Nice Paintings – I

Coffee Decorations – Very cool.

This is a very very cool video that shows how to decorate the coffee.

Useful links for Desis in US

Everyone who comes to USA have to undergo some initial setup process. Its mandatory for everyone The idea of this blog is to give a basic introduction to all the important on line resources that you would need during your day-to-day life. The idea is NOT to give any location specific details and be generic about the resources. I covered a specific topic about How much is “enough” in US in a separate blog.

If you have any specific sites to be included in the following list please do send them to me an i would be glad to add them.

Apartments:

• www.rent.com
• www.apartments.com
• www.apartmentratings.com

Immigration / Travel Insurance:

• www.VisitorsCoverage.com
• www.path2usa.com
• www.murthy.com
• www.uscis.gov
• www.immigration.com
• www.immihelp.com

Pay Check:

• www.paycheckcity.com
• www.salary.com

School Ratings: [from Suneetha]

• www.greatschools.net
  

Cost of living comparison:

• www.payscale.com
• www.homefair.com
• www.bestplaces.net
• www.cityrating.com

Car Rentals:

• www.enterprise.com [they have VERY good deals and prices]
• www.avis.com
• www.hertz.com
• www.dollar.com

Vehicle Research:

• www.edmunds.com
• www.vehix.com
• www.cars.com

Shopping:

• www.deals2buy.com
• www.slickdeals.net
• www.craigslist.org
• www.walmart.com
• www.circuitcity.com [always expensive]

Low Cost Airlines:

• www.jetblue.com
• www.virginamerica.com
• www.airtran.com

Flight/Hotel Reservations:

• www.priceline.com
• www.kayak.com
• www.hotwire.com
• www.orbitz.com
• www.expedia.com
• www.travelocity.com

Hotel Specials:

• www.hotels.com
• www.hrs.com
• www.vacationrentals.com
• www.vrbo.com

Desi Entertainment/Community Sites:

• www.usadesi.com
• www.tana.org
• www.bata.org
• www.sulekha.com
• www.teluguone.com
• www.baymasala.com

Online Hindi/Telugu Music:

• www.idlebrain.com
• www.raaga.com
• www.andhravilas.com
• www.telugufm.com
• www.ragalahari.com
• www.saradaga.com
• www.indiafm.com

Online TV :

• www.techsatish.tv
• www.tvdekho.com

Online Language Translators:

• http://dict.leo.org
• http://babelfish.yahoo.com

Online Music / Downloads :

• http://www.chillingcafe.com
• http://www.zaramasti.com/page/2
• http://www.andhramp3.com
• http://www.mp3hungama.com
• http://www.indianchild.com
• http://www.onesmartclick.com
• http://www.thenisai.com/telugu/songs
• http://forwardfever104.blogspot.com
• http://forum.indimovi.com
• http://www.Cooltoad.com
• http://www.doregama.com
• http://www.bollyfm.net

How much is “enough” in USA

For all Desi’s who come to USA, its a confusing number to decide how much is really enough. Of course, this magic number depends totally on weather someone is single+student, single+working, married+1salary or married+2salaries. I am trying to give a rough and necessary calculation of expenses that you incur monthly. Of course the expenses changes from state to state and also depends on people.

Expense Type	Low End	High End	Average
House Rent	800	1400	1000
Water + Trash + Sewage	40	50	40
Mobile	50	80	50
Internet + Home Phone + Cable	0	120	120
Car Gas	100	200	100
Car Instalment	200	500	300
Grosseries	200	400	300
Miscellanious	300	500	300
Total	1690	3250	2210

The above table suggests expenses for a single family (wife and husband) and no kids. In the end the idea is to get everyone know how mush is NECESSARY here in US for all desi’s coming here for the first time.