The pros and cons of immigration to the United States: how I survived in a new country
'08.11.2018'
Source: Natalie Petrova
I never wanted to leave Ukraine. For me, any move has always been very painful. I remember how difficult it was to move from the right bank of Kiev to the left. I was worried that all my relatives and friends remained on the right bank, and that I would no longer be able to go out for a walk with my best friend in the evening. For almost half a year I delayed moving to my husband, because it seemed to me that now I would not see my close people at all.
For two years we prepared the documents for moving to the USA. All this time I did not realize that sometime the move would happen, Natalie Petrova writes in her блоге. And even after receiving all the confirmations, visas and buying a ticket for departure in a month, I continued to live a normal life: I went to work until the last, every day I met with friends and didn’t realize that I would soon end up on the other side of the planet.
I was in Europe, in Russia, in Egypt, Turkey, etc., but here everything is completely different. To date, I have identified for myself the pros and cons of moving to the United States. I think that some of them will fit the general description of immigration ...
I'll start with the cons:
All relatives and friends are very far away. For many, this is not a problem and they say that the first year is hard. The first months I couldn’t come to my senses at all, I called home endlessly and the most difficult for me was the evening. After 17: 00 in Ukraine, most people were already asleep, my husband was at work until night, and I was completely lonely. Living so far away from home, you miss all the important moments in the lives of your loved ones and you miss them endlessly.
At work, preference is given to the local population with experience. It is very difficult to find a good job right away. Everyone wants a great experience in the USA. Almost all my familiar immigrants do not work where they would like, mainly in the service sector.
It’s hard when you don’t understand everyone around you. I taught English all my life, but when I came here, I realized that I don’t know him at all. Until now, after 8 months after the move, I don’t always understand what they are saying. Americans use different words and turnovers than the ones we have always been taught. Therefore, the most important and first task after the move is to go to language courses. There you can make new acquaintances, and it is much easier to live with knowledge of the language. But the language barrier is a temporary disadvantage.
You do not understand people and you do not know who you can trust and who you do not. Everywhere is very clean, beautiful. And basically, this order is achieved thanks to the initiative of the citizens themselves. Neighbors will complain about you if you haven't cut your lawn, and anyone can claim you if you haven't cleaned your dog. For our mentality, this is difficult and incomprehensible. Once we were fishing. The guys pulled the 16,5 inchey fish (approximately 42 cm), another fisherman immediately came up with a measuring tool and said that we should let it go, because by law you can take home only fish larger than 17 inches, otherwise we will have to pay a $ 200 fine. You should always be on your toes and do everything according to the rules. Probably, this is not a minus, but sometimes it seems to me that Americans are too meticulous.
People do not try to look good. For some, this is not a minus at all, because you are accepted for who you are. But people no longer look after themselves, they dress casually, around an incredible amount of fat people who do not worry about it and continue to eat in fast food. Their children are taken to fast food every day, despite the fact that children already in 10 years weigh as adults. I really want to see girls in heels and dresses, but not overweight women with cellulite in mini shorts. But here you are loved and accepted as you are, which means that there is no motivation to look better.
Insanely expensive medicine. You need to pay about $ 400 per month for medical insurance, and such insurance will not cover everything. And without insurance, if you suddenly go to the hospital, it can cost several thousand dollars. Few can afford insurance, especially if it is not paid at work. But you are more aware of your health. We are directly healthier than all healthy for the past six months.
That is all I would call a minus. In fact, if my relatives and friends were nearby, I would not have noticed any other things. Everything else will be decided by itself if you strongly want this and work on it thoroughly.
Now about the pros:
Significantly higher standard of living and income. Yes, it is difficult to find a job, but even working in the service sector, you can afford to travel, buy equipment, buy a car on credit and rent an apartment in a good area. In Ukraine, working in such jobs, people often barely cope with monthly expenses and do not even dream of traveling or a car.
Exploring new cultures and expanding horizons. In America, mostly immigrants live. In general, I very rarely meet Native Americans. And if I meet, they are almost always born in other states. This gives you the opportunity to learn about a huge number of countries and cultures. People are incredibly interesting and very different. Every day I hear amazing stories of people who came with nothing, and how they achieved everything. It is very motivating and developing.
Insanely beautiful nature and great climate. We live in the southern state, and we always have summer. Ocean hour away. Everywhere palm trees, beautiful landscaped lawns, forests and many living creatures. Everywhere, small lizards crawl around, and at some point you even begin to like them. In each city there is something very beautiful, and every weekend you can go to different cities for unforgettable and very different emotions.
Always happy people around. Everyone is smiling and greeting you, every day you hear good wishes for the day and apologize if someone has somehow violated your comfort zone. People are free to talk to you on the street on any topic and will always help you figure out if something goes wrong with you.
A huge number of new features. Any immigration is a way out of the comfort zone. You can always try yourself in something new: learn a new profession, start surfing or drawing, become a photographer or open your own restaurant, shop, etc. You understand that life has completely changed and it is much easier to make yourself start doing something from scratch. In America, an incredible amount of opportunities - affordable loans for new business, free high-quality training programs, sites such as eBay, Amazon and Craigslist, where you can sell any goods, and people have the money to buy them. A lot of interesting startups, and people who are always ready to help you.
Many values are being rethought. In the first months after the move, we went with the husband's parents to a concert. It was a beautiful rock band show. I am not a fan of such music, but for the sake of the show it was worth going there. It was a shock for me when I saw how people went to this concert with all their families. They walked along 5-6 people with children, grandparents, wheelchair users, and old men with chopsticks. And it was a regular concert. The same can be seen at Disney Land and at any other public events. Everyone helps each other, and there are special services that people with disabilities can call at any time to help them get somewhere or for any other problem they have. Yes, and not one person will not pass by, if he feels that someone needs help.
Many people write that, having immigrated, you lose friends, but everything depends on you and your desire to maintain relationships with close people. You should not expect that they will call and write themselves every day. It’s all changed and you feel lonely, and they have the same life there and also planned it out every day. I call up almost every day with my parents, grandparents, grandfathers, I have a general chat with close friends, where we write to each other almost daily. I regularly call up my former colleagues from my favorite work. Everyone with whom I was friends and communicated, everything is also with me, and I am not going to lose them, despite the fact that now we live so far from each other.
