'I'll show you real America!': A guy from Russia honestly spoke about the pros and cons of living in the USA

After work, Ivan liked to skip a few servings of whiskey and go home. Of course, you cannot do this, so one day justice found him. At a traffic light, a car drove into it, and when they began to understand it, its driver smelled alcohol and called the police. Vanya went to the hospital, and then to prison. In the morning his wife made a deposit for him in $ 7 500, and he went out, but his adventures barely began at that.

The judge did not hesitate: deprivation of rights for a year, 150 hours of community service, 150 hours of special lectures on the prevention of alcoholism and a fine of $ 5 000. But that is not all. A device was installed in the car for $ 1 000 with a pipe that needs to be blown every 15 minutes, otherwise the car will not go, and a camera to prove that it was Ivan who blew it. For 6 months he had to go to the traffic police to show the device data. Since then, Vanya has not been drinking. Absolutely.

Knockers on the door

Photo: slovobendera / instagram

This household trifle will be difficult to understand if you are used to calls. Such knockers are found everywhere and look different, some even decorate the door. But this is very impractical: you knock on one door, but you can hear the whole floor. Especially you will not envy those who live next door to a deaf grandmother.

Features of juvenile justice

The U.S. juvenile rights protection system can significantly affect families. The daughter of a friend cannot sit still for a minute, it is constantly impossible to control her. Once she fell and broke her knee, she was taken to a doctor and bandaged. A day later, the girl scratched her eye and scratched her eyelid, which made him watery. Again I had to see a doctor: you never know, maybe something was horrible. They examined the eye, dripped it and reassured their parents with the words that nothing bad had happened.

The family arrived home, and after a couple of hours 2 women and a policeman knocked on them. We conducted an inspection of the house, rewrote the contents of the refrigerator and threatened to send them to courses to increase responsibility, if this happens again before the end of the year. If this happens again after the courses, then through the court the child can be removed from the family. Now they do not take their eyes off the girl.

Products

Many foreigners believe that in the USA it will be difficult to find the usual products and prices, but this is a misconception: in ordinary supermarkets there is everything that the average person needs, and not much more. Also there are many Russian storeswhere you can find buckwheat, doctor's sausage and more.

On the subject: Russian food in immigration - a review of Florida stores

Knowledge of English

Ignorance of the language will not greatly interfere with life in the States. Locals will do everything possible to understand you and help, and there are enough Russians here. An acquaintance from Saratov has been living here for 5 years and does not know English at all, but this does not stop him from earning $ 6 thousand per month, while doing interior decoration. But with a good knowledge of the language it is much easier to make acquaintances, get a job in an American company, and the locals will be more respected.

Debt slavery

In Russia, I tried to stay away from loans, but in America from the first days I realized that there would be nothing without it. There is no credit history without loans, and without it you are a muddy type, no one can trust you. Your level of responsibility and ability to manage money are determined by a credit rating from 300 to 850. If it is higher than 700, you can count on a reduced interest rate on loans or mortgages. With the same rental or employment, your credit rating will be taken into account.

On the subject: How to get a credit card and build a good credit history

Customer is always right

Photo: visuallymessy / instagram

In America, this statement really works. When loading, I broke a mirror from IKEA and turned to a store employee with a question where to remove the fragments. Instead, he offered to return the money and pick up another, whole mirror. A friend also told a curious story: she slept for a week on a mattress bought for $ 1 300, called the online store, they say, not really your mattress, I want to return it. The manager said that they did not need him, and offered to send it to charity, returning the full cost.

Appearance of Americans

Photo: slovobendera / instagram

A distinctive feature of local residents - they do not pay attention to the appearance of a person. It will be difficult for a Russian to not notice the strange looking people who are missing here. Girls do not try to hide the flaws of the figure, some guys look like they forgot to change clothes after a masquerade. The man in the photo put on his cap and proudly drives around Miami on his Veloyacht with sails, I see him every day.

Sticking

That, for which in Russia they may cease to say hello, in the USA is a completely normal phenomenon. Leaving your child alone at home? A compassionate neighbor will easily tell you where to go. Drank and got behind the wheel? The number of your car will be reported to the police by the same people with whom you drank. They do this not out of harm, but out of considerations of your own or public safety, so that this behavior is quite logical and reasonable.

Attitude towards animals

There are few familiar dogs and cats on the streets of Miami, but they are expensive. Locals prefer to take pets in shelters rather than pay huge amounts for them. They are treated like people: carried on hands, rolled in wheelchairs. A friend witnessed an accident, after which a dropper was given to the injured cat. In almost any area, there are parks equipped with animal drinkers and cleaning bags behind them. There are no homeless animals here.

On the subject: How dogs in the USA turned into family members

Fauna features

The only thing I strongly dislike here is the local fauna. A huge number of reptiles of all colors and sizes. If you live close to the coastline, then some alligator can often drop by. And if the building is wooden, then you need to make sure that termites are not wound in it, otherwise you can literally lose the roof over your head.

Measurement system

The American measurement system may seem very uncomfortable, because it is completely different. These are degrees Fahrenheit, ounces, gallons, pounds, miles, and more. The main mistakes of those who cannot understand this system are the attempts themselves to do so. There is no need to calculate anything, to translate into the usual units of measurement. It’s enough to accept new ones if you are going to stay there for a long time. And Americans love fractions, which can be understood from the photograph.

Internet and cellular

Фото: Depositphotos

Sim cards here are best taken immediately for the whole family. For unlimited calls and SMS + 25 GB of Internet per month I was asked for $ 70, but when making 3 cards, the total cost was $ 75, which is not particularly ruinous for the family. There are no questions regarding the quality of communication. But home Internet, in my opinion, here times in 2 is worse in the ratio "price-quality". For $ 50, I got the Internet, which barely allows you to watch video in 480 p quality at the declared 50 megabits of speed! In Krasnodar, such a tariff costs about 500, and the speed is consistent.

Naivety

Photo: slovobendera / instagram

A sign from one local show. The organizers sincerely believed that thanks to her no one would bring the nunchucks, metal ninja stars and other listed weapons with them, although they did not search anyone.

A remarkable feature of Americans is naivety. Russia has taught to critically treat any information, but in the USA they have not heard of this. Initially, they will believe everything that you tell them, and will believe until they are caught in a lie.

The life of retirees

Photo:slovobendera / instagram

Often I draw attention to the fact that many elderly people drive a car here and generally live a full life. On the one hand, this is great, but their maneuvers on the road are sometimes scary. They can also often be found on tennis courts, in golf clubs, restaurants, nightclubs, etc. They drink, dance and have fun, as if they were very young.

Hurricane Dorian

Recently, Florida was threatened by the terrible power of Hurricane Dorian: panic plagued all states. Nothing terrible happened, but something caught my attention:

• on the phone constantly received news about the hurricane, recommendations on safety measures;
• toll roads were made free so that residents could quickly leave the dangerous place;
• parking lots canceled the usage fee so that anyone could hide the car;
• people left and pounded the windows with plywood.

In general, the disaster did not happen, but one thing is certain: both the authorities and the inhabitants were absolutely ready for it.

Truckers

Photo: slovobendera / instagram

The familiar 2 of the week rode around the country driving a truck and shared his impressions. “I look, my grandmother is hobbling towards me, looking like 70,” he says. - I turned around and could not believe my eyes. She went to the truck, which stood next to ours. I hooked on the handrail with my hook, pulled myself up and climbed into the cabin. Started a truck and confidently rolled out onto the road! Then I already saw that truckers in the USA are not only men, but fragile girls, respectable grannies, and even couples! ”

American household routine

In the USA, there are laundries in every corner of almost every home. The fact is that you can’t just take and install a washer in an apartment building. A friend told a story of how he tried to do this. As a result, a grandmother was found who complained of foam in the sink, and people from the association came to her complaint. They found 5 – 7 washers in the house and offered to either remove them or legalize them.

He decided to legalize. To do this, you had to contact a construction company for plumbing permits for $ 3 000, and then give the plumbing $ 2 000. But the most interesting thing is that the whole modernization had no effect on the pipe into which the machine should drain the water. That is, if the grandmother really had foam in the sink, then she will continue to appear there. And $ 5 000 will not be returned.

Bonus: a few more things you might not know about

• There is no difference in the even and odd number of colors here. They can easily give 2 or 4 in honor of the action in some store - you should not be surprised at this. A bunch of 12 pieces, by the way, here expresses a special arrangement for the person to be gifted.
• In American schools, there are no repair fees, gifts for teachers and more. However, everyone can donate voluntarily.
• There are many churches for representatives of the most diverse religions. Even a flying pasta monster fades against some others.
• Instead of beautiful and expensive rooms, companies here use inconspicuous at first glance, but much more thought out. The bottom line is that the numbers can correspond to the letter on the telephone keypad and repeat the brand name.
• There is enough room for business here. Russian can easily open an atelier, a car repair shop, do apartment repair and more. It will be easy to compete if you do your job correctly.
• Everyone comes to an emergency call right away - the police, ambulance and firefighters. Well, you never know what.
• A scale for measuring growth on the doors of some stores. In the case of a robbery, this will help determine the growth of the offender and increase the chances of his capture. Most often this can be seen at gas stations.

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