How the states live. How is life in America? American daily life

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The United States of America and Russia - are they really so different from each other or is it just a myth?

Each country has its own laws and customs, which may not always be understandable to other nations. However, for successful interaction and “peace in the world”, we need to respect and, most importantly, understand the mentality of a country that is foreign to us.

Every nation is the fruit of the present mentality, and it has its own goals.

Every nation is the fruit of an established mentality, and it has its own goals.

~Mikhail Reshetnikov

After all, only if you understand a foreign culture, it is easier to find contact with its representatives and establish important business and social ties.

We have already talked about the life of Americans in our article. In this article, we will introduce you to some differences between two cultures - USA and Russia. So let's go!

typical american family

In America, the main thing is to make a career and get as much joy and pleasure from life as possible.

Americans are obviously in no hurry to start a family, while in Russia they are willing to give unmarried twenty-year-old beauties at least for someone, because it is already too late. America's main make a career and get as much joy and pleasure from life as possible .

Unlike us Russians, Americans are also in no hurry with the reproduction of offspring. And the wedding is held where they please, showing the freedom of choice, which is so valued in the States.

Did you know that Americans wear wedding rings on the ring finger just like us, but we wear them on the right hand, and they wear them on the left! So be careful when you want to invite a pretty American or an American on a date.

The only thing a must for an american wedding is attendance at the ceremony official who has the right to register a marriage. The attitude to the rest of the wedding action is very democratic, especially in comparison with Russian traditions, of which we ourselves are already tired.

Attitude towards finance

Russians often live according to the principle “Here and now!”

It may seem that Americans are greedy, but in fact they are very economical and scrupulous.

Regardless of position and salary, Americans constantly count their expenses down to the last cent. to use the analysis and control of funds, to try to spend the money earned wisely and most profitably.

For Russians, it's the other way around. They are not very good at saving money and often live according to the “Here and Now!” principle, even though the standard of living and incomes are lower than in America.

American workdays

Russian workers often decide for themselves what to do for them, and what for their colleagues, and what not to do.

Americans work very hard, but they are never in love with their work, like Russians.

For an American, a subordinate is a servant, and for a Russian, it is a close person. Therefore, Russian workers often decide for themselves what to do for them, and what for their colleagues, and what not to do. A conversation with superiors often resembles an argument than a conversation.

Americans have a clear hierarchy. An American boss can't call for no reason or just to ask if everything is all right. American workers need to know their place, work hard, and be as inconspicuous as possible to superiors.

The Russians, on the other hand, will discuss with their superiors every question that arises.

How do Russians and Americans relax?

Potato chips in Americans are considered a side dish.

The Russian feast is not only an occasion to eat, but also an occasion to see all friends and relatives. Russian people carefully prepare for the feast - they start cooking in the early morning and finish in the evening.

And it doesn't matter who comes to you - relatives or work colleagues. The first, second, third and dessert will be presented on the table.

Americans on the contrary, don't bother cooking. Most often, alcohol and all kinds of snacks are presented on the table. In America, they don’t understand how you can puff in the kitchen all day. They would rather order food in a restaurant or cut cheese for wine.

"How are you" in American.

If you ask a Russian person “How are you?”, then he will definitely begin to tell you his news.

In the US, the phrase "How are you?" is not a question, it is a greeting, which is supposed to be answered briefly: I'm fine, I'm good .

Americans are polite If you are not in a close relationship with a person, then he will not be interested in hearing how your children are and that you have been promoted at work. Discussing your problems just with a friend is a little tactless.

English-speaking people use the mnemonic “yellow-blue bus” to successfully master the difficult phrase in Russian “I love you”.

In the Russian-speaking culture, the question "How are you?" answer in essence, most often they begin to talk about their lives and what interesting things happened, what problems they managed to solve, and which ones appeared in life.

10 facts about Americans and Russians that you didn't know

Russian is the twelfth most spoken language in the United States. It is spoken by about 100 thousand Americans, and the Russian diaspora in the United States has 3,000,000 people.

There are 1159 women per 1000 men in Russia. Approximately the same statistics in the US.
Russian people are extremely superstitious! For example, if you left home, forgetting something, then returning is a bad omen. To learn more about the superstitions of the British you can in .
Russia boasts the largest number of hackers in the world, and some of them are professionals hunted by top US companies for employment.
Russian people cannot understand the goals of a foreigner who emigrates to Russia. On the other hand, the USA is one of the most popular countries for Russians in terms of emigration.

The Russian language is considered one of the most difficult in the world. For example, Russian nouns have "animation". This means that some "animate" nouns are considered more alive than inanimate ones. For example, in Russian "Dead" is considered more alive than "corpse".

In American restaurants, you can order meat with any degree of roasting - well done (full rare), medium (medium rare) and rare (rare). You will be surprised, but most Americans prefer to order rare steak.
Even in supermarkets at the checkout, you will always be given a paper bag or a plastic bag, even if you bought one piece of fruit.
Americans consider potato chips to be part of the dish - a side dish, like Russians, for example, fried potatoes.
If you want to open your own business, then the United States will not prevent you from doing this - it's quite simple, you won't need a lot of documents.
Texas is famous not only for its jeans, but also for the office of Santa Claus. Any parent can make their child happy on Christmas Eve by ordering a real letter from Santa there.

Finally

Now you know features of US culture, the mentality of Americans and we hope you have expanded your knowledge of Russian culture and learned something new for yourself. These two countries have a lot in common, so you can easily find a common language with smiling Americans.

Hi all! Alexander Khvastovich is with you, host of the America for the Successful project. And today the comment “Tell me about the daily life of Americans” got the most likes, so I will talk about it. I want to say right away that everyday life in America and in Russia, by and large, is not much different. If you do not take into account scientific development and cultural differences, then people live the same way as in Russia: they fall in love, they quarrel, they give birth to children, they go to work. If in Russia someone is thinking of raising money to buy a used car, then in America people are thinking how to raise money for a more modern one. new car. In fact, the problems are the same, and life is the same, just a different level. If you work in America and have good friends, you will live well and with dignity. Maybe it will just be better than it would be at home, because of corruption problems or because it is difficult to find a job there, even as a qualified specialist. That is, it might have turned out worse there than here, but everyday life is the same.

The average person gets up in the morning for work, takes a shower, eats, many here go to the gym before work, then go to work, work, some at a construction site, some in the computer industry, some in the office. After work, he comes home, if one person lives, then he spends the evening for his own pleasure - watching TV or going to bars, if with someone, he can go to eat in a restaurant, raise children. Everyday life in America is the same as everyday life in Russia, it's just that the level of wealth, the culture around and the introduction of technology into everyday life are changing. This is probably the main difference. Because both Russia and America are the developed countries. It's not some third world country where you have to look for food or water, and you live in a tent. So think of it this way, that America is Russia, pardon the pun, just with a slightly more developed level of society and wages. But despite this, there are also enough poor people in America, there are people who live paycheck to paycheck for generations, and they also need to pay for housing. Every month they have to look for money somewhere. There are many rich people here, but a rich person for us is the middle class here. He will have several cars in the family, each member of it will have a car, he has personal home where he lives. This is probably the main difference. There is no such thing here that mortgages are paid until the end of life, it is quite possible to buy a house or a car on credit here, and you can pay it off within 10-20 years, earning, on average, 40-50 thousand dollars a year per family member, not including children.

So America is America. It's hard for me to add anything on this subject because it's so comprehensive. If you go into details, you can find differences, I can tell you something more specific, but everyday life in America is the same as at home, just with a different level of wealth and culture and, as I said, the introduction of technology into everyday life, which, of course, is important. A lot of people come here for this.

I hope I have answered this question. As always, put your finger up, tell your friends and wait for more releases. Thank you all, Alexander Khvastovich, host of the America for the Successful project, was with you. Everything, bye everyone!

You have already subscribed to our YouTube channel about immigration to Canada?

It's me again. I have a couple of things I would like to add. First, I think it's time for me to shave, but it doesn't matter. And the second thing I wanted to say is that the video turned out to be uninformative. I really didn't know what to say. I knew, but you can't really say anything, at least so I think. Therefore, as a bonus, if you watch this video on Youtube, you will see in the description of the video links below to my articles, interviews of various emigrants. There are, for example, stories about how a girl came here as a student, then went to prison in America, then got out and is now legalized. There is a story about how a pensioner came to live in America. How different people come, their impressions, how they come and stay on a study visa. In short, I will give a few links to read and you will understand a little what it is like to live in America. I hope this makes up for the lack of information. Thanks to all! Bye!

After I'm in Los Angeles, it's time to start looking for accommodation. A cursory analysis of offers for motels, apartments and rooms showed that the "City of Angels", like all of California, is a very expensive place to live. For example, a bed in

Of course, I turned to Airbnb, where the options for less than $40 per night were only a tent in the backyard or a place in a half-rotted camper. I’m not talking about motels at all - from $ 70 per day.

As a result, the best option turned out to be a service for placing students at educational institutions– homestay. In my case, such a service was provided by GEOS School, where I attended a class. But one shouldn't think that Americans are all so kind and they house students just like that. In fact, this is renting a room in the house, but food is also included in the accommodation.

Functions for the selection of housing are assigned to special unit at school, and for the client this service costs $100. In fact, this is such a department with a couple of realtors who do not go anywhere, do not sell anything, but simply send requests to people from their database. As a result of their complex mental activity, you receive an offer in the mail for American families where they plan to settle you.

At first I was offered to share one room with another student, but then they found an option with a room just for me, in the perception of the host side of a young student who hardly speaks English. What was the surprise of the family when a bearded man in his early thirties showed up to them, who tried to talk to them in broken English with a funny Russian accent.

02
My home for 3 weeks

Yes, I didn't mention the price. The result is $ 285 per week, including meals. And this is the most affordable and high-quality housing option in Los Angeles. Of course, with such a course as it is now, all this is not so cool, but when I lived there, the ruble was noticeably stronger.

I got to the city of Carson to the wonderful woman Judy (72 years old). She lives in her one-story house together with his grandson Brandon (the guy is stationed in the backyard in the guest house). It turned out that Judy had been working as a graphic editor in an automotive publication for more than 15 years: she made covers, typeset articles, photographed, so we quickly found common topics.

Judy's house is small but cozy: a spacious hall, kitchen, work room and two bedrooms. Furniture, interior - country style. This is because Judy came from Arizona, where her father had a farm. She said that when she came to Arizona with her friend Denis (Japanese), her father always looked at him very unkindly. It's amazing, but there are still "white states" in the US, such as Arizona. "Tolerance" is not recognized there.

06
Judy and Denis

Judy is passionate about drawing, decorating, glass work. Her whole house is hung with her own paintings, and she always draws up Christmas presents herself. In this sense, Judy is a rare type of American who cooks well, knows how to do a lot of things with her hands, confidently drives a car, takes care of her grandchildren and her only daughter.

The youngest granddaughter is McKayla. I've never seen real snow, although the snow in California is heaps. Here she is helping to decorate Judy's spruce branch, generously applying white foam to it. Snow from a can.

By the way, it turned out to be easier to speak English with children: they do not use complex verbal constructions, and, as a rule, speak slowly, and generally understand you better than adults.

13
McKayla (center) at a school concert

With the eldest grandson Brandon, we talked a little more. At 23, he is not involved in PR, photography, design and growing a beard. Brandon doesn't drink or smoke - he works at the port and goes to church. By the way, he recently proposed to his young girlfriend. However, his mother, as I understand it, is not enthusiastic about her daughter-in-law on a national basis.

Once Brandon invited me to visit a house church - this is, in fact, a room in a private house where Sunday church comrades gather: they read prayers, talk about the problems and successes of mankind through the prism of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. All this takes place in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. I was warmly received, for a long time they were surprised that a person from cold Russia had been brought to their light.

They wrote to me on Instagram under this photo, they say, why don’t they drink beer in the bar in the evening, but do it incomprehensibly what?

Subjectively, Americans are much more religious than Russians. I'm not talking about the depth of religion, I'm talking about the popularity of the church among the population. It is difficult to meet unbelieving people in California. The number of all kinds of churches in Los Angeles just rolls over. Well, what to say, even in private homes they are organized.

Of course, the churches here are more modest than ours. It may be a small and unattractive building with bare walls, a small stage and school chairs - like an assembly hall in a provincial music school.

One Sunday, I visited Freedom Church in Torrance with Judy and McKayla. The whole action is divided, so to speak, into three acts: several musical compositions, when the audience sings along with the VIA (vocal-instrumental ensemble), then it is the turn of the priest's sermon and again a song block. After the musical part, children are taken to a special room, where animators take care of them.

Interestingly, the church has a full-time priest (pictured), but priests from other organizations are also invited there quite regularly. When I was at Freedom Church, I came across a guest speaker, and a young man in a blue shirt and three children took the place of an ordinary parishioner, stepping out to the microphone from time to time.

On this day, the leading priest was a former fireman. He told a heartbreaking story about how, along with his colleague, he fell under the rubble in a fire. Both were badly damaged, and his colleague did not survive. The story raised the topic of responsibility for what happened, because it was he who led the subordinate into the burning building. As a result, everyone cried, hugged, and then sang optimistic songs together with the musical group.

As I understand it, the church is also important for Americans in terms of communication with each other. There it is not particularly customary to make friends with families, in our understanding of the word - they came to church once a week, talked, cried, hugged and parted. Yes, they also visit guests, but less often than we do, and, as a rule, they do not stay late.

After about two hours of service, everyone goes out for lunch, which is "derived" from what each brings. Because the Americans ethnic composition the people are extremely "variegated", the table is also replete with variety. True, not everyone cooks themselves, like Judy, and often they just buy ready-made.

But Americans go to visit not with ready-made meals from the nearest cafe, but with what they themselves have prepared. In Russia, for example, according to tradition, the hosts treat you, and the guests bring alcohol. It turned out that everything is exactly the opposite.

Together with Judy, I went to visit her friends, whom she meets about once every 2-3 months. The contingent is extremely diverse: Mexicans, Japanese, Europeans, Africans, gays, but at the same time, all of them are friendly, cheerful and open to communication.

In the photo - the owners of the house. A gray-haired man with a large bottle of wine and his Japanese wife, who speaks better Spanish than English. The fact is that many Japanese fled the war to the countries of the South and Latin America, then moved to the USA.

Well, what about the attitude of Americans towards Russians? In short, they treat you to beer in a bar and confess your love for Putin. Not all of course, but there are many. Obama, they say, is a weakling with us, here Putin is a real man. Of course, they know better from the sunny coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Met the guys at the bar on the pier. The girl already jumped when she found out that I was from Russia. Everyone was interested in how to take the place of the first lady. I advised to do it through sports or journalism. Although her competition is too strong in the face of it is clear who.

But not everything is so clear. In the United States, just like in our country, the central television brainwashing system works perfectly, but, unlike our country, here they do not make Russia extreme, but convince citizens that America is doing everything right in foreign policy. Feel the difference?

But little is said about this at the household level, more about the weather, although in California the weather is stable like nowhere else. For a month of life in Los Angeles, it rained once and then at night. All other days it was sunny.

Continuation about life in the USA follows! In the near future I will write about the Mazda6 car, which I was kindly given for a test drive in Los Angeles with the assistance of the Russian office of a Japanese company, about the peculiarities of traffic in the USA, the picturesque road along the Pacific Ocean (Pacific Cost Highway); I will tell you about interesting cars such as Dodge RAM, Dodge Challenger, Chevrolet Camaro, Fiat 500.

Photos

Few people know what the American dream is, but it is generally accepted that in the United States it is fulfilled by almost everyone. Our compatriot Marina shared her feedback and observations about us. We offer to go with her on a virtual journey and see how they live in America.

Marina has been living and studying in Los Angeles for more than three years. Says the average American family has an annual income of about $58,000. To an uninformed person, the amount may seem impressive (“People live!”), But in fact, everything is not so rosy for residents in North America.

America: paying bills

Every second family of ordinary Americans rents a house or pays off a mortgage. Small two-storey house per month costs somewhere in the 3000-5000 dollars, not taking into account the costs of any public utilities. Medical insurance, car insurance, unpaid loans for studying, cellular and utilities are expensive. Cars are more often rented than bought. Each member of the family has their own car. Depending on the brand, year of issue and the amount of the deposit, the price of a monthly payment for it varies from $200 and more, on average - from $200 to $400. People prefer leasing for the simple reason that the car can be changed every, say, two years, or bought back much cheaper at the end of the contract. Another important point is that in the event of a car malfunction, the leasing company takes over all expenses. But if none of the family members has a stable credit history, they cannot even dream of a house or a car for rent.

All of America lives on credit

When asked how ordinary Americans live, Marina replies that all of America lives on credit. Children know from an early age that credit cards not enough.

Many people have savings accounts, to which the specified amount is transferred monthly by the bank from the current account. Thus, the Americans are reinsured for a rainy day. Indeed, in the event of a loss of work by one of the family members, a catastrophe can really happen - there will simply be nothing to pay for loans and bills. So it's safe to say that most Americans save for "just in case" and for retirement, and not for something specific, like repairs or traveling abroad, as is customary in our country.
Americans have a reason to plan their finances for the future. Here, education is free in schools, but for kindergarten, parents are forced to pay at least $ 700 a month for one child. In addition, it is expensive for American parents to pay for sports sections, in which it is customary to send children here.

Products in wholesale stores at low prices - the norm for Americans

Shopping in the United States is usually made in wholesale stores. Interestingly, in such places prices are lower than in Russian supermarkets. Here you can buy an expired delicacy like tiger prawns without two days, choose cheap household appliances and detergents.

Low prices in such stores are not least associated with the low quality of products. It always looks fresh, but bursting from pesticides vegetables and fruits, meat swollen to incredible sizes from hormones.

There are special supermarkets for organic food. Needless to say, only very wealthy citizens can afford to go there every day?

Americans prefer sales

Americans have a simple attitude to the choice of clothes - they do not chase after fashion and do not spend on it. a large number of funds.

Majority local population she dresses very simply, and after the clothes wear out, she is taken to the Salvation Army - a humanitarian aid center. Discount branded clothing stores are a paradise for white Americans, as well as for immigrants from of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. What costs thousands of dollars in Russia or Ukraine can be found here for 50 bucks.

In US department stores, sales never end, they mostly accompany holidays like Mother's Day, Veterans Day, Independence Day, and so on. After the holiday, the discount increases to sell everything that was not possible for the holiday. The famous Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving in the USA - it starts with it, however, as in Europe) is a big event. Lines form many hours before the frenzy begins, and some especially desperate buyers bring tents and spend the night in front of the store. Most often this can be observed in front of household appliances stores. On Black Friday, you can buy a computer or, for example, a TV for $150. But in order not to mislead readers, there are about ten such computers and TVs for the entire sale. And they don't give more than one.

US residents spend hundreds of dollars a year on coffee

According to my observations, Americans spend a very large amount of money on coffee. A typical morning in California starts with long lines at Starbucks. The next run to the coffee shop will be at lunch time, and perhaps the American or American will “miss” another glass after work. Interestingly, millions of people around the country spend hundreds of dollars a year on coffee, with absolutely no concern that it can be prepared at home much faster, and most importantly, much cheaper.

The same popularity, perhaps, enjoy and fast food restaurants. Despite the fascination with fast food and microwaveable frozen meals, almost every self-respecting American considers it a duty to have a subscription to gym. It is not necessary to go there every week, but you need to have a subscription. At the same time, there are things that Lately spending less and less money. There were two excellent bookstores not far from my house, with a cafeteria on the ground floor where you could sit comfortably with a book. Now, to my great regret, in their place is a shoe store and a restaurant. Otherwise, spending depends on income and whims.

Americans never lend money

Accustomed to credit, Americans, despite this, never allow themselves to borrow money. It's just not accepted here.

Quite recently I had a dialogue with an acquaintance, an American of Filipino origin. I asked him why he missed the whole semester
at the university, to which he honestly and without a shadow of embarrassment replied that he could not afford it. Then I asked why he did not ask for money from one of his friends, at least from me, I would not refuse. He thanked me very sincerely, but in his eyes I realized that my words for him were something out of the ordinary. By the way, this is also indicative for the inhabitants of the European Union.

I thought about it and realized that after 5 years spent in this country, it would not have occurred to me to go with such a scrupulous request to an American.

Summing up the above, it is safe to say that the American dream is just another life in the USA. Well, where we are not expected, in a word.—————————————————————————————

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Hi all! Alexander Khvastovich is with you, host of the America for the Successful project. And today the comment “Tell me about the daily life of Americans” got the most likes, so I will talk about it. I want to say right away that everyday life in America and in Russia, by and large, is not much different. If you do not take into account scientific development and cultural differences, then people live the same way as in Russia: they fall in love, they quarrel, they give birth to children, they go to work. If in Russia someone is thinking of raising money to buy a used car, then in America people are thinking how to raise money for a more modern new car. In fact, the problems are the same, and life is the same, just a different level. If you work in America and have good friends, you will live well and with dignity. Maybe it will just be better than it would be at home, because of corruption problems or because it is difficult to find a job there, even as a qualified specialist. That is, it might have turned out worse there than here, but everyday life is the same.

The average person gets up in the morning for work, takes a shower, eats, many here go to the gym before work, then go to work, work, some at a construction site, some in the computer industry, some in the office. After work, he comes home, if one person lives, then he spends the evening for his own pleasure - watching TV or going to bars, if with someone, he can go to eat in a restaurant, raise children. Everyday life in America is the same as everyday life in Russia, it's just that the level of wealth, the culture around and the introduction of technology into everyday life are changing. This is probably the main difference. Because both Russia and America are developed countries. It's not some third world country where you have to look for food or water, and you live in a tent. So think of it this way, that America is Russia, pardon the pun, just with a slightly more developed level of society and wages. But despite this, there are also enough poor people in America, there are people who live paycheck to paycheck for generations, and they also need to pay for housing. Every month they have to look for money somewhere. There are many rich people here, but a rich person for us is the middle class here. He will have several cars in the family, each of its members will have a car, he will have a personal house in which he lives. This is probably the main difference. There is no such thing here that mortgages are paid until the end of life, it is quite possible to buy a house or a car on credit here, and you can pay it off within 10-20 years, earning, on average, 40-50 thousand dollars a year per family member, not including children.

It's me again. I have a couple of things I would like to add. First, I think it's time for me to shave, but it doesn't matter. And the second thing I wanted to say is that the video turned out to be uninformative. I really didn't know what to say. I knew, but you can't really say anything, at least I don't think so. Therefore, as a bonus, if you watch this video on Youtube, you will see in the description of the video links below to my articles, interviews of various emigrants. There are, for example, stories about how a girl came here as a student, then went to prison in America, then got out and is now legalized. There is a story about how a pensioner came to live in America. How different people come, their impressions, how they come and stay on a study visa. In short, I will give a few links to read and you will understand a little what it is like to live in America. I hope this makes up for the lack of information. Thanks to all! Bye!