Tips and advice to thrive in the USA

Hi Priscilla,

It is not easy, but if you have legal papers to live and
work permanently in the US, it is a matter of learning
the language very well, to read, write, and speak
English fluently, otherwise it would be difficult.

Finally, there should be some career goal you
want to pursue, or some business you would
like to start.

That, and of course to find a way to make
friends here, which is also not an easy thing;
it is easy to talk to strangers, but to have
life long friends is very difficult.  Many people
will try to take advantage of foreigners, so
one has to be careful.

Mike

I have enjoyed reading your reply to i was intrigued by the last paragraph. Would you mind to elaborate

Belleny,

It is especially when looking for a job: some people see
foreigners as vulnerable if they cannot easily find a job,
so they will hire them for very low wages.  It happened
to me a few times, not only that, but they will be too
demanding in comparison to the meager wages they
are willing to pay.  Some business owners just get
too greedy, and they will prey on any relatively
vulnerable people they can find.

This is a very interesting, what you refered sounded like someone that was living and experiencing live without proper documentation.

Not necessarily.  I was well documented.  This happens
everyday, and it is a subtle form of discrimination
that goes on all the time.  Immigrants have always
been expected to work harder to build and maintain
the American empire than the lazier US born citizens.

Actually, as a group immigrants still may fare
better than some other minorities.  Just read
the news about the US, and you will understand.

America is a excellent country for people who love capitalism, smart , ambitious. its very similar to the wild in Africa where you have the lion, frogs, snakes, monkeys, parasites and everything else you can think of. money is everything here, love, family and friend mean nothing if you don't have money. People work long hours, everybody rush and dream to be a millionaire, its the greatest country in the world ,what mean you must be great to really enjoy and live the American dream. I never saw so many mental ill people including kids as I see in America and sometimes I wonder why!? I work hard for my money and yes I got the money to pay my bills but my heart is too soft to succeed

I understand that it's difficult to assimilate into a brand new society and making new friends, especially for people coming from non-western countries. And even so, it is not easy to integrate a new environment. But a lot of things I read on here are so foreign to my experience after 18 years in the US and I definitely don't recognize my friends, co-workers, my girlfriend and her family in these stereotypes.

Most of the time, assimilation fails because people have the wrong idea of real life and the culture in the US, mainly based on movies and TV shows that are so far from reality. You must keep an open mind and get to know people.

Interesting comments.
There is some truth on them but as normally it is the case, every person will reply according to their own experiences.
I will add a few words from a different perspective:
There is a HUGE difference between the US you will find in the big cities and the US you will find everywhere in the rest of the country
Keep in mind that the big cities are full of people looking for opportunities. And I am including here those Americans that come from the other parts of the country.
Competition will be ferocious and you have to work hard to find a place in this environment. If you are good at what you do you may be able to get through and find your place.
If you are lucky that don't need a big city to find a job because whatever you do can be done anywhere, avoid the big city and go for something smaller. That also will give you the time to get accustomed to your new environment and gradually learn more about your new country. Don't be discouraged to find some subtle discrimination here and there because I am sure that even happens in your own country,
Dicrimibation takes different forms across the World and definitely in the US.