How much money needed

[aslam khan 5]

Hi,

My application is in NVC and i am expecting to come to america in next 6 months, My wife never worked and she lives with me in pakistan right now and i have a six months baby. Sometime i am really worried what i am gonna do their. I have a successful business in Pakistan. I wana know how much money is required in the beginning to settle in america. If i withdraw One hundred thousand dollar from my business what i am going to do with that money over there. I have to buy car, my medicle insurance, car insurance, home rent, may be wife school fees , My son day to day needs. How i am going to manage all when i dont have any source of income there. I am thinking to find a job in the beginning to get fluent in english and then look for business opportunities there.

So what you guys recommends what to do in the beginning, considering i dont have to work for 3 to 4 months while getting green card. And which state is good to start family.

[Dan&Ellen 1]

Is your wife a US Citizen? If you're moving to the US on a marriage based visa (IR1/CR1) then that visa acts as a temporary greencard for up to a year and you can get work as soon as you have it. So you won't have to wait for your greencard to arrive.

[FZSA 23]

dont worry ! one hundred thousand dollar is enough ! people ( couple ) living in USA with 2000 $ salary per month except NY and big cities...

Flat rent around 600 to 1000 $ , car 4000$ , i dont know fee , in short 2000$ / m is enough for starting .....

Edited June 26, 2014 by FZSA

[aslam khan 5]

Yes, my wife is US citizen.

And i need a decent living, i dont want my wife and son suffer during that time. I am thinking for import and export business. Do you think pakistani product have market in USA.

Thanks

Edited June 26, 2014 by yahya saeed

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

That should be enough for about 4-6 months.

[Naumanxenon 38]

Yes, my wife is US citizen.

And i need a decent living, i dont want my wife and son suffer during that time. I am thinking for import and export business. Do you think pakistani product have market in USA.

Thanks

100,000 is enough. It depends on where you are living if you can bring 100k more you should be able to hold out.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

The OP's city and state are listed as NY, NY which is likely much more expensive. I doubt $2k a month would cover much in NYC...just trying to be realistic.

To the OP - start looking at apartments online in the area you want to live in and figure out 6-12 months worth of rent. Find out if utilities are included or not and figure out 6-12 months of that. I'd keep a spreadsheet and work out a budget of everything you anticipate spending - food, rent, utilities, phone, cells, car , car insurance, health insurance etc etc etc......

You indicated your wife is the US citizen so she may consider getting a job upon her return...2 incomes makes life much easier and especially she may be the only one with a job initially as you get settled.

I would encourage you to seek out friends or acquaintances who speak english NOW and start practicing to improve your fluency!

dont worry ! one hundred thousand dollar is enough ! people ( couple ) living in USA with 2000 $ salary per month except NY and big cities...

Flat rent around 600 to 1000 $ , car 4000$ , i dont know fee , in short 2000$ / m is enough for starting .....

[christeen 966]

For New York City... No, 100k is not going to get you too far (plus a car would not be needed)... If it is an import/export business I would look to see where there is a population to support Pakistan import products and have a lower cost of living... As I looked, seems Chicago, Northern Virginia, Dallas, south florida are all some options... For import business, Virginia, Chicago and south Florida have many tax-free import zones that are friendly for such businesses... Dallas has a lower cost of living but less transport options for goods...

Initial costs you can bet on in the first few month(s) is about $4000 for initial rent costs (1st last security) then average $1200 month rent.... $10,000 for car, $3000 for utility security, then $5000 for clothing, furnishings, linens, household establishing stuff... So say total of $25,000 to first get established (not counting insurance as this varies soooo much) monthly budget would be ballpark $3000 -$4000 a month living comfortably yet conservatively in most of the cities listed above (the DC area being slightly higher) ...

[subz 6]

Importing packaged products is easier.. fruits and live stocks have too many rules to handle.. being aware of laws and rules is very imp.. you can start reading those on internet ...

For lowering cost of living you may live in a suburb (30 mins drive from main city)... rents will be lower..

[malic 10]

Some great advice on here.

The key is to pursue an education early or be wise in your business ventures.

If choosing the education route, Dallas is a great area and will provide cheaper cost of living and education. Coming from Pk, you want to use the time now to prepare for TOEFL and take any other English courses to increase your fluency and grasp of the language. Good career choices are Computer science or IT related field and can earn $70,000-100,000 a year. Nursing is also a good choice based on your background.

If planned effectively $100,000 can be sustainable for quite some time, be wise with your spending early on. Mr. Money Moustache (google) is a great website on tips on how to live effectively on a budget, car buying etc.

Btw, there is also a vibrant Muslim community in Dallas with good schools.

In addition to import/export, if you know repair/construction work etc, real estate market can also provide an explorable area. If possible also maintain your Pk business, and use as a source of income for now.

Key Points: Live within your means, pick an area with low cost of living with high standards (e.g. Dallas Fort Worth Area), Education / Intelligent business ventures.

[JIJourney 96]

100k is more than enough. spend about 500-600 dollars a month per rent. spend 5k on a car. 800 dollars a month on food. 40 bucks a month on cell phone. 100 bucks a month on car insurance.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

It really does depend on where they will be living - $500-600 for rent isn't reasonable where I live in VA /DC area and certainly not in NYC where the OP has indicated on their profile.

Best to understand that the overal cost of living is dependent on location - ALWAYS!

100k is more than enough. spend about 500-600 dollars a month per rent. spend 5k on a car. 800 dollars a month on food. 40 bucks a month on cell phone. 100 bucks a month on car insurance.

[lil2be 11]

100k is more than enough. spend about 500-600 dollars a month per rent. spend 5k on a car. 800 dollars a month on food. 40 bucks a month on cell phone. 100 bucks a month on car insurance.

$500 -600 on rent in my state or in area where I live, you will get only one very small bedroom apartment without in unit laundry. My friends live I'm NY, NY, they paid $500 to rent just on bedroom with shared bathroom and kitchen (and it is not a good idea for someone with baby.) It is totally a pain living with roommates itself.

40 bucks on cell phone - He probably can do with metro PCS which the worst services. If OP wants a smart phone for him and his wife, he is looking to spend at least $120 a month on a reliable service that cover most areas, even in a hidden room in his office. Worst cell phone services will drop calls so frequently and no signal even inside a restaurant bathroom.

Insurance for car and health varies by states, cities, age of application, for car (credit score, type of car, age when starts driving car in the U.S., and other factors). Having a baby is expensive if he needs a good health insurance for both mom and baby. OP may need to have at least $200 a month to spend only on insurances to cover the whole family.

With a baby, spending will be on diapers, baby formula, etc which can be expensive.

OP might want to think where he wants to settle first. As far as business, there are import/export all over the states. If you want to do that, you will have to find where are people from your country live most. Because if you depends your Pakistanish business on American residents, you business will not grow. Like in Chicago, have China town, most people who go there are Asian and Chinese. Of course, there are some American but probably less than 20% of the customers.

Good luck.

Edited July 2, 2014 by lil2be

[jfgk1987 303]

100k to support you, your wife, and a new baby? Not in NYC, nope, not if you want to stay somewhere relatively nice looking.

Ignore the fact that you have money for a minute. Know that you are very fortunate to start out with that much!

You need to come up with a budget! Start with the basics, you need to estimate these monthly costs, since I live in NY and work in NYC, I'll give examples:

Average rent: 2 bedroom apartment, about $2,000-$4,000, depends on borough

Electric: ~$50

Gas: ~50

Water: ~$20

(note, electric/gas/water is sometimes included in the rent, but here we're assuming it is not)

Food shopping: For a family of 3 with a growing baby, ~$400 (yes, it IS that expensive in NYC)

Baby necessities like diapers, new clothes and such: ~$200

Medical bills/prescriptions: depends

Emergency fund: keep enough to live for 2 months.

Now, factor in the extra basics:

Cell phone bill (assume a plan with 2 phones): ~$160

Health insurance: if it does not come through an employer, ~$500 for everyone

Cable/Internet: basic package ~$100

And that's just the basics and bills. Now for the fun stuff!

Security deposit for your apartment, can be up to 2 months rent (one time payment): $4,000-$8,000, assuming rent is between $2,000-$4,000

Renter's insurance: ~$20

Furniture for your new apartment (generally a one time payment with updates every few years): budget $5,000

Electronics/appliances/dishes/silverware/pots and pans/other household things: budget $3,000 if you're starting out with nothing (one time payment with updates every few years)

Laundry costs, if you don't have in home washer/dryer: ~$20

NOW FOR THE LUXURIES:

A gently used car (preferably), you can pay one lump sum OR factor a 15% down payment + a monthly loan payment if you don't want to spend so much in one shot. Try to spend less than $15,000 (one time cost, for the time being)

Car insurance for that car: in NY my payment for my 2012 sedan is $101

Gas for the car: Depends on how much you drive, to fill my 18 gallon tank at the moment is about $75 each fill.

Maintenance for the car, the more expensive the car, the higher the maintenance cost: not a monthly cost, but keep like 20% of what you bought the car for aside. So if you spent $15,000, keep $3,000 aside.

Education: It's expensive, that's all I got!

Miscellaneous expenses, like going out to dinner or the movies, or whatever: keep aside $200/month

Okay, I think I covered everything. I just moved out of my mom's home so I had to calculate allllll these expenses for myself. These things are not super absolute but it's pretty on par with the cost of living here. At this point you've depleted half of your savings, and it's only been one month!! When you have income it will get better. As for a "good state" to raise a family in, that's subjective really and it takes a lot of research. I live in Westchester county, NY (20 miles north of NYC) and it's a wonderful (though expensive, but not NYC expensive) place to start.