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Hello.
I'm a 22 year old swede.
I am in love with america and american culture.
Is it possible for me to become a real american? Or would i always be percepted as an outsider even though i'm white and speak decent english (with a weird accent)? What about my future kids?
I will probably get a PhD in statistics from a swedish university. Possibly a bachelor's degree in finance or economics too. Is there any need for people with that kind of educational background in America?
You shouldn't have too much trouble being accepted after a while. There are lots of Swedes in the U.S., so don't worry about appearance, but I would work on the accent. If you lived here a few years, you would become sufficiently 'Americanized,' and the accent would be the only way people could tell you originally came from Sweden. Your kids wouldn't have anything at all to worry about. As far as I know, there is no Swedish racism anywhere in the United States, and I, being of Swedish ancestry, would probably have encountered it by now.
As far as your educational goals, I'm sure you could find a niche here. You might not be able to pick and chose your future location, but there's certainly a job for you somewhere.
As far as Swedes go, of all I've heard speak English, they BARELY have accents. People from the Netherlands as well. I was so surprised at how well Swedes can speak English. So yeah, you shouldn't have a problem being accepted as an American after a while
Hello.
I'm a 22 year old swede.
I am in love with america and american culture.
Is it possible for me to become a real american? Or would i always be percepted as an outsider even though i'm white and speak decent english (with a weird accent)? What about my future kids?
I will probably get a PhD in statistics from a swedish university. Possibly a bachelor's degree in finance or economics too. Is there any need for people with that kind of educational background in America?
Immigrants are eventually considered Americans by most people, this is one main difference from most countries.
That actually is quite true in many countries, anyway.
In a lot of countries, you can move there at the age of 21, and at the age of 60, you are still considered a "foreigner" by the locals. They may accept you as a friend and colleague, but you're still somewhat of an outsider when compared to the natives. I've known several people who have moved from the U.S. to other countries, and many years later, even if they fully adopt their new country and customers, they are considered just as fresh of a newcomer as the day they arrived.
The U.S. is an extremely large country compared to many, though. Region by region you'll find varied attitudes and acceptance levels of those who move here from other countries. If you move to Boston, New York, Chicago.... then once your accent starts to blend in a bit and your English skills are very good, then poof - your an American to most once you get your papers. Move to middle Alabama though, and it might take many years (if ever) before you're not "the foreigner" - though you may still be perfectly well accepted.
Your future kids will be fine, and yes, having degrees in education is a plus. People certainly accept those coming into the country if they are going to contribute a great deal to society as opposed to someone who would be uneducated or unskilled coming here to use the social services.
As politically incorrect as it may be to say, the frank point of it is that unless you're from a Middle-Eastern country, most in the U.S. will ignore you if anything. In the South you can possibly add people from certain African and Island nations drawing a few stares as well, but I've never in my life heard the expression, "Oh geez, look - another SWEDE!".
My father emigrated here from Germany in the 1960s and had a noticeable accent, even after 20 years (both of my parents have accents). It will always be detected and commented on, usually in a positive and inquisitive manner. Once, when I was a child, we got a message on our answering machine (on which my father had recorded the "we're not home" message) and it said "get out of the country, you effin' foreigner". That was pretty weird.
Everyone in the U.S.A. has some sort of regional accent. Heck the whole country is composed of mostly foreigners and their descendants. You won't have any problem concerning an accent. You may have to work a job that is not in your field unless you get lucky. I would visit first if you can.
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