Seattle pics III

[Ronald]

[pwright1]

Very nice pics Ronald. Do you live here in Seattle?

[Ronald]

Very nice pics Ronald.  Do you live here in Seattle?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I visited Seattle for 2 and a half weeks this July. I also went to Vancouver, the Olympic Peninsula, Vashon Island, the North Cascades and the Grand Coulee Dam during my stay. It's the best vacation I ever had, and I hope to immigrate to Seattle in 5 years. What a beautiful city it is!

[Randy@Tacoma]

I know its been a whole year, but Ronald I was wondering how your move to Seattle is going/went? Your love for Seattle warms my heart!

[Inkdaub]

Let's keep this thread on the first page for a bit.

[Ronald]

I know its been a whole year, but Ronald I was wondering how your move to Seattle is going/went? Your love for Seattle warms my heart!

Again, I apologize for the late reply.

Each time I look at these pics, I keep thinking, that's where I should be.

I originally wanted to study in there. The high cost, combined with lacking financial aid for non-US students, is what made that impossible for me. Disappointed I continue my Bachelor program (Human Geography, focussing on Urban Geography) here (with tuition fees of just 1.500 euros). It takes 3 years, I will start the second year a week from now.

After I have my Bachelors degree, I have several ways of getting to the US:

-Working for a few years here in the EU (preferably not in Holland, but in Germany, Austria or the UK) so that I can pay for my Master's degree in the US, see below.

-Continuing my (then Graduate) studies at an American university (Hopefully with a scholarship) and trying to get a temporary work visa [h1-b] afterwards, after which my employer could apply for a greencard for me.

-Or, getting my Masters degree in Urban Geography in Holland first, then getting a job in the EU to save for further studies in the US (a second masters degree), or perhaps just trying to get a temporary work visa and continue working in the US.

I have included getting a Masters degree in the US in each scenario because the temporary work visa limit of 65,000 visas per year does not appy to foreigners that have graduated from a US University. Without such a degree, getting a temporary work visa is extremely difficult. 90% of the visa's go to IT specialists from India. You can only get such a visa if it has been proven that no US citizen is available for the job you want to apply for, and you can get a greencard after having had a temporary work visa for 6 years.

In the meantime, I could go to Washington (WWU in Bellingham) for 4 months next year as an exchange student. That could give me an idea about what living there is like.

As you can see, I've done my research. It would be a lot easier for me if I married an American girl, but there aren't that many of them here There also is a greencard lottery for citizens of countries that send few immigrants to the US, such as Holland. The goal of this lottery is to maintain a diverse inflow of immigrants, rather than having just one source of immigrants (South America). But chances of winning a green card are lower than 2%.

So it is very, very difficult to immigrate to the US for me, even though I will have a University degree in a few years. I think reform is needed in the US immigration policy, it is much easier to go to Canada or New Zealand for example.

By the way, my aunt and her kids visited Seattle this year during the Seafair, they went to Lake Washington and saw the Blue Angels. They all had the best vacation of their lives

I also keep reading the Seattle Times on the internet... quite a good website they have.

I stay in touch with my relatives there, I regularly send them emails and gifts for Christmas