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Honestly, I wouldn't move to the States based on a few weeks vacation. Day-to-day life is going to be a different cup of tea. On vacation everything seems new, exciting and different. If you seriously want to move statesside your best bet is not going to California but to a place where you can find a job. Be it California or North Dakota. California's economy is not in a very good shape and the cost of living is outrageous in most decent places. If you have a well-paying job CA can be very nice though.
The first thing you need to look into is getting a visa. No visa = no moving anywhere in the US. Check travel.state.gov and feel free to message me if you have any questions. I'm fairly familiar with visa processes and requirements. Your relatives can't just find you a job so you can move there unless you want to immigrate illegally which I don't recommend.
I'm new on this forum so first of all: hello everyone
I'm a 16 years old guy who lives in Rome, Italy, but I was born in Romania. I play american football here and I'm a WR/CB and I've always love American culture. A year ago I went on vacation in Los Angeles (one of my relatives lives there and owns a truck driving company) and I really loved it. I didn't just visit Hollywood or Venice Beach, it was an ordinary week: I used to wake up, take out the dog, then I would go around California with him, we would eat on the road, take pictures of different areas, and at night, we would go home, watch TV or something like that. I loved it. I even played football with some high school players and their coach said "they could use my help". Unfortunately, my parents can't afford sending me to study abroad. I wished I'd go to HS in the USA, and then go and play college football but I don't know if that's possible since we don't have enough financial resources. On the other hand, my relative said when I'll be 18 he would try to find me a job in LA so I could move there. What do you think I should do ?
I'm sorry if I've made some mistakes, and I wish you all a great day.
It's kinda funny....You sound exactly like me only swap the locations back when I was 18. I have a cousin that lives in Germany and I had the opportunity to travel there quite a bit and I was looking to move to Dortmund when I left high school. I ended up ultimately staying in the states to go to school...but I'd still love to eventually live in Germany.
But...given your situation and your desire to move...here is what I would do.
1). When you graduate from high school...enroll in a large Italian University with a lot of study abroad opportunities.
2). Study abroad with a major study abroad program. The majority of the programs will allow you to pay the tuition of your home university.
3). Continue working hard at American football in Italian leagues.
4). Attempt to choose a fairly small NAIA or NCAA DIII school to study abroad at here in the states...attempt to walk on at one of those schools. My best friend walked on to a university (NAIA) as a Safety without playing any highschool because he was a natural athlete. It's hard...but possible.
5). Most study abroad projects are around a year. Try to get somewhere on the west coast where you have family around. That length of time will give you more of a feel of what the area is like as opposed to only one week there.
6). After your year study abroad...some programs give you the option to extend to another year. I went to school with a girl that studied at my university for three of the four years although she technically was a full time student of a university in Turkey.
Also...if moving to the states is your alone goal...maybe look somewhere other than southern california. I know the family thing is huge but it is soooo expensive.
Thank your for your reply LNKNE-ADJ, but actually I wanted to do at least one year (my senior year) of high school in the States and play football there so scouts might notice me, and then get a scolarship if I'm good enough, then go to college, graduate, and if the football thing doesn't work out, I could find another work in the USA, since my relatives own a truck driving company, it would be legal for me to work there for them, or, if someone sponsors me, for another company instead of a truck driving one. What do you think guys ?
And by the way, yes I know California is expensive but if one day I will be unemployed my relatives can always hire me at their company so at least I got my back covered, if I move to another state things can be different.
Thank your for your reply LNKNE-ADJ, but actually I wanted to do at least one year (my senior year) of high school in the States and play football there so scouts might notice me, and then get a scolarship if I'm good enough, then go to college, graduate, and if the football thing doesn't work out, I could find another work in the USA, since my relatives own a truck driving company, it would be legal for me to work there for them, or, if someone sponsors me, for another company instead of a truck driving one. What do you think guys ?
And by the way, yes I know California is expensive but if one day I will be unemployed my relatives can always hire me at their company so at least I got my back covered, if I move to another state things can be different.
How do you know you will be able to get a CDL drivers license? Theres a different license you need to drive a truck than a car.
Many Americans can barely get jobs. Many co's will not sponsor employees - it is expensive for them.
Your opinion. Not the opinion of the huge amount of immigrants (more than any other country).
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You will work a lot and get limited vacation days. Europeans spend a lot less time at work than Americans.
Many companies offer generous vacation days. At job I was at, I accumulated 21 days (4 work weeks plus one day).
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You better hope your job gives you insurance or you are SOL. No free healthcare here.
Again, many companies do provide health insurance. I know of a small business owner who only has 4 employees yet they have company insurance. Also, no such thing as "free" healthcare.
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Foods that are banned overseas bc they are unhealthy are legal here yet awesome stuff like Kinder Eggs are illegal. America is a very unhealthy place.
No one is forced to consume unhealthy food.
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Most Americans know only English and most cant even speak it properly. Europeans are more cultured I find.
How do you know that most Americans know only English? A foreign language has been either required or available at schools for many years.
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America is huge and its distance to places abroad make traveling expensive & burdensome. European countries are close together it is so easy to go to Europe for a week and see 2 or 3 countries. You arent going to come to the US and be able to visit Canada & Mexico in a week.
The hugeness of the U.S. is why the scenery is so varied. For example, you won't find 350 foot tall Redwood trees in Europe. Or a tropical/semi-tropical climate as in Miami. Or a desert as hot as Death Valley.
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Most places in America are not very tolerant of homosexuals. We are getting better but we arent there yet
That is because many Americans are religious and don't approve of something which is against their beliefs.
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Women get paid 77 cents to every man's dollar.
Because men are more likely to work overtime and/or in a higher-paying field of work. Where did you get that "77 cents" figure from? If you do some research, you will see other (credible) sources put it at over 80%.
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There is so much wrong with America I dont know where to begin. QOL and life expectancy are decreasing rapidly. America had her heyday a while ago but it's no longer "the greatest country in the world" anymore.
I agree, the heyday for the U.S. was probably the 1950s as far as work ethics, productivity, national pride, etc. However, isn't it strange how many risk their lives just to live here?
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Sometimes I am actually ashamed to live here.
Are you Michelle Obama? America is still the most generous country in the world, so don't be ashamed.
What I believe about "loving" the city/country you live in is a little bit like a relationship. That person might not be the best for everyone, but it's good for you and you are happy and that's all it matters. Some people love the USA, others hate it. Nothing to argue about. I live in Rome which is an old city full of monuments that I don't like, I prefer skyscrapers, but that's just me of course..
Thank your for your reply LNKNE-ADJ, but actually I wanted to do at least one year (my senior year) of high school in the States and play football there so scouts might notice me, and then get a scolarship if I'm good enough, then go to college, graduate, and if the football thing doesn't work out, I could find another work in the USA, since my relatives own a truck driving company, it would be legal for me to work there for them, or, if someone sponsors me, for another company instead of a truck driving one. What do you think guys ?
And by the way, yes I know California is expensive but if one day I will be unemployed my relatives can always hire me at their company so at least I got my back covered, if I move to another state things can be different.
I'm sure you already know this, but American football is far and away the most popular sport here. You have to be really good to get noticed by scouts to be offered a college scholarship because there are so few scholarships available for an incredible number of football players. It's good that you have a backup plan and I don't mean to sound negative, but just don't come here thinking it will be pretty simple to get a football scholarship to college.
Absolutely not ischyros, I know it's a pride playing football in the USA and I've been training a lot in the off-season by myself, I don't know if it's important but I run a 4.37 dash, I bench 225 only 2 times (I'm 16 though, and I'm a WR/CB) at 5'11 180 lbs and I had 1090 yards and 11 touchdowns last season here in Italy. I know american football played here in Italy isn't as good as the american but as I said earlier I went to a high school for a tryout when I've been there on vacation and I think I can compete against those guys. But of course, I'm not putting football as my only option, that's why I have a plan B in case it doesn't work for me. My main goal is just to get to the States as soon as possible cause I don't like Italy and italians at all so I'm just looking forward to start a new life there. To me it doesn't matter if I'm gonna be an NFL millionaire player or have a regular desk job, as long as I have a roof over my head, food on my table and health, I would be the happiest person in the world. Life is about the simple things
Most people in America couldn't tell you about 90% of America, let alone other countries. As far as not havng other countries to visit, that does kind of suck. America is isolated and it's time consuming and expensive to travel abroad. I think most Americans would like to see Europe, Asia etc, but it's just not easy from here. Plus, like I said, most Americans are clueless about most of America outside the area they live in. America is like many different countries with very diverse geography, different types of cities, many attractions etc.
I would agree with Jdawg that America an be pretty overrated by most Americans. But it's still a great country. Other countries have problems too. I do think that American gets a bad rap around the world as being arrogant etc. Most people in America are nice and will do anything for others.
You are free to choose to live a healthy lifestyle or you can be stupid.
To the OP. LA is a very small part of America. You should get acclimated with more of the country than So Cal so you have a better idea of how diverse America is. But good luck if you decide to you would like to live here. Life is what you make of it and if this country offers what you like, make it happen, it's a great country to live in.
Is there anything you don't like about Italy? I have never been, but would love to visit.
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