Moving to California

apply for a green card after that and never have to worry about visas again…

Unless you leave the country for over 1 year and then you need to prove that your status
has not been abandoned (kind of hard to do after the fact). So if you do get a visa and
think you're going to leave for over 1 year tell them before keep a cell phone in the states
and some other kind of bills or else you lose your status (like my wife did when we moved
here).

yea, I'm probably going to rent a bit for sure, but If I do buy a house, it will be in San Hose area, which is only like half an hour drive away. Probably a bigger city there anyways!

But yea man, working vacation ftw!

My on-site interview is on Monday, wish me luck!

Totally recommend that you live in Palo Alto if you can. It feels more like a community than San Jose does because it's smaller, has a decent downtown, and it's easer to get around. Stanford is there as well as a lot of young people who work and live there so it's a lot easier to make friends and meet women than in other cities around the bay (except San Francisco, which is an amazing place to live). Might be able to get a decent sublease for the summer from a Stanford student that's leaving for the summer.

Engineers are being poached all the time here so don't worry too much about your initial salary. If you are a decent engineer you are likely to get unsolicited job offers with a higher salary in no time.

Good luck on the interview!

Dude, I'm in Palo Alto right now and it's freak'n amaaaaazing!!! Weather is sooo nice, and the overall landscape is just… I don't know how to explain it, but it's like nice grass area and stuff all over the place.

My hotel is right beside a foot locker, and they happened to sell the Asic runners I wanted to get for like 40$ cheaper than if I were to buy in the Vancouver. So I bought it along with a pair of shorts and went out for a run.

I also walked around Fry's… that place is DOPE!

I WANT TO STAY HERE!

Awesome. I remember feeling like that when I first moved to Victoria, from Ontario ten years ago.

I hope you're able to make a great impression at the interview.

Best of luck with the job interview. Cali is pretty awesome…I've been here for 4.5 years now. I miss the trails at home and Timmy Ho's, but not much else. You won't miss sushi…mexican is way better. If you get an offer, take it. There is so much to see and do down here that you would never get to experience otherwise. Riding is more dispersed but there is some good stuff. Much more xc than DH, but some good DH does exist you will just have to work to find it. And, you are maybe 5 hrs from Tahoe, Mammoth and Downieville. Oh, and the beer is way better, so many microbreweries you will never get around to trying all of them.

Health care can be good or bad depending on your insurance company and your providers. Some are good and some definitely put profit ahead of everything else. The only analogy I can think of is imagine if Bell, Telus and Rogers did health insurance. Some people get screwed or pay way too much, and some never have a problem (mostly referring to billing). The actual service itself (the medical care) is pretty similar.

Not if he's an engineer - all you need is to get the "Trade Nafta" visa - you need a letter from your employer, your degree (original not a copy) and I think its $100 - when you show up at the border, you show them your offer letter, your degree and they give you the visa. I did this for a year and a half - easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Not sayin you're old or anything, but long ago was that? My father in law says that he gets hassled constantly at the airport since the recession.

On top of your salary, negotiate a housing allowance and any other allowances you can (car, moving). See if they'll throw in plane tickets to fly back one or twice a year to visit family.

I wish I made 178k

Just came back to the interview… this was the most intense interview I've ever had, and they even admitted that they were even tougher than google's interviews.

Basically, I interviewed with 5 people one at a time with no break at all in between.

First guy I interviewed… I completely rocked the hell out of it and felt super confident.

2nd interview, I had to write an exam, which I got stuck on the 2nd question, and ended up leaving most of the test blank. Now I feel like shit…

3rd interview, guy asks me to write a code algorithm on the white board. Completely screwed that one up… now I just want to shoot myself.

4th interview, was able to pick it back up, and guy says I was able to get further than any candidate they ever interviewed on one question. I then asked him where he worked before, and turns out the guy designed the A4 chip on the iphone!

5th interview guy asks me a riddle question something similar to "will the plane takeoff". I don't feel confident about that one, so I just tried to suck up.

Finally, my recruiter comes in to chill me out and says that I've made it through all 5 interviews. He then tells me that some candidates mess up on the first or 2nd interview, and they immediately kicked them out.

That place I interviewed at was amazing, and the aurora of energy of smart and talented people is indescribable. It's incredible how they source the best and most talented people from all around the world to build up this one amazing team. Definitely a life experience.

I don't know if I'll get the job or not, but I think it will be a close call!

I wish I made 178k

don't freakin "wish" - freakin do something about it!

Not sayin you're old or anything, but long ago was that? My father in law says that he gets hassled constantly at the airport since the recession.

2002-2003…sux that there's issues now.

Just came back to the interview… this was the most intense interview I've ever had, and they even admitted that they were even tougher than google's interviews.

Basically, I interviewed with 5 people one at a time with no break at all in between.

First guy I interviewed… I completely rocked the hell out of it and felt super confident.

2nd interview, I had to write an exam, which I got stuck on the 2nd question, and ended up leaving most of the test blank. Now I feel like shit…

3rd interview, guy asks me to write a code algorithm on the white board. Completely screwed that one up… now I just want to shoot myself.

4th interview, was able to pick it back up, and guy says I was able to get further than any candidate they ever interviewed on one question. I then asked him where he worked before, and turns out the guy designed the A4 chip on the iphone!

5th interview guy asks me a riddle question something similar to "will the plane takeoff". I don't feel confident about that one, so I just tried to suck up.

Finally, my recruiter comes in to chill me out and says that I've made it through all 5 interviews. He then tells me that some candidates mess up on the first or 2nd interview, and they immediately kicked them out.

That place I interviewed at was amazing, and the aurora of energy of smart and talented people is indescribable. It's incredible how they source the best and most talented people from all around the world to build up this one amazing team. Definitely a life experience.

I don't know if I'll get the job or not, but I think it will be a close call!

Wow, good work. Sounds intense. I hope you get it.

Making it to the end matters a lot.

Don't worry if you don't get a question right. A good company will want to examine your thought process.

don't freakin "wish" - freakin do something about it!

with time my friend.