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Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

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Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#61

Post by 2rsf »

duxup wrote: post #50

Side note: I think you might want to temper some of the advice from local Americans here with finding a group of folks from a similar background at your school ... and getting advice from them. As a local I think our understanding of what you might find strange or confusing, is probably a bit off. Other folks who have made that move might better understand where you're coming from.

As an immigrant to Sweden I totally agree, there are things that a local would never understand or even know exist. Opening a bank account for example could be a totally different experience as a newcomer

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#62

Post by lsllc »

Grazester wrote: post #17
dyingkneepad wrote: post #14

People who know Mexican Spanish may not be able to understand your Spanish, especially the ones who didn't learn Spanish as a first language. Grocery stores often have international sections, you may be able to find some stuff you're familiar with in the Hispanic Foods section. There is dulce de leche, but it's not the same thing. You can find canned yerba mate tea from the Guaiaki brand. Again, it's not the one you…

>People who know Mexican Spanish may not be able to understand your Spanish, especially the ones who didn't learn Spanish as a first language. I think this is an exaggeration(Like saying a Brit can't understand an American or something). The meaning of some words may be different but to say they can't understand each other is a far stretch. Some countries still use the vosotros conjugation but I don't think that is g…

Heh, have you (assuming english is your 1st language) ever been to Liverpool, Newcastle or Glasgow in the UK?

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#64

Post by omosubi »

Before you sign a lease on an apartment make sure you understand exactly what the lease says and what you are responsible for, particularly in shared living situations - you don't want to be on the hook for 3k for a summer that you don't intend to live there. Plenty of shady landlords in college towns. If you're living in campus housing it shouldn't be a problem

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#65

Post by atat7024 »

renewiltord wrote: post #21

* Get a credit card. Discover is easy for students. Pay the bill every month. Do not (even once) hold a balance. Do not do balance transfers. Do not churn. Too easy for a newbie to get wrong. * Get a local bank account. Turn off the thing called 'overdraft protection'. It's a loan mechanism. * Find the other foreign students in your class. They'll know where to pirate all the textbooks. Never pay for a US textbook. E…

Cheapest phone can equal devastation if you don't choose the right one.

Pixel 3 or higher with GrapheneOS.org installed will run you between $100-$150 today. Worth the stability and battery life.

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#66

Post by Trias11 »

US taxes their citizens or residents on their worldwide income.

If you spend enough time in USA, build business and then decide to move to less tax abusive and freedom restricting environment - you still will be owing a big chunk of your income to US government, every year, forever. There are some miniscule deductions but they won't really work for 7 figure entrepreneurs.

And with the current administration mentality this situation is not going to get better.

Something to consider.

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#67

Post by culopatin »

Argentinian here.

My biggest piece of advice is to not expect the US to be Arg. “I can’t believe these Americans do X, in Argentina is Y” is a useless thought unless used as a joke or just a comparison. Some people come to the US and never care to teach themselves to be a US resident/citizen, and they stay in their bubbles denying that THEY moved to a new country on their own.

People in the streets will think you speak Portuguese. Actually, those who are somewhat educated will know you’re near Brazil but for some reason won’t be able to figure out you are NOT Brazil.

Those less educated won’t even know where Argentina is.

I find it endearing, don’t get discouraged and use it as a conversation piece. I like to say “do you know where that is? Or just “let me show you on the map” after I say I’m from Argentina.

I know how this sounds, but I’ve travelled most of the country by car and I’ve been in very small towns of the Midwest and if you’re on the whiter side of Argentinian skin tone then you’ll be better received. Sad but true.

Learn to pronounce the letter “I”, and the Th. They are not found in Spanish so it’s weird. Scissors is not “seesors”, lift is not leeft. And Three is not tree, Thick is not tick. Etc

For the most part be yourself, our culture is not that far removed from the US.

Edit: not sure what your upbringing was like, but try not to fall into the consumerism that will make you take a loan or a credit for everything. You’ll see peers driving a $40k car in school and you’ll think that you can do it too, you can, but paying $600 a month in a car is NOT the way to do it. Argentinians are somewhat frugal, stay that way and you’ll find yourself not worrying about money very soon.

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#68

Post by mettamage »

dragonwriter wrote: post #60
GoldenMonkey wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans pets are wealthier and better fed than 99% of the world’s people. Ask me how I know.

> Americans pets are wealthier and better fed than 99% of the world’s people. If so, that would, mathematically, also include a minimum of about 75% of the US population, and that assumes the entire global top 1% is American, which it isn’t.

328 million/7.9 billion ~= 4.15%

The poorest Americans are definitely much poorer than the poorest western europeans [1]. Western Europe has 196 million people (about 2.4% of the world population) [2].

I'd estimate that 10% of the world population (790 million people) has a comfortable modern middle class life. It's just an intuition. Northen Europe as 106 million people.

[1] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/western-europ....

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#69

Post by culopatin »

bogomipz wrote: post #42
P_I_Staker wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less than 20% is a soft slap in the face in many places. More so, if it's less than 15%. Some people use other "systems" though, so they might not even be paying based on the number on the check. If the bill is overpriced that's often a reason people use to skimp on the "percentage".

>"Less than 20% is a soft slap in the face in many places." Wow, that's a bit sensational. Using LA/NYC as a point of reference, tipping is basically a spectrum. For drinks in a bar the minimum tip is a dollar and two is a good tip. For a taxi driver 15% is acceptable for average service and 20% would be for good service. For dining out 15% is perfectly adequate for just average service and 20% and above for good ser…

I didn’t know I was supposed to tip taxi drivers too. Why not just make the rates what they need to be and we stop this unspoken rule payment thing already?

Re: Ask HN: Moving to US from Argentina for college. Any advice for a newcomer?

#70

Post by culopatin »

dyingkneepad wrote: post #14

People who know Mexican Spanish may not be able to understand your Spanish, especially the ones who didn't learn Spanish as a first language. Grocery stores often have international sections, you may be able to find some stuff you're familiar with in the Hispanic Foods section. There is dulce de leche, but it's not the same thing. You can find canned yerba mate tea from the Guaiaki brand. Again, it's not the one you…

I get my Yerba from Amazon, big selection there. Same with cookies. No luck with baked goods, nothing compares.
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