Five things immigrants find it hard to get used to after moving to New York

They say that New York is hard to get used to, even for visitors from other American states. What can we say about immigrants from other countries. About what in the Big Apple is the most difficult to adapt to immigrants from post-Soviet countries, the author of the blog told "50 shades of New York" on Yandex. Zen. Further - from the first person.

Since the moment of moving, our family has already settled down quite well in the new place, although it is difficult for a Russian person in America to get used to some things.

The rhythm of life

New York is a huge city with a multi-million population. After a measured life in Samara, it was difficult for us to fit into the rhythm of this metropolis. However, I think that even Moscow and St. Petersburg will not keep pace with America's pace of life.

Every minute counts here. Oftentimes, people work three jobs to pay their bills.

They are constantly in a hurry, ignore traffic lights, chew on the go, or do business on the phone. If you hesitate a little in the crowd - you will be knocked down, in New York it is in the order of things.

Taxes

In America, it is customary to consider the salary not by months, but immediately by the year, both when applying for a job and in ordinary conversation. I constantly had to divide the voiced amount by 12 in my mind, until I got used to it.

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Americans take taxes seriously. Even if a US citizen works abroad, he is not exempt from paying taxes, regardless of whether he pays them in the country where he lives.

The amount of tax is on average 30% of income, it also includes health insurance, life and health insurance. The less income a person has, the less he pays to the treasury. But billionaires have to deduct about 48% of their income to the state.

Food

After moving to the States, I gained 5 kilograms in six months. The food here is very fatty and high-calorie, it is almost impossible to find healthy products without artificial additives. But the counters are bursting with semi-finished products and ready-made meals that only need to be heated in the microwave.

I had to pull myself together and start putting the figure in order. Over time, I found shops with organic products, but the prices are prohibitive.

An onion or potato can cost up to three times the price of a regular supermarket just because of the "farm product" tag. With the health food trend and tags, it gets ridiculous - a bag of apples might say low fat.

And I also had to practically give up meat - it's hard to get chicken, beef or pork in New York, not stuffed with hormones and antibiotics, at an affordable price.

Beauty Salons

It turned out to be a real problem to find a hairdresser and manicure master in the USA. Basically, beauty salons are kept here by the Chinese, and the quality of their services leaves much to be desired. At the same time, the price for a manicure reaches $ 60-70, and for a haircut - $ 200-300.

Fortunately, I managed to find our compatriots who do everything efficiently and much cheaper. They mostly work at home, promote their services through social media profiles or through friends. A sort of clandestine beauty industry.

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I was also very surprised that in America all salons have a narrow focus. It is in Russia that you can go for a haircut, and at the same time make eyebrows, this will not work here.

Pharmacies

The pharmacies here are huge, more like supermarkets, where you can buy everything from laundry powder to snacks (by the way, not the most useful ones) and even cigarettes. But it is not easy to buy medicines in a pharmacy. Without a doctor's prescription, you will only be sold dietary supplements and vitamins. Only 10 percent of drugs in the United States can be bought without a prescription. I generally keep quiet about the prices, we have the same drugs dozens of times cheaper.

Conveniently, prescription drugs can be picked up at almost every supermarket that has a pharmacy department.