Suggestions for Fiance to prepare coming to U.S

[CraigUSA 0]

Hello , im new here and excited this site exists for all of us to exchange such valuable information.

My Fiance is from Russia and we are on our way to get a stamp of approval. Hopefully soon! She has asked me if there is anything she can do in preparation in coming to the U.S. The one thing i asked her NOT to do was to drive. She knows how to drive but its been a while. In what i saw i felt better to teach her than to have to correct from the Russian way of driving. Is there anything that anyone has thought of or experience as being helpful in the transition in coming to the U.S.

Thanks

Craig

[Joel Halfwassen 0]

You know that is a good question. I am in a similar situation. My wife, who is 30 years old, has never driven before in her life. Not a big deal if we lived in NY or Chicago, but I live in the Southwest where EVERYONE drives. What I have been doing is looking into driving schools. I COULD teach her but there are a couple of problems with that. 1) insurance 2) experiance 3) time

I would rather a pay secondary company to use their car and their insurance to teach my new driver how to drive. I also want to make sure she learns the proper procedures in case of an emergency. *I* know what to do for an emergency...I am just not confident that I can teach it. And I have a job that is seasonal. And..well we are going into the season. I don't think I'm going to have a whole lot of time to be doing 'teaching'.

Plus I'm kind of the opinion that driving a car is like owning a gun. If you don't teach a user how to use it propery someone could get killed.

Joel

[Visa4habibi! 0]

Hi Graig,

I am from Russia (kind of). Now it's a separate country, Moldova. But it all used to be one huge country. About preparation - she should try to get some English if she doesn't know it already. Another advice somebody gave me and i'm passing it along - to bring her favorite things. Something she can't find here. You should try to find a Russian store around for when she wants something familiar, and that might happen sooner or later.

About driving - hire somebody, i was tought by a Russian guy who has a driving school - he gave me good hourly rate. And that's much better than getting all nervous while she's driving your car and you're afraid of an accident.

Good advice, Joel.

Tanya

[patricks 0]

*My wife practiced in a company car in a parking lot so she could get used to controlling a car before she departed Vietnam.

*I did research and acquired an American (Orange County, CA) driving manual written in Vietnamese so she could study driving signs etc. in her free time before she departed Vietnam.

*She rode the public bus for 4 months to motivate her to get her license and observe the roads, etc.

*We practiced together in a Community college parking lot doing different skills.

3 more probabilities:

1.) She will have some type of accident within her first 6 months, I've heard others and my wife drove the car into a ditch, $175 recovery fee, no biggy. (she drove again the next day)

2.) Yes, you will need to pay a professinal to train him/her, because they know the small points and it's less stress on your relationship (very easy to lose patience)

3.) Plan to take either or both the written test and actual driving test twice.....it's a given

My wife has NO problems today, thank god & Buddha, knock on wood, etc...............

Good Luck

Driving is an absolute MUST!

[patricks 0]

I forgot:

My wife was also able to practice from home, the road sign test and the written test on Virginia's DMV web site (practice mutli choice tests).

Therefore, as you can see, there are many ways to prepare a newcomer to learn how to drive even BEFOR they arrive. With that said, one can do numerous other things (re: food, jobs, and logistics) to be proactive to make his/her transition much easier also.....

[rushter 0]

If she's not that good in english, put her through english courses. Pay for them. The rewards will be immeasurable.

Regarding driving... That's a good idea from patricks. My wife already had a Russian drivers license anyway but she still had to take the tests here in the states. After she arrived, she spent about two months manually translating the state license manual to Russian. If you want a copy send me a pm.

Having driven a lot in 'mad mad mad mad' Russia, I can tell you it's a great primer for driving here. Dodge ball on wheels

[silly_chick 0]

I'd say that if she can't drive, it's a much better idea to start learning while she's still in Russia, and preferably, on a car with a stick shift. If you can drive a stick shift, you won't have any problems driving in the U.S. As far as I'm aware, most rules in Russia and the U.S. are very similar, so she won't have to "correct" anything in her driving.

I also think it's a very good idea for her to start reading, watching TV and thinking in English - if her English is not good enough, she will have a hard time finiding a good job, making friends etc.

Other than what's already been said, I don't know. A lot depends on where in Russia you wife lived and where in the U.S. she's moving.

[Fandango 1,439]

When D tried to teach me how to drive in the UK, I ruined his clutch.

[Peil 1]

Best place to learn how to drive is in San Francisco in a stick shift on those hills....you will learn real fast there.

[Joey559 1]

When D tried to teach me how to drive in the UK, I ruined his clutch.

Don't feel bad. I think people stopped trying to teach me how to drive manual out of fear for what I would do to their clutches. I'm not an idiot, i'm not a bad driver I'm just missing the part of my brain that allows me to drive a manual car.

When/if Paul and I return to the UK we're either going to have a hell of a time finding me an automatic or everyone had better just clear the roads. Once I get in a high gear I don't slow down!