/quote]
Ye exactly, i mean the climate of the us alone is pretty much a combination of the whole world.
So its a huge decision. Loud, fast and dirty, dude im from Cairo! Which actually topped the worlds most liveliest city this year, i think NYC came 32nd. I would find anywhere quiet after living here.
It’s a huge decision to make actually.
@HG, what u mean licensing? [/quote]
Licensing - Group 1 insurance license, Series 6 and possibly a 63 license if you work a multi state territory.[/quote]
Sounds fun lol, not that simple i guess.
[quote]Marzouk wrote:
[quote]HoustonGuy wrote:
Just look for famous gyms if your goal is lifting and live there. Cost of living is cheapest in the midwest and yes, Texas.
Mark Rippetoe runs a gym in Wichita Falls, Texas. Would be beneficial and relatively cheap. WF is a shitty town though, with not much else to do.[/quote]
Idea of costs, say $1500 a month including bills/rent food?
Maybe cressey performance… Its a shame T-Nation don’t let you have a membership at their training facility.
The dream would be to go and live in CO with the guidance of the T-Nation staff and have a 12 month documented log, using their supps and their gym. Would be awesome. [/quote]
In Houston, if you can’t find a place to stay for under 800 a month, you are looking in the wrong place…that is, if money is an issue.
When I got my first apartment in school, my rent was $420.
[quote]Loudog75 wrote:
I suggest you give this idea some more thought.
You are considering spending a year of your life to take a 1yr sabbatical to the US to learn about lifting weights. I would be curious to know how much additional information you expect to get from this versus cruising the internet and spending time under the bar in Egypt?
Additionally, you would be sacrificing the growth of your own business as you are disconnected from the day to day operations of it.
Is it really worth it?
FYI, if this was like a 3 am, shit I’m not really awake but let me post something thread, then nevermind.[/quote]
Agree with this completely. I would expect the guy moving here just for lifting to be at a level where they are about to compete seriously…not at a stage where they still have years to go.
Love Austin, TX but there are cheaper places to live in TX with good gym facilities. Dallas/Ft. Worth area is worth considering. Metroflex are pretty good places to train.
If you are pulling income and will not need a full time job then pick a gym and figure it out from there. Having lived in Columbus, OH for year I can tell you I have yet to live or visit place that is more soul sucking and depressing even on one of the eight days I saw the sun that year.
$1500 (US) / month x 12 months = $18000
What a kick ass gym that could stock with equipment.
Why go looking for a kickass gym, when you can have your own. Hell, hire big dudes to work there and train.
Even if it all goes to a home gym or warehouse gym, you can use that money to have an expert train you if you really need that kind of guidance.
If I had 18 grand to invest in equipment, I’d probably never step foot outside here again.