Newbies to the US from Canada: Anyone else having trouble adjusting?

[Ms Hogan 295]

I moved to the US in October... and it seems like everything is just going wrong! Is anyone else feeling the same way? I'd love to talk to some other Canadians.

My AOS is messed up, missing my family, problems with health care. aka I just got an unexpected medical bill in the mail for 2 grand... can't work yet, haven't made any friends.. And a million other things have gone wrong lately of a more personal nature.

Not to mention, I miss Tim Horton's so much! Ketchup chips! Hickory sticks! Driving here scares me because the roads are so busy. And people constantly make fun of my accent It took ten months to get my visa and I thought we were so prepared... HAHA, no. I think I miss OHIP most of all. People here don't eat fish and chips.. they don't know what coffee crisp is.. and they do rock, paper, scissors differently. I feel like I am learning something new and totally unexpected about American life every day, and my whole life people have told me our countries are so similar. I miss sidewalks and bus service, too! And being able to actually walk places!

Can anyone relate?

Where did you live before and where do you live now? I'm assuming somewhere in Texas based on your profile BUT Texas is a completely different world compared to just about all of Canada!!

Edited January 21, 2016 by Ms Hogan

[bloopygirl 20]

Ontarkie I'm sorry to hear your baby is sick I hope your bills are not too high.

My husband has thought about joining the national guard before but after they randomly send them overseas like a while back he decided that was a bad idea! We are trying to find some health insurance now but all of our options are crazy expensive.

Imihler I'm sorry to hear you don't like the town you are in. Hopefully you can make some friends who are open to hearing different ideas. It's funny, that is one way I fit in better in the U.S. Because I'm conservative!

CM I hope that you adjust to NJ quickly! It is really hard driving here for sure.. I'm in southern nj so at least it's a bit less crowded than up there. But it's still weird. I used to live in Thunder Bay lol

So funny about the sweet tea. My husband drinks that stuff constantly. I also noticed they never have vinegar out for your French fries.. They don't do that here!

[bloopygirl 20]

Mad & J - thanks for the suggestion. I might do a prenatal class here actually. That's a good idea. I joined a hiking group on meetup which has been a good way of meeting people.

Ms hogan- I'm in New Jersey. How about you?

[NikLR 13,220]

It takes time. I miss a lot of Canadian things.

I think finally buying our home helped. Working also helped for me. I didn't live close to my family but they were just a drive away which they are not anymore.

Found out recently that my best friend may move back to Wisconsin so that will be hard for me since I don't get out to socialize much except when he's around.

It does get better. Try to think of it as an adventure, something new and exciting. I found that the less i compare the two, the easier it is on me and my husband. They're different but that's not all bad.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Oh my goodness so much! When I had my daughter in the hospital I was paying for a meal and had to give out my so's name on the phone. It contains a Z. I had to correct axed many times

[bloopygirl 20]

I wish I could work or go home to see my family. People who applied for AOS after me already have their green card, and I don't even have my biometrics appointment yet. I think they lost my paperwork. I'm so upset. First I got screwed by Texas Service Center and waited way longer than people who applied months after me for the visa and now this lol.

[Loki_Go 126]

The first month I was here was miserable. The culture shock was so unexpected. My hometown is only 3 hours away and I haven't been back there in almost 6 months, and I have about 3 more to go. I still can't believe how awful it was... I still have moments but it's gotten a lot better. Exercise helped so much.

I just ran out of Kraft peanut butter and I can't stomach the sugary varieties here!

[mdcatelli 16]

The majority of the time it's the boredom that gets to me. My life in Winnipeg was filled with work and going to the gym and having a social life. Here all I do is sit at home all day and pretty much do nothing, since I know no-one and don't have a vehicle of my own yet. The freeways don't bother me now, I've gotten over that fear. I did join a curling league to get myself out of the house, so that's helping with the cabin fever. And my sister is visiting me in two weeks so that'll be nice

Living in a foreign country, away from practically everyone you know is isolating. I'm looking forward to being able to work eventually, even if I have no idea what type of job I'll end up in.

[beccajayne93 17]

I moved to the US in October... and it seems like everything is just going wrong! Is anyone else feeling the same way? I'd love to talk to some other Canadians.

My AOS is messed up, missing my family, problems with health care. aka I just got an unexpected medical bill in the mail for 2 grand... can't work yet, haven't made any friends.. And a million other things have gone wrong lately of a more personal nature.

Not to mention, I miss Tim Horton's so much! Ketchup chips! Hickory sticks! Driving here scares me because the roads are so busy. And people constantly make fun of my accent It took ten months to get my visa and I thought we were so prepared... HAHA, no. I think I miss OHIP most of all. People here don't eat fish and chips.. they don't know what coffee crisp is.. and they do rock, paper, scissors differently. I feel like I am learning something new and totally unexpected about American life every day, and my whole life people have told me our countries are so similar. I miss sidewalks and bus service, too! And being able to actually walk places!

Can anyone relate?

Hey!

I don't mean this in a bad way - but I am happy to see your post! The answer is yes! I can totally relate. Everything you say, I just nod my head and thing "yep, that's exactly how it is".

Adjusting sucks. I moved from Ontario to South Jersey in September and, now, 3 months later, I've been so down due to the lack of friendship (ahem, zero friendship) and things to do because I don't really feel like doing things on my own. I looked at meetup but nothing jumped out at me I miss my family a lot - like a ton. And my friends, who did come down to visit me after Christmas to visit NYC which was really nice but now they're gone again. I miss my dogs (well, my mom's dogs, I didn't leave them behind), and my landlord won't let us have one. But I have a bird and he's currently my best friend. He sits with me all day while I binge-watch Netflix. Overall I'm completely stressed out - mostly about my car which has Ontario plates/registration still and I can't do anything about it until I get my EAD but my registration is almost expired as well as my insurance. Plus some issues with the financing that are driving me crazy... And, yes, of course, the brand new personal issues with some new people that exist that I didn't have to deal with previously. Needless to say there have been some tears.

And I miss Tim Hortons soooo much! I was even starting to like McDonald's coffee at home. But it doesn't taste the same here! Deciding to go out for dinner gets tough too because like 75% of the restaurants are Italian which I'm not a fan of . I also spent copious amounts of time today trying to find a doctor in my network and finding out what was "covered" and how much it was going to cost ontop of the rediculous premium - don't they know we can't work? OHIP will be missed.

An employee at the bank, gym, and the dmv have all recently made "eh" and "hockey" jokes to me.

I MISS MALTESERS. They are my favourite. I had no idea they didn't exist here

Needless to say I am looking forward to my EAD, which hopefully should be approved in the next week or two! I feel like that will help out with adjusting socially.

If you need/would like a local Canadian friend don't hesitate to message me! And to all east coasters - be safe during the storm this weekend!

P.S. How is rock, papers, scissors different???? I'm tempted to go and experiment with my husband

[oncefuturealien 45]

I MISS MALTESERS. They are my favourite. I had no idea they didn't exist here

Try Whoppers, that's the closest thing

[Clifford27 11]

Try Whoppers, that's the closest thing

Whoppers are not as good as Maltesers. I leave today at 5pm for California and may have to get a small bag for the trip as I loved them also!

One things I am happy about is Bed Bath and Beyond sells Tim Hortons kcups in California so that will hold me over.

[beccajayne93 17]

Try Whoppers, that's the closest thing

Whoppers are not as good as Maltesers. I leave today at 5pm for California and may have to get a small bag for the trip as I loved them also!

I've tried Whoppers! And sadly, they are just not good enough. Have a Malteser for me, Clifford!

[Darnell 8,478]

bloopygirl ! maybe you need to be around folk in your locale?

I suggest:

1. taking a short course in the extension courses area in your local university. (not a community college)

2. volunteering at the various chamber of commerce groups in the cities around your area.

3. volunteering with the 'take a dog to the hospital' group in your locale - it's fun to take a friendly dog into a hospital, the patients cheer up quickly.

4. get a library card in your locale, but get into the library and volunteer for kid reading time.

[Clifford27 11]

I've tried Whoppers! And sadly, they are just not good enough. Have a Malteser for me, Clifford!

Just went through my POE and waiting for my flight.

Picked up a bag of Maltesers and a box of smarties!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Look up Canadian smarties vs us smarties