Adjusting Life in Southern California- LA area

[Ismael&Blair 66]

Hi,

I saw someone posting a question for Northern California. I thought I would try to post something for Southern California specifically the Los Angeles area.

Basically, I want to see if there are any couples/people like myself and my Moroccan hubby who's been here now for 2 months and 2 days. We are in the downtown Los Angeles area. There are not too many couples like us. And I am curious to know how you guys are doing.

So far we are doing good despite not finding too many Moroccan people in the area, no Moroccan community or any Moroccan markets. Somehow, I am not too knowledgeable. But my dear husband is acclimating fine. I think I am the one who needs some reassurance here.

So if there are anyone who wants to share their experiences on how they got their husband adjusted here with the new life in America. I would appreciate it greatly! Thanks!

[MedRoni 161]

Of course we are not in the LA area, or even California... but we

found the best way for my husband to really move forward with his adjustment was for him to get a job. It took a while, but he actually found one at a marketplace owned by a Muslim man where everything in it is is halal/permitted. This was a great place for him to feel comfortable, open up and find others from North Africa with similar experiences with immigration and getting used to life in America. All without needing to change his own beliefs and behaviors.

Now with that said, he has yet to adjust to the way the women dress here in the US!
I doubt he will ever become acclimated to that.

[destiny64 222]

Find a mosque for him to attend, I'm sure LA has plenty. That is where my husband made a lot of friends and found out more about the variety of halal markets . He also started playing soccer with friends he made there , which in turn, he made more friends. It's also a good way to get information on the job market, as they all started from scratch when arriving and it helps to know how they went about getting into the job market.

Until my husband arrived here , I also thought there aren't any people from Morocco in little ole Vermont , especially not ones who have an American spouse...couldn't be more wrong

My husband now works with 3 people for the same company that attend his mosque .

It will get easier!

[saaidhenni 2]

hi ii am going to hesperia inshallah as soon i get done with some problems at my wok i got my visa since 10 cotober and here still waiting for my paper work to get done at where i used to work and then i am moving to hesperia california as my wife told me its close to L.A

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Let your husband take the lead in this. If he is comfortable acclimating without being part of a Moroccan community, then he's the one who gets to decide that. When my (now ex-) husband and I moved from the UK to the US he had zero interest in meeting or mingling with other British people. Encourage your husband to be forthcoming if he does want to connect so he doesn't feel that he needs to be brave and just soldier on.

[Peace.... 281]

Each couple will adjust differently for sure. However, my husband didn't have any issues at all. I think in our situation what may have helped was I was only working part time and we always had plenty of time together to do things without him having to stay alone at home all day. Mohammed arrived the first week of December, so having him experience all the shopping, helping decorate our home, wrapping presents, finding the perfect tree, kept him busy for sure.

We also have two mosques within 20 minutes of our home for him to attend his Friday prayers and his nightly prayers during Ramadan. Just having a mosque to attend and making friends was huge for him. I was amazed how many Moroccans my husband met at the mosque and married couples we see occasionally for a Moroccan dinner night.

As far as you finding Moroccan places to eat, I have yet to find any from my home town Ohio all the way traveling out West to California. We have some wonderful Halal markets here to find every spice possible, fresh meat, produce, etc. in the last three years, I still cook something Moroccan at least five days and he loves fish the other two days. I have yet to find myself bored of Moroccan dishes as they are just so delicious. The one thing my husband didn't like here was the bread, he just couldn't find anything that suited him. It took me months to finally figure out how to make bread he so loves from Morocco, so now I make it weekly. I don't know if it's just Mohammed, but the guy can't eat any kind of bread unless it warm or his sandwich bread HAS to be toasted.

During my trips to Morocco, I would try to bring home something that would remind me of my trips there. I have a collection of local art paintings from Moroccans that hang through out our home. I also bought some rugs that I had shipped back to the States which are just absolutely beautiful. I also brought back some tagine's to cook in which I haven't luckily cracked any yet. If there was one thing from Morocco that he cherishes till this day, is all the pictures I took and made collages hanging through out our home. I will never forget when he walked through the front door and the first thing he saw was a beautiful picture of him hugging his mother I took on one of our trips. It was a tearful moment for him. I also made our third bedroom a place for his prayer time and a quiet place for him to read the Quran nightly. IDK, these are just a few things I did to help him adjust.

Wishing you both a joyful life and hope he settles in soon. California is a great place to live, so much to see and do there. Our dreams are living out West for sure.