Your quality of life in America

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Pennsylvania's liquor stores are ALL state stores, Ari...can't believe you didn't know that, living in Jersey.

That's interesting.. I've purchased alkie in the Pocono's before but never noticed that! Thx for the info.

[meauxna 15]

You can't work for USPS till you're a citizen.

Are you sure?

I think LPRs (Green Card) can work for USPS.

[sparkofcreation 0]

I work for the federal government and can tell you this: most federal jobs allow you to be: (1) a citizen (2) a work-authorized foreigner from certain countries. (I don't know which, but I know Indonesian citizens can't work for the federal government—because I know someone from there whose citizenship didn't come through in time.) Some require you to be an LPR and some require US citizenship (and, IIRC, renunciation of foreign citizenship).

I don't know for sure which category the USPS falls into but I think it's one of the ones that allows LPRs from certain countries.

ABC stores are owned by the government. However, I think they're state-owned (not federal) and most state government jobs just require work authorization. It's only the feds that are stricter.

[raphael7546 0]

i'd say worse.

I don't have any friends here. You definetly have to drive here cuz nothing is close and the wages are pathetic. Minimum wage here is 5.50 per hr. I haven't worked for 5.50 an hr since I was 18!! I'm 44 now! Most office jobs pay 7.50 to 10 at the most. Thats a HUGE drop for me. And as soon as you say your from Canada you can forget about getting a job here.

We have government liquir stores but you can buy beer in the local shops , its just classified as weaker beer. Whatever that means. Being in whats considered a "Dry State" I'm suprised how much alcohol is available.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

You can't work for USPS till you're a citizen.

Are you sure?

I think LPRs (Green Card) can work for USPS.

I just looked it up and you're right.

Sorry for the misinfo, pink roses!

[ktun 0]

WOW, so far pretty much everyone has a negative experience of moving here.

I too am having a hard time making friends/meeting people, and I absolutely dread seeking work once the EAD arrives (if it ever arrives). I want to work, but looking at some of the pay offered makes me kinda sick. It's pretty disgusting. Also I wont be able to do what I'm trained to do. I was a pre-school/kindergarten teacher back home and I wont be able to do that here without going through the American qualification system/college and certification and really cant afford that right now. So I guess I will be taking a low paid job as I'm not qualified to do anything else really.

Both my husband and myself would prefer to live in England, but financially, we just cant do it right now. Selling the house we have mortgage free here, probably wouldn't even be enough for a decent deposit over there.

Maybe things would be different if we lived near a big city like Chicago/NYC, but then the property prices are much higher there too, so again cost comes into it. We visited Chicago at Christmas and I did really like it, maybe if we save all our money for the next couple of years......?

Thanks for the replies people, it is interesting to read other people's experiences. Keep them coming

Kate

[ace13 0]

Just as an outsider--isn't it all relative? My husband made 15-20 and hour in Italy, but he paid 6.50 for a gallon of gas and they had to turn off their water heater during the day to save on gas to heat it and really lived paycheck to paycheck in his parents basement. Now in the US he is making like 10 an hour, but he is in a much better situation because it costs less to live-we have a house, car, and are saving money... I have never heard him complain

[john_and_marlene 162]

Well thats strange. I went into the ABC Beverage store and she told me it was govt owned.

I worked for the Provincal Govt Liquor Stores at home before I came here. I made really good money.

All the Liquor Stores in Nova Scotia are run by the Govt.

I think its good, if they didnt run it and they were private. You would only make 6.50 an hour.

Compared to starting off at 10.50 then up to 16 and hour. Plus if you were a shift manager I made 23 bucks an hour doing that job. So everyone at home wanted to work there

liquor stores in Utah are state owned too

[Sister Fracas 5]

I too am having a hard time making friends/meeting people, and I absolutely dread seeking work once the EAD arrives (if it ever arrives). I want to work, but looking at some of the pay offered makes me kinda sick. It's pretty disgusting. Also I wont be able to do what I'm trained to do. I was a pre-school/kindergarten teacher back home and I wont be able to do that here without going through the American qualification system/college and certification and really cant afford that right now. So I guess I will be taking a low paid job as I'm not qualified to do anything else really.

Both my husband and myself would prefer to live in England, but financially, we just cant do it right now. Selling the house we have mortgage free here, probably wouldn't even be enough for a decent deposit over there.

Maybe things would be different if we lived near a big city like Chicago/NYC, but then the property prices are much higher there too, so again cost comes into it. We visited Chicago at Christmas and I did really like it, maybe if we save all our money for the next couple of years......?

Thanks for the replies people, it is interesting to read other people's experiences. Keep them coming

Kate

Come to Chicago!!!

My husband is a teacher (highschool math) here and he was able to obtain a temporary teacher's certificate until he could take 3 exams, but he didn't have to take any classes. After 6 months he had the official certificate, but he was able to get a pretty good paying job (good but not great) but I DO think with the official certificate he'll go up in wages with the next school year. I realize each state is different in requirements, but you may be able do the same thing he did. Yes, he made a bit more money in England, but as someone else said...he also paid $5 a gallon for gas and now since he rides public transportation everywhere, which he prefers, he pays quite a bit less for transportation.

As far as the rest of "quality of life", I'd like to think he's happy. He's made a pretty decent size circle of friends through one of his hobbies, and he just won't allow himself to be bored or unhappy....I guess that's his outlook. I'd make a guess that he'd say his quality of life is the same.

WOW, so far pretty much everyone has a negative experience of moving here.

Yeah, I always feel sad for people who seem so miserable once they get here. How can they be happy overall, when everything else is so dismal?

[Mand 1]

I've become used to living here now, but I don't know will it ever feel like home. I come from a large family and really miss that in my life. My husband gets on great with my family too and also misses that element in our lives. We had a LOT of great friends back in Limerick, Cork, Clare, Galway, Donegal, Dublin etc and we feel that also is a negative to being here. The culture is very different here and we still long for the general 'craic" and way of life in Ireland. Of course, Ireland is not a bed of roses either, but you take the good with the bad.

Work wise, I haven't got my EAD yet, but I got my Teaching Degree transferred and was VERY happy with the evaluation results! I've gotten 2 offers based on my Fashion Degree, which I declined as I didn't want to go back to fashion design and that environment. I am insured on my husband's car with my International License and that has been such a plus.

The positives are that it's easier to have material "stuff" here, but we'd prefer to be physically closer to our friends and family. We are actually seriously considering a move back to Ireland in the near future for these reasons. The U.S. is a great country, and has lots of good things - they build roads REALLY fast here compared to Ireland!! and we could make our life here, but it's not what we want for our future.

[nayalamb 0]

Pennsylvania's liquor stores are ALL state stores, Ari...can't believe you didn't know that, living in Jersey.

found that out in college...

for me, quality of life is better in america in terms of employment and educational opportunities. also, i can enjoy a certain amount of anonymity here that is not present in island life. at home, you're always known as someone's daughter/sister/wife/schoolmate/ex/cousin/arch-enemy. at times, opportunities are based on these relationships, which is frustrating to say the least.

quality of life is worse in america in terms of certain costs, like health care, car insurance, taxes (we have no income or sales tax... yet), pollution, traffic and things like credit scores.

i love my country, but i will be quite content with my life in america with the man i love. i already have some family in the states, as well as a good-sized circle of friends.

i am also nervous about working here and driving here, but i'm still (fairly) young and we have no kids, so i have time to adjust and settle into this new life of mine.

[Cdnwmn 0]

I'm with Lily on the job situation although minimum wage here is $5.15 an hour. I have an interview with a state agency tomorrow afternoon and the wage is $7.41 an hour plus benefits. A state agency! Hey if they give it to me, I won't complain simply because I'm going stir crazy. The best I can ever hope to make for all of my experience and skills is $10 an hour. It's hard for me to get over that this is a major step backward from what I was making before. I had an interview to be a school attendance secretary for a local high school. I had done some school board work previously in Canada and thought that would be an asset for me. As soon as the assistant principal asked if I had any U.S. work experience or if all my work experience had been just in Canada, I knew I was done in. I'm still trying to figure out how office work differs between the U.S. and Canada. Seems like both countries use all the same software programs in their offices and I'm sure I know how to answer a phone in a professional manner here as I did back there.

No friends, everyone hibernates in my neighbourhood...lol.

Although the scenery here is beautiful and for the most part the people are friendly, state government is backwards in their way of thinking. I can't understand how one of the most important issues at hand is making amendments to the Constitution so that gays cannot marry. Ummm how about taking care of the homeless in the state, taking care of those that can't afford medical care? I could probably think of a dozen issues that are more important than making sure that gays don't marry.

I'm only here for my husband. He makes me very happy and then there is that hope that when he retires, we move back.

[littlepoem 0]

It's probably not a good day to reply to this for me. I am so lonely and my mother back home is very ill and I can't go home. I feel so lost and alone most of the time because I don't have a job (no EAD) and haven't made any friends so far. I was always a people person and had a job I loved with excellent pay ( actually I would have worked for almost nothing at that job if I had to, I liked it that much) I love my husband to pieces and couldn't imagine my life for a day without him but somehow I feel like I am in exile here. Sorry everyone, maybe I shouldn't have posted this but there are days when I think I am going to go crazy!! I don't like to air my problems but I guess I had to reach out somewhere.

[Cdnwmn 0]

It's probably not a good day to reply to this for me. I am so lonely and my mother back home is very ill and I can't go home. I feel so lost and alone most of the time because I don't have a job (no EAD) and haven't made any friends so far. I was always a people person and had a job I loved with excellent pay ( actually I would have worked for almost nothing at that job if I had to, I liked it that much) I love my husband to pieces and couldn't imagine my life for a day without him but somehow I feel like I am in exile here. Sorry everyone, maybe I shouldn't have posted this but there are days when I think I am going to go crazy!! I don't like to air my problems but I guess I had to reach out somewhere.

First of all I'm sorry to hear what you are going through. I think if I didn't have my 15 year old son with me, I'd feel a lot worse. As you can see I'm an "older" person. Feel free to post or vent. I find at times it helps. I see there are several of us in the same boat. I hope things get better for you.

[Kajikit 65]

I chose slightly worse... I didn't have a job there but I did have a pension which was a guaranteed income but payable only in Australia. We have a lot of money hassles and stress which I didn't anticipate.