What Living In The US Is Really Like
Ok - I believe that living in the US for around nine months now somewhat legitimizes me as as an authority to air my opinion on this subject.
So here you go.
Never let your guard down
US is great and you can be assured of a leaf from the ‘American Dream’ playbook so long as you don’t fall prey to the numerous scams that are so embedded in the system that astonishingly no one even talks about it anymore.
I can’t keep a count of the number of times people have tried to hoodwink me to get a hold of my bank account / credit card details or social security number. I get gobsmacked every time I look at how creative people become to get a hold of this information. I’m so paranoid that I no longer lead telephonic conversation for fear that someone at the other end would record my voice and use it for egregious purposes.
Well, there’s a silver lining - expect the government and your bank to be in your corner. In the unlikely event of things blowing up, be prepared for support to recoup your financial losses.
Be prepared to be always switched on
Yes, I mean always. While I typically end-up working an active nine - ten hours per day, I have no agency over when these hours begin or end. Each day is different and brings about a new set of challenges and whether it is starting my day at six-thirty in the morning or ending at nine o’clock at night, I need to fit my life around my work schedule. So, I often fit in blocks of time for my workout, food and other personal chores based on empty slots in my work day - essentially I never switch-off and I don’t know anyone who does. This is partially due to the time zone difference just within the US with West (PT) and East coast (ET) three hours apart, this in addition to working with teams in India at odd hours can wreak a havoc on your mental and physical well-being.
Good side of capitalism, hard work pays off and when when you are vacationing in the Bahamas or in the Hawaiian islands, you (at least I do) will rationalize to yourself why you sold your life to the corporate devil in the first place.
Ugly side? If you are an immigrant like me, be ready to pack your backs and leave for your home country as this corporate devil doesn’t have a soul - as evidenced by the recent tech layoffs.
Living in the US is not so different from living in India
Of course, both countries are poles apart but they are more similar than they are dissimilar.
Similarities:-
- The federal vs state government set-up which reflects in different policies and taxation across states
- Emphasis on higher education especially Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Employer sponsored health insurance
- Wealth gaps and economic disparity. In fact, US, China and India (in that order) have the highest number of billionaires in the world
- The US and India have the biggest film industries - Hollywood and Bollywood
Dissimilarities:-
- India and the US are different is all possible ways in which India, a developing country, would be different from a white developed country.
- In India, the primary point of polarization between people is based on their caste and religion. In the US, division is mainly based on race and politics.
