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Moving to US (maybe), what should I know?

Chiggs

Gold Member
Can't believe I'm writing this...

The Office No GIF


There exists a small chance (Green Card Lottery) I will be moving with my family (3 kids) to the US in the next 12-18 months. We don't have a fixed place yet, probably Austin / Texas or North Carolina.

Here is my view of the US:
Dystopian state
Excellent at accumulating capital to maximise shareholders returns
Market is very flexible, people are willing to bet on idea or just "we will figure it out as we go along" (unless you are talking about technical field, best no to play with people's lives there)
Terrible place for everyone below the average in terms of education, resources, wealth, etc.
Americans are kind and friendly people but all that is surface-level
People love guns
Serial murderer or mass pedophile at every corner


Any advice someone (both Freedom People as well as Europeans that moved there) that can give me a rundown of key points I need to pay attention to or that will be a huge shock when coming from Europe?

It's a rapacious dump if you don't have money.
 

TDiddyLive

Member
I live in a red state. Rural areas are annoying. Cops would follow me around town (and i'm white with no history of getting in trouble). Dudes in pickups are always riding your ass and drive too aggressively. I had one older guy give me shit because i was wearing a Megadeth shirt when i went to walmart out in the country.
Cops stole money from these innocent folks. https://kfor.com/news/local/busines...r-140000-of-their-money-and-10000-is-missing/
On New years day one of my neighbors posted a pic on Nextdoor of a bullet that almost killed him when he went outside and smoked. Some people posted damage too. People unload clips left and right for about an hour on NYE. Plenty of articles out there of people getting hurt or dying from stray bullets. Yes it's rare but it does happen.
I've worked with people at different jobs who went to jail for the night and lost their job because they couldnt call to let someone know. They can hold you on anything. I also knew someone who was thrown in jail for weeks, held on a $250k bond all because his buddy was dealing drugs to someone else. They held him for questioning then let him go. He was innocent the whole entire time.
Let’s just go down the list.

Cops followed you. There are a thousand reasons this could have happened, or they were going the same direction as you.

People tailgate and drive aggressively absolutely everywhere in this country.

You had a dispute with someone over your shirt? Not sure where you’re going with that one.

That cop story is literally one side of the story where the money was seized due to possible narcotics transaction and they claim the money seized was more than the paperwork claimed. I go back to my previous statement about using a bank.

I never said bullets coming down doesn’t happen, I just pointed out that people dying from it is rare.

Once you’re booked in jail, you have the right to make phone calls, so that one is absolute bullshit.

You cannot be held for weeks for questioning. You can only be held a reasonable amount of time (usually a few hours, but other factors play into this), for the police to go over any evidence already acquired and then conduct questioning. Once placed in jail, at which time you have already been charged with a crime (not before) you cannot be held for more than 72 hours from time of arrest without a judge agreeing there is sufficient probable cause to continue seeking the charge brought forth.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Any advice someone (both Freedom People as well as Europeans that moved there) that can give me a rundown of key points I need to pay attention to or that will be a huge shock when coming from Europe?
Based on your understanding of the US, I would say this is not a place you should be moving to.
What sort of hellscape do you live in where you would choose to up-root your family and MOVE to a place that fits the description in your OP?

Not trying to offend here, just it's shocking to see someone choose to put their family in peril and mortal danger based on your research.

Anyway best of luck! I would provide you more advice but I need to go pick up my guns that came in today. It snowed here in Texas and the only way I can think to clear that snow away is by blasting all of it off the ground with bullets and explosives. I need to get my 15 cars out of the driveway so I can use my old one to drive into the less "affluent" parts of the city I live in, what else am I to do?!?!?!
 

Complistic

Member
I tried Googling it, I don't understand why you would have a Stop sign from every direction. Then again as Eastern European by origin I found French obsession with roundabouts hilarious where you can just have two roads intersection in the middle of nowhere. French will still build a roundabout there just because.
We do have 4 way and 2 way, imo the 2 ways are kinda dangerous because if the car that's supposed to stop doesn't you can just get insta-gibbed.

I do like round abouts personally.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Just avoid cities or neighbourhoods where there's tons of ghetto folks. Stay in the nicer suburban areas. US cities I've visited seem to have a knack for extremes. Super slums in one part of town and really snazzy in another.

Visited Raleigh NC once and it was super chill and nice. The friendliest folks ever. This was 20 years ago though. Dont forget to pig out at Coopers BBQ.
 

Blade2.0

Member
Texas has the worst traffic in all of America. They'd rather build toll roads than to invest even a fraction of their money into working public transit. Stay the eff away from Houston. Austin ain't much better. Unless you live smack dab downtown prepare to have your 3rd spaces taken away. There's almost no corner stores and small coffee shops close to your homes unless you get very lucky with where you are located. Sidewalks won't be full at all and if you even see them, they'll probably be completely empty. Get good insurance otherwise stay the eff away. It can literally get you killed, the American healthcare system, that is. Otherwise have fun. There are genuinely good people here. We're just genuinely stuck in a system that doesn't care about us.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
I work in tech and have seen educated professionals from Europe and Korea move to the US. The biggest mistake they make is if they have kids they screw up the schooling. Your decision on where to live should 100% be based around your job and schools. What is tricky is that the schooling situation in the US is entirely run by states. Each state is completely different. I love Texas, I am friends with people who live in San Antonio and go there a lot. However, their schools are complete trash. Same with CA. I don't know a single person in tech that sends their kids to public school in CA lol. Not that public schools everywhere are bad, where I live they are absolutely amazing and largely better than private. But I don't live in CA or Texas, I live in PA where you can self segregate yourself into 11/10 public schools provided you move to the correct neighborhood. If you move into the wrong neighborhood it is every bit as bad as the worst stereotypes.
 

Raven117

Gold Member
Why are you moving to the US when it seems like you don’t like the US?

Either way, assuming you secretly do want to live in the US, Texas is fine place to raise a family. Certain areas are tougher than others, but in every city you can find good neighborhoods.
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Trust me, no matter how bad it is, Paris is still worse.

Fuck, I was thinking about Raleigh.
Ahh you’re a Parisian.
french reaction gif GIF


Do you know my friend Jean Phillip ? He lives in Marseille.

If the above sends you into a rage.
Please note you will encounter some Americans who will do this unintentionally.
 
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You don't want to move to Texas. Seriously. I lived north of Houston for 7 years and the construction was hellicious.

Austin is so expensive. All the small towns on the way to Austin have been getting their character and culture torn out. It's pathetic. Plus the energy infrastructure is literally killing people.

North Carolina is better. Different life style. I would suggest Charleston in south Carolina. The beaches are great. Humid in the summer but also nice in the winter. Charleston is a medium sized city and has a cool walkable downtown.
I've lived in both Austin and Charleston.

Charleston is gorgeous, but there's not a whole lot going on outside of downtown. Cost of living (rent, food, and gas) make it tough to get by comfortably unless you're bringing in $200k a year (did I mention state income tax?), and you can forget about buying a house unless you buy somewhere north like Summerville. That said, the weather, food, people, and laid back lifestyle contributed to some of my happiest years. The wife and I go back to visit from time to time since we enjoyed living there so much.

Austin has a lot more to offer imo, and the cost of living is a lot more manageable since you have a lot more levers to pull - there's lots of fun areas outside of downtown. Beautiful nature nearby in the hill country, food, live music, friendly people, and generally safe. Lots of tech-oriented folks too considering OP is working in IT sales.
All major cities in Texas are blue not just Austin. Dallas, San Antonio, Houston are blue dots also and unlike Austin it's not racist. I don't have any issue with you saying we drive crazy I do have an issue with someone who visited trying to paint Austin as some Utopia in a sea of red it is only that for young white virtue signaling liberals everyone else needs to get out of dodge.
Not sure where the whole "Austin is racist" narrative is coming from, but I won't deny that gentrification of East Austin has pushed a lot of historically Black and Latino populations out of the area due to cost of living increases.

I visit Houston fairly often (best friend lives there) and I agree that it's probably the most diverse city in Texas while also feeling the most like an actual "big city".
Texas has the worst traffic in all of America. They'd rather build toll roads than to invest even a fraction of their money into working public transit. Stay the eff away from Houston. Austin ain't much better. .
Yeah, and it fucking sucks. Road construction and traffic congestion everywhere, so you're forced to use toll roads to maintain the last semblance of sanity you have. Public transportation options are a joke, but there's at least been some development on the Metro rail system in Austin...
I work in tech and have seen educated professionals from Europe and Korea move to the US. The biggest mistake they make is if they have kids they screw up the schooling. Your decision on where to live should 100% be based around your job and schools. What is tricky is that the schooling situation in the US is entirely run by states. Each state is completely different. I love Texas, I am friends with people who live in San Antonio and go there a lot. However, their schools are complete trash. Same with CA. I don't know a single person in tech that sends their kids to public school in CA lol. Not that public schools everywhere are bad, where I live they are absolutely amazing and largely better than private. But I don't live in CA or Texas, I live in PA where you can self segregate yourself into 11/10 public schools provided you move to the correct neighborhood. If you move into the wrong neighborhood it is every bit as bad as the worst stereotypes.
100% this. If you're thinking of moving to Austin, try looking at Cedar Park or Leander - the school districts there are much better than what you'll get with AISD, and are some of the best public schools in all of Texas.
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
You like Les vacances , goodbye to them. I think maximum 2 weeks paid. Sure you can take more if you have a company that offers it but I think they kinda don’t like it.

How many days of US paid holiday are American​

workers entitled to?​

US workers are not legally entitled to any paid holiday at all. However, in reality, most US employers offer paid vacation time to their workers. The number of days varies from employer to employer, but on average, US workers receive around ten days of paid holiday each year. In addition, time off is often accrued, which means that US staff will need to be working in their job for 12 months before they’re entitled to ten days of holiday.
So no booking a paid month off in the summer.

You can’t pull a Greve. Usually they discourage unions.

Arret Maladie while not frowned upon. There is pressure to power through it.

Oh and Droit a la Deconnexion I’m sure some jobs won’t like that you are on call.

No two hour lunch breaks.
Speaking of which the quality of ingredients is definitely much better in France. You like corn syrup? Oh wait the fruit and Veg thing a more expensive than the junk food ?
No seasonal food as it’s available all year round.

I dont think you get ticket resto or any advantages comparable to the stuff in France.

Also the mutuel is more expensive in America. Plus you dont get reimbursements.

I’m sure workers right etc are better in France. As well as things like social security etc.

But if you get lucky and get a job which a European company based in the USA you are golden.

What are you planning to do for work in America?


Don’t get me wrong I love America I have family there. I love going to visit them and spending time in the USA. Just some things they do make me scratch my head. In regards to working practices etc

Good things.
Availability of practically anything you want.
Cheaper prices for things like clothing. Etc
Eating out of better value for money with the portion sizes.
Wages are higher than Europe.
More opportunity

I don't know about the other things such as pension and retirement etc.
I just see America as more work hard party when you get the chance. Enjoy the fruits of your labour later. If you land on your feet the skies the limit.


France is work. Enjoy the weekends and time with You family enjoy your holidays. (I’m not sure if America has Ryanair level cheap flights) I didn’t get at first why France shops in France close at certain times. Or on Sunday at shops shut early. Now I understand the really like the time it gives to chill. Also the lifestyle is more relaxed in France.

This is just my view.
You live in Paris so you will be used to the pace of life etc.
there is a reason America is called the land of opportunity.

Would you move out to America and not come back home or try it and see ?

How are the kids feeling about it how does the wife feel?
 
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Lunarorbit

Member
Southern hospitality is a myth too Cyberpunkd Cyberpunkd .

The roads are dangerous. People easily go over a 100mph while watching a movie on their phone. Seen it dozens of times when I'd drive to Sam Houston state university.

Wild hogs/boar are out of control. Watch out cause they are slow Walkers and have bad eyesight. People often hit them

Get a generator. The energy system is old and corrupt. Texas refuses to update or join the national grid so people die every year because of their incompetency and greed.

Texans pretend they are in the land of the free but texas is one of the most restrictive states for freedom. Restrictions on medical care, books available, and personal freedoms.

It's very hot in the summer. Brownout and blackouts do happen. AC is required. The eastern half of the state is very humid as well.

The eastern pan handle is proudly racist. Look up the history of Vidor and Beaumont. Hate filled people still maintain sun down laws in Vidor.

And finally the amount of "schools" is out of control. Tons of private Christian home schooling with very lax standards on teaching. This makes me real nervous cause you never know what absolute beliefs some people have. A lot of unregulated false knowledge is given to Texan children that is dangerous and embarrassing as an American
 

Nonehxc

Member
Come to Ohio. I have a spare sex dung.... baseme... room you can use. I also have plenty of lotion.
Do you have a hose too? :lollipop_kissing:

I'm TOTALLY NOT trying to be smart 🤓 and make another funny reference to The Silence of the Lambs, promise. :lollipop_halo:

I ask on behalf of our french friends since, you know, french people don't like to bath very much, they have soo sensitive skin oh la la. :lollipop_kissing_smiling:

So you'll need to hose them now and then. :lollipop_downcast_sweat:

It's like the old saying goes:

Why do the french invent the most fragant and wonderful perfumes?

So they can't bath even more. :lollipop_raising_hand:

Jk mon ami, hope you find a great place with Baguettes and Brie without lotions and hoses. :lollipop_squint_tongue:
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
Lunarorbit Lunarorbit
What if your name was
Sam Houston from Houston Texas who went to Sam Houston state university who works at Sam’s club and drank Samuel Adam’s beer?

How confusing would that be.
 

AGRacing

Member
European freedom seems to be different from ours. Just stay where you're at. We don't need you to bring your voting habits with you. We're a bunch of rootin-tootin-shootin cowboys over here. That's with your current views of the US.
Yeah. It’s always wonderful when someone from the land of “a camera on every corner” calls Texas dystopian. Another European who assumes their accent alone makes them intelligent. I’m Canadian and I’d kill to be so lucky to live in Texas. If you don’t realize you’re one of the luckiest people on earth to live there, you don’t deserve to.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Reading this thread is absolutely hilarious.

I cannot tell if all folks responding are "in on the joke" and trolling OP or if people actually believe this stuff.

OP if you are not able to work in the United States this will be a very difficult transition for you and your family. If you can assimilate, work, and pay the way for yourself and your family you will flourish here.

If, on the other hand, this ENTIRE thread is not a giant joke and you feel this way about our country (which seems antagonistic), please stay the where you are and don't bring your physical & emotional baggage here.
 
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bundylove

Member
Ger ready to depend on and only deoend on yourself.
No one will help you.

WHat does this mean? Bring lots of money or come when you already got a good job lined up. Not a shady under the table job but a real paycheck job with benefits.

3 kids? Good luck. Bring more money. You will need it.

My one and only big advice to you. Start small.

Dont go to a big city. It will eat you up. Are you ready to spend 3 plus hours in traffic per day just to get to work? Go to a small city or town. Easier to fit in easier to get a job and for sure cheaper. Work your way up. Build some financial security before you venture into bigger places that will cost you more money.

And the biggest rule of thumb!!!!! Only and only hang out with americans. Do not try to find your own peoples community and think they will help. They will fuck you.
Learn and live with americans only. You will pick up things way faster and you will learn things the right way.

You have to fit in. You have to assimilate. If you break this one rule , ger ready to be forced to move back in a year or so.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
If you or your fam are into vibrant downtown life, make sure to pick a city that has it. Some US cities have lively night life, some are dead. That's because the city can be zoned in such a way that if downtown is just about commuting to work and then going home, that means the evening will be empty and dead. But a city with lots of condos and people living in downtown too will always have things open late and people shopping or eating at restaurants etc...

Canada is similar. Toronto everything is open decently late. First time I visited Calgary, I'm downtown walking around myself and it seemed tons of shops closed at 7 pm.

I'm not a big traveler, but when I visited Hong Kong 10 years ago I couldnt believe how packed streets were at like 11 or midnight on a weekday. Dont people have school and work to go to tomorrow? Streets still crowded eating out.
 
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Good luck getting in in the next 4 years. You are better off going to somewhere like Canada that’s close enough to visit if you wanted to.
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
People that make this comment are the reason I eat out more than I used to and never tip.
Its okay, we are accustomed to carrying folks like the ones that make this comment on our backs. They are very welcome!


Playful jibes aside....
There are times when I do not tip 20% but the service has to be exceptionally bad.
I have also worked in jobs that require constant interaction with and in service to paying customers, jobs not easy and they don't pay well so the gratuity was always appreciated so I support at the level I do based on prior experience.
 
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Shifty1897

Member
It's a big country and each state is different. I lived in Oregon and Alabama in the last 5 years and they might as well be different countries. Judging by your post, OP, definitely don't move to a red state like Texas, you would hate it. There are lots of blue states to choose from that you would like better. North Carolina is gonna be too red for your liking too.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Tipping culture has its roots in post slavery here in the US... But when everyone else was hired for those jobs and the restauranteurs saw how much they were saving, why change it? Make it uniform!

It's the only industry that forces waiters and servers to depend on tips. Even dishwashers get paid more.
 

Hot5pur

Member
If you have a great job with benefits it's a nice enough place to live.
I am on the East Coast and it works for me professionally. Also a lot of big players in tech and pharma are here, and A LOT of really educated people, some of the most talented minds I've ever come across. Also Harvard/MIT/Northeastern and many other great schools.
Having said that, if you have a healthcare oopsies you'll pay for it dearly if you don't have good insurance. Education and childcare can get quite expensive. People are very individualistic, kinda every man for themselves though if you go to more religious states and go to church that might help (if you happen to drink that cool-aid).
There are a lot of ignorant people with some wild views, I mean you saw what happened in our election, but that's what happens when you pay teachers like $30k and let corporations buy politicians.
If you like buying things on Amazon and having "stuff" it's a cool place to be. If you are looking for culture, human connection, calm place to raise a family and a bit of a safety net, you'll have to work extra hard.
 

bundylove

Member
If you or your fam are into vibrant downtown life, make sure to pick a city that has it. Some US cities have lively night life, some are dead. That's because the city can be zoned in such a way that if downtown is just about commuting to work and then going home, that means the evening will be empty and dead. But a city with lots of condos and people living in downtown too will always have things open late and people shopping or eating at restaurants etc...

Canada is similar. Toronto everything is open decently late. First time I visited Calgary, I'm downtown walking around myself and it seemed tons of shops closed at 7 pm.

I'm not a big traveler, but when I visited Hong Kong 10 years ago I couldnt believe how packed streets were at like 11 or midnight on a weekday. Dont people have school and work to go to tomorrow? Streets still crowded eating out.
How dare you.
 

JayK47

Member
It really depends which suburbs you're looking at. Make sure you have no adult daughters because they won't be able to have an abortion in TX... And don't worry about the guns... Just don't get into it with a MAGA hat person.

Prices can range from reasonable to HIGH depending on the city for housing. I don't know too much about NC...
Wow. Talk about priorities. As a father of 2 daughters, that is the most important thing for me. Abortion access....

Holy fuck dude. This whole damn post lowered my IQ by 10 just reading it. I need to drink some beer to cleanse my brain.
 

JayK47

Member
Can't believe I'm writing this...

The Office No GIF


There exists a small chance (Green Card Lottery) I will be moving with my family (3 kids) to the US in the next 12-18 months. We don't have a fixed place yet, probably Austin / Texas or North Carolina.

Here is my view of the US:
Dystopian state
Excellent at accumulating capital to maximise shareholders returns
Market is very flexible, people are willing to bet on idea or just "we will figure it out as we go along" (unless you are talking about technical field, best no to play with people's lives there)
Terrible place for everyone below the average in terms of education, resources, wealth, etc.
Americans are kind and friendly people but all that is surface-level
People love guns
Serial murderer or mass pedophile at every corner


Any advice someone (both Freedom People as well as Europeans that moved there) that can give me a rundown of key points I need to pay attention to or that will be a huge shock when coming from Europe?
If this is your honest take on the US, please just stay away.

There are millions who would love to live here and I would rather they come in your place.
 

bundylove

Member
Wow. Talk about priorities. As a father of 2 daughters, that is the most important thing for me. Abortion access....

Holy fuck dude. This whole damn post lowered my IQ by 10 just reading it. I need to drink some beer to cleanse my brain.
People like him is why trump won. Deranged childless lunatics .

Yeah i will worry about abortion more than my daughter not getting raped or killed by one of these illegals
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
I don't understand why people with such negative perceptions of this country want to move here. This is my home. It's the only one I got. It's not just a place for other people to strip mine. I don't get it at all. Just because our retarded government lets every two bit asshole come here doesn't mean that it's helpful or productive.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Wow. Talk about priorities. As a father of 2 daughters, that is the most important thing for me. Abortion access....

Holy fuck dude. This whole damn post lowered my IQ by 10 just reading it. I need to drink some beer to cleanse my brain.

Abortion services are not just "getting rid of a fetus"...

Have you heard of Ectopic pregnancies? Have you heard of miscarriages that don't flush from the body and need to be operated on? Still birth? There are a multitude of issues that arise with pregnancies that TXs abortion ban affects ... Many have to do with life of the mother or pregnancy loss that require surgery.

You know that, right? And women have died because of this.

 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
People like him is why trump won. Deranged childless lunatics .

Yeah i will worry about abortion more than my daughter not getting raped or killed by one of these illegals


Talk about stereotypes LoL!

I have an adult daughter (24 yrs old) ... You really don't know what you're talking about and that isn't why Trump one. Folks prioritized the economy over any legislation. But go off.
 

bundylove

Member
Talk about stereotypes LoL!

I have an adult daughter (24 yrs old) ... You really don't know what you're talking about and that isn't why Trump one. Folks prioritized the economy over any legislation. But go off.
So you are a hardcore leftist? So is your daughter?

I know you are very slow and biased so i explain your stereo type.

All these so called women that look like trailer trash riot in the name of abortion. They look ugly as fuck and no one would ever fuck them to begin with. So why the need for abortion? I can show you many videos of them. You want me too? And yes none of them have children
 
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