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Old 10-15-2011, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Melbourne oz
112 posts, read 363,659 times
Reputation: 129

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It wont be until at least 4 years time however I am looking to move to America (Chicago being one of 3 cities I have chosen). I am curious to find out what locals in Chicago feel about foreigners (e.g Aussies) working and living in Chicago. I will either be working for an American company in Australia then transfering over or applying for work in Chicago. I am currently studying and it wont be until about 4 years time that I be ready to apply for a green card. (my line of work is Marketing in a niche market). Also due to the current economic climate I would not move over (hence the other reason why I be waiting for 4 years). Looking forward to your comments!
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Old 10-15-2011, 09:38 AM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,935,420 times
Reputation: 17478
Quote:
Originally Posted by coming2america View Post
It wont be until at least 4 years time however I am looking to move to America (Chicago being one of 3 cities I have chosen). I am curious to find out what locals in Chicago feel about foreigners (e.g Aussies) working and living in Chicago. I will either be working for an American company in Australia then transfering over or applying for work in Chicago. I am currently studying and it wont be until about 4 years time that I be ready to apply for a green card. (my line of work is Marketing in a niche market). Also due to the current economic climate I would not move over (hence the other reason why I be waiting for 4 years). Looking forward to your comments!
You might want to post in the Chicago forum.

People in Chicago are used to foreigners pretty much. I lived in Evanston (Chicago Suburb) and we had lots of foreign students at Northwestern. I loved the diversity. I am sure the locals would be welcoming to you.
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Old 10-15-2011, 12:34 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,284,608 times
Reputation: 6426
Chicago is a melting pot. People from all over the world come to live in Chicago, NYC and LA. In any case you are moving in to an area with 10-18M people. Chicago is not the 24-hour town like NYC and LA. Chicago is not on an ocean, but it has all the big city ammeniites all other big cities have. It is not Europe with its many small compact countries and monarchs. It is nothing like Canada, but it can get Canada cold in the winter. It is entirely different than anything you know today. Everything is different from the road signs to the loo. America can be a large learning curve. And four years from now you will have a different perspective on life and what you want in your future.
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Old 10-15-2011, 01:12 PM
 
1,131 posts, read 2,028,226 times
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Far Eastern, Middle Eastern, Indian, Eastern European, and Latin American immigrants are reasonably well accepted in Chicago. In comparison to those places, the difference in the culture between the US and your home of Australia are minor. Other than people being slightly intrigued (and maybe even attracted) by your accent and slight dialect differences, you'll probably not even be noticed as a "foreigner."
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Old 10-15-2011, 01:43 PM
 
491 posts, read 1,122,300 times
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In my experience most Europeans who visit certainly like Chicago, but I would imagine most wind up in NY...it's just that much more exciting. Most come wanting to 'do' America for a few years and Chicago while great is not NY. That's been my experience anyway.

Obviously Australians are not Europeans but same difference.

LA...meh...
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Old 10-15-2011, 01:45 PM
 
924 posts, read 2,105,147 times
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Yeah, coming2america, you didn't mention whether you're a man or a woman, or your age range, or whether you're married or single. but my experience with some Aussies that I've known in Chicago was that more than anything, as madpaddy said, they found that women in Chicago were remarkably attracted to a guy's Australian accent, even if the guy wasn't particularly good-looking or had anything else special going for him. So much so, in fact, that I occasionally attempted to learn and affect an Australian accent, but I could never really get it right, and when I talked like that I ended up just sounding like I was having a seizure.
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Old 10-15-2011, 02:07 PM
 
5,985 posts, read 13,136,006 times
Reputation: 4931
Come on down.

We don't have all that many Aussies (or Brits) in the Chicago area, so people would be particularly curious (in a good way).

Most of our foreign born in the Chicago area are largely from Mexico, Eastern Europe, and India (in that order). While we have everyone from everywhere here living and working, if you are from a country or region different from the above, people would more likely be a little fasinated.

Especially since Australian culture is more similar to American culture than just about anywhere else (except Canada) it would also be very easy to make friends (exotic enough, yet familiar in a way).
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Old 10-15-2011, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Wheaton, Illinois
10,261 posts, read 21,770,324 times
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Just so long as they stay on the Australian side of the viaduct.
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Old 10-15-2011, 03:32 PM
 
3,118 posts, read 5,360,313 times
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I have a friend who moved here from Australia and he seems to like it. I've met other aussies before and I think they seem to fit in well to American and Chicagoan culture. One thing he said was new was getting used to American football and other popular sports that we love. Also, there are plenty of European type bars that show rugby and soccer and just have that European feel that you can go to. He also talks about how much cheaper it is to drink here, because I know you aussies like your beer. LOL
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Old 10-15-2011, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
5,525 posts, read 13,960,439 times
Reputation: 3908
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishtom29 View Post
Just so long as they stay on the Australian side of the viaduct.
Yeah, the shift between the Australian and the Austrian part of town is pretty drastic. You can tell which one's which by the presence of kangeroos or lederhosen.
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