Hi Barbie,
I am going to copy and paste in here the answer i posted for someone else moving to Chicago from UK or Irland. I don't know anything about the area you are moving to, but bellow you will find some info regarding America and big cities. I heard that the live and people in small towns is different then in the big cities, but the difference in culture remains the same. I hope this is going to help and Welcome to USA
If you have any other questions, please let me know. Long time ago, I moved here myself from Europe, presently I live in Chicago area and planing to move to Wisconsin myself.
It is a BIG difference between Europe and USA, be very careful ! Although Naperville IS a good and expensive suburb, Europe is much more expensive then US.
Here are few tips to keep in mind while you are here: DO NOT pick up strangers along the road even if their car breaks down, if you want to help someone call 911, keep your doors locked at all times at home and car. DO NOT trust everyone as you trust in EU, DO NOT give any personal information over the telephone to just about anyone who calls you. People keep very much to themselves although they come across as friendly and smile at you. They will always ask you "how are you ?" but don't think they really want to know. It is just a polite expression for them, instead of saying "Hello". Don't take me wrong, people here are NOT bad BUT, the difference in culture is HUGE. I lived half of my life in Europe and half in Chicago and I know the difference. My family is very wealthy and live in a much more expensive town then Naperville and their children goes to a public school. You would think everything is OK but is not. I would recommend looking into a private school and pay for it (is not free as the public one).
Here people do not socialize as they do in Europe, is more of a "HI" and "BYE" and a lot of smiling, they are very pleasant as long as you do not get close and invade their "space". America has a lot to offer when it comes to material things, prices, opportunities, money, freedom, business, etc.
They also believe you, until you prove otherwise. Your word and punctuality it is very important. If you have to be somewhere at say 12, you want to be there at 11:45. Do not be late for work or other appointments. There is so much to say and I bet people here would not like reading my reply to your ad, because they generally don't know the difference. I pray they understand there is no perfect world and every place on this earth has good and bad.
Oh, and be careful where you go in Chicagoland for site seeing and visiting, especially when lost in town and vicinity. If so, stop at a gas station for directions. One more thing, here everything goes by cardinal points. EVERYTHING is north, south, east, west. From the country to states to streets and of course to directions. Most streets run N-S, E-W. Is hard to get lost. Locate your new home on the map AND on your mental map (needless to tell you to keep a map in the car with you at all times). The cities are huge, it takes at least 2 hours to cross Chicago
on the highway ! not regular streets.
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