Nameste. My ex-fiance is a Punjabi and she came here when she was 18, right out of whatever you have for high school. She stayed here until 2003, almost 30 years. She spent most of her free time at the library studying Indian philosophy. Where she lived was hardly more than a mile away from the two main campuses here. Only a 15:00 walk from the nearest one and another 10:00 away from the other.
From what I've seen & heard, it's not quite as psychotic here as other places in the country (New York, Philly, Chicago, Texas, Portland, California) but, I don't get to see any of that anymore because I'm about 12 miles away from those campuses, now, and I haven't had t. v. for nearly 2 years.
There ARE some Hindi-related places in my area. I used to work in a Hindi restaurant about 2 miles from here, since then, Sree moved into downtown. There ARE other Hindi restaurants and there's at least 2 stores that I know of just around those two campuses that sell Hindi food (the stuff you need to make your own meals). Any time I had an out of town gig, my fiance would make me a stack of chipatis to eat while "on the road" (usually no more than over night). I'd buy the Indian flour, she'd make the chipatis!
There's also a Hindi temple sort of near here. A lot of Hindus live in that area. We were only there once or twice if her family came over from India for a visit. But, there WERE quite a few Hindi concerts that we went to on the nearest campus!
DO stay away from mainstream media, if you come over! It's one of the biggest reasons I don't bother with t. v. or newspapers. Most of what they have to say is lies and, (as someone else here said) propaganda.
If you're planning to come to my area, I can show you around, if you like.
As my friend, Sage2021, said, America's not all it's cracked up to be, anymore!! You might even wanna wait 2 years until a REAL President takes over and things get back to normal, again. (Joe keeps saying he wants to build back better! How could he build anything better than what we had before he took over?) California used to be the jewel on the hill, now it's a cesspool that is in DIRE need of being washed out!! If my ex-fiance's sister, Vandana, still lives there, I feel sorry for her!!
u Welcome!
The most significant thing I'll mention is that we are a very direct and assertive society, but we are also generous, welcoming, outgoing, and friendly. Maybe a bit rowdy and boisterous at times depending on where you go.
Support local businesses as much as possible. Don't go out to Starbucks or McDonald's.
Don't watch corporate news. They lie and actively work to convince Americans that they should hate themselves, each other, and the nation. Don't fall for it.
We talk a lot in movie and TV show references, memes, and inside jokes. We also generally don't use a ton of emojis when texting or on Facebook, so if you don't get a lot of smileys in texts, don't take that as the other person being cold towards you (in fact, do try to minimize texting). They like talking to you and look forward to seeing you.
On a bad side, we are also a very self-indulgent society and don't practice much in the way of self-control. Just be aware of that.
Good luck to you!
If you have a controversial view, keep it quiet or be subtle about expressing it and do not go out alone at night cause there are racists and rapists and stalkers. Do not discuss your personal life with people who do not have your exclusive loyalty and never go to an opposite gender friend for emotional support cause he might use your weaknesses to get sex. Do not offend anybody when it’s possible to avoid a fight cause it might sabotage your career or social opportunities when you try to join sororities. If you do not want to answer, withhold information but do not lie, lying will make you attractive to haters who want to destroy you. Never use physical intimacy to win a guys loyalty cause then you will not know whether he is real or whether he is fake. Study hard and try to blend in at the beginning.
I don't know where you live, and you don't seem to want to tell us either.
If you ever heard America 🇺🇸 is the best country in the world, well, maybe a few years ago but not anymore. I've lived here 🇺🇸 all my life and America is like a third world country now. I wouldn't move to America if they paid me. In fact, over 3 million people moved out of California and moved to Mexico. That should tell you something 😶
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Find your fellow-Indians (offline and/or online) for a sense of community closer to what you know. ALL Asians & Asian-Americans in the U. S. make-up only a mere (24,000,998self-identifying Asians ÷ 331,449,281individuals ≈) 7.24% of the total U. S. population, while Asian-alone are (19,886,049self-identifying Asians ÷ 331,449,281individuals ≈) 5.99%, though some regions will have larger/smaller percentages.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2022/asian-american-pacific-islander.html
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/POP010220
Unfortunately, that also means that (depending on location) people may not be too used to interacting with Indians… yet. The Asian population is growing, though.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/
To help, the map here indicates the largest Asian group per State.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-origin-groups-in-the-u-s/
But if your new area has a strong industry in medicine and/or technology, you might find an already-established Indian community or 2 there.
Be aware: In the U. S., the word "Asia" strangely seems generally limited to only East Asia, unless otherwise indicated, so be ready for some (hopefully "momentary") confusion at the mention of you being Asian. lol Even some of my fellow Filipino-Americans (generally the U. S.-born) are confused enough to think we're not Asian, but Oceanian ("Pacific Islander" in U. S. terms).
Realize that "news" here in the U. S. is messed-up (sensationalized, distorted along party-lines, lacking info and/or context for stories outside U. S. borders). Hence…
①Don't trust them at face-value. In a 2021 Oxford/Reuters international study, they found U. S. news is the LEAST TRUSTED of ALL in their study.
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021/united-states
Political agenda embedded in the coverage. Don't be passive. Watch-out for it, you'll see it yourself.
②Watch BOTH sides (C. N. N., M. S. N. B. C., and state-media N. P. R. for Democratic-leaning & Fox for Republican) and fact-check yourself. Media is partisan here, so be prepared.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/01/americans-main-sources-for-political-news-vary-by-party-and-age/
I know it's like watching alternate realities, but also realize, some people actually think and see the world in only these ways.
③Don't let your emotional strings get plucked. The bias, selective fact-reporting, and wordings are intentional, even for manufacturing the people's consent for war. (And yes, there's a term for it: the C. N. N. Effect!)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/abs/cnn-effect-can-the-news-media-drive-foreign-policy/82861CF3D16F66F2BB51A8591E6470EF
And control you dosages, so it doesn't affect your mental- and/or emotional-health.
④When news gets political, remember the B. B. C.'s brilliant Yes, Minister; its sequel Yes, Prime Minister; and/or the Indian adaptation जी मंत्रीजी ("Ji Mantriji"). The terms & offices are different, but the tricks are the same. And you can actually laugh at the ridiculousness, since it's a comedy… that's strangely like a documentary.
⑤Keep watching your news from India, so you still remember what actual news-coverage is, and what's actually going-on in the world & in your homeland.
Be smart with your finances. A recession is expected, so DON'T waste cash.
Learn self-defense and/or buy self-defense tools to always carry with you. Due to last year's "Defund to Police"-initiative & the growing hostility with law-enforcement officers, their staff-shortages (& crime-rates) are on the rise. Learn to weaponize normal, everyday things, so you're never unarmed. Train to defend yourself with empty-hand & otherwise. Better safe than sorry, right?
In university, network. (That's where I failed.) Yes, there's a sense of meritocracy here, BUT the nepotistic saying ("It's not WHAT you know, but WHO you know.") still holds meaning, in terms of finding a job in your field.
Be careful with food made here. Food (and/or living-conditions) here strangely makes weight-gain easier. Many theories (ex. larger serving-sizes) & ingredients (high-fructose corn-syrup) have been suspected. You know your body & interactions with foods best. Still, explore the great variety of foods & regional/cultural cuisines here! Just… control your portions and research fasting, too, to maintain a healthy balance.
And last, but not the least: Enjoy! Yes, things here can get crazy. Yes, life can get lonely. But, you can survive and thrive. Make the most of everything. (Failure to do so is only shooting yourself in the foot.) Turn anything & everything into an asset, so you can minimize or even eliminate all liabilities.
we are mostly upfront and assertive people, please dont take it as aggression. most people will be curious amd inclusive of your culture and try to make you feel welcome. that beimg said there are a lot of people in this country that are dicks. learn fast how to tell the difference and avoid the dicks. The north East of the country is fast pased and a little more rude. the Deep south is famous for being racist but I've never really experienced it. i like it in the suburban parts of Texas the best.
Avoid California like COVID 19. Or the entire West coast, really. Best spot would be Atlanta or maybe Texas, but if you don't like the heat, I've heard good things about Boise, Idaho.
America is the best country on Earth if you can ignore everything political.
Prepare for crazy. Some is good crazy, some is bad crazy, most is just weird.
We tend to be more direct and upfront than most other cultures; if you haven't read on the differences between ours and yours, I'd strongly suggest doing so. Many feelings get unintentionally hurt by innocent misunderstandings; forewarned is forearmed.
Also, remember that the US is really, REALLY big; cultural variations even within the country can be sizeable.
Prepare for things which are bigger and more impressive/intimidating than the rest of the world especially in large cities... Be ready for people who speak English quickly and in a condensed way... Avoid or stay out of the politics and judging people too quickly based on headlines...
Enjoy America
Honestly, don’t. It’s a mess out there right now and lots of people are getting ready for a scrap. There are some good people but so many more that aren’t, that someone outside their familiar spaces could easily be taken advantage of or hurt. We have an imposter on the throne and the economy is a mess. Our own government is creating a food shortage to incite riot and violence. Law and order as well as basic human decency have broken down. Basically, many of the things we used to send in the marines to fix overseas are happening here now, but the military is so busy reinventing itself as an LGBT social program that it has no time or resources to fix our own country. If you can get your tuition and rent deposit and ticket prices back I would suggest you do, and wait until at least next year for the dust from the coming storm to settle.
Cover yourself and your possessions in bullet proof armour. Don't go to public places. Paint your skin white. Don't make eye contact with or feed black people and Latinos. Don't advertise your political beliefs. If you see someone with a gun or shooting, do not call the police they will take an hour and a half to do anything, just play dead and hopefully they won't notice you
Be careful, make safe friends with diverse beliefs, and stay away from white supremacists and their sympathizers.
From where? Bring supplies to start with. Two of each. How many checked in bags are allowed? Let's hope you have two checked in bags. Each of your bag must have all you can carry. Tooth paste, tooth brush, shampoo, conditioner, make up, soap, and such which can last you for a bit. Thinner items better. Have a lite fleece jacket.
Make friends and learn your local area... and and enjoy your time in the US.
Move to a modern, conservative state like Florida or Texas. Even Tennessee.
They still are a little color conscious in other southern states. The coastal and northern states are too expensive.
Keep your drink covered, sexual assault is a epidemic in American colleges.
u Stay on the campus don’t drive around by yourself or walk around by yourself unless you’re with American friends that really know you. All it takes is one bad turn to end up in the hood
Do not socialize. Get in get your degree in something useful and get out as quick as you can. Any class not pertaining to your major do the bare minimum and focus on what counts. If they make you take something completely useless like gender studies or women's studies just fake what you need to and ignore any bullshit they try to cram down your throat in those classes.
Make a point to avoid social media and popular news. It's all lies and propoganda for Biden and the insane people who support him. Best of luck 🇺🇸
It's so big and so diverse that it really depends on the area you are moving to. Can you tell us a little more?
See if you can get a friend to get you a 12 gauge shotgun. Weirdos run off of they see you are all tooled up.
Yeah, don't waste your time going there. Go someplace you'll actually learn something and enjoy living.
Your home country must be absolutely horrible for you to choose the US for an education
America is very open, and most people don't care where you are from but there are assholes you need to be careful where you go so be careful at first and makes friends with people you trust
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