retzie

I did this too (but E-3 to Oklahoma). Zero money from my employer -- I paid my airfare out-of-pocket and even all the visa costs that were legal for them to offload. It was me, a suitcase and my snowboard. I bought a bed and a thriftstore dresser on arrival. The job was a 9-month postdoc, for reference.

I lived with a (fantastic!) roommate, which not only saved set-up costs, but also landed me a friend in a foreign land. (We are still friends to this day.) I went on to buy a second-hand car outright from savings, but only because OK would have been miserable without one. Chicago (which was my next job) would have definitely been fine carless.

Overall, moving into a shared house can resolve a whole host of issues for the short-term expat IF you are willing/able. But like everyone has said, it depends a lot on OP's circumstances/expectations.

destone

Don’t forget that Chicago is still the Midwest. It’s not California or New York. You’re in for a culture shock.

Pulaski

New York is hyper-hyper, and California is too laid back. I'd take the Mid West over either, and IMO it should be less of a culture shock than either.

Lion in Winter

I hope we haven't frightened the poor OP off - they haven't been back.

Lion in Winter

Oddly, when I first moved to the US it was from London to New York and I found that to be less of a culture shock than you might think. Of course it's very different and there was a lot to get used to, the big city vibe was familiar. I lived on Manhattan then, something no normal person could afford to do now My old block is unrecognisable.


For a year though, it doesn't matter either way imo. It's travel, not immigration.

Pulaski

I agree, my post was only comparative, not absolute, and a sly jab at Destone to see if he could be persuaded to explain what he thinks is so alien about Chicago and the Mid West.

I am of the view (so my opinion, that seems to make me an outlier on BE) that culture shock shouldn't be an issue coming from the UK, that most things in the US are broadly similar to the UK, with the differences being in the nuances.

I bought a copy of a book in London, before I ever came to the US, which was one of a travel series entitled "Culture Shock!" The copy I bought was subtitled "The American South" (as distinct from "South America") and I found it an amusing read because the woman who had written it was from New York, and was also Jewish, and much of what she described of The South sounded much like the UK, from which I learned that there were greater cultural differences between The South and New York than between The South and the UK!

Lion in Winter

I actually found that it wasn't culture shock at all. There are definitely important, fundamental and impactful cultural - and social - differences but they don't really impinge or even become apparent in the short term so not much of an immediate shock at all. There were, for me at any rate, a set of cultural differences that simply didn't suit me and that wore me down over the (very) long term. It isn't just "culture" in the abstract, but the way that culture shapes certain things such as relationships, work, politics, policy, etc that ended up getting to me. That would not at all be the same for everyone.

retzie

Very nicely said. I never fitted in in Chicago and could never adequately describe it to people. "It really is an American city" was somehow not illuminating.

Totally irrelevant for the OP, whether they have similar sensibilities or not. One year in Chicago is an adventure!

PetrifiedExPat

Time for me to ask what the salary offer is?