Questions for the immigrant spouse about communication in the US

[Ta Ta 1]

Thanks Boaz.

It has been very helpful to me to have been on both sides of the fence and gain an insight and awareness as an immigrant and now a

naturalized USC petitioning my fiance. A lot to draw from..... from years of adjusting myself.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

wow, Omoba... very interesting reading, and so beautifully expressed... thank you

and mox - once again, a thoughtful and insightful read; thank you too

I think the short holidays is a very telling factor, and while I knew that, it was good to be reminded of it

The reason Americans (and Canadians) don't travel compared to Europeans is simply the cost aspect and large land masses.

For me to travel from Canada to Texas, it was usually $450-700. That's a 4 hour flight if I took a direct flight (which I never could do, do to scheduling aspects). Even a 45 minute flight from Vancouver to Seattle is $300.

My old bosses were German. Their son lives there. He could fly from Germany to Paris for $30. Yes, thirty dollars. It's also easier for him to go to France for a long weekend than it is for me to go there. It would be a 12 hour flight each direction for me to get there.

I see your point, but I just don't agree

I'm from Australia - hardly a stranger to long distances or large land masses - and at present my Australia-Europe flight tally is 21 (21 actual journeys, not return flights)... now I am NOT rich, my parents are not rich; in fact quite a few of those trips were made on a shoestring, when I was a student; staying in hostels, or with friends, and living VERY cheaply... a couple of them were enabled through scholarship funds (the German government is very generous to people studying German, who intend to return to teach German in their own country), but generally I just saved and saved to make it possible, because travel is that important to me

a typical return flight to a European capital from Sydney costs around $2000, and takes close to 24 hours in flying time alone

of course it IS much easier for Europeans to travel, as you say - though the $30 flights are largely myths; you MIGHT get lucky with one, but once the fees and taxes and so on are added, they rarely stay that low... just as an example, I just booked a flight from London to Leipzig, Germany, for next weekend; a great deal! £49.99 out, and £0.01 return! - but after fees and charges and whatnot it's become £103; that's over US$200 (and I still think that's a pretty good deal )

but in any case I think there's more to it than that... as mox said, above, I think the holidays are a significant factor; it's hardly worth the effort and money to get away if you can only stay ten days... but maybe some of the other factors raised are issues as well

so interesting reading everyone's thoughts, anyway! thank you so much for taking the time to share them

Edited December 11, 2007 by StillThePrettiest