Help me, I'm moving to the US of A

C Elegans · #1 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 03:52 PM

Actually, I should have moved 2 weeks ago, but things got a bit delayed so I still have another month or two to ponder my fate.

I am moving to California. Do you Big Brothers And Sisters From The West have any advice for a poor Scandinavian?

Tricky · #2 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 04:19 PM

What's the occasion? Having more political freedom than you can handle?

fable · #3 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 04:54 PM

Southern California, correct? Expect a lot of sun, and fairly warm temperatures. Forest fires are a serious problem during the summer months.

What sort of other information are you looking for?

dragon wench · #4 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 05:58 PM

I don't know Southern California at all, since I've only been down as far as the central coast....
But I have heard from a friend that the Hispanic communities in LA can be quite interesting....
Like I said though, I have no personal experience.

Claudius · #5 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 06:29 PM

My advice would be to give it a chance and to smile. You might have some interesting experiences! And meet some new people.

VonDondu · #6 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 06:39 PM

I think the weather in southern California is very nice, but it is probably much warmer than you are used to. You won't see much snow at all, so you might miss it. Moving closer to the equator will also have other effects, such as feeling like the days are longer in winter. But I think the extra sunshine all year 'round will have positive effects rather than negative effects. Just make sure you use sunscreen.

People are very "body conscious" in California, at least compared to people in Texas. That's what people who move to Texas from California say, anyway, and they are relieved that they can finally relax about their appearance, so I suppose the opposite holds true for California. I don't know how much effect that will have on you, but you might think that the people around you in California are a bit obsessive and/or superficial.

Politics in California is a strange subject. California has the image of a very liberal state, yet half of the population votes for conservative candidates, and even some of the more famous "liberals" are more like puppets of the defense/aerospace industry, which makes them conservative by nature if not by name.

In any case, there's something to be said for the old line, "changes in latitude, changes in attitude". You need to be selective about your social contacts just as you would anywhere else, but you should have no trouble meeting people who are bright and articulate and who share an enlightened view of the world with you. You have a particularly pragmatic attitude, so I think you will fit in just fine.

America is supposed to be "consumer heaven", but you might feel it is more like "consumer hell". You shouldn't have any problems finding products that will meet your basic needs (clothing, shelter, furniture, food, etc.), but you might not find everything to your taste. I wish I could offer you some advice about groceries, but I don't know all that much about your native diet. You'll probably have to get used to "white bread" ("real bread" is difficult to find) and frozen fish (as opposed to fresh or pickled), but the produce and the wine in California are pretty good.

When it comes to things like health care for you and your children and education, I'm afraid you'll be taking a step backward. Connections, diligence, and ingenuity will help.

Siberys · #7 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 07:41 PM

Quote:

I am moving to California. Do you Big Brothers And Sisters From The West have any advice for a poor Scandinavian?

Don't move to California. The smugness of people is unbearable, and even if you could deal with it, the governator is just icing on the conformity of smug cake.

dragon wench · #8 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

You'll probably have to get used to "white bread" ("real bread" is difficult to find) and frozen fish (as opposed to fresh or pickled)

Maybe it's because I was in San Francisco, but I thought the food was great. I'm quite health conscious, and I found all kinds of good bakeries and amazing fresh seafood..
Could be a SanFran thing though...

thantor3 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 08:39 PM

Hi CE,
I lived in San Diego for eight years and the Monterey area for four. PM me and we will talk about the rarefied milieu that is California. All your questions will be answered and your consciousness set free.

sparky_kat · #10 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 09:28 PM

my best friend lives in Los Angeles, and after hearing what he has said......
*sunscreen, sunscreen , sunscreen!!
*try to learn a little spanish (if you dont know any already) (it helps!)
*make sure the house/apt you move into has a GOOD cooling system (not just a a/c box hanging off the bedroom window)\
*ignore the self obsessed idoits

just try to make the best of it, and good luck in Cali CE

VonDondu · #11 (**permalink**) 03-20-2008, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragon wench

Maybe it's because I was in San Francisco, but I thought the food was great. I'm quite health conscious, and I found all kinds of good bakeries and amazing fresh seafood..
Could be a SanFran thing though...

I think as a general rule, the food is better in an upscale urban environment than it is in a less affluent suburban environment (and the living expenses are higher), and that probably accounts for most of the differences in our experiences. I was thinking of Los Angeles and the surrounding area (excluding the ritzy neighborhoods and some of the more posh destinations on the coast). But it is widely believed that southern California is a bit different from northern California in general and San Francisco in particular.

Moonbiter · #12 (**permalink**) 03-21-2008, 01:21 AM

First of all, stay the hell away from Los Angeles. It is hands down the worst city I've ever visited. If you have to go there, don't smile at anyone, or they'll sue you or shoot you. Or both. Get a good car. You can't do anything without a car there. The distances you have to travel to go anywhere are staggering to a European. Be prepared to discuss your annual income and that of your neighbours absolutely all the time. Use the words "dude" and "like" at least three times in every sentence. Go blond, it helps. Forget the fine arts. Most people who attend classical concerts in California are insufferable snobs who feed their cats Beluga caviar. Doctors don't come from Sweden, porn stars come from Sweden.

Charity means attending the annual party of the "Save the Krill" foundation while your teenage kids drive around in 500 000 dollar cars and your wife feeds the mutt foie gras. There is an enormous amount of obese and extremely black people, whose only form of communicating is shouting at the top of their lungs in a high-pitched voice and a language so removed from English that you might understand every fifth or sixth word if you concentrate. These people have two emotional modes: rude or angry. They also usually work for public services so you have to deal with them regularly. Then there is their counterparts, the health-club crazies. These are the people who will give their goldfish facelifts, and they are everywhere! Start jogging, or you'll be a social outcast. Get botoxed, even if you don't need it. Spas are a way of life. You can have skin like Helen of Troy, but you must spend at least 5 hours a week with mud in your face and cucumber on your eyes. These people bring their own vitaminized bottled water to restaurants so the chef can cook their broccoli according to their dietary plan.

Get used to earthquakes. They're so common people hardly notice them, which is pretty bizarre for a Scandinavian.

Of course there are nice places there, I especially liked San Diego. It was like coming to a different planet after LA. Escondido was a delightful little town with some beautiful nature and quite friendly if somewhat conservative people.

I think the thing that really got to me was that to a Californian, to a larger extent than anywhere else in the USA, life is a constant competition. Everything revolves around size and who's got what. If you're not competing with your peers, you're competing with yourself. It's a built in mass psychosis that's a part of life over there. Who's got the biggest car, breasts, paycheck, barbecue. Where do your kids go to college? Never heard of it. You try to lead a non-materialistic life? I'll show you non-materialistic. Me'n my wife recycle condoms, I've used the same one since -87. What's you're golfing par at the moment? Really? Well I bench pressed 200 kilos at the gym this morning. Is that the new Mercedes? What'll that set you back? I'm thinking of getting the new BMW. Blah..blah..blah IT JUST WON'T STOP! If you tell someone "Today I saw a deer by the side of the road" that person will immediately say "the other day we saw 3 deer and a moose doing the macarena in our back yard!" You can't win.... But the weather's nice, though....

C Elegans · #13 (**permalink**) 03-21-2008, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonbiter

First of all, stay the hell away from Los Angeles.

I can't, I am going to live there

Moonbiter · #14 (**permalink**) 03-21-2008, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C Elegans

I can't, I am going to live there

I know, dear.

Though you will probably live on campus, which is like a city within the city, with people from all over the country. I mean, they admit 33 000(!) new students every year. If that doesn't help, there's always Prozac or Vicodin.

C Elegans · #15 (**permalink**) 03-21-2008, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moonbiter

I know, dear.

Though you will probably live on campus, which is like a city within the city, with people from all over the country. I mean, they admit 33 000(!) new students every year. If that doesn't help, there's always Prozac or Vicodin.

There was a 9-12 month waiting list for campus housing, to initially I'll have to live elsewhere. The university has some private housing service for housing in the neighbourhood.

I don't want to mess around with my already disturbed serotonin system since I have serotonin related behaviour abnormalities (low impulse inhibition and hypomanic episodes). Vicodin would probably make me sleep all day. So maybe I'll have to survive on just Losec