Just landed
Hi All,
I'm new in this forum, I'll be new in the USA very soon and I'm new in finances just now. I'll land in USA via my company very soon, in the New York area, but I'm pure engineer, so not related to finances. Any tip for an European not used to the american way of life will be welcomed :).
Spaans.
As a fellow foreigner, welcome. I think that anyone from any part of the world can find a place here. You will never feel that as a foreigner that you won't have access to the same opportunities that Americans do. This is truly a country where hard work and smarts pay off. As they usually say here: God bless this great country.
A few pointers:
Get used to Fahrenheit, pounds, miles etc. (They don't make any logical sense and are not based on decimal conversions)
Tipping: You are expected to tip here. Tip 15-20% depending on the service you receive. Must at restaurants. You should also tip cabbies, hairdressers...but not as much as 20%.
Depending on where you are in the country, don't be surprised if random people smile at your or ask you how your day is going. Just smile. Americans are very friendly. None of this will happen if you come to NYC though. From the countries I have visited in Asia/Europe, Americans are the friendliest. This is not Europe - in general, people are warm and nice. Don't be surprised if people strike up a conversation in public transportation and restaurants.
If Americans ask you "How are you?" or "How is your day going?" at the office, no one actually expects you to reply. It's just a way of greeting people here.
Food: everything is so artificial and bad unless you go to a higher end market. Even Coke is made with high fructose corn syrup, not real sugar unlike the rest of the world. The chicken that you get in supermarkets is laden with chemicals, you can taste it. American chocolate (i.e Hersheys) to put it very mildly, bad. Too much sugar in everything. Maybe corn syrup.
No matter what you have heard about America in popular culture, Americans are very well mannered compared with the rest of the world. Don't cut lines in this country, seriously!!! Don't ask people about anything personal.
Americans like their personal space. When you talk to people, maintain some distance. Same goes with personal issues. Don't ask people about their personal issues and don't tell people about your personal issues.
The food portions are HUGE here. You might find this shocking - I did too - but Americans take their leftovers home when they eat out in a restaurant. (Yuck!!!). A lot of people are fat and obese.
The Asian food you get here is not really Asian. It's watered down for American taste.
Same with Mexican food.
I don't even want to waste time on commenting how bad American beer is. There is an burgeoning culture of microbreweries though.
Americans are actually religious. This is 2014 and a substantial portion of the population believes in god!
Americans are trained from a very young age to be fair. Fairness is built into the American DNA. I really can not explain this, but you'll see what I mean. There is a lot of trust here. Obviously things are different after 9-11, and things are different in big cities, but you will still find people who leave their doors unlocked.
Do not discuss politics here. Political discussions here are driven by echo chambers on both the extreme left and far right (i.e. MSNBC vs Fox). Watch the BBC to understand America. CBS is the best American news source.
Americans are very patriotic about their country as they should be. This does not apply to some in the far left who think America is the source of all evil in the world.
Source: My personal experience as an immigrant from Asia (Think Cambodia/Burma) and readings of other immigrant experiences.
More to come as I remember.
Not very well traveled. Do people just cut in lines in Europe? Explains a lot.
Well, people don't really have good manners back in Asia. Europeans are better, but not as well mannered as Americans.
@"Goldf1nger"
It would be nice to hear your thoughts on this issue.
I endorse your list :)
Jesus Krypton! I'm going to print this list and fix it on my fridge now :). I was once before in CA and about the smiling people, It's something I appreciate and I can get used to it easily.
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