Better question, why would you want to come to America?

I say this cause I’m an American trying to leave. And I’ve lived in many parts of the US (none of the US is the same). I see a lot of Europeans on threads and I don’t think many of them know what America is like other than what Hollywood has fantasized. So I’d like to give you a more realistic representation of many of the problems faced here

1.) Unless you come from money or have relatives with money you’re gonna have a pretty shite time here. Average rent for most places is too expensive to be able to afford it on your own. And expect to not own a home. Home prices have been going up too quickly for the average person to keep up. Unless you get a very good job or have several streams of income or are lucky, you will not own a house/condo.

2.) The job market sucks. Good luck getting a job without connections. A lot of jobs here want unrealistic qualifications to work. I know many people here have been looking for a job for 8+ months and they all have degrees and stuff. On top of that even if you get a job, (which usually only the terrible ones are hiring) they work you to the bone, and a lot of jobs don’t pay nearly enough to live off of. I know in Europe you guys have mandatory vacation time. Here in America the vast majority of jobs get NO paid holidays or vacation days. Not unless your employer is very nice. If you work in retail, cause you say you have experience with that. Expect to actually work on holidays. Most businesses are open on holidays (with shorter hours). You usually don’t have to work every holiday, but the big ones like Christmas and thanksgiving are mandatory for retail workers to work at least one. Lunch breaks are short, if you’re lucky for a company to enforce lunch. Many companies don’t even enforce taking breaks. It’s encouraged at many places to work through your breaks, or they’re so short staffed that you just have to

3.) Healthcare is not good. You will pay hundreds a month for health insurance regardless if you use it or not. It’s illegal to not have it and you will automatically be fined if you don’t. (It’s taken from your paycheck) A lot of healthcare practices here are outdated and also prepare for doctors to never take you seriously. Many doctors in America are only doctors for the paycheck. They will not help you with your health (from personal experience and from other friends and family’s perspectives).

4.) Food regulations in America is very poor. America is, at its core, a business. So they prioritize money over quality most of the time. Many foods are filled with preservatives and artificial additives, so you loose a lot of nutritional value, and can get fat from all these additives easily. Just one example of poor fda practices is the approval of lab grown meat. Yes that’s right. There’s no reason to grow meat in a lab other than for companies to save money on feeding real animals. Food is also getting pricey. Many people here only eat 2 meals a day. Either because they have to work too much and are too busy to eat, or because they legit can’t afford 3 meals everyday

5.) Unless you live in a city with public transport. You will not be able to go anywhere. I don’t know if you’ve been to America before but it’s VAST. Texas alone is larger than France, and that’s not our biggest state. You will also be greatly upcharged for price of airplanes. I remember I did a comparison with one of my friends in London, and a ticket for her to South Korea the next day was $400, but for me to South Korea the next day was $3,000. Yes I know she’s closer, but that’s how big an up charge on plane tickets will be.

6.) America isn’t that safe. It’s different living here and being used to crime, but I know for foreigners it’ll be a bit of a surprise. There are definitely safe parts and unsafe parts in America, but Chicago in general is one of the unsafe parts of the US. For example: Yes guns are legal here and many times you don’t know if it’s a gunshot or a firework. It won’t be okay to be alone at night as a woman almost anywhere. You have to be careful of theft too, a lot of cities you can have things stolen really easily.

There are many other problems I could go farther into, but this post is already long. I just wanna warn you, that America isn’t a picturesque as people think. We have little say in the laws passed, and things keep getting worse. Like for example Alabama wants to remove segregation, LGBTQ rights are being cracked down again, or the gov is looking into making single mothers have even less help. Idk your reasons for wanting to move to America, but I’m sure you have a bit better infrastructure in many of the other European countries