Moving to the United States of America (USA)

America is a nice place to be. If you are planning to move to the US, you must get familiar with their basic lifestyle and culture. Now, let’s deep dive into some of the things you need to know about this great country.

Culture

America remains one of the largest countries in the world with over 325 million populations. Over the years, it has admitted different immigrants from different parts of the world, making it the largest diverse nation –home to different races; Asian, African, European, American, etc. Because of this, it’s quite difficult now to recognize “Typical” or a native American.

A great part of America has been influenced by different cultures and ethnicities. Of course, they have themselves balancing each other. The “American Dream” entails having a strong belief that hard work and talent can lead to success and wealth. There, success is admired and praised instead of envied.

America believes so much in hard work. This is why the majority of the job contracts include lesser vacation times, unlike the European employers. In America, new employees are reliable for two weeks’ vacation at the first instance. Subsequently, they can then do additional weeks depending on their company policy.

In terms of socialization, Americans are quite outgoing and can be very direct. For immigrants from more reserved countries, this might look odd at first. On the other hand, Americans are also very receptive to welcoming new people into their homes or environment. In some places, they have a special group being put in place to welcome new residents in the neighborhood.

Another peculiar culture in America is patriotism. The country encourages great patriotism and frowns at disrespect to the country or national symbols. The national anthem is usually sung at major sporting or social gathering events and also the pledge of allegiance is being recited often in most schools each morning.

Another important day in America is the 4th of July, known as the independence day. On that day, the American flag is flown around in many public places, including private properties. However, American flags are never allowed to touch the ground, even when it’s hanging it touching the ground might attract negative reactions from passersby or neighbors.

Most of their TV news trends tend to be quite localized within America. There’s restricted new coverage to other parts of the world. It’s believed that only about 36% of the population possess international passports to travel, unlike the Canadians who are about 60% or the British and Australians who are both 75%. Suffice to say, only a few of them travel abroad. Although, they are seen as the second most well-traveled people in the world yet most of the travels are within their country. Also, they hardly move to different parts of the country to work, most of them are likely to work closer to their homes.

Language

Generally, there’s no official language in the United States. Though, some states have their most preferred language. However, American English remains the most spoken in the country. About 80% of the population speaks and understands English to some extent. Then, the rest of the 20% speak other languages at home like Spanish, Chinese, French, and having German as the least common.

Religion

Religion remains an integral part of America. The original and early Americans were so much interested in discovering religious freedom. Therefore, almost every known religion in the world is practiced in America. And only about 23% of the population sees themselves as belonging to no religion according to Pew Research Centre. While about 71% identify with Christianity with an increasing population of Muslims and Buddhists. There are houses of worship for different religions, making it possible for interested individuals to continue with their religion.

In America, religious freedom is highly encouraged. Still, there are some ground rules, the constitution stands between religion and the state. The country is also not innocent of the cases of religious persecution of some minorities.

Sports

The popular sports in America include baseball, basketball, American football, and Ice Hockey. These sports are the dominant sports watched by most Americans on TV. Also, these sports are quite peculiar to Americans unlike in other parts of the world where football (not American football) is the dominant sport. There are also sports like tennis, golf, which are also popular. Outdoor fitness activities are also largely popular like jogging, walks, skiing, aerobics, etc.

American Foods

If you love varieties in your food menu. Then, be rest assured that you’ll be impressed with what you’ll see in America. There are different varieties of food to explore depending on the area.

The cuisines and food menus are usually dependent on the history or identity of the area in question. Some states or cities in the US have their own special dishes. In the past few years, America has fully embraced lots of different dishes from different parts of the world.

So, trust us! You won’t be stuck only with hamburgers and hotdogs. You might see your favorite food there as well.

US Crime Rate

The level of security or crime rate is dependent on the states or cities involved. Some regions experience high crime rates whereas some areas do not experience at all. Therefore, it’s very necessary to do some research on the crime rate statistics and maybe visit the area before choosing where to stay.

Socialization in the USA

As an expatriate in the US, it’s quite necessary that you get to socialize with your community, meet new people because that will help you adapt and settle faster in the new environment.

As recorded in our article titled – Making Friends in the United States, sometimes, it’s a bit hard to find like-minded people like you. Therefore, the need to take advantage of most people in America has different life views. Once you embrace, then you can easily blend in. Also, be willing to explore new activities.

Driving in the United

In the US, driving management is done at the state level. Every state has its departments that are responsible for the issuance of driver's licenses and vehicle registrations. These departments also take care of tracking traffic offenders and can revoke the driving status of the defaulter. Also, all states have their own motor vehicle insurance licenses.