Ask HN: Australian considering moving to SF with a few questions.

At age 19 you probably don't have a superannuation but if you do expect a metric ton of income tax problems in the USA if you file tax returns here as a resident.

- it's a retirement plan for you in Australia but the United States doesn't see it as such. It's an ordinary taxable investment account for the U.S. tax system.

- if the superannuation has mutual funds as assets, these are Passive Foreign Investment Companies for the U.S. tax system. Form 8621. Hilarity ensues, etc.

- you may or may not have to file Form 3520/Form 3520-A in the U.S. because the U.S. system may/may not think your superannuation is a "foreign trust" as defined in the U.S. tax system.

Translated: this means preparing and filing a U.S. income tax return as a resident is a complex and expensive proposition.

Suggested: the U.S./Australian tax system will be broken until someone brings in the Serious People in Dark Suits (aka the diplomats); the U.S. tax authorities (Treasury Department boffins) seem unwilling or unable to see that this is a problem.

Practical suggestions: (1) don't become a U.S. resident for income tax purposes (see IRS Publication 519 for the rules); (2) if you plan to be in the USA for a while and work, terminate your superannuations; (3) alternatively, if you plan to be in the USA for a while and work, learn the hard stuff for U.S. income tax return filings or pay someone a lot of money for the first year and then copy what they did for the second and subsequent years.

> 3. Any general tips or advice about what area/s are best to meet some chilled out, smart, like minded people?

It depends on what exactly you want to do: 1) Meet tech folks, learn about interesting technologies? Go to meetup.com, find a bunch of talks held at companies, go there, meet other folks, go to their company events, rinse, repeat. 2) Meet interesting folks who may not be tech: Do a bunch of bar crawls, go to interesting music festivals etc.

> 4. How much should I expect to pay for a room or a studio in a decent area (I have no idea what a decent area is, so any advice would be very much appreciated)

I would advise staying away from the Tenderloin or some sketchy parts of the Mission. Sketchy is a personal tolerance level discovered only by physically visiting these places and figuring out your comfort zone. Noe Valley, The Haight, Pacific Heights and parts of the Mission (Close to Dolores Park) are great places to live. Prices here are expensive: You are likely to pay anything between $1500 - $2500 for a studio.

I agree with you on the relative tolerance/perceptions of dodgy areas. I stayed at a hostel in the Tenderloin area in SF and found it to be pretty reasonable. Was a bit shady but compared to some of the areas where I grew up it was not too bad.

Good on your for travelling. I'm an aussie living in Boston, I originally came over on a H1B visa, but those are virtually impossible to get as there's a small number for the entire world. You should look at the E3 work visa. It's an employer sponsored visa, but it's only for Australians and is considerably easier to apply for: http://canberra.usembassy.gov/e3visa.html As far as working while you're in the US on holidays, you're not allowed to work for any US companies. But you should check the USCIS.gov website about this. Be careful, because the US is pretty strict about working. Can't give you any advice for SF, but I'd be happy to show you around Boston if you're ever in the neighborhood! Good luck with everything!!

Here's a fantastic post on how to obtain an E3 visa: http://www.geoffmcqueen.com/2011/09/28/e-3-visa-for-australi.... It's a founder-orientated post but certainly covers a few key points.

I moved to SF 3 months ago from Sydney and have found the place very cheap to live. SF is viewed as very expensive by most Americans, however, it's got nothing on Sydney or Melbourne. I.e. my currently monthly rent is $845 p.m. for a room in Dogpatch.

Great questions, you asked them for me.

Are you in a startup or looking for paid work before you move if not? We need someone to do some C++ for us before we move over to SF next year (from Brisbane)

Thanks for the potential offer, I really am quite happy with my current work in Brisbane though - I hope you find a great C++ guy!

Hah, so you are in Brisbane - how about that. Our co-founder/developer is really good, but somehow managed to graduate with out any network. If you know anyone looking for good pay in a fun work environment, maybe let me know! Good luck with the move :) marty@co-oprating.com

Will do Marty, I actually have someone in mind. I'll pass your email along to him.

Good luck with your move also!

Thanks for all the info, guys. I'm looking into the E3 visa.