Will USA be the same 10 years from now? (home, high school)

[Romus]

Hi everyone,

I know, I'm probably not the first to ask these questions but please read through my story and comment what you think..

I live in a small town in a province of Russia and the current situation here, well, I'll be honest(not sure if I'm allowed to be) - It's horrible.
So, Ive been wanting to move out eversince I turned 14 (I'm 19 now). Ive been searching and gathering the info regarding other places and got really fascinated with the USA. Now, I know what I've read and seen may not be exactly be the same in real life, but I still think it's a great place to be and definitely worth checking out. I really admire and respect the country and the more I learn, the more I love it. I love the language(accent too btw), the way of life and just about everything that has to do with America.

What I'd like to ask you guys - Could it be that my judgment is clouded? Could it be that I've been watching too much american tv shows or reading too much stories of a good life?

You see, I've met a few americans on the net who thought Russia was better and they even wanted to immigrate over here which was a complete shock to me. I've talked to those who claimed there were places far better than the USA. All that makes me wonder, is it really that bad? Because, personally I think some of you guys just don't know what other countries truly are.
I know I'm not the one to judge, but while living here I've experienced many things that I'm sure would've never happened in America.

Either way, having considered my chances I see my only options are : studying and DV lottery (I'm not counting on marriage).
Both are unavailable for me at the moment simply due to the lack of money required. So there goes my another concern - Will USA still be the same ~5-10 years later ? Assuming this is the time I'll need to get the money.

And also I've got a question regarding the lottery. Do you think, as they say- computer chooses winners randomly ? Just I don't get it why would they ask what kinda of a degree I have if the minimal requirement is high school diploma?

Currently, I'm not very optimistic that it'll ever work out for me, but still keep up hope. And yes, I know there are plenty of other countries in europe and everywhere else but believe me, they're all almost equally hard to get in..

Finally, theoretically if by any chance I'll be able to go, which city would you suggest and what is the main difference between US cities? I"d prefer not too expensive but with sunny climate and warm winters. I'm sort of tired of severe winters in my place..

[UKUKUK]

Severe winters in Russia and severe winters here are a totally different idea, but you'd probably like Houston, Texas. There are a lot of Russians and immigrants there. While diversity isn't smiled upon in most non-urban cities of the south, an immigrant would likely get along best in a city over 500,000 in population, or at least in the suburbs. I'd seek out some kind of education or contact an employer to get a work visa before planning on making any kind of move to the USA.

The USA will be the same country. What makes this place special, to me (from German immigrants), is the people and the land. I prefer the north to the south for the 4 unique seasons and beautiful land, more traditional lifestyle, but the south is growing very much. Our economy may continue to tank as people here refuse to acknowledge that making things is a great idea. Americans are very bad at economics :P On that note, it's a wonderful place to live and I'd pick no other.

Also, your English is good enough to likely earn you some brownie points. Americans who want to move to Russia are a bit disillusioned and have likely never been there. I have been to a few cities there and could never compare them to here (couldn't live without the food, the vibrancy, the eased laws of America) Life is generally easier as a whole here. No offense is meant to your home country at all by any of this, but people here really don't know how well they have it. I hope all goes well for you and your transition to American life is easy and smooth.

[Romus]

THank you for answering. I know, probably the most reliable way to cross the border and stay somehow is to get a student visa, graduate and then seek for a job. The only flaw with that plan is the money..It's gonna cost buckets of money which is unreal to earn living in my country (the minimum monthly wage here is 150$ and below, average is like ~300$). Which is why I was hoping to study in europe in english, where tuition fees are significantly lower..but that's just thinking aloud.

Thx, I learned english mostly by watching tv shows and using the internet. I agree, I actually think immigrants appreciate the country a lot more than native americans, since we have experience living on another continent with another government, so we see and value all the advantages and conviniences in comparison to our homeland. What i'm saying is - We've seen worse...

[Thomas R.]

I've considered leaving the US, even though I've rarely been more than a 100 miles from home, but I admit leaving the US for Russia strikes me as odd too. Maybe if you're just really into Russian culture or have a good job offer there, but otherwise I don't see it. Most Americans I've heard of who consider leaving think more like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and maybe continental Europe.

Anyway when I've thought of leaving the US it's not really because I think the US is so bad, I'd just like to experience other places and ways of living. Also I like history and although the US government is older than many of the world's governments our "civilization", so to speak, is relatively new. There are some American Indian settlements dating back to the eleventh century, but nothing even as old as Dublin really let alone Athens or Cadiz.

Anyway the US has lots of nice places and although its not as big as Russia in total land we likely have a greater amount of livable land. As you want warm and cheap you might consider the Gulf states other than Florida. Alabama looks relatively cheap and although they might have a "bad rep" in the US they have some quality cities and towns. Texas also gets a fair amount of immigrants as mentioned. You could go to Odessa, Texas (I know Odessa is in the Ukraine I think, but still...)

[ogre]

I guess anything could happen to change things in any country, but I think you can be reasonably certain that a few years from now the U.S. will be about the same as it is now. If you offer more details on what specifically you like about the U.S., according to the image you have, people can give you an idea about whether your image of the U.S. is accurate.

One way to think about differences between cities in the U.S. is that there are two broad categories of cities based on how the cities are arranged physically. Some cities here had most of their population growth before the middle of the 20th century. Because these cities grew before the automobile had completely transformed American culture, they developed according to a pattern that made it convenient for people to move around inside of cities and travel to the locations they needed to be when they were limited in the distance they could travel. These cities are somewhat similar to the old cities of Europe. They tend to be densely populated, with the major commercial districts, services, and entertainment concentrated in the central part of the city. Other cities have had much population increase since the middle of the 20th century. Since these cities have had much growth during an era when the automobile made travel over greater distances convenient, they often are more spread out than the older cities, with lower population densities, and the amenities sometimes scattered across the city rather than being in one central location.

Some of the older kind of city have extensive public transit systems, but there are exceptions. Generally, the cities that have grown a lot in the last 50-60 years rely more heavily on the automobile for transportation, though some have begun to improve their public transit systems in recent years. The older kind of city is found mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest, while the newer, automobile-based cities are found mainly in the South and the West. There are exceptions, but this is generally the case.

In all regions of the U.S., suburbs in general tend to be spread across a wide area, with low population densities, and great dependency on the automobile for transportation. However, there are local exceptions to this general pattern. Because of much local variation in the ways that cities and suburbs are arranged across the landscape, if you found yourself in a position where you could soon move to the U.S., it would be a good idea to do some extensive research about individual cities and towns, in order to learn which places best fit your preferences on the features of a place to live.

How mild you want the winters to be will determine the general region of the U.S. that could work best for you. With the exception of locations at high altitude, almost any place in the southern half of the U.S. will have substantially milder winters than the winters in most of Russia, but if you want really warm weather even during the winter, you have to go to the far southern edge of the nation.

Best of luck to you in working out the right move for yourself.