Life in the US without a sponsor
Being realistic
If you’ve decided to come to America without asking for financial help from a sponsor, please, do your research! Prices in most American cities are very different from what you are used to in Ukraine. Be realistic about what you can and cannot afford.
The following links will help you compare the costs of different products and services. The first one, Numbeo, is especially useful: it lets users run a city-to-city comparison, not just country-to-country:
NUMBEO: Cost of Living Comparison Between Ukraine and United States
Expatistan: Cost of living in United States compared to Ukraine
LivingCost: Ukraine vs United States - Cost of Living Comparison
In addition to higher costs, let’s look at other challenges you are likely to encounter in the US: finding housing, getting your papers in order, job search, and transportation.
Housing
The first problem you will encounter is housing. First, housing in the US is significantly more expensive than in Ukraine (see comparison links above).
Next, not everyone will be willing to rent to you. A landlord always takes on a risk: what if a renter stops paying in a few months? What if they move out without paying? Or trash the apartment?
In order to lower their risk, American landlords usually check two things: credit history and income. Most landlords prefer that your monthly rent not exceed 30% of your monthly income. They look at your credit history for evidence that you will pay your bills in full and on time.
When you first arrive in the US, you will not have any credit history. It is also unlikely that you will have a job straight away. This is why most of the places you find on rental sites (zillow.com, apartments.com, etc) will not be available to you.
Many, but not all landlords will make an exception if the tenant provides a co-signer, who is willing to pay the rent if the tenant is unable.
So, what options do you have?
Airbnb (www.airbnb.com)
This site lists apartments that private owners, and sometimes companies, rent for short periods of time — usually from one day to a month, and sometimes longer. They do not ask for any paperwork or run background checks, because they bill you like a hotel — you completely prepay your stay.
You can rent something on Airbnb before even landing in the US, and pay by a bank card. This option is usually safe. Airbnb is a huge company, and all transactions go through them — your landlord never sees any of your bank information.
It might still be a good idea to ask local friends about the area where you are going to rent, especially if it is in a large city. All Airbnb apartments are fully furnished and will have at least a minimum supply of plates, cups, pots, and pans.
The big minus of renting through Airbnb is the price — it will always be higher than a regular apartment, but usually lower than a hotel, especially if you are traveling with family.
Sublet
Renters, especially in cities, often make their apartments available to “subtenants” for fixed periods of time. There are a number of reasons why a renter might do this. Perhaps they have a year-long lease with their landlord but need to leave early. Maybe they are traveling and looking for someone to pay for the space while they are away.
This may be a good choice for you since people rarely run background checks for sublets. You just pay off the remaining two or three months of the lease and move in.
You can use www.craigslist.com, www.leasebreak.com, and www.listingsproject.com to search for sublets. Just type in the city of interest, and look under the “housing” column. In addition to looking for available listings, you can also post your own “housing wanted” ad. In both options please do your own checks and make sure that you can trust the person you are renting from.
Possible problems with sublets:
Most lease agreements state that sublets are prohibited. This means you should never pay anybody without making sure that the landlord is aware of the situation and ok with it. Ideally, this needs to be done in writing.
Many sublet listings are for rooms, not apartments. This may be suitable for a single person or a couple without children, but not for a family.
If you rent without a contract, you risk losing money and not getting any place to live in at all.
Local Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish Facebook groups
Sometimes it is possible to find accommodations through these groups, as their members better understand your situation. However, these groups are not without risks, just like everywhere else. Do not assume that just because somebody speaks your language they are not going to scam you. You can find some of these groups in the list we put together.
Friends or relatives
Of course, the ideal situation is staying with somebody you know, at least for a short period of time. Even if only for a week — during this time you would be able to find an Airbnb, and take a look at it in person to make sure it suits your needs.
If you don’t have anybody who can take you in, but they can go and look at the place before your arrival, this can also be very helpful.
Housing myths and realities
MYTH #1
If I pay for several months in advance, anybody will rent to me.
Reality
First of all, in some places, there are laws prohibiting landlords from accepting prepayments. Even in places where prepayments are possible, you need to first negotiate with the landlord, and not every landlord will be willing to talk to you.
But the biggest problem is the price: are you sure you will have enough funds to prepay five months of rent in New York or Miami?
MYTH #2
I have seen some apartments listed online for just $500 a month. Looks pretty reasonable.
Reality
If the apartment is far from a city, it might actually be a reasonable choice. But if this listing is for NY, Chicago, Miami, or LA, it is almost certainly too good to be true. Either these are crooks, and you will be back on the street in a week without hope of getting your money back; or the apartment is located in an area where it is not safe to be on the street in daylight, let alone at night. The apartment may also be unlivable, with major pest infestations (including bed bugs), mold problems, and other serious threats to well-being.
Getting your documents in order
Sure, you will be able to do all the paperwork (medical insurance, food stamps, work authorization application, etc.) on your own. But it will be much easier and faster to do it with a sponsor. A lot of problems in the US are solved with a quick phone call, but to do that you need to have much better English than is needed for an in-person conversation.
Resettlement Agencies can help. We have put together a list of agencies helping Ukrainians in key destination states.
For other states, you can start with the agencies listed on the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) website. But keep in mind that these agencies are not present in every area, and it may be difficult to get in contact with some of them.
Job search
What type of job you will be able to find, and how quickly, will depend on multiple factors: what you know, what you can do, your language skills, and the connections that your sponsor has. Auto repair specialists and people with experience in construction will likely find work very fast, no matter what level of English they have. For people with experience in sales or accounting, it will be much harder.
There are quite a few minimum wage jobs that do not require much English (cleaning, washing dishes at a restaurant, Amazon warehouses, etc.), but you will not be able to support a family on that income. Even if both parents work, it will be very hard to pay rent for a family with two or three kids. If some of the kids are younger than five, it will be nearly impossible: nurseries and preschools are pretty expensive.
Public transportation
The US is mainly built for drivers. Unlike in Europe, there is almost no public transportation in the US outside of large metro areas. In areas far from the city, there may be just one or two bus routes that run once an hour on weekdays, and not at all on weekends. Or there may be no bus routes whatsoever.
There is an easy way to check on what public transportation is like in a town you are thinking about moving to: Google Maps (www.google.com/maps). Enter the address where you are thinking of living, then click at a random point on the opposite side of the town. Ask Google to give you a car ride estimate, and then a public transportation one. Then compare the time needed to get from point A to point B.
You can adjust for the day and time to see how the duration of the trip changes. Note that many routes that run on weekdays stop running on weekends. You may need to get to work by 8 am on a Sunday or get back home after a late shift on a Saturday.