Impressions of a Russian pensioner about America. First impressions of America My impressions of life in America

THE TRUTH ABOUT AMERICA - IMPRESSIONS OF A FORMER IMGRANT

The truth about America The truth about America A very long story that is really worth reading:

I lived in this America for half a year, worked at a construction site, and in the editorial office of a newspaper, and in a Chinese laundry, drove trucks from New York to Florida, and even tried to cheat an American bank (out of hopelessness, there was no money for the way home). And if you are going to America, I will give you main advice- if you want to go, go. But in no case do not renounce Russian citizenship and do not sell your apartment ... I still had an apartment and a passport, and that was the only reason I was able to return. And tell something about this America.

Primitive shops and goods

I'll tell you about the stores first. Previously, we dreamed about shops most of all. Naturally, any fool thinks that in America goods are the most the best. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite. It is impossible to find the most elementary things. And the goods are exactly the same as in Moscow. The assortment, quality and quantity of goods are the same. The prices are higher. Prices for radio equipment and computers are 1.5-2 times higher. Many work on antediluvian 486 computers that cost as much as Pentium-2s in Moscow! Memory for computers twicemore expensive. Winchesters and monitors are about the same as in Moscow (but 25 percent more expensive due to taxes). Keyboards -funny to say - they cost 30 dollars each (in Moscow 3-6 dollars). Video cameras that cost 250-300 dollars in Moscow, in NewYorke at least 400-450. Almost no one has a video camera (you may not believe it, but it is actually forbidden to shoot on the streets. Topeople did not know the truth. A policeman comes right away. But, of course, I still took pictures furtively.) The clothes are a little bit cheaper. The choice of clothes is a little better, it's true. Unfortunately. But only a little. I spent three hours looking for suitable boots.

The products are exactly the same as in Moscow. They cost the same, maybe a little more. The assortment is the same, maybe a little poorer than inMoscow. Rubber bread is deceptive, a hundred times worse than in Moscow. Milk in Moscow tastes better. Apples and oranges are exactly the same. I'm talking aboutI speak imported.
Some say about a hundred varieties of sausage and other nonsense. Yes, you come in - and in some places 50 varieties of sausage hang. But these are inaccessible varieties of sausage. What they are, what they are not ... There are only 1-2 varieties of real sausage available for an ordinary person. And the other 48 are VERY expensive, 10 times more expensive, you just can't buy them (or you can buy a small piece for the holiday). Therefore this is not"a free choice of 50 varieties of sausage". With an ordinary income, you can really choose only 1-2 grades at a price.

Disgusting transport in America

The metro in America is dirty, rats run between the rails, there is paper, mud, puddles all around. The view is disgusting, like in a garbage dump. The metro often goes above the ground, and then it stands on steel supports that sway in the wind. They are actually fragile. Sleepers on the rails, everything is of different lengths, as if made somehow, hastily. It is so. The metro runs every half an hour - once an hour. This is not Moscow, where throughevery 1-2 minutes! True, the subway in New York works around the clock, but at night you have to wait an hour for the train. Why is thatdoes the subway run often? Very low population density. Everyone lives in 1-2 storey village houses, there are few people. And so the wagonshalf empty. A subway ticket is very expensive - $1.5. The trip there and back costs 3 dollars. Often you think whether to go or not, it's too expensive.

There are no elementary schemes in the metro, and it is not clear where you are going. On the radio, the negro announces the stations so indistinctly that the Americans themselves ask me again and do not understand. There are no announcements of stops recorded on a tape recorder by an announcer. It is difficult to follow the stops - the names are written in small letters on the pillars on the side, you have to stare with all your might to make out something. That's whyorienting in the subway is difficult for everyone. The subway is very slow. There are many stops, they are located too close. Between neighboring stations the distance is 5 minutes on foot. Therefore, a trip to Manhattan (where there are skyscrapers) takes 1.5 hours. In Moscow, such a metro distance passes in 20 minutes.

Bus - also 1.5 dollars. Too pedko and slowly walks. There is a characteristic window dressing in buses, as in all of America - in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe back door there is a lifting device that lifts a wheelchair from the ground. Like, we have all the amenities even for the disabled! In fact, an ordinary person cannot just go to the doctor, get basic medical care.
A common person he can even call an ambulance! By the way, in America there are many disabled people and freaks in wheelchairs withelectric drives. They swarm everywhere - on the streets, in stores. I asked why there are so many disabled people. In general, no one really explained, and for me it remained a mystery. They said that in Russia such disabled people are hidden in special houses and they are not visible, but we, they say, have equal rights for everyone. But this is not true! I do not believe in such a large number of Russian invalids. It seems to me that the reason is that there is too much stress in America and too many people take antidepressants and other drugs, because of which they become freaks.

Car in disgusting America

Once upon a time, America announced: "In the 60s, America reached the point that every family has a car!" In fact, there are 100 times more cars in Moscow. Maybe 200 times. But no less than 100 times. And one more thing: few people in America can afford a car. This is a luxury that many families cannot afford. Why are they lying? Because they create an "image" of America to raise its prestige. In fact, everything they say about freedom of speech and so on is a 100% lie. This is a totalitarian police state in which people are like slaves, afraid of every rustle. For example, Khrushchev's son emigrated to America. And there he wanted to start a goat on the farm. But he was not allowed! Just think what an idiot we will be asked about a goat, and what idiot would refuse that goat to that other idiot? And they have it everywhere - either a certificate is needed, or a policeman is standing.
About cars. Yes, there are $300 cars that look better than our new ones. All this has been achieved by the slave labor of American and yellow workers. But you can't buy a car for $300. Because insurance for such a car would cost $3,000 a year ($250 a month, nobody can afford it), and a $3,000 car would cost $1,500 a year ($120 a month). And earning $3,000 in America is much more difficult than in Moscow. And what is their insurance? It's just that you have to pay the state for the right to drive a car. Moreover, if you have a license (it’s a whole story how to get them) and you bought a car, but you drive without paying insurance, then you can immediately
put in jail for many years. This is a terrible crime. You may not be imprisoned for murder if you pay, but for insurance they will imprison you.

Do you want to go to work by car? This is impossible. In Manhattan, where many people with higher education and high incomes work, you can only park your car in the parking lot at $8 an hour. That is up to 80 per day. Only the very rich can afford this. Therefore, it is impossible to go to Manhattan by car and admire the skyscrapers - you can only drive through this area without stopping anywhere. If you get up somewhere, you will be towed to a parking lot, a fine of 200 dollars and 40-50 for each day of parking. Only taxis and cars with cargo "licences" (licenses) can temporarily stop in Manhattan. Therefore, there are only taxis and buses.

But now you decided to go to another city. Or out of town. This is also impossible for a simple person. This is too expensive pleasure. On each bridge you will be charged 4-7 dollars, every 100-200 miles or on the borders of the states they will charge the same amount. All roads are paid. Hotels along the way cost from $50 per night. Gasoline costs about 20 dollars a full tank, which is enough for 200-300 miles. Food at gas station eateries - from $15 each. You can't stop along the way. You will most likely be driving
high-speed road, and to stop, you need to get off at a gas station or go to a town. You can’t just stand on the road and go out for a walk in the forest - the police will jump up and force you to leave. Therefore, forests along roadsides are practically inaccessible. It's just ridiculous - after Russian freedom. You feel limited and squeezed from all sides. And they take money for nothing at every turn.

It is believed that the police do not take bribes. But they can just issue a fine. You can challenge the fine in court and you can even win the process (if you can only hire a lawyer for $500 an hour). But if you can't afford a lawyer, pay the wrong fines all the time. My friend was fined for not having a number on the car. There was a number, it was just a temporary number and it hung, as expected, behind the rear window. But the policeman wrote: "This car with the number ... (indicated the number) has no number." Can you imagine? He indicated the number of the car on the fine form, writing that the car did not have a number. Fine 150 dollars. Try to challenge him - hire a lawyer.

Another acquaintance was just driving a green light. He was hit in the side by a drug addict who was driving at high speed on red. Everyone saw that there was a green light, everyone documented and took pictures, but this drug addict immediately talked to the policeman, gave him a bribe, and my friend turned out to be guilty. He lost his car, insurance and received points in the rights, with which the insurance increases even more. Now he has a problem for life - points in the rights made his insurance so expensive that it is impossible to buy a car.

I thought American cars were reliable, but they break down just like ours, and any repair costs $400. Oil change - 35-40 dollars. An acquaintance worked as a taxi driver, and I saw that his Ford was breaking down all the time.

The disgusting health care system in America

Do you know that in America it is impossible to call an ambulance? Nobody calls, even if it's very bad. If it’s really bad, they take a car service (private taxi), go to the hospital. Doctor's appointment - $170. The most elementary examination or tests - 800 dollars. Appendicitis surgery - $8,000. If there is no insurance, then no one can afford it. And insurance - 300-400 dollars permonth - also no one can afford. That's how they live. Pensioners, however, free medicine - Medicaid. True, they mock them, calling every month to confirm that you are not dead and that you are not living too well, threatening to take away this medicine as well. Therefore, there are only pensioners in hospitals.

So why can't you call the vaunted 9-1-1 ambulance that the TV series is about?

Once I saw this picture near the store: two police cars with flashing lights, sirens, two fire engines blocking the entire passage, and three ambulances. And a crowd of curious onlookers. I thought at least the bandits took hostages there. And also joined the crowd. And nothing happens. Then, about five minutes later, they take the old man under the arms and put him in an ambulance. They take away. It turns out that the old man became ill in the store,called an ambulance. And this is done by calling 911, as well as calling the fire department and the police. So firefighters, police and an ambulance came to take one old man and made a noise-chatter. Why? Because then they will take money from this old man for a call - about $ 2,000. He, the poor man, most likely does not have that kind of money, and he will be hanged in debt, which will have to be paid at 200-250 dollars every month (he cannot even do this). And he will fall into such debts for life that he will never pay.

Therefore, do not try to call an ambulance in America - two fire trucks, two ambulances, three police will arrive, and then they will send you a bill for $ 2,000, which, if you do not pay, will be deducted from you and increase. You will remain in debt for life. This is the healthcare system in America. Well, how do you take your child there? Me not.

Disgusting Relationships

You can talk there only by force - to put pressure on the interlocutor and lie. They don't understand any other language. This is not only the case with Yugoslavia, but also in everyday life. You can only speak by force. You may not believe. But normal in America is that you need to come, for example, to work, and flood everyone with brains that I, for example, am a prince, I have three houses, accounts in all banks, a yacht and so on, and this is normal. Put yourself out. Moreover, it is clear that the person is lying, that this is just nonsense, and you can only laugh or say: "You should shut up, you're tired of it," but it's normal there.

America has a very strong bureaucracy. What kind of traffic cops are there in Moscow! These are just children compared to vile America. I just love traffic cops and give them bribes with a smile after what I experienced in New York. There are a lot of paperwork and paperwork required. To do this, there are a lot of organizations and departments that you need to go to. (Then wait for this certificate by mail for a week). When you go there, you have to behave in a certain way. If you just come and politely ask for help, then they will simply send you away, saying that you lack this and that. Therefore, you need to do it wrong. It is necessary, when you come, to immediately begin to speak and, as soon as they begin to refuse, to threaten. You have to know how to threaten. Threats vary from case to case. For example, in some you need to say that now I’ll call the manager and say that you don’t know how to communicate with the client and you insulted me - therefore, you will lose your job altogether (they immediately become like silk). But in Russian offices this is not always passes. In Russians, you sometimes need to yell and occupy someone else's territory until the Negro guard pushes you out. Or just bother, do not leave and stand and demand your own. Otherwise, you will not be able to obtain the certificate required by law. You know, I can, if necessary, threaten and make trouble. But I don't like living like this!

Salary in America compared to salary in Russia

Here, in Russia, all ears buzzed about the American standard of living. In fact, the standard of living in America is 10 times lower than in Moscow. Don't believe? Let's compare.

The salary of the majority of the population is 6-7 dollars per hour. There are also 3-4 dollars per hour. But if you have been suffering for a long time, say, a year, then you will achieve a salary of $ 6 per hour (net is 5) or even $ 7 per hour (this is net 6.25). And it will be $1,000 a month. But this is rare. Basically, the salary is about 800 dollars. Then it all depends on where you live:

1. If you live with three cohabitants in a room (not in an apartment!), you don’t have a phone and you are taken to work (to a construction site, for example), then yes, you only spend $150 for a room and $100 for meals. You can save 750 a month. All the same, there are small expenses and you will put aside 500-600. In this case, of course, you live like a slave, but you will earn something.

2. If you rent a room ($300 a month) and have a telephone (and without a telephone, life there is almost impossible), then you spend $60-80 on the phone, plus $63 on travel (one), plus $100 on food. If you don't call home, don't smoke, you get 300+80+63+100=543 dollars. It seems to be 450 dollars from a thousand. But in fact, there are additional expenses every month (then you pay 30-40 dollars for obtaining certificates and documents, and somewhere else; you won’t get away from these expenses). In reality, you can set aside 200-250 dollars from a thousand a month. If you get 800 (which is most often) - nothing can be postponed. In addition, I spent a month looking for a job -lived 600 dollars, gave 300 dollars for employment - try to work it all out!). Really 100-200-250 dollars are put off per month. What can be allowed for them? Almost nothing in America. Medical insurance - $ 300-400 per month, car insurance - 2000 per year (150 per month), movie ticket - $ 50, clothing - any item - $ 30-40. What can you afford for $200? They just melt.

3. It is already impossible to rent an apartment. The apartment costs 650 dollars the worst. For 650 it's a "studio", that is, a room with a kitchen, a toilet and a separate entrance. And such apartments, like ordinary two-room apartments in "Khrushchev" apartments in Moscow, cost 1200-1500 dollars. In addition, to live in such apartments, you need good papers. Houses such as "Khrushchev" are considered a luxury in America, they are called "buildings", the elite live in them, only those who have impeccable documents and a salary of at least 2000-3000 per month. The majority lives in rural plywood (not even plywood, but from asbestos plates) houses, with cockroaches, in the mud. The walls of such houses are pressed through with a finger, you can push a nail into the wall with your hand (and hang one jacket on it, and if you hang two jackets, the nail will fall out), and you can hear perfectly through the walls,when a neighbor invites a "boyfriend" (lover) to the night. At the same time, the ceilings of all the neighbors are crumbling and the walls are swaying, and in the morning everyone asks her to move the bed away from the wall, otherwise the house will not stand it, and groan more quietly. 99 percent of Americans live in such houses. Very few people live in skyscrapers. First, there are few skyscrapers themselves. Skyscrapers are located in "Downtown" - a small area in the city center, occupying only a few streets. And the rest of the city is such asbestos houses. And in skyscrapers or just in high houses offices are located. If we take it as a percentage, then maybe 5% of the area of ​​​​the entire city is occupied by high houses (more than 3 floors), the remaining 95% are village antediluvian houses made of asbestos slabs, with dirt, cockroaches and rats. Everyone lives in these houses. And so it is all over America. Very few people live luxuriously, as in Russia - in five-story or nine-story buildings. A typical American city looks like this - if you drawcircle with a diameter of 5 cm and imagine that this is a typical American city, then skyscrapers will occupy only a circle with a diameter of 0.5 cm in the center. The rest is rural antediluvian houses. This Twhat affairs. There are probably cool neighborhoods somewhere for the very, very rich. But I'm not familiar with the rich.

And that's why, in order to afford what a person who receives $ 50 a month can afford in Moscow, in America it is necessaryget $5,000 a month. This is how only engineers or highly paid specialists such as programmers and doctors earn.

And what is 5000 a month in America? 38% are taken immediately for taxes (it is considered a large income, therefore large taxes). It remains a little more than 3000. For an apartment you will pay 1000-1200, for heating, electricity - another 100, for a telephone - another 80. It remains 1800. For medical insurance you will pay 400 - it remains 1400. For food 100 - it remains 1300. For car insurance you will give 200 - 1200 remains. For fines (they will definitely run up, because such a system) you will give another 100-150 (all motorists say that it doesn’t work out if there is a car). And since you studied in order to get 5000, you took out a loan, for which you need to pay another 300-400 every month. It remains 800. With these 800 you can somehow more or less live similarly to life in Russia. For example, at the very least, to feed a family.

But very few people get 5000 a month. There are more people in Moscow who receive $5,000 a month than in New York. That is, there are almost none at all.

Prostitutes and drug addicts

Many immigrant girls, having worked as babysitters (nannies who look after the house), cannot stand the stupid claims of American housewives and become drug addicts if they do not go home. Many American drug addicts stand in the evenings and offer themselves for next to nothing. These are terrible women. A normal person bypasses them for fifty meters. When they stand or walk, or just do something, they seem to "break", they all the time bend a little in different directions and the movements are somehow crooked. All are very thin - they say that drugs draw all the forces out of the body. Few teeth. For a drug, they are ready for anything - not only for sex, but they can suddenly fall on their knees in front of you or start ugly dance around you, grab your clothes, coax with all your might. It's like hell. If you try to break away, they will start yelling loudly, scolding, shouting that they were trying to attack them, and so on - I myself did not get into such a situation, but I watched from the side, and that was enough for me.

There are also very fat black prostitutes: it’s also scary to walk next to them - they immediately scream and try to grab you and drag you away. I advise you to go around them with a large margin, if you are not very large growth and strength.

About Russian prostitutes.

The US government puts up big barriers by not letting young beautiful girls into America. Why? Because many of them go to engage in prostitution. Firms hire them and bring them in, and then they force them to do it. Do you think the US government is so "positive" thatcares about the purity of morals? Haha, don't make me laugh. The matter is quite different. It's just that Russian prostitutes earn 5-10 or even 15 thousand a month and then... THEY TAKE THE MONEY HOME!!! How! They're taking money out of America! Therefore, the government does not let them into America.
Although I do not advise girls to go to earn prostitution. Think about the cost of all this. You will have to sleep with blacks, and with Spaniards, and with freaks, moreover, with those that cannot be found in Russia. Such girls themselves become disabled in a month or six months. They themselves become drug addicts - I have seen this when before my eyes a pretty girl first boasts of her money and throws it away, buying new clothes, and then after a month you see her writhing in pain and stealing old rags from windows in an attempt to make ends meet.

More about girls. All American women are pot-bellied, snags and crocodiles. The most terrible Russian girl is more beautiful than the most beautiful American woman by a hundred, or maybe a thousand. The only pretty ones there are immigrant women, there are many more pretty black girls. They have very slender figures. And they dance in the streets very beautifully

Disgusting TV in America

Remember, everything in America is a sham. Everything that the officials, the president and others say is a lie. If they say that there are 40 TV channels in America, then this is not just a hoax, it is a hoax squared. On the air, you can catch only 3-4 channels. And what are those channels? Just rubbish compared to ours. There are some conversations, advertising. There are almost no films. NO NEWS!!! How I missed the program "Time"! When I arrived, I watched it every day and enjoyed it. And there I dreamed of seeing at least some news about Russia, but nowhere. Rather, there is news - at a certain time, not every hour. But what is this news? In the news program, the announcer will yell and talk for 10 minutes about how some player in the decisive match hit the ball with a club - and all of America rises on its ears! And then for 5 seconds he will say that there is an epidemic in Russia, hunger, people are dying on the streets and so on, and Yeltsin met with someone ... What is happening in the world? Everything is spoken indistinctly and very briefly, not to be compared with our news broadcasts. Therefore, the Americans do not know what is going on in the world. But everyone is watching - did some jerk hit the ball with a club? Or did it still fail?

What about films? It's just ridiculous. A film on such "television" is shown once a week. Everyone is waiting for him - how, free movie. On Friday they show an old film, which I already watched in Moscow 10 years ago, such as "Police Hire". So he goes know how long? 3 hours! That is, the film should go 1.5 hours, but it is interrupted by advertisements for 10-15 minutes! Can you imagine what a 10 minute advertisement is? You'll be dumbfounded! Note that advertising in Russia lasts no more than 3-4 minutes, and then it gets boring. And now everyone is sitting and watching a FREE FILM from 9 to 12 at night!

But what about 40 channels? Yes, they are. But they are paid. Each - for 40 dollars. (Including Russian television for $40 per month plus installation of $150). Who can afford it? Approximately one of 5-10 families can buy 1 channel for 40 dollars. But even 2 paid channels no one can afford, except maybe millionaires. They visit each other to watch a Russian channel or a rented film. Why, the neighbor rented a new film, an event! Let's go see! Laughter, and nothing more. If it were not sad. It turns out that there is no normal television in America.

There is also no entertainment. At the cinema - a ticket of 50 dollars. Nobody walks. Basically they rent films. There are, however, some cinemas for 8 dollars, but I did not find it, although I was looking specifically.

And another example from the field of entertainment. By the will of fate, I drove past the city of Daytona Beach. There should have been at this time to pass the famous auto race. I said to those who drove me - do you know the auto racing in Dayton? It's awesome! (I knew them from a computer game). Let's finish, let's go! They laughed. I say: "Why not, we're passing through here? Fuck them, 100 dollars for a ticket, let's go - an impression of a lifetime?" And they say: "Don't be ridiculous. Do you know how much a ticket costs? 1000 dollars! ...." I realized that auto racing is also inaccessible to ordinary people ... Millionaires from all over America gather for them ...

Why don't people return?

The question arises: why does everyone leave and do not return? 90 percent - the so-called "refugees". Allegedly they were persecuted and they fled. They are the poor. The most unfortunate people. They sold their apartments and gave away Russian (Ukrainian, Belarusian) passports - they will not be allowed back, and there is nowhere to go. Money from the sold apartments immediately burns out. What is left for them? Comfort yourself. They take it with joy if something bad is said about Russia - it's not so insulting to sit here. For example, when it is reported that dad ate his children from hunger.

By the way, about the Russian passport. With what pride I wore it in America, I was afraid to lose it, I kept it with me all the time! And this is really a huge value! You have no idea how happy you are, having a Russian passport - the passport of the freest and most beautiful country! After this American abomination, you begin to love your homeland, your family ... Moreover, I will say that what the communists used to tell us about America is only half true. They didn't tell us the whole truth about American insanity!

After refugees, the second category is illegal immigrants. These are those who came to visit on fictitious invitations, but stayed to earn some money. The main thing that is 100% the reason for the non-return of illegal immigrants is the inability to earn money. They went to America, thinking of earning money and returning home with money to buy a car or an apartment. And now they do not return, because it would be a shame to look into the eyes of the neighbors (however funny it may be). Do not come from America as beggars! (By the way, this also tormented me, but I spat and returned poor). Hoping to earn money, they stay longer than the period specified in the visa. And that means they will never be allowed back. Therefore, they live in limbo - and they cannot earn money, and they cannot return without money ...

And it is impossible to make money in America. Once again I will explain the layout: the salary is no more than 6-7 dollars per hour. Even if there is a permanent job, it is 1000-1200 dollars a month. After all the deductions per month, you can set aside 100-200 dollars. If you have been looking for a job for a whole month (and this is exactly the case, even more), then time goes by, money is melting, you lived for 600-800 dollars. Only to work them out, you need 4-6 months! And try to hold on to one job for at least a month! Well, if a week! And what to say about how to earn? Many set themselves the goal of earning 5-10 thousand and returning. Very few people succeed. Most do not have a permanent job and do not have those 1000 dollars a month.

Why do some people say that America is good?

This is a very interesting moment. Those who find good jobs do not tell the truth, because they will be fired immediately. There is no freedom of speech there. In Russia, there is 100 times more freedom of speech. Those who say in a personal conversation that it is good in America sometimes think that this is so, because they have not been to Russia for a long time. Sometimes they convince themselves. But in 100% of cases, when I started to challenge them and say: "Well, let's compare what's here and what's there ..." they gave up after five minutes and agreed that they were sitting in deep shit. And there is no way out. And that all of America is shit and a complete lie. No one has ever been able to prove the opposite to me.

Many call their relatives in Russia and sing all sorts of fables about America - as if they were in paradise. Most often this is because they are ashamed to admit that they are fools and have fallen for the American bait. And some invite relatives to their place, so that they are not the only fools and it would not be so dreary to live together.

And what do newspapers write about Russia? That everyone steals. That a hungry dad ate his children in Samara. When I said that it was nonsense, the former Russians answered: "But here is the newspaper, here is what is written in it, so it is true. No, we will not go to Russia. Besides, there is anti-Semitism." Everyone is sure that anti-Semitism is very strong in Russia. Pogroms. Although five minutes later, forgetting about this topic, when it comes to their past life, they remember: “Oh, I had such an apartment, 5 rooms .... And I worked as a chief engineer ... And we all went to rest in the south time... And I still had a foreign car in Russia, and a garage, and a dacha... And what kind of people there were, what kind of friends, what neighbors, I felt so great there... And no one deceived there..."

Lying that America is good, it is very easy to bring an immigrant to clean water. Just tell him something like this: "You like it here, but I came here and suffer. Here I had a car in Russia, an apartment, a job, friends, I went to rest in the south, there were no problems ...." And he he immediately starts boasting: "What's this! I had my own house, I was generally a store manager, I met with both the general secretary and the president and went to a restaurant with diplomats and actors ..." And then he falls silent and is silent ...

Disgusting phone service in America

It is necessary to say a kind word about America. I once went to visit my neighbors in the apartment (8 rooms, 8 families, one kitchen, one toilet, 300 dollars a month). They are refugees from Ukraine, old people. We can say that their life is over. They sit and cry. Bulb dim, 25 watts. It's even good, you can't see how the cockroaches crawl. I sit, I think, how to console them? It is necessary to say something kind about America. Like, not everything here is so bad. Thought and thought and thought. Here, I say, the telephone connection is good here!

It is indeed very high quality. The number is dialed in five seconds by tone dialing (beeps), the connection to the Internet is good. But I praised the phone to my neighbors and immediately remembered how they cheated me. They sent a bill from the telephone company - 20 extra dollars, some kind of negotiations with Los Angeles. I went to swear at the company - what, I say, Los Angeles, damn it? I don't have anyone there! They apologized, they say, next month we will compensate you for the losses. And the next month - bang - they cheated on 30 bucks! I was later explained that this is a common practice. The telephone company is a monopolist and has expensive lawyers. It is useless to sue them, they will prove whatever you want.

Return from disgusting America

To leave America, I had to contact crooks, we wanted to dynamize the bank - take a loan in my name and not repay it. Then they would not let me back to America for this. They scared the hedgehog with his bare bottom! It doesn't hurt. But the bank failed to cheat, and the swindlers, in order to get rid of me, gave money for a return ticket.
And in February 1999, I flew home to Moscow. I was driving from the airport - around the field, birches, God, it's so great!

The door was opened by the wife. I looked at her and almost cried. "Oh, Galya, I'm telling you how beautiful you are! You probably cost at least three thousand bucks a month." Among the Americans, you see, a person costs exactly as much as he earns. A bum, for example, is worth nothing at all, and any policeman can kill him just like that. And a woman is worth as much as the man who owns her earns. Beautiful women are acquired there by wealthy people. "What, I say, you, Galya, I have a beautiful one!" I looked around - Lord, what a wonderful and cool two-room apartment I have! It's American crazy money! I put the suitcases on the floor, and how cockroaches will run out of them! Real American cockroaches! We threw our suitcases on the balcony - the American cockroach, it turns out, can run about half a meter in our February frost. Then he runs out of fuel.

A lot can be said about America. I just don't think there's enough room for everything.

When you fly up to New York, you immediately understand that you are in the very epicenter of events. Kennedy Airport is close to the city and it is possible to view houses, roads, parking lots, shops.

In New York itself, I had a couple of hours before the bus to Philadelphia, so I only managed to get to Time Square. I think this city will impress anyone. Everything looks like a movie set: uniformed cops, NYPD cars, demonstrations with anti-Trump posters, subway steam coming out of the ground, fire trucks, street food, helicopters in the sky, American cars.
Even Moscow will seem quite calm after that. And of course, skyscrapers are a separate conversation. The sky is almost invisible, only if you lift your head vertically.

First photo in America

I liked New York because no one pays attention to you and you can relax. The only thing that is unusual is the abundance of blacks. In general, this is a common occurrence in America, when half the people are African-American, but for me it seemed strange. The most important thing is not to speak blacks, even when you communicate in Russian. They (blacks) will understand this word, and it will be very bad.

Philadelphia is very different from New York: it's quieter, calmer and cheaper. I checked in for the first week via arnbnb in the southern part of the city. Here is my dwelling:

my room

The house is located on Alter Street, I like it here, because it is convenient to get to the center and there is everything you need. The owner is a friendly Asian about 50 years old, who has been living in America for a long time and has already opened his own massage parlor. Three-storey house + basement with laundry. The top floor has a veranda and views of downtown Philadelphia.

Now, about America as a whole. Everyone here is not as friendly as they say. If you do something wrong, no one will be nice to you. At the airport, some Russian guy decided to climb over the barrier tape in order to shorten the path to the counter. The policeman rather harshly told him not to do that again, although the guy was 14 years old. Also, if you don’t know English, then it will be hard in America. Since everyone is busy here and everyone is in a hurry, few people want to wait until you formulate your question. I was denied help a couple of times when asked to show me the way. But I would not say that all these are minuses, you just need to get used to it and understand that America is a rather tough environment. Here you can not count the crows and relax. But at the same time, this country gives a huge potential for making money. The standard of living here is higher than in Russia: good roads, expensive cars drive on them, people are well-groomed and dressed better than our fellow citizens, smiles on their faces and everyone is happy.

As for Philadelphia itself, it is a city with a population of 1.5 million and 4 million in the agglomeration. There are several dozen skyscrapers in the center, and low private houses stand on the outskirts.

As I understand it, almost no one lives in the center. The streets are clean, even lawns and trees, there are many amenities for sports and recreation. In some places, in addition to baseball and basketball courts, I even saw free mini-golf courses. Philadelphia has plenty of cafes and street food at affordable prices. For $10 you can have a very satisfying meal. One of the main attractions here is the Art Museum, on the steps of which Rocky Balboa ran.

Of course, in the future I will write in detail about Philadelphia when I settle here. One of the things I don't like so far is the crime scene. There are areas where it is better not to go once again at night. There, suspicious black people walk on the streets in the evening and behave defiantly. Of course, they do not attack immediately, but they can make noise and shout something. If you pay attention to them, I think you can run into. In Russia, this is somehow calmer. Roughly speaking, if in the Lyubertsy area you can completely buy an apartment and live with your family, then in the North Philadelphia area this is unlikely to work out.

What else was unpleasantly surprised was the subway. It rarely goes there, it is rather dirty and somehow quite gloomy. Now I understand why the Moscow metro is considered the best in the world. Compared to the local one, it is just a Hermitage museum! But I hope that I can buy inexpensive transport here and use it, because I didn’t notice big traffic jams

In general, I like America more and more every day. Of course, this is not paradise, but life here seems more interesting and enjoyable. So far, this is a superficial opinion of a person who does not live in the USA for even a week. But in the future I will describe in detail every aspect of life here. By the way, while I am looking for permanent housing, so the next post will most likely be about it.

P.S. The photo is not very good yet, I will soon buy a new phone and fix it) By the way, subscribe to my

The USA is a rather dirty, poor and uncultured country.

In the US and the rest of the West, advertising about yourself is the best! In fact, upon closer inspection, it turns out that all their advertising is a cheeky hoax. Basically, in the USA they live very modestly and save a lot on everything ...

Impressions of a trip to the USA: too much dirt and devastation

Friends, I went to the USA, here is a short report.

I must immediately make a reservation that I live in Moscow, so I can objectively compare only with Moscow, I know practically nothing about the Russian hinterland, except that when I go on tour, sometimes I walk around the cities in tourist mode (I understand that it is much worse there than in Moscow, but as a Muscovite, it is more important for me to understand the situation for myself).

The trip itself was amazing - in terms of the number of events and impressions. Visited 7 cities: New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. Plus, I traveled almost the entire country by car from south to north - from Houston to New York in zigzags. That is, he looked both in the hinterland and in the capitals. Well, according to his professional interests, he was at the NAMM music exhibition and in one of the famous recording studios in Los Angeles.

Excursion to NASA was also very impressive. In all my trips, I try to visit not only tourist places, but also ordinary rich, middle and poor areas, I try to feel life everywhere not through the eyes of a tourist, but through the eyes of a simple local resident. For example, I ride local subways, electric trains and trams, walk around ordinary non-tourist areas.

Another thing that needs to be said right away is why, at a superficial glance, my story may seem biased, concentrated on the negative. Well, firstly, because all the good things that are here are ordinary, the same as we have: clean modern airports, a more or less modern car fleet, beautiful modern office buildings, modern shopping centers, good fast food and etc. And there is no need to write about this, it is all taken for granted and does not catch the eye of a modern Muscovite.

And, secondly, tourists usually get a camera after getting out of the tourist bus in Times Square. And according to this approach, Russia will seem like a fantastic country: the pictures will show the Kremlin, beautiful churches, Moscow City, Winter Palace, luxury subway, etc. Well, such a nuance - even if, say, on foreground garbage, then being a tourist, you automatically raise your camera and point it at a beautiful building, but the real environment and the atmosphere that catches your eye in life - homeless people, drunks, unkemptness - do not fall into the frame built for beauty.

Well, in general, you won’t take a picture of a specially ugly interchange or garbage on the side of the road. And this is exactly what contributes to the real impression, and what is missing from the tourist photos. And in general, everything in the pictures somehow slicks itself: perhaps because the eyes have a much wider angle and a clearer picture, all the disorder and debris are more striking than in the lens. And further good mood while traveling, a lot of new impressions also help to bias the impression of the country in an emotionally biased direction.

We know the USA by postcard perfect image, which we develop from cinema and from the mythology of the 90s. And, of course, the most important phenomenon that fuels the myth of a fantastic America is the feedback from those who have left. They usually hate Russia with every fiber of their soul, sincerely consider it a poor, dirty, backward, KGBist concentration camp for zombie cattle with washed out state. propaganda with brains (I am almost literally retelling the words of an emigrant with whom I spoke here on these topics).

And at the same time, they noticeably embellish their new life and country. They brag and cheer up, pretending that they live luxuriously. They listen exclusively to Echo of Moscow and are especially happy about our problems and shortcomings, greatly exaggerating them. Such hypertrophy is so conspicuous that it becomes clear that this is a primitive psychological compensation mechanism to justify one's choice of emigration.

Apparently, it is difficult for them to admit to themselves, friends and relatives that they made a mistake and deep down they want to return. For example, Americans, when I tell them that there is an awful lot of garbage in New York compared to Moscow, willingly agree and lament, and emigrants attack me with accusations that I am biased and the zombies of Kiselyov's propaganda. (I don't have a TV at all at home, and I don't even watch Kiselyov).

In order not to give the impression that I am one-sidedly talking only about the bad, I will say a little about the good. Despite the many unsettled conditions, it is still clear that there is a lot of wealth in the country: many good shops, shopping centers, restaurants, many boats are moored at the reservoirs. Excellent airports. Lots of nice and new cars. Lots of nice houses. Almost every self-respecting city has a "downtown" of very beautiful skyscrapers: they look very nice from afar (we only have this in Moscow).

A chic network of intercity roads: they are beautiful - four lanes, divided streams, interchanges everywhere. We have such roads only within a radius of 200 km from Moscow. And in the cities, the roads are functionally very good (despite the unkempt appearance). Almost all office buildings are excellent. Although most private houses do not look rich, they are often quite large and have their own living space.

Of course, many in the US live well. Especially some special professionals like programmers, doctors, businessmen. Perfect Look The life of an American is wonderful, and it exists: a good two-story house, two cars, the house has excellent repairs, appliances and furniture. And such areas come across quite often.

But they are mixed with the poor, and in reality this ideal is being eroded. And, of course, not all Americans live like this. Emigrants here assure me that this is how the majority live, but the words of emigrants must be divided by five: I saw with my own eyes that there are only 20 percent of such prosperous areas. Yes, and these 20 percent - on credit, that is, in constant anxiety, God forbid, with work. Yes, you can build your own America - make good money, live and work in a good area, do not go to bad ones, and then the country will seem wonderful. (Although the same can be done in Russia with no less success.)

But I saw a strong discrepancy between my high expectations and reality - all the beautiful places were filmed. And with an unbiased examination, it becomes clear that absolutely everything is better in Moscow.

What immediately upon arrival caught my eye: a bit too much devastation and debris. In general, everything is very similar to Russia - you go, everything is beautiful (for example, a shopping center), then you go - rusty barns, rickety fences, garbage, etc. And as soon as you leave the airport, city roads are dirty and unkempt, rusty and dirty junctions, rubbish is often an even layer on the roadsides, the asphalt on the streets is uneven, covered in patches. Sobyanin is not on them.

And since you spend a lot of time on the roads, you always have the feeling that you are somewhere in Africa, and not in the main world power. Well, garbage is everywhere: on the roadsides, on the subway tracks, on the sidewalks. I think that it’s just that the local eyes are blurred and they don’t notice it all, but for a Muscovite, the situation with unkemptness and garbage in cities is blatant. Sometimes it is clean in the center (here it is called "downtown").

Of the seven cities visited, purely in downtown Los Angeles and Philadelphia. But this downtown is so small and deserted that it can be ignored. And yet there is no garbage in rare rich areas. But there are so few of them that in general it does not affect the overall feeling. Yes, and in Russia there is no garbage in rich areas, so there is nothing unusual.

By the way, desertion is another unpleasant feature. You drive up to the city - the most beautiful profile of skyscrapers: modern architecture is beautiful here. And you stop by - the streets are empty and literally (literally) there are homeless people on every corner. There are practically no ordinary people on the streets, and if you see a person - 90 percent, this is a homeless person.

There are always a few homeless people in sight. They walk around, asking for money, digging in trash cans, they are in transport in any carriage. Here at 17 everything closes, nothing works on weekends. Yes, and during the day everyone sits in offices. Only homeless people walk and lie everywhere. The feeling that you are in the city after a chemical attack. To me, a Muscovite, this is very strange. People should go for a walk around the shops and cafes just after work - but no, go home to the TV.

Homeless people are actually 100 times more than ours. They are everywhere. This is also a signal that the system is giving a colossal failure. And a lot of them are white and the signs say something like “fought in Iraq, screwed up, became homeless, help, God bless you.”

I was told by the locals that the average American family has a maximum of a month's supply of money - that is, if you lose your job and miss payments for housing and a car, they don’t talk much here - they are evicted to the street with children and that’s it. And then the whole life is derailed, because the information gets into the general banking database, and you will no longer be given a loan for a new home, even if you find a job. I hope that many in the USA also have kind mothers who will help to sit out difficult times, but it’s still somehow harsh.

Further. These "downtowns" are usually a couple of square kilometers in total, beyond which not very attractive areas begin. Somewhere better, somewhere worse, but overall a feeling of poverty. Moreover, there are a lot of districts, only two or four kilometers from the center - complete devastation and poverty, which in Moscow never existed even, as we think, in the most terrible outlying areas.

A handful of African Americans sitting on the grass and seeing you off with an unkind look add special colors. Often there are no sidewalks, roads are broken, terrible brooms from wires on poles, graffiti, rickety rusty fences, peeling, unkempt tiny wooden huts. Of course, if you live in a good area, then there is no need to stop by these areas, but for a Muscovite this is a glaring sight: in Moscow, five kilometers from the Kremlin, everything is perfect, even for a postcard. Yes, in general, the whole of Moscow is ideal in comparison with this squalor.

There are, of course, normal areas with good houses, but it's all very mixed up in cities - and when you drive past nice houses, then after a kilometer past poor ones, already general perception cities are rather sad (well, let's not forget about the unkempt road infrastructure). Our ideal Moscow roads with fresh markings, no debris, painted, illuminated interchanges - just a fantastic 3D picture against the backdrop of American reality.

New York: It's especially bad here. Beautiful only in the very center - in the area Central Park, Broadway and Wall Street. A kilometer to the side: some kind of Albania begins: devastation, a wild amount of garbage, broken patched-patched asphalt, of course, there are homeless people on every corner. Narrow untidy sidewalks, everywhere some dubious kiosks (again, let's remember Sobyanin with a kind word).

In a few good areas, it's great - there is no garbage and devastation. But housing prices are such that we can assume that they do not exist - only millionaires can live there (rent 400-500 thousand rubles per month for an apartment, approximately). These are fractions of a percent of the total population. Our rich live even richer in Moscow skyscrapers, on Rublyovka or Ostozhenka, and we have no less such elite housing. So there is nothing special here either.

But the poorer areas that I've been to in New York (like Brooklyn) are just the bottom. Imagine the most remote village in Russia - garbage, graffiti, some kind of rusty iron gates, fences, houses with peeling plaster, etc. And that will not be so bad, because here the local atmosphere is also added - the local people inhabiting this bottom. In our sunken village, it will not be so sad on the streets precisely because of the people. Homeless people, drunks, local gopota everywhere (mostly African Americans, of course).

Many areas of New York and in the suburbs are, as it were, prosperous (such as the middle Staten Island or Raritan, for example) - this is just such a typical one-story-two-story America. But upon closer examination, the magic myth that every American has his own house and this is kind of cool does not add up: it is clear that these houses are so-so, many are worn out (they are really made of two layers of plywood, this is how interior partitions are made here, perhaps) , the area of ​​​​many is not much larger than a Moscow apartment.

In New York, on the contrary - an apartment in a high-rise building with a concierge looks like more elite housing. For example, not far from the center of Houston, renting a rather wretched one and a half room apartment (much smaller than the usual Khrushchev and with a much lower ceiling, making it completely sad) costs 80,000 rubles. per month. And about 100 thousand rubles. - mortgage payment with insurance for a small house in the suburbs.

The endless belt of private houses around Moscow is very affluent housing by American standards. In addition, we traditionally have houses with plots, but here these plots are so scanty (four meters from the house in the backyard) that we can assume that they do not exist.

Next is the deep. Everything is bad here. There is such a myth that in the USA it is equally good everywhere - both in New York and in a village in Mississippi. This is wrong. In the outback, even the houses of the white population are very, very modest. Well, exactly like in our villages - such a small wooden one-story house. Most often, it fits on the platform of a truck (I saw how they are transported). Many houses are also unkempt, with traces of devastation. And non-residential buildings here also look very poor, just like ours: something normal, but something dilapidated, rusty or abandoned.

Refueling - no words. For example, we have BP gas stations - a synonym for grooming and wealth. In American villages, these are some kind of shabby barns with dirty, painted toilets. By the way, crap toilets often come across in cities - I think this is due to the wild number of homeless people. For example, at McDonald's in Pittsburgh, you can only get into the toilet with the permission of the manager, but even if you get there, you won't be happy. But in fairness, it should be noted that there are many good toilets - at airports, for example. But, since the absolute majority of toilets in Moscow are clean, the Muscovite in general is a little surprised by the state of American toilets.

As for the resort infrastructure, everything is better in Sochi. Yes, and in the Crimea in half the places better. I have visited three very different and distinctive resort areas: Brighton Beach, Malibu and Galveston. Well, firstly, the ocean is everywhere - it's unpleasant to swim, it's just hard: it's always a struggle with big waves. Waves raise the sand and the water from this muddy and opaque. Plus wildly corrodes the eyes. Swimming is also unrealistic - to go to the depth you have to go for a very long time, you get tired, again, the waves knock down.

And when you get out of the water - often the strongest wind from the ocean does not allow you to relax. Yes, and scary: every year at least once in the local news, someone was injured by a shark. And in Galveston, for example, there is additional stress: very often in completely opaque water, fish touch you - you shudder specifically - and suddenly it's a shark.

In short, swimming somewhere above Sevastopol is just a paradise in comparison with this: the purest calm water, a gently sloping bottom, a beautiful coast, no sharks. By the way, the resort buildings are not far from some of our Gelendzhik or Alushta - there are luxury hotels, but there are also some semi-sheds. In general, everything is like ours, only the sea is worse. And the natural beauties in Sochi and in the Crimea are much better here than on these three shores that I visited.

By the way, about Los Angeles, I accidentally started my acquaintance with the city from the Mexican area - this is also the bottom. A rare Russian outback in such a terrible state - some kind of dumb sheds, garages, endless graffiti, shabby houses. We do not have such poverty, dirt, garbage and devastation on such a scale. Or rather, we have, but locally and quite rarely. It's ubiquitous here. 300 meters from a decent beach, rubbish deposits on the side of the road, for example.

Then I went to see Beverly Hills and my mood improved a little - it’s clean there (but they’re far from Rublyovka there - there are no palaces like ours, even in Hollywood). And in general, the city is also dirty and rather poor and unkempt. A few normal places like the Avenue of Stars, and a hundred meters to the side - a typical Russian outback.

Particularly bad in the US is the subway. After Moscow, it’s just a branch of hell: iron bars everywhere (so that no one can climb through without a ticket), beaten toilet tiles, narrow, dirty, unkempt passages, escalators, entrances, sad dim stations like an abandoned toilet, garbage on the rails. Trains run every 10-20 minutes. There are no words. There can’t even be a thought in such horror about free Wi-Fi!

There are, of course, many good places- these are, as a rule, such prosperous suburbs from one-two-story houses. It's quite nice there - clean streets, mowed lawns. But, again, they are few. 20 percent of the strength (I'm just now sitting and writing in this). And they are terribly boring - not a soul on the street, you won’t reach the nearest pharmacy or store on foot. And, of course, from conversations with the locals, I realized that this well-being is not easy.

To live normally, you need to earn seven thousand here. Such salaries are only 20 percent of the population. And most Americans, they say, get around three thousand clean. But here there are terrible monthly bills for everything - for housing and communal services, insurance, etc. The minimum runs up (this is if you live very modestly, even save on the number of TV channels, do not use mobile Internet, etc.) $ 2,500. If you live normally, as we do in Moscow - $ 3,500.

That is, for food, clothes, kindergartens, car repairs, gasoline, travel, purchases, $ 500 remains. And this is unrealistically small. Everything is very expensive here - you have to pay a lot of money for every sneeze. For example, a one-way trip across a bridge in New York is $15, a monthly train pass is $450, a kindergarten is $600 (there are no free ones like we have), etc. Parking from 700 to 2000 rubles. per day (and except for parking lots and shopping centers, you can’t stop anywhere). How the locals survive here is simply incomprehensible. For example, in Moscow I buy a package of mobile Internet for 1300 rubles. 30 GB per month - here the same traffic will cost 30,000 rubles !!!

Americans, apparently because of this, work very hard, often stay late at the office, go out on weekends. They have only two weeks of paid vacation (and not four, like ours, plus almost as many different vacations), maternity leave only three months (and not three years!, as we have). They are forced to devote their whole lives to work, otherwise, in case of dismissal, their whole life can fly downhill - you lose your mortgage or rented housing, honey. insurance, etc. Sick leave is not paid - everyone gets sick at their own expense.

It seems to be good traits, which we know about America and Americans, upon closer examination, turn into their opposite: it would seem a worthy feature - they are hard-working, not lazy, like us. But, in fact, this does not come from a good life and, as a result, the prevalence of depression and the use of antidepressants, the closure of life at work, there is almost no time for oneself. This lifestyle is what takes away happiness from a person and makes him a slave in invisible shackles.

So, friends, do not admire the absolute figures of supposedly high average salaries in the United States. In terms of the number of real goods, this is 5 times less than what we can buy with an average Moscow salary. The state pension here is also such that it is generally impossible to live on it (something like $ 700, but you don’t look at absolute numbers, because the mandatory payments are from $ 2,000 per month, well, at least 800, if you save a lot and housing loan already repaid for retirement). Or rather, perhaps at a minimum - in social housing, with the help of social services. programs.

But this is not the mythological prosperous life of American pensioners. I estimated by eye approximately the real exchange rate of the ruble, if you recalculate it according to its very approximate household purchasing power parity - a maximum of 15 rubles per dollar. Glazyev, it turns out, is absolutely right in naming such a real exchange rate.

For you personally, this means this: for example, if you receive 45,000 rubles, then you live exactly the same as the average American who receives $ 3,000 a month. And even better, because if you take into account the wildly inflated utility and insurance tariffs here (a bill for household services such as water and electricity of 20,000 rubles a month is not uncommon here), then the real exchange rate of the ruble for comparative recalculations will be closer to 10 rubles per dollar .

This applies to almost everything on average - renting a house, eating in fast food, cellular communications, travel by transport, parking, normal products, etc. Here, even a movie in exactly the same Apple online store is exactly five times more expensive to rent. Everything here is on average five times more expensive, well, of course, except for things that are made only here, and not in China or not in Russia (synthesizers, for example). But this does not count - few people buy them in everyday life, only half a percent of the population like us, musicians. And that is rare (guitars, monitors, microphones, amplifiers, drums, etc., for example, there are Russian ones no worse than American ones).

The locals confirm about tolerance: if you blurt out once politically incorrectly about an African American, then you can ruin your life in general, you will be fired immediately and then they will not be hired for a single decent job. Everyone is silent, but African Americans secretly hate whites, and whites hate African Americans.

They also say that everything is very tough in relations with the police. And they themselves are terribly afraid of breaking something. For example, my guide was shocked that I just want to stand and look at the landing planes. He was convinced that the police would now grab me and take me for interrogation - if I was a terrorist. By the way, documents, car number, addresses, phone numbers, etc. are required everywhere. It's like a police state. Ours is much softer. Even at the entrance to the music exhibition everyone's passport was checked! And in hotels, it’s just tough how much information you need to say about yourself when you check in - car number, home address, index, passport, signature, credit card details. Unless they take fingerprints.

About the famous smile - I began to take a closer look - indeed the smiles are fake in the majority. Most often, such intonations simulated “oh, how good it is to see you, how are you doing, blah blah blah” gradually began to distinguish when sincerely, and when feigned. In a personal conversation, if you remind me, I will parody. Many still sincerely smile and are interested - but these are, first of all, friends and colleagues in music.

The coolest thing about this falsehood is that as soon as such a “smiling and friendly” person switches from English to Russian, the fake mask is removed and the person begins to speak sincerely. There is something deep, coding behavior at the language level in this.

Another interesting observation is the news. Our TV is the height of intelligence and analysis compared to local ones. There, the releases are something like this: 1. Someone killed someone (and they are sure to be killed every day), 2. Trump or Clinton said another banality, 3. The weather. And so every day in a circle. Well, if it's analytics, then some one topic chosen for a month is being discussed. Now - to tighten or not the sale of weapons. That is, not cancel or not, but a nuance: like, more certificates or less (this is a typical far-fetched difference between Republicans and Democrats - they argue about nuances or ephemeral problems, creating the appearance different points point of view, but there are no differences on the main issues: this is one party - everything is like ours).

In short, a false agenda. No real issue is discussed, nor world events. This is worse than our propaganda - just ignoring everything in general. Still, even take Kiselyov’s program - there is a whole hour of analytics, albeit biased, on various real topics (I leafed through an online podcast a couple of times when someone on FB gave a link to his reports like nuclear dust). That is, although it is biased, you see that the world exists, that different problems exist at least.

In general, friends, rounding off, I will say that I have been to many countries: Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Cyprus, Italy, Egypt, Montenegro - of which the USA is better only than Egypt. In general, everything in Europe is well-groomed and pretty, such devastation does not occur. I am very surprised by the situation.

In short, I look forward to the day when I return to Moscow - I will appreciate it even more: Moscow after the USA is simply beautiful - the best city on Earth! And it turns out that I live the way only millionaires can afford to live in the USA (by area, home, lifestyle, chic favorite work, quantity and quality of rest, food, car, cultural environment, clean streets, chic transport, providing children with kindergartens, playgrounds, total goods consumed, by the relative amount of money in terms of household PPP, etc.). And, of course, there is not the slightest desire to live in the USA - everything (absolutely everything) is better in Moscow.

In general, from my observations during the journey and conversations with locals, it is confirmed negative feedback our returnees from there.

Source

Poverty in the USA: How it really is in the USA

American poverty. Full movie!

Lika. 26 years. state of Montana.

Hello everyone, my name is Lika and a year and a half ago I moved to the USA, Wisconsin from Omsk, Russia. I flew to my young man whom I had previously met in America during my vacation. Adaptation took place at all stages, there was an incredible euphoria, which after some time was replaced by hatred and further infusion into the culture. Now I can easily call this country my home. I still knew English before moving, so I had no strong problems with understanding. Now even that has disappeared, plus you can finally relax in the cinema without straining your ears ?.
I won’t describe the pros and cons in detail, I’ll just say that I really like this country, I love the people here, their attitude to everything, the country teaches you to be more tolerant of others. No domestic aggression between people. Everywhere is clean and tidy. And yes, we walk at home in shoes on white carpets (dust is blown off the streets). There are no homeless cats and dogs, but there are plenty of homeless squirrels, deer and raccoons in the yard ( note: backyard - the backyard of the house) and in general where would you not go?.
Of the serious disadvantages - very expensive medicine.
So far I have been to Illinois (a frequent visitor to Chicago, Rockford, St. Charles and many other cities), Minnesota (the cities of St. Paul, Minneapolis) and everywhere in Wisconsin, there is not much time to travel yet. We are a family business and at the moment we are busy making money. I have a dream to arrange a route 66 trip. Hope we can do it.
I do not plan to study here, only if there are some courses for myself at a local college. Though I might change my mind. In Russia, I studied at the university in a technical specialty and then worked for several years as an engineer in OAO Russian Railways.
At the moment I am satisfied with my life and I absolutely do not regret my decision to change it. I don’t miss my homeland, if only for my parents, but Skype helps out. We are all busy, so there is practically no time to communicate with each other.

I would like to give advice to those who are thinking of moving: I would not advise moving just because of the money. And if you think that money is given here very easily, it is not so. You will have to work a lot. The main thing is that the heart lies and there is adaptability to culture, which, by the way, is not the same for everyone. I think life in the USA is far from being for everyone and a person can be much happier in Russia under certain conditions, like self-realization, family, friends, etc. And there are other people who might make sense to move, again, to each his own. If you feel that this is yours, do not wear rose-colored glasses and agree to adapt to life in another world - go for it! Better to do and regret than not to do and then regret for the rest of your life.

If you also live in the States and are ready to write in the heading “ Real stories from life” (which would be very cool!), write to me (if you need help, I will also help)✍️.

Read more stories from life in the rubric

At first, I ran through the article with my eyes and realized that these were just my feelings that I had both a year and five years later of my life in the USA. In September it will be 10 years, and America is still the same.

Read her article, and I will comment on some places in her article that seemed important and interesting to me. As usual, in italics. Enjoy your reading and wind on your mustache.

I remember very well how, during the preparation for the move, very many of those who learned about this fact told us that America is a beautiful country and we would not want to return under any circumstances. To be honest, I did not fully understand such statements.

Of course, I am aware that I lived in a country of not the most advanced technologies, but I am not from a village, and besides, constant travel around the world has opened my horizons quite widely. And therefore I could not understand in any way what could be in this America that people are going crazy.

Now, after a year of living in the country, to be honest, I have not seen anything like that. At the same time, you know me, I am not the kind of person who does not know how to notice the good. Every morning I still rejoice at the river outside the window and the noisy Canadian geese that do not let me sleep.

Just so that in America there is nothing SUCH, supernatural. It's just that life in the country is adjusted for people, that's all. As Vysotsky sang, I remembered these lines a hundred times:

The same forest, the same air and the same water.

Moreover, I repeatedly caught myself in deja vu, especially at first. Here, near Chicago, the nature is exactly like in the suburbs, where I lived for 14 years. And it used to happen that you were driving in a car and it seemed that Lobnya or Kupavna would be around the corner. I had to shake it off like an obsession.

And after thinking carefully, I was still able to highlight some special moments that I am very, very sympathetic to in California and the injection of which, it seems to me, is extremely necessary for Peter for sure 🙂

In general, all the points I have listed, and some left behind the scenes, relate to the fact that life in this country is arranged for people. Wherever you are, you understand that someone here has already thought about how to make you feel good before you. This is, of course, a very pleasant factor for life.

Yes exactly: life for people. It was possible to confine ourselves to this phrase altogether and not write anything else.

Feature number one - a sense of security

In general, this feeling, of course, is not easy to describe in words, but I will try. I remember the first time I caught myself feeling this pleasant moment about a month after the move. We were at home and the time was something around nine in the evening. And then Ruslan urgently needed some kind of screwdriver, which we did not have. He got up and went to the store.

And while he was gone, I was calm in my heart - I did not worry about him. In St. Petersburg, deep down, I was always a little worried if he returned home after ten in the evening. Not that she was winding herself up, but just being, for example, at home, somewhere in the depths of her soul, the mosquito was sitting with anxiety. Here, I completely forgot about this feeling.

At the same time, I do not have my head in the clouds, so you understand. But when I go home in the dark, I don’t carry my bag with all my strength and I don’t fiddle with a gas canister in my pocket. I'm still surprised by cars in the parking lot with windows left ajar and things in the back seat. I also lock everything central locking, sitting in the car. But I do not expect a catch from all the strange personalities that I see along the way.

Explanations are required here. Not everywhere is so good. For example, on the south side of Chicago, the so-called South Site, you may not walk home.

Or there near the town of Gary, in Indiana, where, by the way, Michael Jackson was born. We were passing through there, and in general, we saw all sorts of faces, mostly black ones.

But this is only in some places that everyone knows well. Mostly African Americans live there. They are not going to work, they sell drugs, there are frequent murders and other crimes. Whites do not settle there and there is always a hospital, not even one.

The problem of the black population in the United States exists, this cannot be brushed aside. If someone is interested in the details, I advise you to read the book Freakonomics. It is in Russian.

Feature number two - benevolence

Perhaps this is the first and most powerful impression of America and its inhabitants. At every step, the most friendly people I have ever met are waiting for you.

They talk to you in the supermarket. While they are making purchases for you and packing them in packages, you can find out the latest news or just discuss the weather outside the window. If you are standing on the road, and they are passing by on a bicycle, they will certainly praise the landscape around and say that you are well done for stopping and admiring this beauty.

While you are sitting on the grass and watching the ducks take off, which turned out to be actually Canadian geese, a woman passing by will ask if the ducks are afraid to pose. And it will set you up for great pictures. And if you meet someone's gaze somewhere in a tourist place, they will certainly smile and wish you a good day.

And if they suddenly see that you are a couple and take pictures of each other, they will immediately offer to take a picture of you together. They will compliment you that you are a wonderful couple and wish you a wonderful day again.

It just killed me the first time. So I put on a new, bright, colored shirt, and my wife and I went to the store. Hop, the checkout clerk is sure to say she has a son-in-law in Florida and he wears one. And praise me for a good choice. This is not to somehow flatter me or suck up to me, it's just THEY ARE!

And again, not everything is so smooth. Once I go for a walk with the dog, suddenly some aunt who was passing by tells me that it is necessary to have a bag for dog affairs. I showed her two and asked if she needed it, by any chance? She snorted angrily and walked on.

This I mean that in America, too, there are enough people of all kinds. No need to think that everyone here is angels. But in 10 years of my life I have not seen a single fight and only one drunk.

Feature number three - travel

I am extremely sorry that I did not travel much in Russia. And I want to believe that there were good reasons for that. For example, in the end we did not dare to go to Karelia simply because the road that leads there is not just bad, but disgusting.

Highways here are excellent everywhere. True, there are “more excellent and less”. And ordinary roads in Illinois are not very good, and for some reason they are constantly being repaired.

I don't know what it's about. Moreover, in the neighboring state of Wisconsin, the roads are simply mirrored. This is still not clear to me, and I have no answer to the question.

Of course, those places are worth such a road, but damn it, it’s simply not worth suffering once again. Or, for example, I really love the city of Pskov. But to find a decent hotel there at an adequate price, you need to have no selection criteria at all, except for a roof over your head. And this is only 600 km from St. Petersburg. What can we say about more distant cities.

At the same time in America we travel a lot. At least once a month we leave for three days. And the most beautiful thing about these trips is that they always pass with comfort. Wherever you go, there are good roads everywhere, thoughtful infrastructure with places to stay, decent hotels in the same price category ($100-150 per night). That is, you travel and do not think that you can be left without food, without gasoline, without an overnight stay.

When we travel, my wife and I choose hotels for 50-60 dollars in advance. But here we are in the Midwest. With breakfast, swimming pool, sauna, gym, etc. Normal hotels, not motels. Just remember the word "Inn" (Inn) and always look for them on the map.

I will also say that Americans, including Russian Americans, who are used to the fact that you feel at home anywhere in America, are simply horrified by hotels in Europe.

My wife and I were once in Canada, in Vancouver. And even there it is worse than in the USA. A simple example. Breakfast in the hotel in the morning. In the US, you take everything from the trays and pour the drinks yourself. And there you have to ask the person at the counter to serve this, pour this, etc.

And there are many other little things that help to feel very, very comfortable. For example, in any park or even a square there are free toilets with toilet paper and taps with drinking water.

Not only in the park, but in any forest too. More benches, a table, a trash can and a barbecue grill. True, you need to have your own firewood, as a rule. It goes without saying that you can’t cut down a birch tree for firewood - there is a fine for this, or even a prison.

If you suddenly found yourself in a shoe store and decided to try on something out of shoes, but you didn’t have footprints with you, no one will look askance at you - there is always a whole box with free new footprints for buyers on the sofas for trying on.

I didn't know, I'll have to keep that in mind! 🙂

If you broke a bottle of wine in the store through your own fault, you will not need to justify yourself to the store employees. Rather, they will do it - they will run around you in a crowd with tons of napkins, fence off the place of a broken bottle as if it were a crime scene and will apologize for a long time and will not let you pay for your oversight.

It's true. Especially often children will play and drop something. And the song begins: “I will cry! No, we won't let you!"

Very quickly you will get used to the fact that all the most valuable things are delivered by mail and none of these valuables are lost, even if the $1300 box is left right at your doorstep. front door. And you can send a postcard or a letter right in your house, because there is a special window for outgoing correspondence.

I already wrote somewhere that no, no, and they catch some Russian who watches the postman and picks up such large parcels at other people's doors. Americans are indifferent to this. It would never occur to anyone to take something from strangers.similar