Hello folks, welcome to a new section on my blog, where I share stories about my life and experiences in general. If you accidentally landed here while searching for travel stuff, click on this link and head straight to the travel section. If you’re curious about my journey and how I landed in America, keep reading the article because it’s about to get exciting.
Well, there’s nothing that exciting here. It’s just a plain old story of an Indian moving to live the American dream. But, the funny part is that I never had one. I always thought of staying in Delhi, working as a UX Designer on a pay package that would buy me many plane tickets and transport me to different parts of the world. However, one fine day (or night for Abhishek), I met (actually spoke on the phone) the man of my dream, who was living his American dream. I fell totally and completely in love with him and decided to move oceans to be with him. That’s how I landed in America.
Now moving to America was not an easy decision. One, because it involves a lot of paperwork (like a lot), and two, it involved a significant career change for me. However, after evaluating all the pros and cons, I entered the land of opportunities. A place that lets you be innovative, creative, basically anything (with a bunch of terms and conditions for the immigrants) without being judged.
Upcoming articles:
- My USA Tourist Visa (B1/B2) Guide and Experience
- My H4 Visa (US Spouse Visa) experience
- My experience finding a job in the US
- Must have documents to work on H4 Visa
- H4 Visa restrictions
- Life of an Indian Freelancer in the US
Being in a long-distance relationship for almost 1.5 years and reaching the USA in the middle of the pandemic was not an easy journey. I’ll write another article about it. But, good news, I finally entered the States in November 2021.
The journey from Delhi to Seattle
It was a 23 hours flight from Delhi to Seattle with a layover at Newark airport in New Jersey. You can read about my journey here. However, to summarize it for you, my first flight journey to the States was not that great. The United Airlines flight from Delhi to Newark was claustrophobic, with four seats in the middle row. However, the next journey from Newark to Seattle was comfortable.
My first impression
My first impression of Seattle was absolutely amazing. We had entered the Washington border, and the view was breathtaking. I can never forget my first experience flying over the majestic Mt Rainier and the beautiful fall colors that painted the city in earthy tones. Moreover, the journey from the Airport to Seattle was also refreshing. The landscape is very different from Delhi. You can see mountains and water. Plus, the air is so fresh that everything appears HD. The
Since I’m an Indian, I will stereotype myself by saying that we love to compare and judge. So, I will do the same with Seattle and Delhi to explain my feelings about moving to America.
Here are the things I love about the USA
Air quality
If you come from a metro city like Delhi, you know the importance of good air quality because for us Delhites, good air quality is rare. Therefore, Seattle is undoubtedly the winner. Also, some advice to my fellow Delhites, if you want to give your lungs a better life, consider moving out of Delhi. Honestly, I was planning to move to Hyderabad myself before 2020 happened.
Roads and Traffic
The roadway is better in the whole US. In fact, they spend most of their budget making roads and highways. Therefore, to travel on pothole-free roads was definitely impressive. The traffic in Seattle is not much, although it does get busy sometimes. However, the traffic is nowhere near Delhi, Mumbai, or Bengaluru.
Food and water
Getting drinking water from the tap was a clear winner for me because I found the whole process of filling water bottles at home super annoying. Plus, if you have a sensitive tastebud, you know how important it is for the water to taste good. But thankfully, the water tastes good here. Phew! The food is also great but expensive, thanks to PPI (Pay parity Index). Imagine us buying a pack of maggie for 140 INR. Someone, please get me a few packets of maggieeeeeeeeeeee from India. So India is a clear winner in terms of food prices.
Overall it is a good change of scene for me. What I love the most is the pavements are clear of hawkers creating more space for the pedestrians. Moreover, colonies are better structured, and the houses are evenly designed, unlike Indian cities, where encroachment is a big problem leading to uneven constructions and narrow lanes.
I will keep posting more stories, things I do, and life in general in America. If you’re planning to move to the US, I’ll share a list of things you should carry from India and items you can skip to save space in your luggage. Also, drop me a message or comment if you have any questions or things you would want to know more about living in the US.
