10 reasons not to move to the US

I get questions every day from my readers Telegram channel, the main one of which sounds straightforward: “So is it worth moving or not?”. I turned out to be familiar with hundreds of American immigrants, tracked their fates and made several conclusions. I will try to answer first based on the experience of the second.

Everyone experiences immigration in different ways: in one the passage is easy and causes euphoria, in the other it turns into the tragedy of all life. The difficulty of immigration for a particular person is determined by objective parameters: knowledge of the English language, the presence of a demanded specialty, financial capabilities and available legalization options.

This article contains 10 reasons why you should not move to the USA.

1. Immigrant complex

The immigrant complex is a feeling of being second-rate in relation to the local population, which affects self-esteem, performance and even health. The complex develops against the background of comparing itself with the environment: they know the language, I do not; they have documents, I do not; they have a good job, I do not; they buy a house, and I rent a room.

Not every immigrant faces this complex, but the one who encounters, is experiencing hard, and many describe it as the most difficult period in life.

The weaker the immigrant's position in four parameters (English, money, specialty, legalization), the higher the likelihood of an inferiority complex. Ailment is not terrible for the reasons for its occurrence (language can be learned, documents to be received, work to be found, and to earn money at home), but by what leads to loss of dignity and faith in one's strength, which practically deprives a person of chances for success.

2. Social Downshifting

If the bank account does not please the eye with an 6-digit number, and the specialty does not imply a working invitation to the USA, the first time will have to work hard and not always to work honorably.

In the United States, the high cost of living, which means that you can eat the savings of two generations here in a few months. Since I don’t want to spend the untouchable reserve, consecrated by my great-grandmother, but somehow have to live, I have to go to work - and not always the first job is highly intellectual.

Фото: Depositphotos

Professionals whose owners rarely fall into the plot are popular among visitors without money and language. Forbes: handyman, builder, waiter, cleaning lady, nanny, hostess, loader, taxi driver and security guard. Many of them have already managed to achieve something at home - albeit through acquaintances, luck or entrepreneurial abilities - but they already occupied a certain social level, which we now have to say goodbye to. Not everyone can stand it.

3. Stress level

Stress is a natural reaction of the body to problems, and in limited quantities it is even useful, as it helps mobilize. However, the stress faced by the immigrant is several times greater than the usual working or academic stress.

Difficulties in finding a job, adapting, renting a house (which you are in no hurry to rent because of a lack of credit history), opening accounts, getting insurance and surviving in a new environment can lead to a level of experience that is dangerous from a clinical point of view. I have repeatedly seen immigrants who tumbled with fever and other somatic manifestations of stress, simply because they could not cope with emotions.

Фото: Depositphotos

Such a “novice’s stress” has a double destructive force: it is not only unpleasant in itself (like any superstrong stress), but also catches a person at the most crucial moment when he should be positive and energetic. As a result, instead of a constructive and progressive solution to the problems of relocation, a person closes himself and struggles with an illness that often takes the form of depression.

4. Happiness level

I read every year Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse Research Institute. The 2017 report for the year shows that North America accounts for almost half of the world's wealth.

But does this mean that Americans and local immigrants live happiest? Optional: the level of well-being expressed by wealth should be correlated, making allowance for the level of stress and other social problems that come with material wealth.

The increase in the standard of living that usually accompanies moving to the USA (unless the immigrant leaves Switzerland or Denmark, which, you see, is a very rare scenario) does not always compensate for the increase in stress levels. Since happiness is subjective matter, depending on many factors, a person can evaluate it only after the fact. Many immigrants, after some time, notice that there was more joy in their life before moving.

5. Social integration and language

Language is not only a way of communication, but also a basic component of personality: if you cannot speak freely, you become a dull version of yourself. More recently, at a party, you could generate a joke in a split second, causing location to the entire company, and now you have to express yourself at the intellectual level of a three-year-old child and with the promptness of a hundred-year-old turtle.

Ignorance of the English language deprives you of the possibility of full social integration. The old Maslow will not let you lie: once you are full, healthy and protected, you need love and recognition that are difficult to find in a new country.

6. Difficulties of legalization

Immigration opportunities are different for everyone: someone wins the lottery, someone gets an invitation to work (and an immigration visa), someone joins a relative who has already become a US citizen. It is much harder for those who are starting legalization in the United States. The possibilities of such people are limited, and they, as a rule, are forced to seek a partner for marriage, to seek political asylum or - it is terrible to speak out loud, but I am forced to remain in the US illegally.

Such people remain suspended for a long time: for some, the process of obtaining documents takes up to 10 years. However, there is no guarantee of a positive decision, and in case of refusal the applicant is forced to return to his native country, although he has already managed to settle in a new place over the years. This can not be called anything other than tragedy: a person loses the most valuable and limited resource - years of life.

7. Retraining costs

I know several universal professions all over the world: programmer, chef, taxi driver, waiter. But what about doctors, lawyers and engineers whose skills are tied to a specific country, laws, standards, technology and language?

They have a long and not always cheap retraining process. He will be lucky if he confines himself to testing and obtaining a license, but some specialists will have to go through the whole process of learning and master a whole layer of new knowledge.

8. Insulation

The life of an adult is not only study, work, family and leisure, but also a huge amount of “metadata”: our connections, acquaintances, convenient ways of solving typical problems and habits. A person begins to acquire connections in school, continues at the university, and finally forms an environment when entering into adulthood.

An immigrant, unless he arrives on the soil prepared by his relatives, is forced to look for contacts again.

Which clinic is better to contact? In which area to rent a house? Where to find a good lawyer and realtor? In part, these problems are solved by the Internet and social networks, but, losing a huge array of “metadata”, a person in any case feels less protected.

9. Contradictions and Security

Despite its apparent prosperity, the United States is a country full of contradictions and conflicts: 325 million people share the same territory, but different political beliefs, religious views and cultural backgrounds. And although American society, built on the principles of respect and tolerance, digests most problems, some still come out, including in the form of crime.

The issue of massacres in America is exaggerated by the effect of the media multiplier, but still exists.

10. Homesickness

If you do not appreciate your homeland, and you only read books about nostalgic feelings, the best way to experience both the first and second is to become an immigrant. The longing comes at different times, but most people sooner or later it still happens.

Homeland is not only a territorial unit on the world map and an entry in the birth certificate, but also a whole range of sociocultural experiences: people, sounds, smells, places, events, culture, customs, holidays, memories, humor, cuisine, fear, taxi drivers, ice, first love.

Most of the significant events in your life — bad or good — are most likely related to your homeland.

Many Russians, after moving to America, deny involvement in culture and the presence of a Russian matrix, but this does not prevent the Russian matrix from remaining in them and from time to time giving a voice in the form of bouts of light nostalgia.