America, the land of so many people’s dreams. Just like it was for me, and which is why I made the move to the US from Europe as soon as I could. Three times over.
If you’ve been dreaming about leaving Europe for the United States, you might have been thinking about how you could make it work. And what to expect once you are here.
It’s probably not a surprise that it is not as easy as booking a ticket and getting on a plane to make your move to the US. But even once you have your paperwork in order, there are still things that you might wonder about and which could take you by surprise once you have landed.
To prepare you as much as possible for what to expect when moving to the US from Europe, I have summarized the most important things you should know.
Visa
This is without a doubt the number one item that you need to check off your list before leaving Europe. The US can be intimidating when it comes to immigration.
Coming from Europe, and especially if you live within the EU, you might be used to open borders, traveling without a passport. Or even moving to a different country within the EU in a heartbeat. And I have to admit, this freedom within the EU is something I truly treasure and which I wish was easier in other parts of the world, too.
What types of visas does the US offer?
Basically, there are two different types of visas – non-immigrant and immigrant visas.
Non-immigrant visas
These include among others student exchange visas, temporary work visas, and visitor visas.
You might fall into this category if you are a student and are looking into spending a semester abroad in the US. Or maybe you accepted an internship or found another work opportunity that sponsors a work visa.
It is not always easy finding a job here that offers to sponsor your visa. And it is definitely not possible to come here as a tourist in the hopes of finding a job that will get you a visa. No, you have to figure out the visa situation first.
My advice is, if you have not already figured out your visa situation, look for a company in your country that operates internationally, including in the US. Often, there is a chance that they offer an expat program sending their local employees abroad.
You might also want to check out your country’s chamber of commerce in the United States. That is how I found an internship and work opportunity that sponsored my visa.
Immigrant visa
Now if you plan on living in the US permanently, you might be considering an immigrant visa, which means once you enter the US you’ll receive a Permanent Resident (Green) Card.
This type of visa is usually not available to anyone besides family members of US citizens or Green Card holders and certain professions.
If you are in the process of applying for an immigrant visa, check out my blog post on 6 Things You Should Know when Applying for a Green Card!
Cultural Differences
When moving to the USA from Europe, naive me thought there can’t be too much of a cultural clash. Netflix is flooding us with American TV shows, we grew up watching Hollywood movies and who hasn’t eaten at McDonalds before?
But boy was I wrong. The reality of life in the US differed quite a bit from what I expected.
I should have known. Even within Europe, each country is quite different. Sure, we are all considered “Western” countries, and so is the US. But that one label does not mean each place is the same. They are all quite unique, and this is a good thing.
To give you an idea, I summarized the cultural things that surprised me the most:
Sports
Before moving to the US, I had no idea how important sports are to this country. Of course I had heard of American football and the Super Bowl. But did you know how ingrained it is in their culture? Quite a lot.
Many colleges and universities even offer scholarships to students with great athletic talent, which is probably a big motivation for many students, as the fees to attend university are incredibly high.
And besides the American football that we get to see on TV even in Europe, college teams are greatly celebrated, too. My husband still watches games when his university’s football team is playing. And people still go to their university’s games long after they have graduated. It’s just part of their culture. And it’s actually quite fun to attend these games!
Small talk and finding friends
This is one of the more difficult differences for me to wrap my head around. Even after having spent so many years in the US.
Americans are usually quite good at making small talk. You might see this as early as when you are on the plane on your way to the US. I found that most times when I’m sitting next to Americans, they usually initiate a conversation. It’s considered polite, and doesn’t mean you need to have a deep conversation. Just exchanging names, where you’re headed, and other small bits of information can actually make the flight much more enjoyable.
Coming from Germany, we usually keep to ourselves and are much more unfamiliar with this concept. And to this day it takes me a lot of effort and practice to initiate and drive a conversation with a stranger.
The same applies when it comes to finding American friends. It can be quite tough to navigate the world between superficial small talk and shifting into deeper conversations over which you can actually bond.
But with that kept in mind, it might just take some time and effort. So don’t feel like you’re being turned away if another person seems to appear just interested in small talk. Often, it takes time to form a deeper bond and to open up more.
Noise
Now this might be specific to me being German, but I was stunned the first time I went to an American restaurant. It was loud! People were talking loudly, laughing at their tables, not caring what anybody else thinks.
In Germany, it would be considered somewhat rude if you are at a restaurant and are having conversations so loud that you are entertaining the whole dining room. Here? Not so much.
Of course this doesn’t mean people are screaming or yelling. No, they are talking in a civilized manner. It just seems to be way more loud compared to what I’m used to back home. My husband, who is American, noticed the difference the other way around when he came to Germany with me.
It’s definitely a personal preference if you prefer more peace and quiet at a restaurant or if you enjoy conversing with your family and not worrying about being too loud. I definitely don’t mind either, as long as it doesn’t go to the extremes. It is just something that really surprised me and that I thought was quite interesting.
Work Ethic
If you are moving to the USA from Europe and are intending to work here, you might be surprised about the American work ethic.
In general, I feel like Americans are hard working and usually put a lot of time and take pride in their jobs.
Coming from Europe, I’m used to my many weeks of paid vacation, not worrying about missing work when I’m sick, and not needing to answer emails after work. In the US, I experienced it quite a bit differently.
Vacation
Companies in general offer way less vacation compared to what we are used to in Europe. And even if they do, I have heard from friends that they were sometimes even encouraged not to take their days off (I can’t speak to that as I had a great employer who made sure everyone took their days off).
There are also other extremes, where companies offer unlimited days of vacation. Does that mean you can spend as much time traveling around the world as you want? Definitely not. It might even end up to people taking less days off, as there are always projects going on where it might not be the right time to clock out for a few days. Or your performance might be compared to colleagues, which are working way more days than you and which might make them more likely for a promotion than you.
In hindsight, it is always a good idea to ask about the number of vacation days and whether it is encouraged to take all your vacation prior to starting a new job in the US.
Sick leave
Sick days are another item that I found quite surprising, if not shocking. An employee receives a certain number of paid sick days per year. I was always quite scared of getting really sick. Because once your sick days are used up, my company would deduct vacation days.
In Europe, this was never the case. If you’re sick, you stay at home. And that’s it! Of course, it is different if you are dealing with a long-term sickness, but if you catch a cold and are out for a week and then again half a year later, you stay home and get better. Here, people were partially coming into work not feeling too well because they didn’t have sick days left or didn’t want to “waste” them.
At the end of the day, it absolutely depends on your employer how they handle this. But it was definitely surprising to learn about the caps on vacation and sick days when I first started working here.
Working after work hours
The last item on this list that I want to mention is the round-the-clock availability of many employees.
Now this is not something that companies usually require, that their employees answer work emails even after working hours. However, I have often seen my friends and my husband do this. Respond to emails all day long, even on the weekends, just because someone might require something urgently. Or because it’s the polite thing to do to. Or because otherwise work might pile up too much until the next working day.
While I feel like this is happening in Europe too, it is definitely not seen as a must or as a disadvantage if you don’t look into your emails after work hours. Some companies don’t even let you log in from outside of work or after work hours.
And while it is often practiced here, it of course does not apply to every job and is not necessarily a requirement. It is just my experience that I feel like this is a part of American work ethic, that people often put more time into their jobs, even their free time, in order to excel at what they do.
Healthcare
Now the number one question I get from friends and family about living in the US is how healthcare works and if I really have to pay outrageous medical bills. The answer is – it depends. And it is really complicated.
Just like in European countries, the US does have lots of different health insurance providers. And it is often offered through work. Me and my daughter for example are covered through my husband’s health insurance, which is a concept very similar to Europe.
Now when it comes to what the insurance covers and what we have to pay, that is a different story and completely depends on the insurance.
There are insurance plans that are quite expensive but cover a lot, and others where you have to pay much more out of your own pocket. It also depends on which doctor you are going to see, because not every doctor accepts every insurance.
As you can see, it can get super confusing. For me it is super important to ask beforehand if there is a cost associated with a medical service before I go in for a doctor’s appointment. Your insurance can usually tell you what to expect or to which extent you will be covered.
If you are only staying for a short amount of time, like a year or less, I highly recommend getting a travel health insurance. There are lots of providers who offer a health insurance for temporary stays abroad, and usually these do cover more and are cheaper than American health insurance providers.
Cost of Living
One of the biggest shocks to me was the high cost of living when I was moving to the USA from Europe. Housing alone was way more expensive, but what truly surprised me was how much groceries are, especially healthy food.
The cost of living does differ though throughout the states. You can live much cheaper in parts of the South or the Midwest compared to California or New York. Especially the housing, which is usually the biggest chunk in your expenses can vary greatly in these areas.
So if you have a tight budget and are flexible on where you want to live, you should do some research prior to moving. Yes, California is nice, but the South does have a pretty nice coastline, too.
When you are planning your move to the US, I therefore highly advise looking into all the expenses you might incur and to start creating a budget. This will help you set your expectations and also guide you to choose a place that fits within your means.
The importance of a Credit History
Another item I need to add to this list that I didn’t know about until probably my third year living in the US is the importance of a credit history.
Do you ever use a credit card in Europe? Maybe while traveling or here and there, but otherwise I never needed it. A regular ATM card worked just fine, there was never a need for a credit card.
But here? You absolutely need one, if you want to stay for longer.
Let me tell you why that is the case.
Americans love using their credit card. At first I thought this is because they might not have enough in their bank account to cover the expense (and this might surely be the case for some). But for many, credit cards give them the opportunity to build a credit history.
And a credit history is important here. Landlords for example like knowing that heir tenants have a good credit history. This tells them that they are likely gonna pay the rent in full each month and don’t need to be chased after. Or if you want to purchase a bigger item, like a car, vendors usually look into your credit score to make sure you are a reliable buyer with the means to pay.
Another benefit of using a credit card here is the accumulation of points, miles or cashback. Most cards offer some kind of reward program. This means, the more you use the card, the more rewards you collect. And these rewards can be traded in for different things, depending on the card.
Conclusion
There are probably an endless amount of topics I could talk about when it comes to moving to the USA from Europe and what you need to know. But I believe the points made above should give you a great first impression what to look out for and what to look into when considering a relocation to America.