An immigrant from Kazakhstan came to conquer New York, but returned to his homeland: why he decided to leave

Azamat Kappas, 31, from Karaganda (Kazakhstan) moved to the United States, but decided to return to his homeland. He told the publication we project, why it happened and what did not grow together in the USA.

In Kazakhstan, he is the founder of the Sevil clinic of cosmetology and dentistry, the Home Project building materials salon, the New Way station CIP-class cafe.

Moving to the USA

“In 2006, as a student, I was in the States. And from that time on, I approximately understood what the United States was. He lived in New Jersey for three months. And recently I came across letters that I wrote to my sister and said that I would never work for Americans and live in the States, and there is nothing better than Kazakhstan. Then youthful maximalism spoke in me. But years passed, a family, children, a business, one project, a second, a third, a lot of difficulties appeared. And many factors regarding the business led me to the fact that I wanted to leave, - says Azamat. - I had a task - to leave Kazakhstan. At first I thought to go to Dubai, then to try myself in Europe, I also had a desire to go to Africa, because I went there on a business trip. But he still opted for the United States. There were several reasons, one of them - my good friend, who lives in Almaty and travels around the world, said: “Aza, the only country where you can achieve success and you will not have the label“ Kazakh ”,“ foreigner ”or“ immigrant "is America". Another decisive factor was the fact that a close friend of mine lives there, who left a year ago. "

One of the main problems of his move, Azamat calls unpreparedness - neither he nor his wife were at all ready to find themselves in a new country, a new culture.

“When we were driving from the airport to our area, we passed Flatbush Avenue - this is a street where only African Americans live, a continuous ghetto, everything was covered in graffiti, a lot of rubbish, someone was sitting and drinking in the street. We were a little shocked, ”Azamat says.

About accommodation in Brooklyn

Upon arrival, they first lived with a friend.

“The first two months we lived with my friend. There are three of them, four of us - we were not ready to live together in two rooms. Heat on the street, at home, a psychopathic neighbor who banged on the ceiling with a stick. It was two months of stress for me, but I tried not to show it. It was only at first, but when we settled down, we got used to the house, and the neighbor did not bother us anymore, and the area seemed to be good: the plus is that there is a lot of greenery there. Not far from us there was an area where Jews live, everything was neat and beautiful there, - says the businessman. - Many of the facts that I had in my head turned out to be fake - first of all, everyday issues. I did not know that New York consists of Brooklyn, including, for me New York is Manhattan, where everything is powerful, beautiful. Brooklyn is a multicultural sleeping area with no playgrounds. To "walk" the children, the wife had to walk 15 minutes to the nearest playground. "

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While in the United States, he learned that apartments are not rented to tourists, and for a good apartment, you need a good credit rating.

“In the United States, the main problem was the apartment, I only learned there that tourists are not rented out. Good houses are rented only to those who have a good permanent income. But there are realtors who can negotiate with homeowners to rent apartments without documents. But they charge 15% of the annual cost for their services, Azamat explains. - The apartment itself is $ 1600, and $ 2700 for the work of a realtor. We had to send our daughter to a paid kindergarten - $ 1100 per month. Plus $ 200 for travel, $ 200 for phone. It was difficult and expensive. This is incomparable with Kazakhstani income. On average, to live there with a family without fanaticism, you need $ 7000 per month, I did not count on such expenses. I thought that everything would be much cheaper and easier. "

When they already rented an apartment for themselves, there were also many nuances, but he says that the family is used to everything.

“The house we lived in was very old - 150 years old. On one floor there lived a guy who listened to music loudly at night, on the other a couple constantly swore, Indians lived nearby, their apartment smelled strongly of spices, and in another one lived a marijuana lover. But we were also glad that we rented, our apartment seemed good, comfortable, over time we got used to it. We were determined to live there. We had no goal to return, - says the businessman. - Later, I often heard that New York is not for a family. We were told to go to New Jersey, where everything is green, one-story houses - this is the America that we see in the films, but I was bored there. Over time, we got used to the old house, to the neighbors. "

About business in New York and visas

“Many who leave do not think about a visa. But you cannot rent an apartment on a tourist visa, you can open an account in any bank, you can only in Bank of America. It was only there that I learned that I could stay in the United States for no longer than six months. The visa is issued for ten years, but a one-time stay is not longer than six months. And if you violate the border regime, there will be problems with other visas. And my goal was to open a business visa in the future. This requires about $ 9000, ”says the businessman.

From the very beginning, he planned to open his own business, he even found several investors, but in the end they changed their minds.

“So I started to move myself, every day I went to Manhattan. I didn't know where to start, because I expected that there would be people there, money for projects. The project that I wanted to launch in the field of medicine was unrealistic, because in the United States, the medical business must belong to a doctor. In Kazakhstan, as an entrepreneur, I opened a clinic with hired doctors, and there the company must be 100% owned by a doctor, ”Azamat says.

“A little later I decided that I needed to start what I can do myself. I began to sort out the options: sales, online sales, a beauty salon. But no matter what I did, after a week everything failed. This went on for about a month. Then I rented a table in the We work coworking space and, more or less, returned to my environment, where I began to come to my senses. It was there that I had a desire to call someone, work, - recalls the immigrant. - I got to know every Kazakh that I met. In four months I met so many Kazakhs that people have not met in ten years. I understood that the more connections I have, the faster I will adapt. In fact, he did the same thing that he did in his time when he moved to Astana. "

Then he decided that he would be engaged in apartment renovation. I found an acquaintance who was in this business, and decided to consult with him.

“We talked for a long time, and he told me that getting an order in Manhattan is unrealistic, because there Italians, the mafia, you need to have big insurance for the company. I listened to it for about an hour and understood: the more I listen to it, the more self-confidence disappears. Therefore, I tried not to hear that it was impossible. Although I realized that in order to take orders in Manhattan, you need to have an authoritative intermediary to whom a Manhattan resident can entrust the repairs, - the businessman recalls. - I had the phone number of a guy-broker from Kyrgyzstan, who at the age of 16 moved with his mother to New York and is now selling apartments. He invited me to the office, and we agreed that when selling apartments, he will also offer repairs. "

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“But at some point, the guy also started to disappear. Then he offered the order at the moment when I was about to freak out. And from that moment I began to come to my senses, gained confidence, because for two and a half months I did not know if I would succeed, ”Azamat confesses.

“My wife is great, she found herself a make-up course, Indian dances, which she had dreamed of for a long time. And in recent months we have entered the usual rhythm - our own apartment has appeared, albeit without furniture. I slept on a blanket, because first they bought a bed for the children, then a mattress, everything in stages, '' says the businessman. - Not working here is cheap, you can live with your parents, relatives, friends. And we often hear that a person, having quit one job, rests for three or four months until he gets a new job. And not working here is expensive, you can't not work only if you have a stash of $ 100. Everyone who does not work is homeless, the rest are working. "

About return

“One of the acute reasons for returning is business in Astana. I have never left my projects for a long time. And the time difference did not allow to quickly resolve issues. After a couple of months, failures began, the guys could not solve problems without me, - says the businessman. - It so happened that in the last month I sat and talked with Kazakhstan every evening. Just before leaving for America, I launched a new project - a cafe at a new train station. And he left. But the guys could not cope, the director of the station began to worry. At the same time, problems began in the clinic, the director called from the store on the verge of a nervous breakdown. These problems haunted me there, there was not enough money, and I could no longer do business as before. In the end, I consulted with a friend, he said that it would be better to return, to put things in order. After talking with my wife, we decided that we could lose everything, so we should return. "

But even despite all the problems, the Kazakh does not rule out the option that he will still return to the United States, but already an accomplished businessman.

“It's easy to open a business there, but it's more expensive to start. The whole problem is investment. To open a construction company, you need to recruit builders with extensive experience, and this is already more difficult. The license is more expensive. Opening a company will cost $ 30, and large projects require multi-million dollar insurance. You will pay $ 000- $ 50 for insurance per year, ”he says. - It is difficult to get a work visa, because only 000 work visas are issued for the whole country per year. And the chance of getting it is close to zero. The second legal opportunity to stay there is to get a work permit. This is a student visa. There you can only work on campus and then only a certain number of hours. Two more options are to get married or ask for political asylum. But I know that all those who have left in the depths of their hearts want to go home and think about Kazakhstan.

I am often asked where is better - there or here. I cannot say where is better, because all this is relative and individual. But to understand where is better, you need to try. I sincerely advise everyone: if you want to go, go and try. If you don't like it, you can always come back here with renewed vigor. "