I think that anyone from any part of the world can find a place here. You will never feel that as a foreigner that you won’t have access to the same opportunities that Americans do. (Visa issues are a nuisance sometimes, but if you play your cards right, that can be easily sorted). This is truly a country where hard work and smarts pay off. As they usually say here: God bless this great country.

A few pointers:

1. Get used to Fahrenheit, pounds, miles etc. (They don’t make any logical sense and are not based on decimal conversions)

2. Tipping: You are expected to tip here. Tip 15-20% depending on the service you receive. Must at restaurants. You should also tip cabbies, hairdressers…but not as much as you would in restaurants.

3. Depending on where you are in the country, don’t be surprised if random people smile at you or ask you how your day is going. Just smile. Americans are very friendly. None of this will happen if you come to NYC though. From the countries I have visited in Asia/Europe, Americans are the friendliest. This is not Europe – in general, people are warm and nice. Don’t be surprised if people strike up a conversation in public transportation and restaurants.

4. If Americans ask you “How are you?” or “How is your day going?” at the office, no one actually expects you to reply. It’s just a way of greeting people here.

5. Food: everything is so artificial and bad unless you go to a higher end market. Even Coke is made with high fructose corn syrup, not real sugar unlike the rest of the world. The chicken that you get in supermarkets is laden with chemicals, you can literally taste the chemicals. American chocolate (i.e Hersheys) to put it very kindly, is bad. Too much sugar in everything – and that is most probably HFCS.

6. No matter what you have heard about America in popular culture, Americans are very well mannered compared with the rest of the world. Don’t cut lines in this country, seriously! American drivers are also very well mannered and people follow the lanes etc. (Again you might find exceptions in places like NYC, but I feel like NYC isn’t a very good representation of this country) People will hold doors for you, and you are expected to do so as well.

7. Americans like their Personal space. When you talk to people, maintain some distance. Same goes with Personal Issues. Don’t ask people about their personal issues and don’t tell people about your personal issues.

8. The food portions are HUGE here. You might find this shocking – I did too – but Americans take their leftovers home when they eat out in a restaurant. (Yuck!!!). A lot of people are fat and obese.

The full post can be found on the link below, and was originally created by Krypton on the WallStreetOasis forums:

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/blog/a-foreigners-perspective-on-getting-adjusted-to-living-in-the-us