Travel – Page 7 – Made by Mikal

What US address should I give?

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 26, 2006
Post category:Travel

Many of the US forms you will have to fill out when you move will ask for an address. Use your work address until you have a permanent place. A good example is opening your first bank account. The only possible problem with using your work address for your bank account is that some people will compare the shipping address of your online order with the billing address and complain, but you can always change the address you have recorded with the bank once you have a more permanent address. Opening a bank account without an SSN can be exciting too (it seems to be the primary key for a lot of tables over here, you can't get paid without one, get health insurance without one, get some cell phone accounts without one, and so forth). Bank of America did the right thing and let me open an account though, and don't suck too much. Citibank is ok as well, although they seem to suck more for general banking than Bank of America. More on Citibank in a future post about getting money back to Australia.

Relocating to the US, some issues to consider

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 26, 2006
Post category:Travel

A fair few people have asked me about relocating to the US from Australia, so I figured it was time to do a little write up. Specifically the question I want to consider here is "how much do I need to earn to live in the US?". I didn't really know the answer to that when I moved, and simply moved in the faith that I would be able to afford to live. At the time it was stressful, but it's all worked out for the best. So, let's try to answer that question... Visa status What visa are you going to be on when you live in the US? There are three main versions that I can think of off the top of my head. There is the E-3, which is what I am on, which allows your spouse to work if he wants, but is only open to Australian citizens. There is the H-1B, which is open to citizens of all nations, but doesn't let your spouse work. Then there are the L "internal skills transfer" visas, which I believe don't let your spouse work, but I could be wrong on that one. To be eligible, the move…

Light rail, oh how I love thee

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 25, 2006
Post category:Travel

One thing I think that Canberra really lacks is a light rail system. My travels over the last few years have made me realize that one of the things that makes a city a great place to live is a good light rail system. The first one of these systems that I saw was in Washington DC / Virginia, and it was great -- clean, fast, on time, cheap, and it went everywhere I wanted to go. San Francisco's BART is similar, except that it's a little too slow because it has to travel a lot further. London's tube is a contender as well, although I would argue there that it's too expensive (everything in London is too expensive), and is dirty. Oh, and there is something disheartening about dudes with bombs trying to make you enjoy the train ride less. The Silicon Valley VTA system is great too. My ride to the MySQL User's Conference made me write this post, I hadn't used the train system really until then. I'd caught the Caltrain to SFO once, but the Caltrain isn't really light rail in my mind, and is nowhere near as nice as the VTA light rail. The ride…

List of VTA station addresses

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 21, 2006
Post category:Travel

Oh, and this list of VTA station addresses is very useful...

VTA station for the Santa Clara Convention Center

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 21, 2006
Post category:Travel

I'm doing public transport research for MySQL user's conference next week. Here is how to get from the VTA station at Old Ironsides to the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Apparently I regulate

Post author:mikal
Post published:April 5, 2006
Post category:Travel

Someone in the office complimented me on "regulating" today. It turns out that's crazy American speak for laying down the law.

Don’t try getting Delonghi blender parts in the US

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 26, 2006
Post category:Travel

I've given up after calling four places. All I want is a blade for my Delonghi blender, and it seems that no one in this country sells them. When I asked the people I called for a suggestion of someone who might sell the part, they were quite confused. I suspect I'll be off to Frys to buy a new blender soon. Meh. All I want is a Margarita. Is that too much to ask?

Public transport to San Francisco from Santa Clara

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 22, 2006
Post category:Travel

Colin wonders about public transport in California, which I must say is much better than the public transport I m used to in Canberra. Colin, to get to San Francisco, jump on the VTA light rail and head to the Castro Street (Mountain View) station. There, jump across to the Caltrain station, which will take you the rest of the way to San Francisco. I would think without having done it that you should allow about 45 minutes for the journey. Here is the Caltrain trip planner for that journey... $7 seems pretty fair to me. I don't really believe the two hour estimate that it gives there, but I guess it might be right.

Holy bread emergency Batman!

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 15, 2006
Post category:Travel

Despite Steven's promises of a return of the spicy fruit buns, they are completely absent here in the US. Apparently not all Christian nations do hot cross buns, which is a new surprise for me. This is an emergency however, as I love them, so I need someone to mail me some ASAP. Send them to: Michael Still America Thanks. Failing that, has anyone got an idiot proof recipe they want to share? My previous one was: Go to freezer Get bun out Nuke it for 15 seconds Shove in mouth The secret to this is to buy small buns so they fit in your mouth. I'm waiting by the mailbox now, so you better get with the mailing...

Going to Portland, OR

Post author:mikal
Post published:March 1, 2006
Post category:Travel

So, I'm off a somewhat short notice to Portland to talk at their LUG meeting, which is kinda cool. I don't know what I'm talking about yet, so I am going to have to leave that hanging for now. Any suggestions of things to see there in my couple of spare hours?