Questions about life in the US

[kamw 93]

thanks a lot for the replies im not in the US yet but ill definitely check it out when im there. luckily ill have a lot of free time right now so ill start learning spanish!

people in my country are pretty friendly too but im quite shy, but its a good idea to look for events, hopefully they have lots of museums over there

haha wow, ive been telling my fiance how much i want to try american junk food, he even promised hed meet me at the airport with mcdonalds bacon cheeseburger and a cherry coke! shops here dont stay open 24/7 either but i know that they do in some places i do want to visit walmart though, all the stories i heard about the freaky people there... gotta see it in reality!

i really hope his family will like me. he told all of them about me and they seem pretty excited and happy for us, and i talked to his mom and aunt on the phone they sound like really nice people

oh its kinda like israel that way, we have many many cultures here! so that is great, hopefully they have good hummus and shawarma or else ill have to drag my fiance back to my home country

well im glad i wont be treated differently by most people. ill be sure to ignore the close minded people and befriend those who accept people from other countries and cultures.

He said the same thing about walmart- he wants to see the weird people. Yes they have good hummus and shawarma here. Granted I'm from Jamaica so i probably don't know what it should taste like but it's all yummy to me.I was talking to a guy from Israel that I met in the grocery store a few weeks back and he gave me an old family recipe for hummus. I haven't tried it yet but it seemed like it would by yummy. That's kinda how you'll meet ppl- just random conversations and if you see them often enough you become friends. I'm super shy and have managed to make friends- you'll be find.

Just enjoy as much as you can with your last few weeks at home because it won't be the same anymore and start looking up stuff on google about your new home.

[avital 34]

He said the same thing about walmart- he wants to see the weird people. Yes they have good hummus and shawarma here. Granted I'm from Jamaica so i probably don't know what it should taste like but it's all yummy to me.I was talking to a guy from Israel that I met in the grocery store a few weeks back and he gave me an old family recipe for hummus. I haven't tried it yet but it seemed like it would by yummy. That's kinda how you'll meet ppl- just random conversations and if you see them often enough you become friends. I'm super shy and have managed to make friends- you'll be find.

Just enjoy as much as you can with your last few weeks at home because it won't be the same anymore and start looking up stuff on google about your new home.

haha i guess walmart is famous all over the world for its weird costumers. cant wait to see old people in funny outfits and clothes 3 sizes smaller!

oh nice thats pretty cool ill have to check all the shawarma places near my house... how much does a shawarma cost there? food sounds a lot cheaper over there.

ill have to work on my social skills a bit, but hopefully ill manage to make some friends too

im cherishing every moment i have right now

[waitingstill21 44]

He said the same thing about walmart- he wants to see the weird people. Yes they have good hummus and shawarma here. Granted I'm from Jamaica so i probably don't know what it should taste like but it's all yummy to me.I was talking to a guy from Israel that I met in the grocery store a few weeks back and he gave me an old family recipe for hummus. I haven't tried it yet but it seemed like it would by yummy. That's kinda how you'll meet ppl- just random conversations and if you see them often enough you become friends. I'm super shy and have managed to make friends- you'll be find.

Just enjoy as much as you can with your last few weeks at home because it won't be the same anymore and start looking up stuff on google about your new home.

You found good hummus and shawarma in West Palm Beach, where?

[kamw 93]

You found good hummus and shawarma in West Palm Beach, where?

Gosh no- there's nothing good in wpb. Gotta go south. I love pita plus and tel aviv in sunrise.

[Shauna&Wael 211]

California is huge so it depends on the area. If you're living in a metro and even most suburbs that are very near metro then there's tons of diversity.

Personally I don't think you'll have any issue anywhere in the US if you keep your nose clean and pay your taxes. Oh and if you are in Texas just made sure that you like church and football or pretend that you do in company.

church and football

To the OP, a lot of the questions for which you'll receive answers will be totally different from your own experiences! I know moving here will be a LOT to take on, but it will be the fun part of your journey Maybe you don't need to know exactly everything that's coming, maybe you can just let some things happen naturally. Don't forget your spouse will be the most helpful person to you in terms of finding a job, friends, and getting a general feel for the area.

[jjbandero 39]

hello

after a successful interview ive been thinking a lot about how my life will be in the US.

i know itll be hard to be away from my family, friends, country, language etc... but theres nothing i want more than to start my life with the person i love.

so i was wondering about different things,

is it hard to find a job in the US when you get your work permit? i speak english very well but i do have a noticeable accent, has your accent ever been an issue? Yes, only because sometimes people have preconceptions about you and while not being trying to be malicious, will end up saying something that makes you think, "what?" In my case, I am Chinese-Australian, so I have an Australian accent, I use different words for certain things e.g. biscuit for cookie, spanner for wrench. I had people say to my face, "how come you don't have an Asian accent?, Oh, you are from Australia, you must speak German (Australia, not Austria)". You will be surprised by the general lack of international geography knowledge, if I have time, I will try and educate, if I don't, I just laugh and move on. Using different words sometimes does cause confusion.

i was thinking about learning spanish since the US has many spanish speakers and it will be a plus when trying to find a job, would that be a good idea? Never hurts to have other language skills, especially if you are working in a customer service time of role. I would consider other courses that are also going to give you desirable skills. You should check out the job market in the city you're moving to, see what qualifications people are asking for in the job description.

is it hard to make new friends? did you search for people from your ethnicity/country that live nearby? or did you try to befriend anyone from the start? Yes, harder to make friends as adults, in my case, I came to the US for work, and a lot of my colleagues were very supportive and took me out after work, we got to know each other better and ended up being friends even after we stopped working together. My friends also met people with similar interests by joining gyms, hiking clubs and other hobby groups. If you do decide to attend courses in the US, community college might be a good option, not expensive, lots of classes and you can meet other people doing the same.

what was the first thing you wanted to do when you moved to the US (besides things that have to do with the immigration process)? I didn't want to try it, but realized that I had to get a car in order to get around in Southern California.

how did your partners family react to you and to the marriage? were they interested in hearing about your country and culture? I met my husband after I'd been in the US for a few years, everyone was very welcoming and always asked about what we'd been up to. I've shared stories about Australia in the context of our discussions.

and to those whove been in the US for a while - did you "bring your culture with you"? do you celebrate your countries holidays? cook the food you ate in your country? Not especially, since it is not always easy to align my time off.

do you feel different or like an outsider? do you feel like people treat you differently because youre not american? or do americans not care about that? Sometimes, but it does not bother me very much. My policy is, I will not go out of my way to offend you, and if I'm polite and respectful, I expect the same in return.

ill be happy to hear about your experiences especially from people who immigrated from non-english speaking countries

Best of luck!

[Illiria 980]

ah well.. ill figure this out and guess ill start studying spanish ASAP! are there any other popular languages there? i speak 2 languages other than english but i doubt ill need them in the US.

thats good to know! do you know what the name of the chain is? i think ill miss our snacks the most but ill make sure to check amazon

im not a really big fan of fireworks so i dont mind it gonna have to wait till im 21 to have a real party though haha. maybe you should buy some small fireworks

hahaha, ive been told more than once that americans arent really interested in other cultures and countries and dont really know much about them, even my fiance was surprised that israel doesnt look like a war zone with tanks on the streets!

i already found some groups of israelis from CA/AZ on facebook so i think i wont have a problem finding them

Its cost plus world mart, odd mix of furniture and world foods.

Find Americans are interested but initially they think they know all about the world and so you not only have to tell them about your country but have to explain away their misconceptions. But they aren't mean about it, it's more like they are surprised.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Illiria

[JoBri 545]

My wife was a teacher and then school principal in the Philippines. She worked at first as a substitute teacher here in the USA. It was HER that said she didnt want to teach here because she thought her accent would get in the way, but no one ever told her that. I never heard anyone complain that they cant understand her through the accent. She also got a full time job right away working in laundry at a nursing home. Then she worked in house keeping part time at a hospital and food services at a high school. She got a full time job at an assisted living too, working as a resident aid. She also is in the Tennessee Air National Guard. She joined 3 years ago. Right now she is finishing her nursing degree and will be a registered nurse soon too. So employment hasnt been a huge issue for her. Her first job was 5 months after she got here, and she has not been without multiple jobs at one time since.

She always is running into others from the Philippines. She has a couple good friends here from there, but she doesnt really have much time to spend much time with them. She is so busy all the time. But she always runs into people from her home country. Most of the friends in her life are from work and school, not from her home country.

First thing my wife wanted to do when she got here was find employment.

My parents welcomed my wife as a daughter. They first spoke with her over Skype, and they asked for her to call them mom and dad, which she does to this day.

The only holidays my wife "celebrates" are holidays on the American calendar. The foods she eats are still difficult for me to figure out. She preferred fish in the Philippines, but since I and our son dont like it she doesnt eat it much, only when she is on the road by herself. I fix her some things like fried rice sometimes, but mostly she is a picky eater and lives on vegetables and fruits and oocassional fish and... not really filipino foods, but a picking of this and that across cultural menues.

Around here in Tennessee, no one really seems to care about her ethnicity. Everyone just seems to like her. Her employers tell her they love her. Her co-workers all get along with her and like her. She doesnt like to participate in gossip, and avoids gosip and minds her own business and focuses on her job, yet is kind and friendly to all and all are kind and friendly to her. She is never looked at as an outsider.

It is hard to think of her as having been nothing but American since birth. She melted into life here.

hello

after a successful interview ive been thinking a lot about how my life will be in the US.

i know itll be hard to be away from my family, friends, country, language etc... but theres nothing i want more than to start my life with the person i love.

so i was wondering about different things,

is it hard to find a job in the US when you get your work permit? i speak english very well but i do have a noticeable accent, has your accent ever been an issue?

i was thinking about learning spanish since the US has many spanish speakers and it will be a plus when trying to find a job, would that be a good idea?

is it hard to make new friends? did you search for people from your ethnicity/country that live nearby? or did you try to befriend anyone from the start?

what was the first thing you wanted to do when you moved to the US (besides things that have to do with the immigration process)?

how did your partners family react to you and to the marriage? were they interested in hearing about your country and culture?

and to those whove been in the US for a while - did you "bring your culture with you"? do you celebrate your countries holidays? cook the food you ate in your country?

do you feel different or like an outsider? do you feel like people treat you differently because youre not american? or do americans not care about that?

ill be happy to hear about your experiences especially from people who immigrated from non-english speaking countries

[GandD 5,966]

One sarcastic and non-contributory comment removed. Lets keep this thread non-political folks.

[djbenitez 8]

Oh my goodness, my husband and I are in AZ and we would love to meet you and your wife. AZ is FULL of diversity. My husband and I are very interested in Hebrew. There are so many people here that love internationals and want to make everyone feel welcome! I agree that meetup.com is a good resource. But truly, if you come to AZ, message me, and my husband and I will help you adjust!

[avital 34]

church and football

To the OP, a lot of the questions for which you'll receive answers will be totally different from your own experiences! I know moving here will be a LOT to take on, but it will be the fun part of your journey Maybe you don't need to know exactly everything that's coming, maybe you can just let some things happen naturally. Don't forget your spouse will be the most helpful person to you in terms of finding a job, friends, and getting a general feel for the area.

i know my experiences might be different but im still interested in others experiences, i think that even if our experiences are different they can still be similar in a lot of ways. i just like being prepared, im kinda the type who likes knowing everything about everything

hello

after a successful interview ive been thinking a lot about how my life will be in the US.

i know itll be hard to be away from my family, friends, country, language etc... but theres nothing i want more than to start my life with the person i love.

so i was wondering about different things,

is it hard to find a job in the US when you get your work permit? i speak english very well but i do have a noticeable accent, has your accent ever been an issue? Yes, only because sometimes people have preconceptions about you and while not being trying to be malicious, will end up saying something that makes you think, "what?" In my case, I am Chinese-Australian, so I have an Australian accent, I use different words for certain things e.g. biscuit for cookie, spanner for wrench. I had people say to my face, "how come you don't have an Asian accent?, Oh, you are from Australia, you must speak German (Australia, not Austria)". You will be surprised by the general lack of international geography knowledge, if I have time, I will try and educate, if I don't, I just laugh and move on. Using different words sometimes does cause confusion.

i was thinking about learning spanish since the US has many spanish speakers and it will be a plus when trying to find a job, would that be a good idea? Never hurts to have other language skills, especially if you are working in a customer service time of role. I would consider other courses that are also going to give you desirable skills. You should check out the job market in the city you're moving to, see what qualifications people are asking for in the job description.

is it hard to make new friends? did you search for people from your ethnicity/country that live nearby? or did you try to befriend anyone from the start? Yes, harder to make friends as adults, in my case, I came to the US for work, and a lot of my colleagues were very supportive and took me out after work, we got to know each other better and ended up being friends even after we stopped working together. My friends also met people with similar interests by joining gyms, hiking clubs and other hobby groups. If you do decide to attend courses in the US, community college might be a good option, not expensive, lots of classes and you can meet other people doing the same.

what was the first thing you wanted to do when you moved to the US (besides things that have to do with the immigration process)? I didn't want to try it, but realized that I had to get a car in order to get around in Southern California.

how did your partners family react to you and to the marriage? were they interested in hearing about your country and culture? I met my husband after I'd been in the US for a few years, everyone was very welcoming and always asked about what we'd been up to. I've shared stories about Australia in the context of our discussions.

and to those whove been in the US for a while - did you "bring your culture with you"? do you celebrate your countries holidays? cook the food you ate in your country? Not especially, since it is not always easy to align my time off.

do you feel different or like an outsider? do you feel like people treat you differently because youre not american? or do americans not care about that? Sometimes, but it does not bother me very much. My policy is, I will not go out of my way to offend you, and if I'm polite and respectful, I expect the same in return.

ill be happy to hear about your experiences especially from people who immigrated from non-english speaking countries

Best of luck!

thanks for the reply! i guess it means i have to work on my patience then

it has been mentioned on this post and i see it quite a lot in TV shows, you guys really have a lot of different clubs for different things, hopefully ill find some good friends there if i join

im glad to hear everyone was very welcoming. i hope my fiances family will be like that too.

and thank you!

Its cost plus world mart, odd mix of furniture and world foods.

Find Americans are interested but initially they think they know all about the world and so you not only have to tell them about your country but have to explain away their misconceptions. But they aren't mean about it, it's more like they are surprised.

haha my fiance told his family about israel and seems like there was a totally different picture in their head, his uncle even told him that he didnt think we have watermelons!

My wife was a teacher and then school principal in the Philippines. She worked at first as a substitute teacher here in the USA. It was HER that said she didnt want to teach here because she thought her accent would get in the way, but no one ever told her that. I never heard anyone complain that they cant understand her through the accent. She also got a full time job right away working in laundry at a nursing home. Then she worked in house keeping part time at a hospital and food services at a high school. She got a full time job at an assisted living too, working as a resident aid. She also is in the Tennessee Air National Guard. She joined 3 years ago. Right now she is finishing her nursing degree and will be a registered nurse soon too. So employment hasnt been a huge issue for her. Her first job was 5 months after she got here, and she has not been without multiple jobs at one time since.

She always is running into others from the Philippines. She has a couple good friends here from there, but she doesnt really have much time to spend much time with them. She is so busy all the time. But she always runs into people from her home country. Most of the friends in her life are from work and school, not from her home country.

First thing my wife wanted to do when she got here was find employment.

My parents welcomed my wife as a daughter. They first spoke with her over Skype, and they asked for her to call them mom and dad, which she does to this day.

The only holidays my wife "celebrates" are holidays on the American calendar. The foods she eats are still difficult for me to figure out. She preferred fish in the Philippines, but since I and our son dont like it she doesnt eat it much, only when she is on the road by herself. I fix her some things like fried rice sometimes, but mostly she is a picky eater and lives on vegetables and fruits and oocassional fish and... not really filipino foods, but a picking of this and that across cultural menues.

Around here in Tennessee, no one really seems to care about her ethnicity. Everyone just seems to like her. Her employers tell her they love her. Her co-workers all get along with her and like her. She doesnt like to participate in gossip, and avoids gosip and minds her own business and focuses on her job, yet is kind and friendly to all and all are kind and friendly to her. She is never looked at as an outsider.

It is hard to think of her as having been nothing but American since birth. She melted into life here.

thanks for the reply!

glad to know things went well for her her experience is definitely encouraging! seems like it wont be so bad for me after all. and im happy to hear that americans are accepting others

Oh my goodness, my husband and I are in AZ and we would love to meet you and your wife. AZ is FULL of diversity. My husband and I are very interested in Hebrew. There are so many people here that love internationals and want to make everyone feel welcome! I agree that meetup.com is a good resource. But truly, if you come to AZ, message me, and my husband and I will help you adjust!

im actually the wife (well not yet but i will be soon). id be happy to meet you! we are still not sure about our future location, but if we do move to AZ ill be sure to contact you and i could teach you some hebrew too.

[mallafri76 1,012]

Oh and if you are in Texas just made sure that you like church and football or pretend that you do in company.

You crack me up with that comment, that's so true.... Start talking football to a Texan and you can talk for weeks.... EVERYTHING is football in Texas.

If you're moving to any of the border states, like California or Texas, knowing Spanish is a huge advantage. They are quite big on a college degree in the US and many jobs seems to have that as a requirement, so that might be something you wanna look into, depending on what kind of job/career you want for the future.

I've lived in many countries around the world, although I haven't moved to my permanent home in the US yet. I've never felt the need to hold on to traditions or cultural things from my home country. One, because when I'm living in another country, I want to live by their culture and traditions. Two, because I feel that holding on too much to your home country may make your integration in your new country tougher and make you feel homesick.

For finding friends in your new home country, taking a class is a good way of finding friends. It could be a cooking class, zumba, language class.... Americans are also big on charity, so volunteering at a local charity organisation can also be a good way to finding new friends, learning about the local community and do a good deed.

You can also try connecting with others here on VJ, who's moving to your area in the US. It always feels nice when you already know someone where you're moving. And hopefully, you get along with your future husband's family and you'll have some friends already there. I'm lucky with that, I'm already friends with my husband's sisters as well as his mum and aunt. I think that helps a lot with a big move like this, knowing some people where you're moving and knowing that you have a support group through his family already.

Good luck in your new home.

Edited July 21, 2015 by mallafri76

[chooky 1]

I sent you a private message

[avital 34]

You crack me up with that comment, that's so true.... Start talking football to a Texan and you can talk for weeks.... EVERYTHING is football in Texas.

If you're moving to any of the border states, like California or Texas, knowing Spanish is a huge advantage. They are quite big on a college degree in the US and many jobs seems to have that as a requirement, so that might be something you wanna look into, depending on what kind of job/career you want for the future.

I've lived in many countries around the world, although I haven't moved to my permanent home in the US yet. I've never felt the need to hold on to traditions or cultural things from my home country. One, because when I'm living in another country, I want to live by their culture and traditions. Two, because I feel that holding on too much to your home country may make your integration in your new country tougher and make you feel homesick.

For finding friends in your new home country, taking a class is a good way of finding friends. It could be a cooking class, zumba, language class.... Americans are also big on charity, so volunteering at a local charity organisation can also be a good way to finding new friends, learning about the local community and do a good deed.

You can also try connecting with others here on VJ, who's moving to your area in the US. It always feels nice when you already know someone where you're moving. And hopefully, you get along with your future husband's family and you'll have some friends already there. I'm lucky with that, I'm already friends with my husband's sisters as well as his mum and aunt. I think that helps a lot with a big move like this, knowing some people where you're moving and knowing that you have a support group through his family already.

Good luck in your new home.

well knowing an extra language cant hurt even if i wont be using it a lot

i see your point and youre right about it. im not a really traditional person myself but you know, never forget where you came from

thats a great idea ill definitely look into taking classes! wouldnt want to sit at home all day long.

i already met a few people here who live close by. VJ community does seem very welcoming and id be glad to be friends with people who went through the same process my fiance told his whole family about me! i talked to his mom and aunt before, and im excited about meeting everyone.

thanks!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Avoid political debates generally speaking, especially at work. My experience back in Canada was that you could have healthy, jovial conversations about the government and no one got offended, in the US you couldn't have a civilized conversation without everyone trying to take sides immediately.

Be openly friendly, sure you may have an accent but there's nothing worse then someone who isn't friendly or keeps to themselves - wave and say Hi to the neighbours when you take the garbage out or you're out for a walk in the neghbourhood.

once you start working you'll have more opportunities to meet people and become friends too.